Archive | Jury Research

I Can’t Wait to Write a Survey

As a follow up to my previous post pertaining to things I love about my job, among my favorite work tasks is writing a survey. (Another of my favorite tasks is analyzing survey results, but I have written about that in a prior post.) Not only is writing a survey intellectually stimulating, the mere fact […]

Continue Reading

I recently posted about finding “the” answer.  Surveys are one of the primary ways we do that.  Surveys, in our world, take on different forms depending on the research methodology.  The number of sections, the number of questions, and the types of questions vary.  Most of our surveys involve paper and pen responses on “bubble […]

Continue Reading

The Answer

I saw a post on a Facebook friend’s page that said “You don’t have to know the answer, you just have to know how to find the answer.” That prompted a number of thoughts. First is the issue of “the answer.” Sometimes there is not a single answer. Sure, to basic mathematical questions there may […]

Continue Reading

Many people, some of Magnus’ clients included, look for the “easy way out” of many situations.  Often, there is an easy way out, for example, when a door is marked with an exit sign, or when a restaurant menu is placed in front of someone, or any one of the countless other situations we encounter […]

Continue Reading

10 Things I Love About My Job

I love my job! I truly do! My dear friend, Bob, has called me a workaholic since we met in 1980. I am a person who really likes to work! Being bored is not for me. I decided to think about the top 10 things I like about my job as a jury/trial consultant, which […]

Continue Reading

All non volunteer or pro bono jobs have extrinsic rewards – a paycheck.  Melissa and I are fortunate that our jobs also have intrinsic rewards.  That is, the personal rewards Melissa mentions of helping people – individuals and those collectively or in groups/companies – who are impacted by the lawsuits in which we are involved.  […]

Continue Reading

Foresight

I was listening to a segment on my local NPR station yesterday having to do with attempts to pass legislation that, among other things, will provide funds for much needed repair work on roads and bridges. The reporter said the United States spends less money on infrastructure than many other developed nations (in relationship to […]

Continue Reading

David’s post raises some good points, many of which have to do with the psychological phenomenon known as defensive attribution.  Defensive attribution occurs when an observer attributes the cause of a misfortune in ways that minimize their own fear of experiencing a similar fate.  Many people attribute other people’s negative experiences to a personal failing, […]

Continue Reading

Rust Never Sleeps

The trigger for this post was my need to prepare some paperwork for a client recently. It had been a few months since I had done this particular paperwork and, I’ll admit, I felt rusty. Rusty in the sense that it wasn’t as smooth a process as I would have preferred. When I realized it […]

Continue Reading

I like David’s reference to a Neil Young song!  “Hey hey, my my.  Rock and roll will never die.”  What great lyrics!  However, to get to the point of David’s post instead of singing along with Neil Young, I will pose a rhetorical question: How does one hone trial skills without practicing?  Sitting around, resting […]

Continue Reading

Calculated Risk

For a number of years, Melissa spoke to law students at Stetson University at the invitation of the late Professor Mickey Smiley. Professor Smiley did his students a favor, which I hope they later appreciated, of inviting successful trial lawyers, and at least 1 trial consultant, (Melissa) to speak to his trial skills class to […]

Continue Reading

Professor McKinley, “Mickey,” Smiley was a beloved law professor at Stetson University.  He passed away in 2016, following a lengthy tenure at Stetson.  Beginning in 1997 and continuing until Professor Smiley’s retirement in 2005, I had the honor of being an Adjunct Professor in the College of Law, where I lectured to students in his […]

Continue Reading

Illuminating Litigation

Many years ago an attorney shared with me why he liked conducting mock trials on his cases. He said that litigation without jury research is like driving in the dark without headlights. I’m not willing to say that trial lawyers are always driving in the dark, but I agree with his premise: mock jury research […]

Continue Reading

I frequently observe people driving in the dark with no headlights.  It is a dangerous thing to do because not only can the driver not see where he/she is going, but other drivers can’t easily see the “ghost vehicle” either.  On the few occasions when David and I went boating after dark, we saw boats […]

Continue Reading

COVID-19 Jury Composition Conjecture

As trial consultants we try to stay current by reading lots of newspapers, journals, and magazines. Recently, I’ve noticed people writing about the composition of juries post COVID-19 (not that COVID-19 is over, “post” in this context merely indicates a world where COVID-19 came into being). Because of the politicization of COVID-19, vaccines, masks, etc., […]

Continue Reading

I guess speculating about the composition of juries gives people something to discuss.  And, at least it’s better, in my opinion, than listening to people drone on about their experiences as jurors.  (The latter discussions, when I am unwittingly involved, remind me of “One time, in band camp…” and are just as uninteresting!) I don’t […]

Continue Reading

What is Old is New Again

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 23, 2021

Category: Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants

A client recently told me about a continuing legal education program he attended and the new information contained in the seminar. He kindly shared the information on the use of visual evidence and my reaction was, despite his enthusiasm for this “new” information, it isn’t new. What struck me is how often, in the more […]

Continue Reading

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 23, 2021

Category: Jury Consultants, Jury Research, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Research, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Research, Trial Consultants

I do not expect attorneys and other non psychologists to be informed about psychological phenomenon.  Just as I, a psychologist, am not up to date about the latest advances in astrophysics, it comes as no surprise that most people are relatively ignorant about psychology.  Our well meaning client shared with David the latest drivel about […]

Continue Reading

You Will Get Fired if: You Steal!

This is the last in the “you will get fired” series (I hope). Even when the employee does something bad, like stealing, going through the conflict of termination is unpleasant, not satisfying. In owning a small business, there are ways employees “steal” from the company. I’ve been remembering about a direct financial theft we suffered […]

Continue Reading

Reading this series of posts about reasons for firing an employee might give the reader the impression that David and I have had terrible luck with our employees.  If so, I want to explain that, to the contrary, we have had many wonderful employees in our almost 30 years of owning and operating Magnus.  I […]

Continue Reading

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes