Guides
Presenting contracts in court as exhibits
A contract is usually the longest document in the case and the one you will visit most often. Three parts of it carry disproportionate weight: the signature pages, the definitions, and the schedules or annexes hanging off the back.
Signature pages establish who agreed and when, and they are the pages most likely to be missing, unsigned, or attached from a different version. Definitions decide what the operative clause means, which is why an argument about a two-line clause so often ends up on the definitions page instead. Schedules and exhibits to the agreement are separate documents in everything but name, and they are frequently paginated separately or not at all.
Amendments deserve an early decision. One exhibit containing the agreement as amended is easy to argue from; separate exhibits for each amendment are easier when the amendments themselves are disputed.
Preparing the file as a PDF
Exhibit Room imports PDFs only. Where the executed agreement already exists as a PDF — from an e-signature platform, a deal room or a production — use that file rather than re-exporting from the draft, because the executed version is what was agreed.
Where you are building the PDF yourself, print to PDF from the word processor rather than exporting a draft with tracked changes or comments still live, and check the resulting file for revision marks before it goes anywhere. Scanned counterparts should be captured at 300 dpi so initials and handwritten dates stay readable when enlarged; a signature page scanned at 150 dpi turns into a smudge at the exact moment you need it.
Assemble the pieces in the order a reader expects: the body of the agreement, then the schedules in their lettered order, then the amendments in date order if they belong in the same exhibit. Confirm that the PDF's page numbers and the document's own internal page numbering do not drift too far apart, and if they do, work from the PDF page number and note the mapping on your list. Numbering conventions for the amendments are covered in how to number trial exhibits.
Presenting it in Exhibit Room
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Import the agreement and describe it precisely
Import the PDF, then name the exhibit with the parties and the date of execution rather than the file name from the deal room. Use the description field for the key page numbers — signature page, definitions, the clause in dispute — because that is the cheat sheet you will rely on.
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Build a page map before you touch the annotation tools
Scroll the document once with the thumbnails panel open and write down where each part begins. A 31-page agreement with three schedules has perhaps six pages you will ever display, and knowing their numbers converts a long document into a short one.
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Highlight the clause and bracket the definition
Highlight the operative words in the clause, and use a rectangle on the defined term where it is set out. Keeping the two marks visually different helps when you move between them, because the jury learns that one shape means "the promise" and the other means "what the word means". Tool choice is discussed in how to annotate exhibits in court.
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Mark the signature page for what is contested
If execution is in issue, an arrow to the signature block and a callout naming the signatory does more than a highlight over a scanned squiggle. If the date is the point, mark the date and nothing else.
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Present and move between the pages you mapped
Press Present, type the page number and press Enter to jump. W fits the width for dense contract text, and F returns to the whole page when you want to show that the clause sits inside a longer section. Esc exits when the witness moves on.
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Switch to the amendment without leaving fullscreen
Where amendments are separate exhibits, press E during presentation, type the exhibit number or part of its name, and press Enter. That keeps the original agreement and the amendment two keystrokes apart during a cross that jumps between them, and the rest of the shortcuts are listed on the keyboard navigation page.
What to highlight and what to avoid
Highlight the words that create the obligation, the defined term that colors them, and the date and signature that make the document binding on the party you care about. Where an integration clause, notice provision or limitation of liability is in play, mark it on its own page rather than trying to show it alongside the operative clause.
Avoid displaying a page of dense boilerplate with one highlighted line and expecting anyone to find it; zoom first. Avoid marking every clause you might conceivably use, which turns the agreement into a coloring book and removes the emphasis you were trying to create. Avoid quoting a clause without its cross-references — if the clause says "subject to Section 9.2", the other side will show Section 9.2, and it is better that you showed it first. And keep one clean, unmarked copy of the agreement in the set, because a witness asked to read a contract for the first time should read it as it was signed.
Frequently asked questions
Should the agreement and its schedules be one exhibit or several?
One exhibit is simpler if the schedules are uncontested background. Separate numbers are better when a schedule is itself the subject of testimony, because it can then be offered, admitted and argued in its own right.
How do I handle two versions of the same agreement?
Give each version its own exhibit number and make the distinction obvious in the exhibit name — the execution date is usually the clearest differentiator. Never rely on the file name alone to tell them apart.
Can I bookmark clauses inside the PDF?
Exhibit Room does not add or display PDF bookmarks. The practical substitute is the page map in the exhibit description plus the page-jump keystroke, which is quicker than a bookmark list in any case.
What if the contract runs to hundreds of pages?
That is fine to display. Pages are rendered as you reach them, so a long agreement opens immediately rather than making you wait, and the thumbnails panel makes finding a schedule quick.
Is an e-signature certificate page worth including?
Often yes, where execution is contested, because it records who signed and when. Decide before the exchange deadline so the other side is not seeing it for the first time at trial.
Open a long agreement and land on the clause
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