Archive | Litigation Tips

You should have made me do it sooner

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 22, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Trial Consulting

It is very rare that we ever get complaints from clients so it took me aback a few years ago when a client said, “I have one complaint.” The client was a defense attorney handling a very tragic case involving an electrocution and death. Few things are as horrible as electrocutions. He was defending the […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 22, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Marketing your Business, Psychology, Trial Consulting

As much as I believe my professional advice should be accepted, particularly by clients who have hired me to provide them with my advice, I have never, ever, been able to “make” or “force” a client to accept my advice. The consequences of an attorney’s failure to act upon my advice have, unfortunately, been dire, […]

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Crazy Mock Juror Story #5: Disappearing acts – where do they go?

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 20, 2016

Category: Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

In this series of “crazy mock juror stories,” I have been writing, until now, about specific instances involving mock jurors who conducted themselves in less than stellar ways.  I have many more funny stories, as well as others which are anything but funny, about my life among research participants, including mock jurors.  As a social […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 20, 2016

Category: Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

We know that occasionally a mock juror has become ill and left the research. We know that emergencies at home or with friends have caused a few mock jurors to depart early. But, despite making efforts to track them down even after the research, a few mock jurors have, over the past 25-30 years, vanished. […]

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Insights for Success

For many years, Magnus has used “Insights for Success” as a tag line in many of our marketing materials. We have recently reevaluated this concept in the process refining our materials. “Insights for Success” has much meaning, and history, to us. We at Magnus firmly believe that the trial consulting work we do helps clients […]

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As David wrote, “insights for success” has a long history in our company. We have been asked, countless times, for our success rate over the years we have been in business. Although it may appear, on the surface, that measuring our success is an easy task, in reality, defining success has proven to be quite […]

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The Psychology of Litigation

This is a topic I came up with because I’ve been thinking about what is it Melissa and I really do as trial consultants and in our company, Magnus Research. We know what we do, but it is sometimes difficult to come up with ways to explain it. And, especially as we encounter lawyers who […]

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My education and training in social psychology was aimed toward the pursuit of a career in academia. However, experiences in graduate school led me to the realization that I would be more suited for a career in applied social psychology (in the “real world”) than becoming a college professor. My skill set is broad, such […]

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Crazy Mock Juror Story #3: Shopping Spree

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 6, 2016

Category: Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

When scheduling mock jury research, I deliberately search for boring places where we can work without distraction. Sometimes, this is not possible, however, I try hard not to work in hotels or market research facilities with tempting amenities. Tempting amenities provide too many distractions for our mock jurors (and sometimes, to our clients) that have […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 6, 2016

Category: Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

It is frustrating how much time, and shoe leather, is wasted searching by these oblivious souls. We were all sweating this one, it was a big case, with the head of a major law firm as lead lawyer and the head the firm’s litigation department as the “opposing” lawyer for the day. Plus, their clients […]

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What have you got to lose by doing mock jury research?

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 1, 2016

Category: Business Frustrations, Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Advance warning, this post is positively self serving to our means of earning a living – trial consulting. Every once in a while, and more often than I think it should happen, I hear comments from prospective clients who say something like “my client or my co-counsel doesn’t think doing mock jury research is really […]

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It is a well known social psychological phenomenon that most people prefer schema congruent information over information that is incongruent with their schemata. (The reader is probably asking himself/herself, “What does this mean, in laypersons’ terms?”.) Most people have a certain way of viewing the world that, for them, is more important than reality, the […]

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Crazy Mock Juror Story #2: Fore!

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 29, 2016

Category: Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

This is the second post in the series about “Crazy Mock Juror Stories.” Anticipating the reader’s question, “Is she making this up?” the answer is, “These are true stories; really they are!”. I have often thought it is too bad we have to give the mock jurors restroom/smoking breaks. A common occurrence has been for […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 29, 2016

Category: Jury Consultants, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

Fore, as in forewarned! Jurors, mediators, and judges are people, just like the rest of us. People do strange things. I don’t know whether the subject matter, that is, the case being mock tried, was so boring that the juror/golfer found it more interesting to spend his time chipping away than return on time. But, […]

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Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

This expression which is the title of this post is credited to English author Charles Caleb Colton’s writing in 1820. I don’t feel flattered. To explain, Melissa and I formed Magnus Research Consultants, Inc. in 1993. We worked hard to come up with a name that fit many criteria we established for our new, nameless, […]

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I respectfully disagree with Mr. Colton about being flattered by imitation. Think about it. Is imitation leather flattering to real leather? Is eating imitation cheese ever a good idea? What exactly is imitation crab imitating? I could go on. When David and I discovered that one of our competitors had copied our name, we were […]

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Crazy Mock Juror Story #1: If we’re in Miami, that must be cocaine

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 22, 2016

Category: Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

This is the first in a series of posts based on a general theme, “Crazy Mock Juror Stories.” I have been working with human research participants since 1977; in the early days of my studies and career, we psychologists referred to anyone who participated in our research as “subjects.” Now, the socially acceptable term is […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 22, 2016

Category: Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting

I was in the office the day of this particular event, but not directly participating in the mock jury research. However, when the hunt was on for the missing mock jurors, I became aware that something was amiss, especially upon seeing Melissa’s (that is, Dr. Pigott, during business hours) expression. Clearly something was wrong, but […]

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The Psychology of Medical Malpractice

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On November 17, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

In the September 2016 Monitor on Psychology, there was an article entitled “Medical Errors are the Third Leading Cause of Death in the United States.” My reaction was “WOW”; it’s hard to believe medical errors are responsible for more deaths than respiratory ailments, strokes, Alzheimer’s Disease and are only surpassed by heart disease and cancer. […]

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Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On November 17, 2016

Category: Getting the Job Done, Litigation Tips, Psychology, Trial Consulting, Trial Science, Work-Life, Workplace Technology

Psychologists who have analyzed data from numerous adverse medical situations have identified 5 types of errors that cause medical mistakes: (1) errors of commission; (2) errors of omission; (3) errors of communication; (4) errors of context; and (5) diagnostic errors. The underlying problems that lead to medical errors have been studied by psychologists because many […]

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