The best system for organizing the contents of a trial notebook is to follow the natural progression of the trial. Your notebook should tell a story.
Even before you know whether the client’s case is going to trial, you should begin to develop a trial notebook. Make no mistake about it, the best law firms get a jump on early trial preparation, and the paralegal plays a big role in that process.
There are electronic notebooks and paper notebooks, below steps are for paper notebooks:
1. Get a three-ring binder wide enough to hold the amount of documents you expect to accumulate and organize over the life of the case.
2. Get dividers with large tabs and label them for the various sections of the trial notebook.
3. Label your trial binder spine (very important).
These sections roughly follow the order of events in the case as it plays out in court and usually include the following:
– Civil pleadings/Criminal charging documents
– Pre-trial Motions
– Jury selection / Voir dire examination
– Opening statement
– Witnesses (direct examination, cross examination, rebuttal)
– List of exhibits
– Jury instructions
– Closing argument
– Evidence
– Legal authority
– Trial notes
– Post-trial motions
– Miscellaneous/ Notes
A good ideas is to include a trial preparation checklist in the front of the notebook. The person responsible for collecting each document initials the sheet when it makes its way into the trial notebook.
Keep in mind each attorney is different and may want special categories in the notebook. Be sure to confer with the attorney first and note any special items they would like to add.
TIP: Take pride in creating a good notebook for your attorney, a good notebook can help make or break the case during trial.
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