Welcome

The hardest thing about being a jury consultant is having to explain your occupation (at length) at loud places and cocktail parties. I say at length because it takes at least two paragraphs to explain to the non-litigator what this occupation entails. And because I'm so passionate about this unusual industry, my answer usually takes 15 minutes!



Litigation (primarily civil) has always fascinated me! What determines which side in a case will win? The side with the strongest case is not always victorious. And sometimes it can be the smallest, most irrelevant factor that tips the jurors in one diection or the other (spooky, huh?)



Winning a case is as simple as making the folks in the jury box believe in you and your client. It's like selling a candidate's platform to voters, or selling a product to consumers.



The way the case is presented, the presenter (attorney), the likability of the Plaintiff or Defendant, as well as the jury profiles, can all influence the outcome of a trial. What makes a jury award $3 million to a victim of adultery, but only $200,000 to a wrongful death victim?



Mock trials and focus group are all categorized under "pre-trial research". The differences in the two are explained herein, but for convenience, I use them interchangeably, under the umbrella of "pre-trial research".



Whatever the term used, they are one of the most effective tools an attorney can use to prepare for the courtroom. If I didn't think so, I would not have spent almost 20 years perfecting this litigation tool (or weapon, I should say).



However, not all mock trials are created equal...



Many litigation consulting firms have made mock trials so costly and complicated, that they can only be justified for landmark cases. But what about the other 90% of cases, that are just as life-changing and meaningful for the parties involved?



This is what motivated me to create research methodologies that were less expensive, yet yielded dramatic findings. I hope you enjoy my experiences and insights in this intriguing industry.

Call me anytime to discuss your case. 407-556-7734































































































Thursday, February 10, 2011

Best Recruiting Standards for Mock Trials

The success of the pre-trial research session relies heavily on the quality of the recruit.  Quality in this context refers to recruitment a group of people closely resembling what the actual jury will look like.  This does not include recruiting your ideal jury.  The purpose of pre-trial research is to develop a strategy for presenting your case at trial. 

If the "mock" jurors are far more educated than the potential jury, then the feedback from the research will be skewed to the wrong audience.  We often dealt with cases where the trial's venue was in a county with an average education level of eighth grade or less.  Sometimes, consultants want all respondents in the research project be able to read and write well, so they can offer good opinions in the questionnaire.  But the attorneys would not be able to strike everyone in the jury pool that was illiterate.  So why not structure the questionnaire using picture scales and more verbal feedback?  An effective litigator structures his/her courtroom presentation around the jurors.  If you were developing an ad for middle schoolers, you wouldn't use language that they wouldn't understand.

A screening questionnaire is designed to recruit the right respondents.  There are some standard questions that are in every legal research project.  You don't recruit anyone that would be ineligible to serve on a real jury panel:  non-citizen, full-time student, someone under 18, etc.  The next set of questions center around the security of the case.  If the case involves a trucking accident, you may want to eliminate people employed in the trucking industry, or especially those who work for the parties involved in the case.  However, you have to be careful not to be too exclusive, like eliminating people who have friends and families in the trucking industry.  Are you going to be able to strike everyone in the jury pool that has an acquaintance in this broad field?  Absolutely not.

Would you want a nurse on the jury of a medical malpractice case?  You may think the answer is NO if you're the Plaintiff or YES if you're the Defendant.  Actually, someone in the health care industry can be the harshest critic of a provider that is negligent.  The health care worker usually holds the hospital, doctor or nursing home to a higher standard.

The final part of a screening questionnaire centers around balancing the demographic quotas established at the onset (based on the trial venue).  Asking about the person's education, age, race, and occupation determine if there is still room in a quota group to invite that person.

A couple final recruiting notes to insure quality are:
  • Never reveal to the respondent who is sponsoring the research
  • Never disclose that it is a mock trial, until they arrive at the session
  • Never recruit people who are related or know each other (in a round table discussion, people may feel reluctant revealing their true feelings in front of people they know)
  • For security, screen out anyone in the research, legal or media industries
  • If someone doesn't qualify for the research, don't tell them the reason; their friend may call in and give false answers in order to be invited to the research session (money talks)
  • Pay the respondents enough money for their time, so that they won't blow off the research session if a better gig comes up at the last minute.
  • If the project has to be postponed or is cancelled, compensate the respondents in some way.  After all, they probably asked off to participate, so they were counting on the money.
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