Our Services

We are advisors to claims professionals, trial counsel, in-house counsel, and litigation risk managers. We have consulted on over a thousand matters covering the range of civil claims in large and small venues in 48 of the 50 states.

 

We work earlier in the litigation process than anyone in the profession.

We improve the accuracy of our client’s case evaluations by providing critical insight into how a future jury would respond to the fact pattern and key witnesses. We radically alter case trajectories by ensuring those witnesses remain poised and focused throughout their depositions. And we develop targeted messaging that persuades the opposition their time and resources are better invested elsewhere.

 

We are trial partners.

When a case does go to trial, we help inform strike selections, craft themes, prep witnesses, and assist the team in understanding what the jury sees and how to make any necessary mid-trial shifts.

Case Strategy

We do more than mock trials. In fact, a large number of the cases we partner on involve purely strategic case consultations. We identify how characteristics of the venue could significantly alter a traditional assessment and risk analysis, then we partner to make the necessary adjustments. Strategy sessions vary from a few hours to multiple days in duration, depending on the team’s goals and the complexity of the case.

 

    • Early Case Assessment
    • Theme Development
    • Mediation Messaging
    • Trial Strategy
    • Opening and Closing Statements
    • Opposition Witness Lines of Questioning
    • Graphics and Demonstratives

A strong start out of the gate can persuade the opposition their time and resources are better invested elsewhere.

Witness Preparedness

We are on a mission to dispel the common belief that witnesses fundamentally don’t change. Strong witnesses sometimes crash and difficult witnesses can improve dramatically. Testifying is a highly structured communication process that is foreign to most witnesses, leaving them vulnerable to stress responses that result in unforeseen or even catastrophic testimony. Witnesses need more than what is provided in a traditional prep session. They need any irrational thoughts and fears resolved so they can remain clear minded and present during questioning. They need to be taught the cognitive communication skills required to spot and avoid opposing counsel’s tricks and traps.

Our unique witness preparedness protocol actively involves counsel in a process that provides witnesses with the tools they need to stay calm and deliver accurate, truthful testimony.

A good performance in counsel’s conference room doesn’t guarantee a witness will perform well in the courtroom, or at their deposition. On-the-record surprises can be catastrophic.

When to call
  • Pre-deposition Preparedness
  • Pre-trial Preparedness
  • Witness Assessment and Selection for Experts, Corporate Representatives, and Persons Most Knowledgeable

Witness preparedness sessions are recommended for both pre-deposition and pre-trial. Sessions are conducted in the presence of counsel and cover both substantive issues and communication skills.

  • We work with all types and varieties of witnesses including experts, corporate representatives, named parties, persons most knowledgeable, and percipient witnesses from all walks of life and experience levels.
  • We offer single- or multiple-witness sessions.
  • Sessions can be conducted live or via video conferencing.

Jury Research

Jury research is not a paint by numbers exercise. We are social scientists, and we have the depth of trial experience necessary to transform mock juror feedback into recommendations that work. Face-to-face, or on-line, from community attitude surveys to exploratory focus groups to multi-day mock trials simulating realistic trial conditions, we have done it all and done it at the highest level of quality.

Key Issues Focus Groups

  • Some matters involve such distinct elements that standard case assessment methods fall short. We offer a range of cost-effective focus group designs, including online options that are capable of providing insight into those elusive issues upon which the case may hinge.

Mock Trials

  • Making the transition from discovery means shifting from exploring possibilities to confirming evaluations and strategies. Because mock trials are structured as realistic simulations of trial conditions, they are the ideal instrument to inform pre-mediation case valuations, or to test the efficacy of a planned trial strategy.

Jury research is NOT a paint-by-numbers exercise.

Jury Selection

Juries have changed. Anti-corporate sentiment has become the norm. Millennials have vastly different expectations and information needs than do Baby Boomers. Tribal politics and the alt-facts culture color perceptions to the point that jurors may not even realize their verdict is more activist than justified. A single juror can change the outcome of any case. We’ve done the research and have the experience and insight necessary to spot the biased influencers before they get on the jury.

 

  • Empirical Strike and Keep Profile
  • Voir Dire Development
  • Juror Questionnaires
  • Social Media Analysis
  • In-Court Selection Consultation

Juries have changed.

Trial Partners

In the heat of trial, passionate advocacy can compete with the objectivity necessary to see what the jury sees. Groupthink can set in and create blind spots for whole trial teams. As trial partners, our role is to help the trial team see the trial unfold through the jury’s eyes. We provide daily feedback on the juror perspective, identify any gaps in messaging, then work with counsel and upcoming witnesses to recover and fill those gaps in a way that will resonate with jurors.

  • Trial Monitoring and Analysis
  • Strategic Messaging Development
  • Preparedness Sessions with Upcoming Witnesses

We help our clients see the trial unfold through the jury’s eyes.

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