Everyone recognizes the value of demonstrative evidence in helping the jury understand complex issues. A recent study found jurors' retention rate increased 100 per cent when visual presentations were used. When visual and oral presentations are combined, the retention rate jumps to 650 per cent over oral presentations alone. The message is clear - if you want a jury to understand and retain complex details about your case, you need to show them as well as tell them. Today's computers allow true animation of computer-generated images.
Simulated events can be precisely recreated right in the courtroom.
If you are still not totally convinced that you and your staff must learn as much as possible about computers, then consider the ethical obligations we strive to uphold. The pendulum has swung, bringing computers from a point of mere personal preference or business efficiency to a zone of professional and legal imperative. As the computer invades the law office, these questions begin to raise their ugly heads. We're not quite there today. We're all held to the standard of what a reasonably competent practitioner acting professionally would do.