The value of a technician who knows the work
Trials rarely follow the rehearsal exactly. A witness turns to another page. Counsel asks for a comparison. A clip needs to stop. An experienced operator knows the presentation tools and has spent time with your materials before taking the hot seat.
Jolie Zajac has worked in trial presentation since 2018, across 100+ trials and 50+ courthouses. Her work includes 100,000+ exhibits and 1,000+ deposition clips. She holds the OnCue Advanced User Certification.
That is what you are weighing alongside the fee: the person’s preparation, judgment at the controls and ability to keep pace with counsel.
What that experience brings to your trial
The materials are familiar
Jolie checks exhibit numbers, page references, callouts and clip versions during preparation. She takes that knowledge into court.
The presentation can change
A new page, a different exhibit or a request to clear the screen: Jolie handles the display while you stay with the examination.
You work with the person presenting
When you engage Jolie, you work with her through preparation and trial. The person receiving your revisions is the person using them in court.
The visuals can be prepared too
Need slides, an animated timeline or deposition clips? Include them in the assignment so the design, review and playback are planned together.
See our hot-seat services, OnCue preparation and trial graphics and presentations.
What is included in the quote?
Before comparing hourly rates, ask each provider who will do the work and what the estimate covers.
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| Ask about | What to establish |
|---|---|
| The operator | Who will be in court, and what trial experience do they bring? |
| Preparation | Will that same person prepare the materials? Are database checks, clip review and rehearsal included? |
| Changes during trial | How are revised exhibits, new clips and evening work handled? |
| Setup and backup | Who provides the equipment, tests the room and handles a technical problem? |
| The full cost | What hours, travel, equipment and other charges should the budget allow for? |
A higher quote may include work another estimate leaves out. Once the assignments match, you can weigh the fee against the experience of the person doing it.
The main parts of the budget
Your estimate will reflect the work your trial needs:
- Preparation: building or reviewing the database, saving callouts, rehearsing and making revisions.
- Video and graphics: syncing depositions, cutting clips, designing slides and creating animations.
- Courtroom time: setup, court days and any agreed work outside court hours.
- Equipment and travel: the hardware, transport and accommodation the assignment requires.
We agree the fees, scope and billing terms in your contract before the engagement begins.
What affects preparation time?
- The files you start with. A current exhibit list and clearly named files take less sorting than overlapping drafts or an unchecked database.
- The deposition work. Witnesses, designations and rounds of revisions all affect the editing time.
- The visuals. Creating slides or an animation takes different work from presenting finished graphics.
- The schedule. Courtroom access, trial length and changes to court days affect the plan.
The preparation checklist helps you identify what is ready and what still needs attention.
Tell us what your trial needs
Send the court, trial date, expected length and the help you need. Let us know whether you already have a presentation database, deposition clips or slides. No case files are needed for this first conversation.
We will check Jolie’s availability and discuss an estimate. Tell us about your trial or call (949) 619-7006.
What have other trial teams paid?
Published court records offer a useful reference, although they are not a current price list. Two examples:
$150 an hour
In The Medicines Co. v. Mylan, 48.75 hours of trial technician work cost $7,312.50—an average of $150 an hour.
$200–350 an hour
In the Depomed / Grünenthal litigation, invoices listed presentation consulting at $200, $300 and $350 an hour. Preparation was billed at $200 and $250.
These two historical examples run from $150 to $350 an hour for different types of work. They are not Jolie’s rates. We agree your fees in the contract, based on the assignment.
The number is a starting point. Ask what preparation it covers and who will be at the controls when your trial begins.
More rates from published court records
The records below describe trial technicians, presentation consultants and law-firm staff performing courtroom presentation work. The roles and assignments differ.
