Archive | Jury Research

Constant Reinvention

Much of what we do as trial consultants remains constant over time. Social science research is well established in terms of methodologies such that the changes are in the margins. Technological changes are not a major factor in our world, yet, we constantly look at processes and technologies to improve our work. Among those have […]

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David and I are rarely on the cutting edge when it comes to adopting new technology and new ways of doing things, however, we are usually light years ahead of most people we know.  Recently, we have had the pleasure of hosting 2 of my friends/colleagues in our home for an extended period.  Both of […]

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A Matter of Perspective

A recent discussion with a client about his client’s (an insurance adjuster) reluctance to engage us for mock jury research is stuck in my mind. The adjuster, whose multiple bosses overruled in authorizing the expenditure on the mock jury research, remained adamantly against it as he did not believe the defendant had an liability such […]

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I’m thrilled I don’t have to deal with reluctant, know it all, insurance adjusters too often.  I would find it tiresome.  In the recent case David mentioned, there were countless delays caused by the reluctant, know it all, adjuster that almost resulted in our not being able to help the end client, that is, the […]

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10 Years After, Part 2

Working as a trial consultant has many unique factors that keep our lives interesting, and sometimes, frustrating. One factor is the time between when we are called on a case and when we actually do our work, such as a mock trial, and when that case goes to trial. I sometimes have attorneys ask me […]

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David does an excellent job of following up with Magnus’ clients.  Some people would be offended by the “radio silence” that usually happens between when a client contacts us about a potential case and when he or she decides to retain us.  Not David.  David calls, then calls again and again, emails, then emails again […]

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Top Reasons to Do Litigation Research

It seems that “top 5 or top 10″ lists are popular in many areas. They are often entertaining; the show “Family Feud” is built on them. Late night talk shows thrive on them, going back at least to Johnny Carson. Thus, I thought I’d list a few of the top reasons for conducting mock jury, […]

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The top 5 reasons David mentioned about  conducting  mock jury or focus group research are on point.  I have no additional reasons to add, therefore, I will make a general comment.  In the 30 years David and I have owned Magnus, including the almost 10 years we have been writing our twice weekly blog, we […]

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Arbitration Research

Most attorneys retain Magnus Research Consultants for pre mediation or pre trial jury research, but arbitration is increasingly used to resolve cases. After all these years, it is interesting to note attorneys’ surprise when they find out that we conduct pre arbitration research. They ask us, “How can we do that? Where can we find […]

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This is one of those areas where our attorney clients must “think out of the box.”  (I actually detest that phrase, but it seems so common that it is well understood to mean be creative.)  Unfortunately, I know all too well how what we are, what we do, is put in a “box” of sorts, […]

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Biggest Marketing Changes in 30 Years

Recently, Melissa and I have been talking with a long time client about an issue we have, and he has, identified as being a challenge for us, and him, as a trial lawyer/mentor. That is, the “new generation” of litigators/trial lawyers lack experience with trial consultants. In a recent, eye-opening, conversation that included his young […]

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The current generation of associate attorneys and their lack of awareness of the existence of trial consultants reminds me of the years I worked as an adjunct professor.  (As a side note, for many years after I earned my Ph. D., I had 2 jobs, a full time job in the corporate world and a […]

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Litigation Management Success Tips

I am a bit behind in my reading and I just finished a September 2020 CLM Magazine article by James McKeown entitled Rules of the Road: Five Tips for Successful Claims and Litigation Management. Mr. McKeown wrote this article aimed at claims professionals and the attorneys involved in the defense of claims. His 5 tips […]

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Magnus’ original slogan was “Reducing the uncertainty of litigation.”  There are numerous uncertainties in the world of litigation, however, an astute law professor, the late McKinley Smiley, advised us to change our slogan because many attorneys are not uncertain about anything.  They may be wrong, but they are certain.  This also applies to insurance adjusters, […]

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Why I’m a social psychologist

In my almost 4 decades of being a social psychologist, few people have asked me why I decided on a career in social psychology. Maybe it’s not too interesting to find out why people choose a career, maybe there’s something else to discuss, or maybe the topic never occurred to the people with whom I […]

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Melissa told me the story of why she chose social psychology not long after we met.  The number of social psychologists are but a fraction of the total number of psychologists and are not what one usually thinks of when thinking of psychologists.  Clinical psychologists, like TV’s Dr. Bob Hartley (Bob Newhart) are much more […]

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Show, Don’t Tell

Melissa and I wrote employee policy manuals and other training materials before we had employees. I am thinking about those today because I added a small update to the policy manual yesterday, thinking that it had been a long time since I had added anything. But, while the policy manual is pretty well set, the […]

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David never ceases to amaze me.  I cannot believe he missed a perfectly good opportunity to relate his post to a song by his favorite band, RUSH.  The title of the song is “Show Don’t Tell,” which is the title David used for this post. The premise of the song, written (of course) by Geddy […]

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Fighters or Settlers

We’ve written previously about how some lawyers seem to be more willing to go the distance, that is, take a case to trial, than others. In some discussions, this becomes a comparison of trial lawyers, who are ready for trial, and litigators, who work up cases, but seem to avoid starting a trial at all […]

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David has chosen to write about one of my favorite topics, which prompts me to mention one of my favorite clients.  I agree with the premise that some attorneys are fighters, who are willing to go to trial and “battle” for their clients’ rights, while others are fearful of going to the courthouse, instead, settling […]

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