About this blog

After more than 25 years operating a trial consulting practice together as co-founding partners of Magnus Research Consultants, Inc. and Magnus Graphics, Inc., and more than 30 years of marriage, Dr. Melissa Pigott and David Fauss decided to share some of their thoughts, experiences, pet peeves, and perspectives on operating a small “mom & pop” business. The intended audience for their writings is other business owners, as well as employees of small businesses. Trial consulting is a professional service business, as was David’s photography business. There are many unique issues faced by professional service providers; Melissa and David share some of their insights on running a successful business.

Nuclear Verdicts: Part 2

Face it, some trials are bad, there is liability, there are real damages. Evaluating those honestly and without bias is what we, as trial consultants, help our clients accomplish. And, that said, the other issue in mock jury research when we work for the defense is that the plaintiff’s argument, when presented during the mock […]

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Over the years, I have heard some interesting remarks from defense attorneys and insurance adjusters following their observations of mock juries deliberating on their case.  One client, who is a defense attorney but who was, for reasons unknown to me, hired to represent numerous plaintiffs in a billion dollar class action case, told me that […]

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Melissa the Drill Sgt.

Among my family members and friends, I am usually the quietest, most introverted, person in the room. I do not enjoy idle chit chat as a way of passing the time, nor do I enjoy telling (not to mention listening to!) long winded stories with off the point digressions. When I have something to say, […]

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The “Melissa as drill sergeant” is one of the most lasting stories in the history of Magnus.  Henry Latimer was such a gentleman, but he was tough.  As a former Marine, and former judge, he was a master of handling difficult cases and clients.  He quickly became a favorite of ours and was a pleasure […]

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Nuclear Verdicts: Part 1

Boom – the verdict is in and it is explosive, shocking everyone involved. These verdicts are referred to “nuclear verdicts,” with the implication that they are both large and unreasonable. I read about this phenomenon regularly. It is a trend that frightens one side of the “v.” – the defense side, and emboldens the other […]

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When David and I founded Magnus in 1993, we used a slogan in our marketing materials, “Reducing Uncertainty.”  We know, based on our experience in conducting mock trials, focus groups, and attitude surveys, that our research results provide our clients with information about which they would have never known without our help.  Knowing this information […]

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We Don’t Have to do Anything

I meet a lot of people in my work as a jury/trial consultant and in my “other life” as a musician. David says I don’t often respond to meeting new people very well, however, I believe many people I meet aren’t the kind of people with whom I would like to become further acquainted. A […]

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From time to time I’ve observed these “have to do” clients and Melissa is right, it is a negative mindset.  We’ve had clients call and say they have to do a mock trial because their client is making them do it.  (With that attitude, I think the clients are on to something about how the […]

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Morning Walks

In an effort to get a bit of exercise, Melissa and I take frequent walks through our neighborhood.  It is a great neighborhood for walking and we have several routine routes.  I’ll share a secret, because of these walks, our arrival at the office is later than our official start time of 9:00 a.m.  I’m […]

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As David and I have written on numerous occasions, owning a small business requires working more than 40 hours a week.  In fact, David and I are rarely completely off work.  On the other hand, we have almost complete control over our schedules and the flexibility to work from home, from a hotel room, or […]

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Front of the house and back of the house

David and I are fortunate to have excellent restaurants located near our home in south Florida. To us, an excellent restaurant is not a chain restaurant; rather, it is a local, family owned restaurant whose proprietors take as much pride in their food and libations as we take in owning and operating our business. An […]

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Melissa’s comparison to front of house and back of house is interesting as we often struggle to figure out the division of labor.  But, she’s right in that though I participate in day of research duties and report writing, that’s her bailiwick. She, like the chef, creates the “meat” of what we do as trial […]

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Rodney & June

I’m surprised at myself for not writing about Rodney and June Higgs before now. My story with the Higgs shows that a chance meeting can create lifelong connections. In February, 1985, I left the USA for what would turn out to be a 13 month, 8 country, adventure. I was awarded a Rotary Foundation Scholarship […]

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David’s meeting Rodney and June Higgs was due to a wonderful set of circumstances, some of which were due to David’s intelligence and personality and others of which were due to serendipitous events.  David’s intelligence led him to graduate from college with honors, which then led him to earn a scholarship to attend one of […]

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Reactions to lipstick

As a social psychologist, I am almost always observing human behavior. Call it an occupational hazard or whatever else you want, but I enjoy watching people and their reactions to everyday experiences. One of the most fun things I enjoy observing is the way men react to women’s lipstick. I, like many women, enjoy wearing […]

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I have never analyzed this aspect of human behavior.  I’ve just found the lipstick to be sticky so I didn’t really like how it felt.  Beyond that, I always figured coming home with lipstick was a dangerous and risky activity.  This blog appears to give me permission to be more like Buddy.  He taught me, […]

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Speak Up

Melissa and I recently had an experience that reinforced the value of speaking up. You might benefit from our experience. We’re members of a wine club which includes monthly wine tasting opportunities. Due to the COVID-19 shutdown, the tastings were suspended, but we’re still paying for them, thus, the club came up with a scheme […]

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David almost always speaks up.  He has been speaking up about things for a long time.  He told me about speaking up, in the form of challenging one of his teachers about unfair test grading, when he was a child.  David often speaks up, not only on his behalf, but on the behalf of other […]

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We Just Laughed and Got Wet

Recently, David and I had the pleasure of spending a weekend with our dear friends, Roger and Janine. Since selling our boat, David and I have had to rely on the generosity of our friends, such as Roger and Janine, to take us for boat rides. Our boat ride and weekend visit was delayed for […]

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After 8+ weeks of being “locked down,” it was great to get out of town, as we frequently do, and even better, to visit Janine and Roger with the goal of spending time on the water.  Despite our planned day of “on the water” turning into a day “in the rain water,” we had a […]

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