Archive | Trial Consultants

People with Mental Health Issues Don’t Act “Normally”

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On June 12, 2018

Category: Common Courtesy, Getting Through Life and Work, Growing Old is Not for Sissies, Jury Research, Life Outside of Work, Litigation Research, Magnus, Magnus Research, Mental Health, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Work-Life

Mental health, and the absence of mental health, are largely misunderstood by the general public. In that mental health concerns, including the rapidly increasing rate of age related dementia, are common within our society, it is time for people to come to terms with the variety of signs and symptoms of cognitive crises. There are […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On June 12, 2018

As a psychologist, Melissa is acutely aware of mental health issues. However, in the last 10 or so years, the personal nature of her, and my, observations of mental health issues has grown, sadly, exponentially. This has included dementia related health issues of family and friends, as well as other mental health problems of family […]

“You’re Making Me Look Bad” (Because I Didn’t Read the Contract)

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 24, 2018

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

More often than one may think, I’ve been told by attorneys, who are the majority of our clients, that they never read our contract. This usually emerges when some detail “surprises” them. Yes, they received and later signed the contract to authorize our work. Yet, they often indicate that they did not see or understand […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 24, 2018

It has been my experience, more often than not, when someone says “You’re making me look bad,” it is actually the case that the person saying this is making himself/herself look bad. Think about it. How many times has someone else made you look bad? Looking bad is something most people can do on their […]

Not Telling Client About Proposal

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 17, 2018

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Relationships, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

Some of these posts are prompted by the puzzling events which occur when operating a business, especially one with high stakes, with litigious people, and the stressors of succeeding when facing tremendous pressure and challenges. I recently met with an attorney who asked me to meet with him about a case and ultimately requested a […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 17, 2018

Category: Business Frustrations, Business Relationships, Getting the Job Done, Jury Consultants, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Marketing your Business, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

Just when David and I think we have “been there,” “done that,” or “heard everything,” a new client dilemma surfaces. Never, in all the years (almost 3 decades, in fact!) I have worked as a trial/jury consultant have I known about an attorney who was a prospective client, after requesting both a meeting and detailed […]

Help the Jury Succeed

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On May 3, 2018

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

I subscribe to an email publication called the Jur-E Bulletin; it is published by the National Center for State Courts. It is a very informative publication and I recommend subscribing to it as you never know what tidbits will be there to be learned. Like a few other posts in our blog, this one was […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On May 3, 2018

I have been working in the realm of psychology and law for decades and it has always seemed odd to me that many attorneys view jurors as their adversaries. I have heard countless remarks made by attorneys that denigrate the intelligence, motivation, and decisions made by juries. In addition, I have selected juries on hundreds […]

Made for TV Mock Trials

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 26, 2018

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

A friend/client sent me an article recently about a mock trial conducted in a high profile murder case in Texas which was featured on the television show 48 Hours. The article, by one of Magnus’ competitors, thoroughly discussed many of the reasons why the mock trial and real trial results were different. As it turned […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 26, 2018

There are so many things wrong with the way in which these Texas attorneys performed their mock trial that it would take more than this post to comment on them. It is a travesty of justice for clients of attorneys who think they know more than anyone else about almost everything, including jury behavior. I […]

Followers

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On April 3, 2018

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

I have heard some parents extol their children’s leadership abilities while, simultaneously, praising their children for not being a follower, “like everyone else.” This dual conception of leadership, while it may appear on the surface to be accurate, is not supported by decades of social psychological research. Most widely accepted social psychological definitions of leadership […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On April 3, 2018

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants, Trial Consulting

“Lead, follow, or get out of my way.” This quote from General George S. Patton, Jr. is quoted with some variation in many discussions about leaders and followers. It came to my mind reading Melissa’s post. Her post made me realize that considering what leads to following is perhaps more interesting in some ways than […]

Leaders

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 27, 2018

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants

Leaders and leadership have been studied by social psychologists for decades. The most widely accepted definition of leader is a person who influences group activities. A leader is someone who uses social power to move others in a desired direction by getting other people to follow his/her suggestions or orders. Most people, at one time […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 27, 2018

Category: Jury Behavior, Jury Deliberations, Litigation Consultants, Litigation Tips, Magnus, Magnus Insights, Magnus Research, Psychology, Trial Consultants

Organizational leadership is also a well studied field, but given our day to day work, I want to comment on the foreperson as leader fallacy that Melissa mentioned. As Melissa pointed out, forepersons are often nominated based on some form of experience. I was nominated as foreperson when I served on a jury because, after […]

Impression Management, part 2: Snap Judgments

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 22, 2018

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

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (January 31, 2018, page A9), “The Mistakes You Make in a Meeting’s First Milliseconds,” by Sue Shellenbarger, prompted me to think about first impressions in the courtroom. And, particularly, the jurors’ first impressions of the attorneys. While the attorneys’ first impressions of jurors and witnesses, both fact […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 22, 2018

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

I routinely remark to the attorneys who are my clients that the jurors are the “only perfect people in the world.” That is, when one’s fate, and the fate of one’s client, rests in the decision made by a jury, the jury’s decision is final. Furthermore, the jury’s final decision may or may not be […]

Persuasion

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 13, 2018

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

The study of attitudes and attitude change has a long tradition in social psychology. Related to attitude change is the concept of persuasion, the process by which attitude change occurs. In my role as a litigation/jury consultant, I assist attorneys become persuasive communicators, with the goal being to convince the jury, arbitrators, or judge to […]

Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 13, 2018

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

Litigation is unique, when compared to other arenas where persuasion is important, such as advertising or marketing. With an advertising campaign, the ads, whether billboards, print media, social media, television, radio, or other formats, are often tested with focus groups, etc. And, once refined, the ad campaign is launched in a fashion where a wide […]

The New World Order

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On March 8, 2018

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

Melissa and I have attempted do two things consistently with the posts we write. First, we try to be tactful, and not insult anyone. Second, we strive to be timeless, not dating our posts by the topic. This post breaks the 2nd rule, but hopefully, not the first objective. The topic is what some have […]

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On March 8, 2018

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

Although many people cannot agree about politics, most people will agree politics have divided us into “us and them” factions more than, perhaps, any time in recent history. All of the people who are “us,” whatever that means on a personal basis, believe all of the people who are “them” are wrong, while all of […]

← Previous 1 … 21 22 23 … 26 Next →

Archive | Trial 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

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

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.

About Magnus