Archive | Trial Consultants

CYA, Part 2

A recent experience prompts this post. I got a call from an out of state prospective client about a case in “our backyard” of south Florida. Turns out, they were surprised by the judge in the case who told them to get ready, fast, for trial. It caught them off guard a bit, and they […]

Continue Reading

As David and I have mentioned many times in past posts, there are numerous reasons why Magnus is retained for mock jury research, focus groups, attitude surveys, witness preparation, and jury selection.  Some times, attorneys are motivated to hire Magnus because they want to improve their odds of winning their case.  A long time client […]

Continue Reading

Why do I wear a KC shirt?

I have several Kansas City Royals t-shirts and baseball hats. Given that I am not a sports fan, this may come as a surprise to those who don’t know me well. Why would I, a person from Fort Myers, Florida, like a baseball team from Missouri? The answer is quite simple. From its inaugural season […]

Continue Reading

I will say that it took me a while to comprehend Melissa’s love of the Royals, including certain of their players.  I was able to attend a few games with her while they were in Ft. Myers at “her dad’s” stadium.  It was fun, but the depth of the connection was something that took a […]

Continue Reading

All the World’s a Stage

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players… (William Shakespeare, As You Like It). All the world’s indeed a stage and we are merely playersPerformers and portrayers, Each another’s audience outside the gilded cage (Neil Peart, RUSH, Limelight). I know the origin of this thought was the Bard, but it […]

Continue Reading

David ended his part of this post by saying, “Let the show begin,” which reminds me of a song written by Rolf Kempf, sung by Judy Collins, then popularized in 1973 by one of my all time favorite bands, Alice Cooper.  The song is “Hello Hooray” and it begins with the lyrics “Hello.  Hooray.  Let […]

Continue Reading

Now I get it…

I’ve noticed a phenomenon when working with clients who have never utilized a trial consultant. The only thing I can think of as a way to describe this is “Now I get it…” Attorneys/clients do not always hire us because they want to. There are times they are “encouraged to,” told to, or forced to […]

Continue Reading

Some people find it difficult to understand things unless they have directly experienced them.  One might say these people lack imagination or perhaps, foresight, however, when it comes to understanding the services provided by trial consultants, it is often hard for the average attorney to comprehend how we do what we do.  Some of Magnus’ […]

Continue Reading

Is your consultant a criminal?

This is a strange topic: Is your consultant a criminal? In this context, it is related to your trial consultant. When one hires a new employee, most often, a variety of background checks are conducted. A lawyer’s criminal history is policed by Bar associations; similarly, other licensed professions are vetted. But, what about professions not […]

Continue Reading

In the decades Magnus has been in business, we have found out many things about our employees, vendors, and prospective employees that, absent our checking into them, would have remained hidden.  Often, these secrets were nothing serious, for example, the office administrator we hired, even though we knew she had been arrested for D.U.I.  Then, […]

Continue Reading

Output = Effort x Ability

Social psychologists, as well as other types of psychologists, have studied achievement motivation for many decades. In goal directed situations, there are several ways in which someone can achieve the desired outcome: ability, effort, and luck. Success and failure also depend, of course, on the difficulty of the task being undertaken. When considered together, these […]

Continue Reading

I clearly remember that early employee to whom Melissa referred.  How could I ever forget her?  She tried so hard; she really gave it her all.  But, often, that was not enough.  This made it difficult to manage her without deflating her sense of self.  Reacting to “I tried so hard,” by pointing out her […]

Continue Reading

Leadership styles

Many people wonder how leaders emerge. Some people endorse the view that certain people are “born leaders,” while others believe leadership is a skill that is acquired. Organizational psychologists have studied leaders, leadership, and leadership styles for decades to determine what traits separate effective leaders from leaders who lack effectiveness, the situations in which leadership […]

Continue Reading

I often learn new things in reading what Melissa has written.  As someone whose graduate work was in the Organizational Behavior field (the business school version of I/O psychology), leadership is a familiar topic.  But, considering her perspective on how leadership plays out in the jury decision making process is enlightening.  Melissa is the expert […]

Continue Reading

Work Life Balance

The term “Work Life Balance” seems to have existed for a long time. In writing this post, I did a bit of quick research and found the concept was not well defined until the last 20 years. Researchers have identified 3 key balance components: time, involvement and satisfaction. When work or life (family) demands are […]

Continue Reading

Due to the lasting impact of COVID-19 on our nation’s workplaces, the issue of work/life balance has taken on a new urgency.  Although many corporations are requiring their employees to return to the office full time, and some workplaces, such as hospitals, never allowed remote working, other employers are struggling for ways to keep their […]

Continue Reading

Price based decisions

Melissa and I recently made a big purchase. A roof. It was not something I’ve shopped for willingly. The failure of the old roof after storms made it a necessity. It is a big purchase, bigger than anything we’ve ever bought, other than a house. Shopping for a roofing company was a reminder of how […]

Continue Reading

When it became necessary to shop for a roofing contractor, I went about it in the same way I search for just about anything.  I researched local roofing companies, asked people for referrals, and checked ratings from various sources.  I eventually obtained 4 bids and 1 refusal to bid (due to the complexity and danger […]

Continue Reading

Do You Still Need to Practice?

Recently, I remarked to my bass guitar teacher, Phill Fest, that many of my friends question my need to take bass lessons, due to the fact I have been playing the bass guitar for over 20 years. (This was the subject of a previous post, in which I mentioned that, although I have been playing […]

Continue Reading

I took piano lessons as a child, but fishing seemed much more fun than piano, so I didn’t play piano long!  But, call it what you want, practice, playing, fishing, getting better, and staying strong at anything takes time and effort.  I’ve written about Dr. Fran Kinne before. She started playing piano at age 3 […]

Continue Reading

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes