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The spacious room looks, feels and functions just like a real courtroom. The only thing lawyers won’t find is a judge as they practice in the mock trial room at Legal Technology Services Inc.’s office in Urbandale.

The facility, which opened in November 2007 at 2900 Justin Drive, Suite A, is part of a suite of trial preparation resources and technology services offered by Legal Technology Services and its affiliated companies, Triple Point Solutions Inc. and The Martin Advantage.

“Our whole goal is to make this a one-stop shop for our clients,” said Kim Balk, who prior to launching Legal Technology Services in October 2005, had served as the information technology director for several major law firms in Des Moines. “(Law firms) call us, and between the three companies, we can pretty much hit whatever they’re calling about, and that makes it a lot easier on the client.”

Increasingly, juries expect highly polished presentations that may incorporate PowerPoint slides, video depositions and other means to present complex evidence. And with new federal rules governing electronic discovery, attorneys face an increasing need to dig deeper into e-mails and other electronic places where data pertinent to a case might be found.

Legal Technology Services, co-founded by Balk and Chad Larson, specializes in assisting law firms in transferring large volumes of paper documents into electronic formats and in using electronic presentations in the courtroom. Last year, after Larson left Networks Inc., a company he co-founded in 1994, he formed Triple Point Solutions with Balk as a software and hardware sales company specializing in legal technology systems. The two companies have since partnered with The Martin Advantage, a Cedar Rapids-based company that specializes in both trial preparation and scanning of documents into electronic formats.

The Martin Advantage, which has a handful of scanning specialists at the Urbandale office, hopes to increase its presence significantly in Greater Des Moines, said Shar Melshea, the company’s sales vice president.

“We’re at the tip of the iceberg, really, right now,” said Melshea, whose company employs more than 60 people, primarily document scanning specialists, in its Cedar Rapids office. “I would love to have 50 employees (in Urbandale) next year. Twenty-four-hour turnaround for certain projects is not unusual, and you really need a local presence.”

Among other services Martin offers is software sales and training for litigation support products for cases involving very large volumes of data, as well as video synchronizing for video depositions and computer forensic services.

For one case, Martin processed more than 2 million e-mails and indexed them to make them easily accessible for review. “We can host a casebook online so that through an Internet connection, attorneys anywhere in the world can simultaneously access a case,” Melshea said. “I think the Internet has really opened this whole thing up and made it a worldwide product offering.”

Larson, who brought seven of his technicians and several clients with him from his former company, handles a broad range of hardware, software and network services. For instance, Triple Point builds entire data systems for law firms and can assist them in moves from one office to another.

“It’s been a unique fit,” Balk said, “because now we’re able to offer Triple Point clients more services, training and support than they had before.”

The companies try to make the services as seamless for clients as possible, Larson added. “A lot of times they need it done yesterday,” he said.

As keeping up with technology becomes an increasing concern for attorneys, more technology companies have begun to specialize in assisting the legal profession, said Harry Shipley, assistant executive director of the Iowa State Bar Association.

“Typically, those specialists have come from within the legal industry,” he said. “In many instances, we go to these types of companies for assistance as well; we’ll use them as a sounding board because they can tell us what services our members are clamoring for. Then we’ll go out with our purchasing power and try to find vendors that can provide that service (such as online backup services) at a reduced price.”

The mock trial room at Legal Technology Services’ office provides a space in which attorneys can practice using technology in a courtroom setting, Balk said.

“I’ve also been in cases where witnesses come in, and it doesn’t matter if it’s someone who’s a doctor or a Ph.D., they’re nervous,” she said. “There are also attorneys who have never used a PowerPoint in the courtroom or brought up exhibits, so this is a great practice area for them. And we open it up to Triple Point and Advantage clients for training sessions.”

Rick Harris, a shareholder in the Finley, Alt, Smith law firm in Des Moines, has worked with Legal Technology Services in preparing for trials. Because the full-service firm has an emphasis on serving health-care clients, its attorneys must often present complex medical information.

“My experience has been that people on juries today expect information in a concise format,” he said. “Often, they’re used to what they see on the Internet or cable television. Kim, through her expertise, is able to help attorneys package information for juries in an efficient, organized manner.”

Law firms that handle the technological aspects of trial presentations themselves do so at the risk of the technology not working and reflecting poorly on their client, Harris said.

“I view (using the companies’ services) as a safety net,” he said. “For instance, (Balk) always has a backup laptop with her. She ensures things are going to go smoothly.”

Before selecting a technology company with which to partner, firms need to ask a lot of questions, said David Swinton, a partner with Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn. A specialist in business litigation, Swinton has given presentations to firms on e-discovery trends.

“One of the challenges for attorneys is to find out when to use (these types of companies) and how to use them,” he said. “There really is a learning curve. Like any business, they want to market their services aggressively, and for attorneys who might not be technically knowledgeable, they might pick too many services from the menu.

“You need to ask good questions and you need to probe. That will help both sides figure out what services are really needed and which are going to be most economically efficient. This is a growth industry; I think that’s a fair statement.”