Guides
Guides
Practical, step-by-step walkthroughs. Court rules vary, so check your local rules before you rely on any of them.
Step-by-step walkthroughs for numbering, organizing, annotating and presenting exhibits, and for handling particular kinds of document. Each guide gives the steps in order and points out the keyboard shortcuts that apply. Court rules vary by jurisdiction, so check your local rules and any standing order before you rely on a procedure described here.
How to annotate exhibits for use in court
Which annotation tool to reach for, how much markup is too much, and how to keep the original PDF untouched while your markings stay put.
How to highlight a PDF during trial
Highlighting language a witness will read aloud: choosing passages, color discipline, prepared versus live marking, and showing it on a courtroom screen.
How to number trial exhibits: common conventions
Sequential numbers, letters, party prefixes and sub-numbering compared, with advice on picking a scheme and keeping it consistent through trial.
How to organize trial exhibits before trial
Turn a pile of produced documents into an ordered exhibit set: selection, one file per exhibit, witness grouping, naming, and a list you can trust.
How to prepare exhibits for trial: a working runway
A four-week runway for exhibit preparation: selection, conversion, markup, a dry run on the real hardware, and backups that get you through a bad day.
How to present a PDF in court from your laptop
A practical walkthrough for showing a PDF on a courtroom screen: file prep, page jumps, zoom, and a display routine you can run while questioning.
How to present exhibits in court during testimony
The courtroom choreography of exhibits: laying foundation, publishing to the jury, moving between documents fast, and tracking what was admitted.
How to redact a PDF: visual versus permanent
The difference between a black box drawn on screen and removing content from a file, how to verify a true redaction, and when each one is appropriate.
Presenting contracts in court as exhibits
Contract exhibits turn on signature pages, definitions and schedules. How to build a navigable PDF and land on the clause you need in one move.
Presenting emails in court as exhibits
Email exhibits live or die on threads, headers and attachments. How to export a readable PDF and show the right message at the right moment.
Presenting invoices in court as exhibits
Invoices are read for one number. How to prepare legible invoice PDFs, point at a line item or a total, and keep a long billing set navigable.
Presenting medical records in court as exhibits
Medical records arrive by the thousand page. How to work with volume, cite page ranges precisely, and keep sensitive material off the screen.
Presenting photographs in court as exhibits
What photographs need before they go on a courtroom screen: resolution, orientation, one image per page, and a PDF that survives being enlarged.
Presenting spreadsheets in court as exhibits
Spreadsheets become bad exhibits by default. Set the print area, orientation and page breaks so the columns you need land on one readable page.