Archive | Litigation Tips

Trial Consultants We Have Known

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 1, 2017

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

In any industry, business, or practice, one gets to know one’s colleagues/competitors. And, we have, in the past 30 years, seen the gamut of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Melissa started her career with Litigation Sciences, Inc. and many of the consultants who were affiliated with LSI remain among the top consultants in […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 1, 2017

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting

In every occupation, there exists a range of people, from the truly excellent to the amazingly inferior. The world of trial consulting is no exception to this general rule. I have a Ph.D. in social psychology and, given that a Ph.D. is the highest academic degree that exists (including M.D., D.D.S., D.O., J. D., E.D. […]

Pioneering Eyewitness Identification Research Confirmed

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 25, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology

In the early to mid 1980s, my business partner/wife was on a team conducting research in the realm of eyewitness identification. The research was funded by the National Institute of Justice and the National Science Foundation and she, and the others on the team, evaluated different aspects of eyewitness identification. One aspect of that research, […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 25, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology

As of this writing in 2017, it has been 45 years since the landmark Supreme Court decision, Neil v. Biggers (409 U.S. 188, 34 L. Ed. 401, 1972), in which social psychological research was utilized to specify five conditions to be considered in the evaluation of eyewitness identification evidence: (1) the opportunity of the witness […]

Alternative Venue Research

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 18, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants

In a prior post which I initiated, I wrote about how not to do jury research. That post was prompted by a call from a prospective client who wanted to hire us, but wanted to specify every aspect of the research, but all of those approaches were wrong in our estimation. Specifically, he wanted the […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 18, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants

There are valid reasons for conducting mock jury research in a venue other than the trial venue. As David pointed out, when the trial venue is in a sparsely populated area, it is sometimes risky to conduct jury research in the venue because: (1) there is a risk of “contaminating” the jury pool, meaning there […]

Reducing Uncertainty

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 11, 2017

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success

This post builds on the evolution of our experiences as trial consultants and goes further back in that history than a related post on a similar topic. When Melissa and I first developed the marketing materials for our new trial consulting practice (in 1993), we started from scratch on everything. In time, we developed […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 11, 2017

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Small Business Success

As I have mentioned in previous posts, attorneys and psychologists have vastly different personalities and philosophies of life. As a social psychologist, I am, first and foremost, a scientist. Generally speaking, I require facts, figures, data, statistical analyses, and other science based information to make an informed decision about something important. Absent this type of […]

Defining Success

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 4, 2017

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

As trial consultants, we work in a field where defining “success” is somewhat elusive. We have talked around this in other posts, but will explain it further in this one. In the civil arena in which we work most often, the outcome variables are a verdict comprised of liability and damages. While lawyer advertising often […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 4, 2017

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

The primary difficulty in defining success, when it comes to evaluating a jury verdict, is that there is no objective way to measure it. In psychology and other scientific endeavors, there is a control group, which receives no experimental manipulation, and is thus, considered a baseline by which to measure the results of the experimental […]

Power of Words: Plantation ≠ big farm

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 2, 2017

Category: Employment, Getting the Job Done, Getting Through Life and Work, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Research, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Travel, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

This post is third in a series of posts about David’s and my experiences in the Mississippi Delta. We had fun times, but as usual, we learned some unexpected things from people we met during our trip. One of Magnus’ long time and favorite clients is named Orman Kimbrough. Orman is a native of Greenwood, […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 2, 2017

Sometimes it is the “little” surprises that happen while traveling that are the most memorable. I, too, found the plantation/big farm revelation mind opening. It is also a reminder about the evolution of language. The “de-sexisming” of language seems to have mostly evolved. Gone are mailman, stewardess, chairman of the board, replaced with the gender […]

Debugging the Case

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 27, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Trial Consulting

When I am wearing my marketing hat (one of many hats I wear, as discussed in other posts), I often find myself looking for ways to explain what a trial consultant does for a trial lawyer. As hard as it is for me to repeatedly explain, after 25+ years in this field, I frequently find […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 27, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Trial Consulting

As of this writing, I have consulted on thousands of high stakes civil cases. So far, there has never been a client who retained my services (or those of my employers, prior to the time David and I founded Magnus) because he/she believed he/she had a perfect case. Quite the contrary: 100% of the cases […]

Won some should have lost; lost some should have won

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 20, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Science

In writing about the window of opportunity for trial consulting, I reflected on who are our “best” clients, and why. Our best clients are the attorneys who “get it” – who understand what we do, what goes into it, and what they will get out of it. But, how do they know these things? They […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 20, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Science

Despite what many people believe about themselves, it is impossible to know everything there is to know. A “know it all” never knows it all! Not to mention the fact that “know it alls” are rarely the most popular people! I have been working as a trial consultant for a very long time; so long, […]

Window of Opportunity for Trial Consulting Work

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 13, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Science

Recently I’ve received calls from attorneys who wanted mock jury research on their cases, but the calls have come so late that I have been reflecting on when the window of opportunity is open for mock jury research. I have mentioned this issue in other posts, but because I’m noticing this recent spate of last […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 13, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Science

Attorneys and social psychologists share few personality traits. Different types of people are, of course, drawn to different occupations. Social psychology is a research based doctoral degree; as such, it attracts people who are detail oriented; mathematically inclined; proactive; possessive of highly advanced logical reasoning skills; capable of designing, executing, and analyzing complex research programs; […]

How NOT to do mock jury research!

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 6, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Research, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

I recently had a telephone call from a prospective client who wanted help with a case going to trial within 2 weeks of his call. It was a big case and he asked that we conduct mock trial research on a specific Saturday (which was 10 days after the call), in our home venue (despite […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 6, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Research, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

No one hates to turn down work, and more important, revenue generated from work, more than David and I do. However, we have turned down quite a bit of work over the years, for a myriad of reasons. In the recent unfortunate instance David mentions, any of the incorrect and unreasonable requests the prospective client […]

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Archive | Litigation Tips

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

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Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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