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Modernize Your Transcript Collaboration and Designations Workflow
June 10, 2021
Today's TechnoLawyer Buyer's Guide report covers a popular transcript management iPad app that now offers a new file format for sharing transcripts, improved import and export options, customizable designations, and bookmarks.
Modernize Your Transcript Collaboration and Designations Workflow
Even the most seasoned executives find depositions uncomfortable. This explains why they remain a key discovery tool. If deponents tell the truth (and ideally over answer your questions), you often obtain helpful evidence. If they lie and you can prove it, you can destroy their credibility. That's the exciting part but reviewing transcripts on paper or even with PDF software is akin to writing your briefs with a fountain pen, especially when you need to collaborate with colleagues and co-counsel.
TranscriptPad in One Sentence
TranscriptPad from LIT SOFTWARE is a popular transcript management iPad app that now offers a new file format for sharing transcripts, improved import and export options, customizable designations, and bookmarks.
The Killer Feature
TranscriptPad has always offered reports showing all your annotations but did not offer a way to collaborate in TranscriptPad itself until now. Thanks to a new file format small enough to email, you can share TranscriptPad transcripts with other TranscriptPad users.
The new file format retains all of the annotations, bookmarks, designations, issue codes, redactions, etc. you choose to share. Colleagues can add to your work and share the file back or share it with someone else for their input. Instead of using a check out/in system, TranscriptPad automatically creates a new version when you receive a file from a collaborator.
On a related note, importing and exporting transcripts has taken a big leap forward since our last coverage of TranscriptPad. You can use any service that integrates with the built-in Files app on the iPad. This includes all the major cloud storage services and many legal document management systems.
You can now share TranscriptPad files with other TranscriptPad users to collaborate on transcript review tasks such as designations, issue coding, and trial strategy.
Other Notable Features
The transcript review environment and annotation tools in TranscriptPad also have important new features. For starters, you can display transcripts using your preferred font. TranscriptPad places questions in bold while the Auto-Scroll option allows for hands-free reading.
With the new global search, you can find a key term in one or multiple transcripts, apply an issue code to every instance, and export a report with that testimony. You can also apply issue codes to manually selected testimony, including for designations. Annotation tools include highlights, flags, and notes. You can redact confidential testimony and remove irrelevant chit-chat.
The new bookmarks tool lets you quickly locate specific sections of the transcript. This is especially useful for trial transcripts as you can bookmark each witness, including the start of their direct and cross-examination. TranscriptPad also creates bookmarks in PDF reports in accordance with your settings — issue codes, deponents, etc.
Deposition designations are often used to impeach witnesses at trial, so litigators understandably want to present them as clearly and dramatically as possible. Also, some judges have rules for the formatting of designations.
TranscriptPad now offers a slew of new settings for its Impeachment Slides PDF report. Display designations as black text on a white background or vice versa. Show or hide flags, highlighted text, and other annotations.
LIT SOFTWARE also makes TrialPad, the popular trial presentation app for the iPad. You can send designations to TrialPad for presentations.
What Else Should You Know?
You can try TranscriptPad for free. TranscriptPad is part of LIT SUITE, which also includes DocReviewPad (ediscovery review), ExhibitsPad (electronic exhibits binder), and TrialPad. LIT SUITE currently costs $399 per year, which you can lock in forever even if the price increases for new users in the future (users of previous versions qualify for an annual price of $299).
Neil J. Squillante is the founder and publisher of TechnoLawyer, an award-winning network of free email newsletters for lawyers and law office administrators. Many consider TechnoLawyer newsletters the only ones they need. A Fastcase 50 award winner, Neil has a long track record of inventing successful advertising and publishing technologies and related best practices. Previously, Neil practiced commercial litigation at Am Law 100 firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. He received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and his B.A. from Duke University. At UCLA, Neil served as a Managing Editor of UCLA Law Review.