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| Case | Court | Year | Role as described | Rate | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mylan Inc. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. (clerk’s opinion) | D.N.J. | 2015 | Law-firm “trial presentation analyst” | $270/hr | Denied as attorney or expert fees |
| Cleavenger v. University of Oregon | D. Or. | 2016 | In-house paralegal as “trial technologist” | $185/hr requested | Court set $125/hr |
| Alzheimer’s Institute of America v. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals | E.D. Pa. | 2016 | Vendor’s “on-site trial support” | $175/hr | Not taxable |
| The Medicines Co. v. Mylan Inc. | N.D. Ill. | 2017 | Vendor’s “in-court trial technician duties” | $7,312.50 for 48.75 hours (average $150/hr) | Allowed in full |
| Grünenthal GmbH v. Actavis Elizabeth LLC (clerk’s opinion; costs sought by Depomed) | D.N.J. | 2018 | Vendor’s “trial support technicians” | $200 and $250/hr (“Trial Preparation”); $200, $300 and $350/hr (“Trial Presentation Consulting”) | Denied as consultant fees |
| Brown v. Cascade Management, Inc. | D. Or. | 2018 | Paralegal displaying exhibits at trial | $200/hr sought | Many of these fees disallowed |
| Primarque Products Co. v. Williams West & Witts Products Co. | D. Mass. | 2019 | “Trial technician” to operate the computer | $200/hr | $21,400 cut to $5,000 |
| Edwards v. 4JLJ, LLC | S.D. Tex. | 2019 | Trial technician displaying documents and video | $135/hr (“19 x $135”) | Trial hours only: $2,565 of $9,472.50 |
| Jones v. George Fox University | D. Or. | 2022 | Paralegal preparing deposition video excerpts and presenting exhibits | $150/hr | Rate “not unreasonable” |
| Veritas Vincit, LLC v. Brown | E.D. Tex. | 2024 | Law-firm associate doing “hot seat” work in court | $150/hr | Disallowed: not “exemplification” |
These are individual matters, not a market survey. A court’s decision to allow or reduce a cost may turn on the type of work or the hours claimed, rather than the hourly rate.
Can the cost be recovered from the other side?
This summarizes published authority. It is not legal advice; we are not lawyers. Check the statute, local rules and case law that govern your court.
Federal court. Absent other statutory authority, taxable costs are limited to 28 U.S.C. § 1920. Disputes turn on § 1920(4): “Fees for exemplification and the costs of making copies of any materials where the copies are necessarily obtained for use in the case.” Courts split:
- Allowed. The Medicines Co. v. Mylan (N.D. Ill. 2017): “Trial technician time is also a compensable cost.”
- Denied. Veritas Vincit v. Brown (E.D. Tex. 2024) did not find that costs for “a hot seat operator meet the definition of exemplification.”
- Denied in California. Fowler v. California Highway Patrol (N.D. Cal. 2014): in-court technical support is not an act of “copying or exemplification.” It followed Kalitta Air (9th Cir. 2013), which reads § 1920 narrowly and held deposition video editing and synchronization not taxable.
Check local rules too. In the Central District of California, L.R. 54-3.12 allows, on court order, the reasonable cost of physically preparing visual aids, not “the intellectual effort involved.”
California state court. Code of Civil Procedure § 1033.5, subdivision (a)(13), provides: “Models, the enlargements of exhibits and photocopies of exhibits, and the electronic presentation of exhibits, including costs of rental equipment and electronic formatting, may be allowed if they were reasonably helpful to aid the trier of fact.” That electronic-presentation language dates from 2018. Costs must also be “reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation” and “reasonable in amount” (subd. (c)(2), (3)). In Meehan v. Aguirre (2026), the Court of Appeal treated costs for a trial technician’s “in-court exhibit presentation and management” as neither expressly allowed nor prohibited, so discretionary, and upheld taxing $175,409.75 because no invoices were provided.
Before we begin
Questions from trial teams.
How are fees for Jolie’s trial support determined?
We review your trial dates, preparation needs and expected courtroom work, then agree the fees and billing terms in the contract. Send the schedule and a short description of the help you need to request an estimate.
Is it worth paying more for an experienced trial technician?
Experience is worth considering when your operator needs to follow a changing examination, find material quickly and work from revised instructions. Ask who will prepare the files and who will present them. Jolie has worked across 100+ trials and holds OnCue Advanced certification.
Can we request Jolie personally for our trial?
Yes. Request Jolie when you share your dates. Her availability and the scope of the engagement must be confirmed before the assignment is reserved.
Can preparation, PowerPoint or animation work be part of the engagement?
Yes. The scope can include exhibit preparation, deposition clips, PowerPoint presentations, presentation animations and trial graphics. Discuss the materials, deliverables and review schedule when requesting an estimate.
Are equipment and travel included in the hourly rate?
Confirm those arrangements in the written estimate. The scope identifies the equipment and travel required and how any related charges are handled.
Can trial presentation costs be recovered from the other side?
Recovery depends on the court, applicable law and the work claimed. The historical discussion on this page is background, not a promise of reimbursement. Counsel should assess the requirements for the matter.
