Collyard was required to use his legal skills in a case that involved a lot of new things. Collyard decided to use visual aids instead of droning the jurors to sleep with legal jargon. In anticipation of writing the key points for the jury, he spent a year improving handwriting. However, it turned out that Doodle and Powerpoint were more visually appealing mediums.

People retain information by seeing it and hearing it simultaneously. To make sure the jury was able to retain the information and understand the case immediately, I used video clips and pictures of depositions in my opening statement. It was almost like watching TV, which I found to be very enjoyable. One example: I would play a video clip that I thought was false, and it was great to see the jury evaluate the credibility of the witness. I found the videotaped depositions recorded by witnesses who weren’t present at the trial to be a great way to get a head start on the story. They would listen if I told it right. The account had billions of dollars. I presented checks that had been written by insiders for millions of dollars, with memo lines such as ‘Merry Christmas’. I wanted to show people how this case related in their lives. All of us want our money safe. All of it mixed with the main themes of the case.”

Collyard was also challenged in his trial skills by having to prove much of the argument through cross-examination. My client Doug Kelley is a trustee so you can’t call your employees in this case. All facts were discovered by calling bank employees that were adverse parties and cross-examining them. It was extremely difficult. It took a lot of time to think about depositions and how you get the admissions that tell the story to the jury, not just cross-examining. This meant creating a roadmap, explaining to the jury why it was important and reminding them that the witness was not in the best interest of the court.