The trial starts Monday. The bundle's at 1,200 pages, the partner wants the witness statements moved before the experts, the judge has asked for hyperlinks from the skeleton to the bundle. It's Friday at 6pm.
A trial bundle is the most demanding PDF most lawyers ever produce. The good news: the process is the same every time. The bad news: every step matters.
Lock the structure first
Standard structure: pleadings, witness statements, expert reports, contemporaneous documents, correspondence, authorities. Within each section, chronological order unless the partner says otherwise. Lock this structure before you start building — restructuring a 1,200-page PDF on Sunday evening is how mistakes happen.
Build section bundles, then the master
Build each section as its own PDF first using merge PDF on the documents in chronological order. Get each section's pagination right within itself. Only then merge sections into the master bundle. This way, when the partner moves a witness statement on Sunday, you re-merge one section, not the whole bundle.
Pagination and indexing
Number every page of the master consecutively. Use the same numbering format as the directions order (e.g. A/1, B/12) if specified — most courts want consecutive page numbers across the whole bundle. Build the index last, after pagination is final. Cross-check every entry by jumping to the page and confirming it matches.
Hyperlinking
Many courts now expect hyperlinked bundles. Internal links from the index to the relevant page, and from the skeleton to specific bundle pages, save hours of judicial time. Add hyperlinks once the master is paginated and locked. If links break (because pagination shifts), you'll need to rebuild — which is another reason to lock the order before hyperlinking.
Resilience to day-of changes
There will be a last-minute addition. Plan for it. Use suffix numbers (A/12A, A/12B) for inserted pages so the master pagination doesn't shift. Keep the witness statements section in its own working file so you can drop in a corrected statement without rebuilding the master. Version the master clearly (`Bundle_v3_FINAL_FINAL.pdf` is acceptable on a Sunday night).
Distribution
Distribute via the court's preferred portal or via a secure link. Email is fine for parties but never for the bundle itself once it exceeds 25MB — use compress PDF to bring it under the limit, or split sensibly. Password-protect outgoing copies and circulate the password separately.
FAQ
What size should a trial bundle PDF be?
Under 50MB per file is a safe ceiling for most court portals. Use compression and, if necessary, split into volumes along section boundaries.
Should the bundle be OCR'd?
Yes — every page should be searchable. Scanned pages without OCR slow down the judge and any subsequent searches across the bundle.
How do I handle late inclusions without renumbering?
Use suffix numbers (A/12A, B/45A) for inserted pages. Add an addendum at the back if necessary. Never renumber the whole bundle.
Do I need to hyperlink internally?
Many UK courts now require hyperlinked bundles. Check the directions order. Where hyperlinking isn't mandatory, it's still a courtesy worth doing.
Trial bundles reward planning and punish improvisation. Build sections first, lock structure early, paginate before hyperlinking, plan for late additions. Start with a clean merge in Flint.