Archive | Jury Consultants

The Major League

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 25, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Careers, Common Courtesy, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

My family is a baseball family. My dad, the late Park T. Pigott, Sr. played baseball, coached baseball, and generally speaking, lived much of his life for baseball. I am not usually fond of sports analogies, however, recent experiences with clients of Magnus Research Consultants have reminded me of baseball. Almost all of Magnus’ clients […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 25, 2021

This minor leaguer experience was one of the strangest situations we have had in years. We had been, to keep up with the baseball analogy, “scouted” by the end client (that is the entity/person paying our bill). Our ability to work with the lawyer was limited until that scouting was completed. Admittedly, this process was […]

Politics of Litigation

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 20, 2021

Category: Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

Magnus is hired for many reasons. To evaluate the liability issues in the case. To assess the damages potential. To determine at whom to point fingers. To get a plaintiff to understand the realities of their case. To get a defendant to understand the realities of their case. Is it a case to try? Is […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 20, 2021

Category: Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

The behind the scenes intrigue in many of our clients’ cases is often more important to our clients than the outcome of their jury research. One of my all time favorite clients, now deceased, was a wonderful attorney who worked for a government agency. Until he hired Magnus to work on several of his cases, […]

Retainers

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 13, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Relationships, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

Call it a deposit; call it a retainer. Magnus doesn’t start work without one (except in rare circumstances beyond the scope of this post). We need money, we want money; importantly, other people want money. We learned, the hard way, that clients need to “show us the money.” One of our first cases blew up […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 13, 2021

No one works for free. By definition, work is performed in exchange for compensation. (The obvious exceptions, such as slavery, human trafficking, etc., are beyond the scope of this post.) The fact that one of the largest law firms in the U.S.A., as well as its client, one of the largest corporations in the world, […]

Social desirability

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 27, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Careers, Employment, Jury Behavior, Jury Consultants, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Psychology, Small Business Success

Social desirability has important implications in jury selection. Social desirability refers to the phenomenon of saying or doing something because “everybody else” does. For example, when an attorney or a judge asks a prospective juror whether he/she can put aside all biases, predisposed beliefs, and personal feelings and instead, be an impartial judge of the […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 27, 2021

Answering a question in a socially desirable way implies there is a “right” or expected answer, to some degree. In the basic courtroom questioning of prospective jurors as to whether they “can be fair,” it is pretty obvious that one is not expected to say “no”. Being fair is a fundamental trait that most people […]

Why ignorance and intolerance go hand in hand

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 6, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology

Considerable social psychological research has demonstrated a link among ignorance, intolerance, and prejudice. Recent events have brought to light many examples of so called “average people” displaying overt signs of racism and prejudice. It seems that, at least in our country, the positive strides we have made in achieving racial equality have suffered a setback; […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 6, 2021

Category: Getting Through Life and Work, Giving Back, Jury Consultants, Life Outside of Work, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Mental Health, Psychology

Melissa asks “Why would anyone presume I, of all people, would ever agree with any statement that conveys prejudice and/or hatred of someone merely because of sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, etc.?” Well, because they are ignorant, they think their level of (in)tolerance for others is “normal” and that others must think the same way. […]

I’m a Professional Judge of Character – Trust my 1st Impression

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 30, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Partnerships, Business personalities, Business Relationships, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Managing Employees, Marketing your Business, Mental Health, Psychology, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

There have been several notable examples of my, and others’, questioning my first impressions of someone. On all of these occasions, my first impression was correct and unfortunately, questioning it caused negative turns of events. In that, as a psychologist, I am what most people would consider “a professional judge of character,” I have tried […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 30, 2021

One aspect of owning a business never gets easier – hiring. I feel like it is always a gamble. And, I’m apparently not a good gambler because I’ve taken chances on hiring people who turned out to be ill equipped to do our work, or worse, a really bad fit, a bad choice, maybe a […]

Always Take First Watch

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 9, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Business personalities, Business Travel, Careers, Common Courtesy, Employment, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, RoadWarrior, Travel, Trial Consultants

Always take the first watch. I received this sage advice many years ago, from a friend who spent most of his life in the United States Navy. The rationale is that one will be less tired during the first watch than in later shifts. First watch, of course, is usually the daytime hours, such as […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 9, 2021

Always take first watch, unless Melissa beats you to it! After that, I’m not sure which is better, 2nd or 3rd watch. It might depend on whether it is night or day, and whether sleep is possible. Though I wasn’t onboard for the hurricane avoidance drive, I remember it well. I had the outsider’s view, […]

Sorting out responses and non responses

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 4, 2021

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

A few months ago, Melissa and I were talking with one of our favorite clients, Buddy Schulz, when he commented that Melissa’s job during jury selection involved sorting out responses, and non responses, of potential jurors. He was noting that it is one thing to evaluate what someone says during jury selection (or perhaps with […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 4, 2021

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

Jury selection involves, at least for me, interpreting and de-coding the things people say and do and the things they don’t say or do. In fact, I spend just as much time observing the nuances of people’s behavior as I do in listening to the words they say. When a potential juror is being questioned […]

Better Than “Different Direction”

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 2, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

As a follow up to David’s last post regarding the soul killing phrase “We have decided to move in a different direction,” I will provide alternative phrases that are more appropriate forms of rejection. Keeping in mind that David, and other consultants, spend considerable time and money speaking with prospective clients, preparing proposals outlining the […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 2, 2021

I like that-“vapid euphemisms.” In my most recent vapid encounter, vapid also seemed to apply to the paralegal who called me. Whether it was her fault or not, she not only had insufficient information to give me as to what the attorney purportedly wanted (which was an inappropriate research design, given what she did know), […]

Different Direction

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On February 25, 2021

Category: Business Frustrations, Careers, Common Courtesy, Entrepreneurship, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Small Business Success, Trial Consultants

Last week I got a call from a paralegal who asked me to provide a proposal for a mock trial for a commercial case. She told me that, although she’d been a paralegal for 25 years, she had never shopped for a trial consultant. I walked her through the process, provided her with information on […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On February 25, 2021

If you think about it, and I certainly have, “We are moving in a different direction” or “We are moving in another direction” is meaningless drivel. This statement has somehow become common when it comes to rejecting job applicants, consultants’ proposals, and people, in general. In preparing for my part of David’s post, I have […]

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Archive | Jury Consultants

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

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

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

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

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

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