Archive | Jury Consultants

Top Reasons to Do Litigation Research

It seems that “top 5 or top 10″ lists are popular in many areas. They are often entertaining; the show “Family Feud” is built on them. Late night talk shows thrive on them, going back at least to Johnny Carson. Thus, I thought I’d list a few of the top reasons for conducting mock jury, […]

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The top 5 reasons David mentioned about  conducting  mock jury or focus group research are on point.  I have no additional reasons to add, therefore, I will make a general comment.  In the 30 years David and I have owned Magnus, including the almost 10 years we have been writing our twice weekly blog, we […]

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Managing Expectations

This is the third post in a series on professionalism. This one is about making “keepable promises” with regard to deadlines and deliverables. We, at Magnus, work in a world with many deadlines; very often, these are deadlines beyond the control of our clients. That is, judges set trial dates and discovery deadlines with which […]

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I recently observed my 50th anniversary of employment.  Having lost my father at an early age, I had to work in order during high school to help my mother with our household expenses.  In 50 years of working, I can proudly say that I have never, ever, missed a deadline or failed to deliver my […]

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Arbitration Research

Most attorneys retain Magnus Research Consultants for pre mediation or pre trial jury research, but arbitration is increasingly used to resolve cases. After all these years, it is interesting to note attorneys’ surprise when they find out that we conduct pre arbitration research. They ask us, “How can we do that? Where can we find […]

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This is one of those areas where our attorney clients must “think out of the box.”  (I actually detest that phrase, but it seems so common that it is well understood to mean be creative.)  Unfortunately, I know all too well how what we are, what we do, is put in a “box” of sorts, […]

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“If I Don’t Drive the Bus…”

I am writing this post on the birthday of one of my former bosses. As the absolute worst boss I ever had, this person will remain nameless. (This being said, many readers will be able to identify my former boss, having heard her use this expression on numerous occasions.) As much as I dislike her, […]

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Many years ago, too many to consider, an uncle of mine took me for a ride in his Beechcraft Bonanza, V tail and all.  I got to ride with him a few times – it was thrilling!  One memory I have of flying with him was that the yoke was connected in the middle of […]

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Biggest Marketing Changes in 30 Years

Recently, Melissa and I have been talking with a long time client about an issue we have, and he has, identified as being a challenge for us, and him, as a trial lawyer/mentor. That is, the “new generation” of litigators/trial lawyers lack experience with trial consultants. In a recent, eye-opening, conversation that included his young […]

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The current generation of associate attorneys and their lack of awareness of the existence of trial consultants reminds me of the years I worked as an adjunct professor.  (As a side note, for many years after I earned my Ph. D., I had 2 jobs, a full time job in the corporate world and a […]

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Help When There’s a “Cause”

Almost everyone has a “cause” or sometimes, more than one, that they support. Many people support causes by merely talking about them, while others volunteer their time and provide financial assistance to their favorite cause. For example, the Humane Society in many people’s hometown depends on monetary contributions, donations, and volunteer staff members to fulfill […]

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I’m not sure what prompted Melissa to write her post. Goodness knows, she has supported many “causes” whether friends, families, or strangers.  We both have in various ways, including working on cases pro bono when the cause was just.  What struck me though, in reading her post is how often the act of helping others […]

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Litigation Management Success Tips

I am a bit behind in my reading and I just finished a September 2020 CLM Magazine article by James McKeown entitled Rules of the Road: Five Tips for Successful Claims and Litigation Management. Mr. McKeown wrote this article aimed at claims professionals and the attorneys involved in the defense of claims. His 5 tips […]

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Magnus’ original slogan was “Reducing the uncertainty of litigation.”  There are numerous uncertainties in the world of litigation, however, an astute law professor, the late McKinley Smiley, advised us to change our slogan because many attorneys are not uncertain about anything.  They may be wrong, but they are certain.  This also applies to insurance adjusters, […]

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Why I’m a social psychologist

In my almost 4 decades of being a social psychologist, few people have asked me why I decided on a career in social psychology. Maybe it’s not too interesting to find out why people choose a career, maybe there’s something else to discuss, or maybe the topic never occurred to the people with whom I […]

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Melissa told me the story of why she chose social psychology not long after we met.  The number of social psychologists are but a fraction of the total number of psychologists and are not what one usually thinks of when thinking of psychologists.  Clinical psychologists, like TV’s Dr. Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) are much more […]

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Show, Don’t Tell

Melissa and I wrote employee policy manuals and other training materials before we had employees. I am thinking about those today because I added a small update to the policy manual yesterday, thinking that it had been a long time since I had added anything. But, while the policy manual is pretty well set, the […]

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David never ceases to amaze me.  I cannot believe he missed a perfectly good opportunity to relate his post to a song by his favorite band, RUSH.  The title of the song is “Show Don’t Tell,” which is the title David used for this post. The premise of the song, written (of course) by Geddy […]

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Psychologists Don’t Get Cheap Deals in Vegas – Lawyers Can

As a follow up to my previous post about psychologists and lawyers seeing the world differently, one particular distinction between people in these 2 professions is their understanding of statistics, including probability, and the impact of this distinction on the conferences they attend. I’m sure the reader is wondering what statistics and conferences could possibly […]

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I recall how frustrated Jack was to finally find out why no “deals” were forthcoming in Las Vegas.  And I recall being surprised that the Vegas “odds makers” went as far as to profile entire professions.  But, I suppose calculating the odds is exactly what they do.  It is interesting to think about gamblers and […]

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