Author Archive | David Fauss

Commercial Litigation: Benefits of a Trial Consultant, Part 3

In the 3rd post in the commercial litigation series, I want to bring some points together. We’ve discussed that executives are accustomed to being in charge, to being the “boss,” and that as litigants, it is often frustrating for them not to be. Also discussed is the fact their perspective may not align with decision […]

Continue Reading

When executives make important business decisions, they must have all available data in order to make the correct decision.  When making the correct decision has an impact on the company’s bottom line, it is imperative to assess every nuance that could impact the company’s future.  In the world of litigation, the bottom line of a […]

Continue Reading

Commercial Litigation: Benefits of a Trial Consultant, Part 2

This is part 2 of the benefits of a jury or trial consultant in commercial litigation. As noted in the prior post, in commercial litigation, high powered people are often involved. We have been involved in many cases in which these parties were “out for blood.” Even though the cases were “only about money,” the […]

Continue Reading

Magnus has worked on numerous commercial cases in which things between or among the parties became personal.  Some people wrongly believe that, because commercial cases are mostly about money (as opposed to compensating someone for an injury), they are boring and impersonal.  This belief is a misconception because, although commercial cases involve a plaintiff suing […]

Continue Reading

Commercial Litigation: Benefits of a Trial Consultant, Part 1

I had a conversation with a friend/client recently. He previously hired us in a personal injury case, but now works in a firm that does mostly commercial litigation. The question arose about what we, at Magnus, do in commercial cases. I explained that a high percentage of our cases are commercial cases. Sometimes, clients or […]

Continue Reading

I have worked with many witnesses during my career.  As with many things in life, my first experience is memorable.  The case was a high profile case in my hometown and the key witness was the owner of a well known and well respected corporation.  Both the corporation and its owner were defendants in the […]

Continue Reading

If You Have to Ask the Price…

The old adage, “if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it” came to mind when speaking with a client recently. He asked for a menu of services with prices. This is something that we, at Magnus, have never published because our fees/prices vary depending on the specific details of a case. During […]

Continue Reading

I know David would be disappointed if I didn’t mention my favorite slogan about prices.  My dad was born in Medart, Florida, which is located in Wakulla County.  (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Wakulla County, it is located in the Florida Panhandle, near Tallahassee, although culturally speaking, it is worlds away!)  I […]

Continue Reading

Go Dolphins!

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 14, 2022

Category: Careers, Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants

No, not the Miami Dolphins; this is about the Jacksonville University Dolphins. JU is my alma mater. I earned my B.S. there more years ago than I care to consider. With a beautiful campus on the St. Johns River and small class sizes, it was perfect for me. Add in the benefits I had in […]

Continue Reading

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 14, 2022

Category: Careers, Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants

I will echo David’s cheer. Go Dolphins!  Jacksonville University’s decision to open a College of Law is momentous, not only for the university, but for Jacksonville and the state of Florida.  JU has always been described as a small university with big plans and having a law school is definitely a big plan!  David and […]

Continue Reading

False Positives

False positives are research or test results that are inaccurate and make one think the result is positive, when in fact, it is negative. With a medical test, for example, it could mean a blood test result indicates a problem when there isn’t one. There are, of course, false negatives, but I think in the […]

Continue Reading

In my world of science and statistics, a false positive result is called a Type I error, leading to a rejection of the null hypothesis.  For example, if the null hypothesis is that, absent changing one’s theory of a case, the case will be won, then improper research is conducted, leading the case to be […]

Continue Reading

Take Names

I’m not sure when or why I learned to “take names,” but doing so has served me well. By “taking names,” I mean making a note of the name of the person on the other end of the phone line, or maybe in person, for example, a store manager. Whether it is in the context […]

Continue Reading

Learning people’s names is an important skill that often takes time and effort to develop.  When selecting a jury, for example, attorneys are required to address each prospective juror by name so that the court reporter can ensure the permanent record of the trial is accurate.  The attorneys are required to address each potential juror […]

Continue Reading

By the Numbers

Periodically, I evaluate Magnus’ “numbers” on case types, history, venues, and clients. By this, I mean I classify the cases on which we’ve worked since the last time I “ran the numbers.” I, long ago, created spreadsheets for this purpose and I simply tally the new cases by client, category, venue, etc. It is relatively […]

Continue Reading

The number crunching that is part of David’s job is vastly different from the number crunching that is part of my job.  David’s analyses of our business sources and their associated revenue provide a good foundation for our marketing efforts as we forge ahead into another year.  It is interesting to see how our business […]

Continue Reading

No Headphones in Office

I’m catching up on some topics I came up with years ago. I came across this one regarding the use of headphones during work hours. We haven’t had much of a problem with this, but when we did, it was one of those things that caught me off guard. The fact that someone would be […]

Continue Reading

No headphones in the office!  No ear buds in the office!  No music in the office!  No, no, and no.  I love music, as almost everyone who knows me is aware.  I love music played loudly.  Turn it up!  But, when I am working, I require absolute, or near absolute, silence.  I need to concentrate.  […]

Continue Reading

I Can’t Drive to the Interview; Can You Skype?

Many years ago, I came up with the title to this post, “I Can’t Drive to the Interview; Can You Skype?” Skype was new and I was not familiar with it when a job applicant asked this question. Back then, the idea of not meeting an applicant in person was foreign. I realize how things […]

Continue Reading

In the almost 30 years David and I have co-owned Magnus, we have had some “doozies” concerning employees, potential employees, and former employees.  I could almost write a book about these people!  On this last round of interviewing, which was as painful as ever for me, it was humorous to observe the number of job […]

Continue Reading

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes