Archive | Litigation Consultants

Melissa the Drill Sgt.

Among my family members and friends, I am usually the quietest, most introverted, person in the room. I do not enjoy idle chit chat as a way of passing the time, nor do I enjoy telling (not to mention listening to!) long winded stories with off the point digressions. When I have something to say, […]

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The “Melissa as drill sergeant” is one of the most lasting stories in the history of Magnus.  Henry Latimer was such a gentleman, but he was tough.  As a former Marine, and former judge, he was a master of handling difficult cases and clients.  He quickly became a favorite of ours and was a pleasure […]

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Nuclear Verdicts: Part 1

Boom – the verdict is in and it is explosive, shocking everyone involved. These verdicts are referred to “nuclear verdicts,” with the implication that they are both large and unreasonable. I read about this phenomenon regularly. It is a trend that frightens one side of the “v.” – the defense side, and emboldens the other […]

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When David and I founded Magnus in 1993, we used a slogan in our marketing materials, “Reducing Uncertainty.”  We know, based on our experience in conducting mock trials, focus groups, and attitude surveys, that our research results provide our clients with information about which they would have never known without our help.  Knowing this information […]

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We Don’t Have to do Anything

I meet a lot of people in my work as a jury/trial consultant and in my “other life” as a musician. David says I don’t often respond to meeting new people very well, however, I believe many people I meet aren’t the kind of people with whom I would like to become further acquainted. A […]

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From time to time I’ve observed these “have to do” clients and Melissa is right, it is a negative mindset.  We’ve had clients call and say they have to do a mock trial because their client is making them do it.  (With that attitude, I think the clients are on to something about how the […]

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Front of the house and back of the house

David and I are fortunate to have excellent restaurants located near our home in south Florida. To us, an excellent restaurant is not a chain restaurant; rather, it is a local, family owned restaurant whose proprietors take as much pride in their food and libations as we take in owning and operating our business. An […]

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Melissa’s comparison to front of house and back of house is interesting as we often struggle to figure out the division of labor.  But, she’s right in that though I participate in day of research duties and report writing, that’s her bailiwick. She, like the chef, creates the “meat” of what we do as trial […]

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Train the old dog

The last 3 months of pandemic restrictions have caused many of us to learn new tricks. I have thought many times of the adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Either that is wrong, or many of us aren’t really old, or aren’t really dogs. I’ve spoken with many people, not dogs, in […]

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Many people are more comfortable doing things the way they have always done them.  These types of people usually prefer routine over novelty.  For example, they order the same food every time they go to a restaurant; they return to the same place repeatedly when they go on an outing, such as to the beach, […]

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Racial Attitudes in America

Racial Attitudes in America is a scholarly book published in 1972 and written by Dr. John C. “Jack” Brigham. Dr. Brigham is not only one of the most highly regarded social psychologists in the world, he is my major professor. (For non academic readers of this post, a major professor is the primary professor of […]

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Little did I know, when I met Melissa, how immersed in the world of psychology, specifically social psychology, I would become.  It has been quite an education, and a positive one at that!  I took psychology 101, and another psychology course or two in college; more in grad school.  But, my real psychological education has […]

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Learning New Tricks

As I write this, it has been just over a month since the world’s doors slammed shut. Or, at least the doors in the U.S.A, or at least, in Florida. Well, more or less shut – it changes day by day. As we’ve posted and will continue to do a few more times, COVID-19 has […]

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I mentioned to a friend of mine, who is a retired attorney and, prior to retiring, was a long time client of Magnus’, that David and I are in the process of re-inventing ourselves, and Magnus, in this time of social isolation.  He remarked that it seems a shame for me to have spent my […]

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COVID-19 By the Numbers: Part 3 – Questions

The preceding posts on Fear and Hope related to COVID-19 numbers led me to this post. The numbers we are being given should raise questions. Clearly, we are not being given full information and that worsens the tremendous uncertainty of this pandemic. Following are some questions that I have. When did this virus really start? […]

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David has a lot of questions, none of which are easily answered.  I doubt we will ever know the answers to many of the questions on everyone’s minds, for example, the date on which the COVID-19 virus was first discovered.  I have read countless articles about its origin, including that COVID-19 was discovered 15 years […]

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COVID-19 was Only One of Many Distractions

How I wish for a workplace free of distractions! On March 12, 2020, when the U.S.A. was still a relatively “normal” place, Magnus conducted a relatively large series of mock trials for a client. Conducting mock jury research requires many days of report writing for me, which necessitates highly concentrated efforts and high level thought […]

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It often amazes me how much work Melissa and I have to do that has nothing to do with being a trial consultant, things which are not productive, and don’t create any revenue.  On this fateful Monday, I found myself seeking out the property manager to report the plumbing problem, then working with him to […]

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If the cake is bad, what good is the frosting?

David and I become inspired to write our blog posts in a variety of ways, including by sources that many people would not find particularly inspiring. As an example, this post was inspired by a fortune cookie that was included in a recent delivery from a local Chinese restaurant. Many so called fortunes found inside […]

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If the cake is bad, what good is the frosting?  I guess this is similar to the adage about not judging a book by its cover.  The book cover, or the frosting, can cover up what is worn or rotten inside.  Cutting the cake, looking under the hood, or beyond a glossy cover, reveals what […]

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