Ian Richardson is a lawyer with Vann Attorneys in Raleigh, North Carolina. Vann Attorneys is a general civil litigation law firm handling a variety of commercial litigation matters, as well as a growing number of personal injury cases. Ian is a trial lawyer with a practice focusing about half in personal injury and half in North Carolina’s Business Court, a court similar to the Chancery Court in Delaware. Ian’s specific focus is the difficult area of child sex abuse cases. His 10-year practice (five with Vann Attorneys) has been based in North Carolina, but he has advocated for sex abuse victims across the United States, admitted pro hoc vice in many states from Indiana to New York, and more.
Ian reached out to us a couple of weeks ago, while in the middle of trial in Maryland, saying, “This is my 5th multi-week jury trial using TrialPad. We have gotten a liability verdict and are about to proceed to damages. I have sold all of my co-counsel on TrialPad during this trial.”
How It All Began
In early 2021 Wake County, NC announced it would resume civil jury trials after closing almost entirely during the pandemic. Ian was notified that his case was first on the docket, giving him a very short time to get prepared. Prior to that trial, Ian had been mostly a “boards guy.” However, with such short notice, there wasn’t enough time to get foamboard blowups made, and it was time to put TrialPad to the test. (Ian had been dabbling with TrialPad shortly before the case was called for trial.) That trial resulted in an overwhelmingly positive verdict, and he hasn’t gone to trial without the LIT SUITE since.
He told us “When I first used TrialPad - that first case ended in a $3.4M verdict in Wake County. Wake County juries are not known for seven-figure verdicts. TrialPad was well received by the jury and the judge and it made the whole case work.”
But, even though that case went well, there was one thing Ian decided he had to change. He said “When we were told we were up for trial, we had to load everything in all at once. And it crystallized in my mind at that point that it would be a lot easier if I make exhibits as the case progresses.” Now, Ian starts using the LIT SUITE as soon he begins to work on a case, and instead of just using TrialPad during presentations, he uses every app for an end-to-end litigation solution. He said, “I now use all the apps in tandem from the beginning of the case through the end.”
DocReviewPad
Starting with DocReviewPad, Ian loads all discovery into DocReviewPad, and reviews for production and relevance in conjunction with his note-taking app (Goodnotes). As his work is specialized and often confidential, Ian especially appreciates the redaction tool. Currently, he is using DocReviewPad in a complex wrongful-death case to review for production all the text messages from kids, parents, and others. He told us “The redaction feature in DocReviewPad is really handy. I can redact in DocReviewPad much quicker than I can with Adobe Acrobat or anything like that.”
DocReviewPad also allows Ian to see what all the discovery in the case looks like by running reports - something that was very useful in his recent Maryland trial. Because the initial phase of the case had ended by the time he joined the case, he hadn’t done his review in DocReviewPad. Nevertheless, he loaded everything and applied Bates stamps. This meant that he could use DocReviewPad to hold the entire repository of all the documents, search through it as needed, and importantly run reports on the discovery for the judge. During a dispute over the volume of trial exhibits, a simple report in DocReviewPad was able to show the judge the volume and types of documents produced by the opposing counsel were voluminous and properly exchanged exhibits as specifically ordered by the court. He said, “It was incredibly effective for a huge amount of data and the reporting feature was super helpful in that case.”
TranscriptPad
TranscriptPad is an app Ian uses almost daily. Ian said. “TrialPad is just great. From the laser pointer to calling stuff out but TranscriptPad in general is probably my favorite.” Though he’s a trial lawyer, Ian noted that he’ll always do more depositions than trials, and TranscriptPad is definitely his most-used app. TranscriptPad gives him features that allow him to annotate, as well as mark citations to drop into a summary judgment brief, plus it saves a lot of time. He told us, “I can probably go through three deposition transcripts in TranscriptPad in the time it would take me to do one with paper, taking notes separately.” In addition, Ian pointed out that the powerful reporting features in TranscriptPad allow him to create specific reports that “cut through all the noise and give you all the important testimony in the case.” The impeachment slides feature of TranscriptPad is also something Ian frequently utilizes.
