NoteBook Community - Ways to use NB in practice

Ways to use NB in practice

by schakwin - 07:33AM, Nov 17, 2004

I think we can all learn from sharing our ideas about how to use NB. So far I'm using it as a master project list for my cases and other legal (and non-legal) projects. I have Legal Projects (including cases) set up as a divider and each case/project gets its own page. On the pages I have information about the cases, notes to myself, and things that need to be done. I have made sure to include words like "call" or "write" in to-dos so that I can get sublists when I need them, though I could accomplish the same thing by tagging them.

I know that some people are making separate notebooks for each case. That makes sense for a case being prepped for trial.

I don't know any way to use NB as a source or target for data merging. That doesn't matter to me, it might to others.

Stephen

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LiamH

Member

08:51AM, May 14, 2007

I have used notebook in a few small interim hearings and found it very useful. I am a claimant civil fraud lawyer (UK based. My work is often document-centric.

I am considering using notebook for my next trial. However, I do not think I would be happy with one only active notebook. My sense is that I would like to have maybe two notebooks open and running at the same time:

1. My main notebook, with submissions arguments, notes chronologies and witness statements.

2. An exhibits notebook so I can have a statement and an exhibit open at the same time so I can cross refer. This could also contain party-party correspondence and interim application materials.

The rationale for this approach is that I need access to documents constantly I would not like to be flicking back and forth in one notebook while cross refering. At my last trial I had 3 gig's worth of pdf's deal with.

Does my appraoch make sense to anyone else? Or is it an approach which defeats the object of notebook. I would welcome any practical experience.

LiamH

Member

08:53AM, May 14, 2007

quote:
Originally posted by Liam:
I have used notebook in a few small interim hearings and found it very useful. I am a claimant civil fraud lawyer (UK based). My work is often document-centric.

I am considering using notebook for my next trial. However, I do not think I would be happy with one only active notebook. My sense is that I would like to have maybe two notebooks open and running at the same time:

1. My main notebook, with submissions arguments, notes chronologies and witness statements.

2. An exhibits notebook so I can have a statement and an exhibit open at the same time. This would allow me cross-refer. This second notebook could also contain party-party correspondence and interim application materials.

The rationale for this approach is that I need access to documents constantly. I would not like to be flicking back and forth in one notebook. I sense this could be confusing.

Does my appraoch make sense to anyone else? Or is it an approach which defeats the object of notebook. I would welcome any practical experience.

Edward Messett

Member

11:22PM, Jul 13, 2007

Two notebooks at once seems really daunting to me. I am also a civil law attorney (in the US). We generally know through discovery what's going to be significant at trial, sowrangling the colossal number of documents you describe is rare. Sometimes, I'll have a few feet of medical records in a file, but I almost always need only a few of them for the real issues..

I have used notebook very effectively in trial by pasting short video clips from depositions into my cross examination outlines. If/when you need it, you click on the icon... the clip plays and impeach with a video of the depo. No setting up the dvd, cueing up a video tape... very quick and efficient.