Exhibit description

[Kyung]

Do you ever come home with a huge set of exhibits and you're putting them in your exhibit index and you realize you have no idea what the exhibit is. Is it a document? Should you call it a web print out. Is it a copy of a tax? Does it really matter? Original? Copy? Facsimile? Map? Chart? Atlas? What is it? Excel spreadsheet? Letter? Memorandum? Fax memorandum?

You're sitting there writing this hugely detailed exhibit description, thinking why. Does anyone care? And then some agencies want you to be very detailed. Some agencies want minimal description.

[Katy Cuellar]

I went to a depo and the exhibits were these large binders. I guess you could call them "super" large. So large I couldn't carry them out of there. Together they may have weighed over 50 pounds. I had the depo firm go get them, and I just indexed them as "Binder 1, miscellaneous documents," etc. I mean, THEY knew what was in their binders, but how on earth could I know?

[Brenda Rogers]

Oh! Forgot all about it! I think we need to pressure Jenny to do that. She does all the testing and checking and calling. She's the one to do this! I'll see what I can do. ;)

[Brenda Rogers]

Jeanese, that's when you use "Drawing" or "Diagram." Those are my most common exhibits. I don't do more than that. I have an include file with those, Complain, Answer, Photograph, Photographs, Map, Letter to __ from__ dated __, Check Nos. ___, etc. Then I just fill in the blanks when I need to. It's so quick and easy to do an index that way. I *heart* pick lists!

[Brenda Rogers]

This was just discussed on Depoman. I keep my descriptions relatively brief; someone else was very detailed. I feel too much detail is just . . . too much. If someone is looking in the index for an exhibit, they don't want to read through line after line of every element of the document. The want to skim and get what they need from a quick look.

I use things like "Google map," "Photograph," "Diagram," "Handwritten notes." I have asked the atty before how he'd like me to refer to something that was hard to describe, it was so vague. He said something as basic as "list." I cant' remember exactly what he said, but it was something that basic. So I did.

If there are Bates numbers, Document Bates No. X through XX is very helpful to legal assistants.

As far as agencies' druthers, I'd be far more interested in knowing law firms' druthers. I know there's nothing you can do about that, but seems to be the more important issue.

[Diane Hickman]

Try "Photocopy of such-and-such chart." Short and to the point.