An Organizational Tip I'm Going to Try Myself: The Case on a Single Page

In working up cases for trials, do you ever get so buried in to-do lists that you can't keep your eye on the big picture? Simplify things by trying this tip from guest-poster Gary Hill at the South Carolina Trial Law Blog--

Reducing the entire case to a single page can add perspective and a sense of control.    

Place a single sheet of paper in the landscape position and fold it in half and then in half again. There are now eight sections.    

Name each section: PreTrial motions, Voir Dire, Opening Statement, Witnesses, Evidence, Charges, Closing Argument. List only what you need in each category to put up your case.     This exercise will often point to gaps in the case, suggest themes, or trigger changes in the presentation of the witnesses, evidence or argument.

You can also keep this summary of the case in the inside pocket of your suit coat as a security blanket at trial.

As someone who often gets bogged down by storing information about my cases in too many long computer files, I think I'll find this tip very useful.