The portability of the LIT SUITE in depositions is a huge benefit as well. A few years ago he had a case against a large national governing body of sport in the Olympic movement. “We were taking depositions all over the country and I was literally taking extra suitcases full of transcripts with associated documents and copies to the depositions, with LIT SUITE that’s just not necessary anymore.”
The biggest game changer in TranscriptPad has been the recent addition of video editing capabilities. Ian used TranscriptPad’s sync and edit capability in January 2024. He said, “We had an issue with some video depositions that were edited by others. The Court was not happy, and told us to have that issue fixed by the next week. I went for the weekend pretty sure that I had read that I could sync and edit video testimony in TranscriptPad. Within an hour I had a video syncing with the transcript and it was a long deposition, but I got it cut up and it looked great in the courtroom.”
Not only did the feature save them in the way the video testimony was presented, but it also saved a lot of money. Ian said, “In a trial last year, we hired a hot seater to the tune of about $50,000 for documents and video clips. We just did all the same things and better in my Maryland trial using the LIT SUITE, including the ability to edit video on the fly.”
TrialPad
TrialPad is the app that started it all for Ian, and when he told us he really hasn’t put it down, he means it. Ian uses TrialPad anytime he needs to show a document to anyone, in person or remotely. That means using TrialPad in client meetings in the office, over Zoom, in hearings at the courthouse, in depositions, and in trial. He said, “We are getting ready to move to a new space and in our current conference room we have an Apple TV so I stream everything to that and I use TrialPad in all my meetings. Since we are moving, that was my big ask. I wanted a TV in every conference room and an Apple TV. That way, if I’m meeting with a client I can show what evidence has been turned over to us right on the screen and it is all coming right out of TrialPad.”
Ian uses TrialPad from the inception of the case through its conclusion. As of recently, he’s created Case File templates in TrialPad so that when he opens a new matter, he creates the Case File, with all the folders he normally uses for trial already named and organized. Then it is just a matter of adding documents to the various folders as the case proceeds. This allows Ian to do two important things. Firstly, he told us he has access to everything he needs all the time, “I’m using TrialPad all along. It is what I take to court with me so I’ll have all my pleadings, all the papers associated with whatever motion we are going to talk about.” It also allows him to create potential trial exhibits as the case proceeds, instead of doing it right before trial. He said, “If I think I’m going to use an exhibit for trial, it goes into the exhibit folder in TrialPad, and gets a sticker before we get to trial.”
Deposition is an equally important venue for TrialPad. Ian said, “All of my depositions, whether I’m in person or on Zoom, I do with TrialPad. I’ve even taken screens and an Apple TV to a deposition, especially if I think the witness is going to be difficult.” There’s never a question as to what he wants the witness to look at on a document. “I’m going to call it out, and say ‘that’s what I want you to look at’. In depositions, TrialPad is kind of my secret weapon, especially with experts.”
One of the best parts of presenting with TrialPad is the simplicity of the setup. Ian said that “Most places have some kind of screen to just plug in and go.” In the recent trial in Maryland Ian plugged into the technology already available in the courtroom and told us that after the trial ended, the judge offered to let his team come back to pick up their technology later in the week. The judge seemed a little bit surprised when Ian held up an Apple TV and an iPad and said, “No need, Judge, this is it.”
Ian told us, “I want to go into trial with an Apple TV and an iPad, and plug in. I just like the ease. I used to be a big foam board presentation person. I think the firm bought one board last year for a timeline in a Statute of Limitations hearing. If that’s the last board I ever buy, I’ll be happy.”
Learn More about Ian Richardson:
Firm: https://vannattorneys.com/attorneys/ian-s-richardson/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-richardson-4016b62a/