Author Archive | David Fauss

Judges are People Too

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 22, 2017

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science

We recently wrote that lawyers are people too. It has been interesting for me to watch client reactions when Melissa occasionally finds herself needing to remind the attorney/clients that judges are people also. Once an attorney becomes a judge, and puts on the black (usually) robe, a new relationship develops between their former colleagues and […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 22, 2017

Category: Careers, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science

I cannot count the number of times I have said to an attorney, “Judges are people too,” only to have the attorney look at me first, with astonishment, then, upon reflecting on my comment, nod their agreement. I have presented many continuing legal education (C. L. E.) programs in which judges were among the audience. […]

Keep in Touch: Not out of Sight out of Mind

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 15, 2017

Category: Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Travel, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

In a recent post, I mentioned my year of graduate studies overseas. On a Rotary Foundation Scholarship, I attended the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. The year was 1985 and communications were not then what they are today. This was before fax machines were common, […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 15, 2017

Category: Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Travel, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

As long term readers of David’s and my posts know, we are the type of people who have lots of friends. Having lots of friends, old and new, requires effort. As my late Mother used to say, “To make a friend, you have to be a friend.” Being a friend includes standing by one’s friends […]

Why Buy from Mom & Pop?

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 8, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Small businesses, especially those run by family members or spouses, are often called “Mom & Pop.” I have written about this previously and have planned other posts on this subject. Sometimes, there seems to be almost a negative connotation to being Mom & Pop and the implication is that Mom & Pop can’t be on […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 8, 2017

Category: Getting the Job Done, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consulting, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

As the co-owner of a small business in which the other owner is my husband, I am “Mom” to his “Pop.” In my opinion, and based on my experience, there are many advantages for clients and customers of small businesses that can never be achieved when doing business with a huge conglomerate. Having worked for […]

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 […]

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, […]

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Author Archive | David Fauss

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.

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.

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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