Trial Bundles: Everything You Should Know
What is a trial Bundle?
According to law.dictionarybrowse.com, a trial bundle is defined as “all the documents brought together by the claimant for a trial”. Therefore, any document that is likely to be referred to at trial should be placed into a paginated trial bundle for use by the judge, witnesses and other relevant parties.
Why are trial bundles important?
For any legal professional creating a trial bundle, it is important to realise that there is a significant difference between legal bundles that have been prepared properly and those that have not. A well prepared trial bundle will be beneficial to all parties in court and crucially, for the judge. However, a poorly prepared bundle may cause criticism from the judge, cost implications or even the adjournment of the case.
According to Judge Paul Waterworth “A trial bundle should be regarded as being as much part of the presentation of the case as what is said in court. Prepare it sloppily and your case may suffer: so may you, with an unpleasant costs order.”
What is the purpose of a trial bundle?
According to a Law Society Gazette article written by Judge Paul Waterworth, the purpose of a trial bundle is fourfold. For example:
1. To place before the court all the relevant material to which reference will be made at the trial or other hearing
2. To give the advocate the best prospect of preparing effectively the presentation of the case.
3. To assist the judge with pre-trial reading.
4. To enable the hearing to proceed smoothly and expeditiously.
To read more about Judge Paul Waterworth views on purpose of a trial bundle, visit Law Society Gazette.
How to prepare a trial bundle with Bundledocs?
Bundledocs trial bundling software enables lawyers to easily create complete trial bundles for court. With Bundledocs, multiple documents of different types are converted into a single PDF that is fully indexed, ordered (with multiple sections if needed) and the relevant page numbers are superimposed on each page. Your document is easily navigated as each document in your trial bundle is bookmarked. Bundledocs is easy to use, very intuitive and most importantly a huge time saver in any legal office.
If you have any questions about Bundledocs trial bundle preparation software or would like to avail of our free online demo, please do not hesitate to contact us via our email or by calling +353 21 482 6320.
Relevant Links:
Bundledocs Trial Bundle Software
How to create an index for legal documents
Bundledocs Compatibility with the UK Supreme Court Electronic Bundle Guidelines
Integrate Bundledocs with your document, records or practice management system
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