Imagine taking a snap shot of all the events leading up to your trial and then viewing them in such a way as to remove all doubt of your client’s culpability. Well that’s exactly what litigation timelines do; they graphically present the truth in a compelling and dramatic format.
Proving or disproving a case is often as much a matter of what happened as it is a matter of when it happened. Periods of relative calm can be more revealing then flurries of heightened activity. Lawyers, who are entrenched in every subtle nuance of their case, tend to rely on the straightforward nature of legal briefs to present facts. But judges, juries and peer attorneys unfamiliar with the intricacies of the case experience a lengthy “comprehension learning curve” before they can connect the sequence of events to your argument. What seems frightfully obvious to us often seems obscure and disconnected to others. The graphic nature of litigation timelines can quickly orient the viewer to a recognizable point in time and serve as a factual reference point in which to expound on the more complex nature of the case.
Timelines come in all shapes and sizes, and a qualified graphic designer can help you choose the most effective format for your case. Keep in mind, though, that all litigation timelines should share many of the same basic attributes:
• Simplicity: all effective timelines communicate their intentions quickly, even if they require further study or explanation
• Use fixed points in time to reassure the viewer of where they are in relation to the events being presented
• Reference just the important milestones of the case; leave the details in the briefs
• Use consistent verbiage and acronyms throughout
• Avoid the temptation to fill the timeline with too much text
• Use colors strategically: red is typically a stressful color and often used to reference issues pertaining to the opposing side. Blues and greens, however, are naturally tranquil and should be used for items on your side
• Avoid over capitalization: upper and lower-case words are easier to read then words in all capital
• Don’t over-emphasize: although everything on the timeline is important, when you emphasis everything you emphasis nothing
• Compose a clear concise title: the title should tell the viewers exactly what they are looking at; i.e. “Acme companies repeated attempts to collect funds from Smith Group”
• Dramatize your point carefully: don’t crowd the timeline with gimmicks
• Be creative: show long delays in action by portraying dramatic gaps in the timeline. Likewise, an expanded period of heightened activity can be accentuated with a visually explosive section.
Bringing in a qualified graphic designer early on, while you are still assembling your information, is essential. Not only can they organize your information in a coherent and visually pleasing order, but they can also offer you an objective vantage point from which to analyze your data. As the timeline yields new insights, so too will your own observations.
Nowhere is the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words” more true then in the courtroom or before decision-makers. Face-it, you and your opponent are in a fight to see who can get what information into the minds of the decision makers most effectively. The facts don’t always stick, but the images do.