Beyond Biglaw: The Importance Of Good Visuals

We are being trained as a society to “consume” visually, and lawyers need to come to grips with this reality.

I have been to my fair share of conferences. Most are fine, if unmemorable. You check-in, making sure to sign the CLE sheet, and grab a cup of coffee before settling in for a session. If the wi-fi actually works, most of the session ends up getting taken up with responding to emails — unless you are feeling a little lazy, in which case you run through your go-to series of websites (which hopefully includes ATL), hoping to catch an interesting article. Eventually it is time for lunch, and after you attend a session or two in the afternoon, cocktail hour arrives.

But sometimes a conference has an energy, which commands a greater level of attention from the participants, and makes the time spent at the event more worthwhile. Last Friday’s ATL-managed Academy for Private Practice (APP) had that energy. (Yes, I participated on a panel, and I thought it went well, with an excellent moderator (Nicole Bradick of Curo Legal), engaging fellow panelists, and some interesting discussion topics.) Perhaps my view of the event is clouded by my participation. At the same time, the audience seemed very engaged through the morning sessions that I attended, and even though I needed to get back to work and couldn’t attend the afternoon proceedings, I would be surprised to learn that the energy was not sustained throughout the entire day.

It helped of course that the conference got off to a good start. The opening remarks were handled with aplomb by Lat, and the opening keynote by Ed Walters of Fastcase was superb in all respects. His message was a simple one, and worthy of further discussion: in order for lawyers to live fulfilling lives, we all need to remember to “see the world” in all its beauty and complexity, rather than through the narrow lens of “legal training” and “being a lawyer.” As thoughtful as his presentation was, however, what really “made it” for me were the carefully chosen and often humorous “visuals” of his slide deck — which enhanced his spoken words, while not distracting the audience from the core of his message. In short, his streamlined slide deck was effective, and made his presentation stand out even more.

As a veteran of many courtroom and conference “presentations,” I can attest to the fact that many slide decks prepared by lawyers are nowhere near as interesting as the authors think they are. Whether the slides suffer from simply being a dense regurgitation of what the speaker is saying, or from using stock images that are at best distracting, the truth is that most lawyers can do a better job with their visual presentations. In fact, this skill has become even more important nowadays, when the entire world has been conditioned, through smartphones and tablets, to interact with visuals on a constant basis. Take a ride on a subway, watch some kids in a mall — everyone is engrossed with their “screens.”

We are being trained as a society to “consume” visually, and while we are used to doing so with the written word and static images, there has also been a shift towards video that lawyers are going to need to come to grips with. Particularly litigators, who bear the burden of persuading their audiences — and for whom PowerPoint presentations have generally become a crutch, and a rickety one at that. We may be some time away from needing to incorporate video into court presentations, for example, but it is clear that we need to start thinking about how to enhance the visuals we prepare — and that video will have an important role in that transition.

Take a job applicant, as an example. That person is trying to persuade a (skeptical) audience that they are worthy of employment. For many years, the typical “visuals” that such an applicant would prepare were static — a cover letter and résumé. We all know how persuasive the typical set of job application materials are. Could a résumé be enhanced with an embedded video component? Maybe not in all cases, but for some (legal) jobs — sure. What creates a better impression of the applicant before the intended audience, and is easier to consume? A line about a speaking engagement at the bottom of a résumé, or a ten-second clip of the applicant onstage at that engagement? Unless the crowd is booing and pelting the presenter with tomatoes, likely the latter.

The same principles apply when we consider the potential role of video in legal marketing. Yes, there may be an audience that is willing to spend five minutes reading your article on the latest big decision in the area of customs duties for goods transiting multiple tax jurisdictions. But perhaps that audience would be even more engaged if that article was accompanied by a two-minute video clip of you discussing the topic. Allowing your audience to associate your personality with the content you create can go a long way towards creating deeper engagement with that audience — and thus make your marketing efforts more effective.

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Ultimately, it is clear that the “old ways” of presenting visuals will put those that rely on them at a disadvantage. In such a competitive marketplace, the lawyers who learn to engage with their audiences in a more effective way are more likely to succeed. I submit that video will be a big part of that future, particularly since technology makes it easier than ever to create and distribute video content, and because we are all being conditioned to consume content with a video component. Sometimes it takes seeing an effective presentation live to appreciate the importance of good visuals. The future will belong to those lawyers who are best able to create and use them.


Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique. The firm’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at gkroub@kskiplaw.com or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.

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