Archive | Trial Consultants

Crazy Courthouse Story #1 Client on other side of this case

Long time readers of David’s and my blog may remember the 5 part series we wrote, entitled “Crazy Mock Juror Story” and/or the 5 part series we wrote on “Crazy Lawyer Story.” We are always eager to share some of our funny, or at a minimum, entertaining, stories about the serious work we do on […]

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The other attorney didn’t stop calling us because of this incident. He had other control issues that made working together impossible, specifically, he’d demand that Melissa be available for jury selection every day of his often 4 to 6 week trial dockets or else he wouldn’t hire us. And, of course, he wanted to do […]

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Internet Based/Virtual Jury Research: Part 1

Technology is not the answer to everything. I have recently been reminded of this when talking with more than one potential client who was curious about using internet based “jury research.” Specifically, we’ve recently been asked to bid on mock jury research only to learn that the competitor’s bid was for an online “mock jury.” […]

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Social psychology is the study of group behavior, among other things. By definition, a group is comprised of two or more people who assemble together. A jury, is of course, a unique type of group that is tasked with making important decisions that have a substantial impact on other people’s lives. When an individual or […]

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Good Cuban Sandwich

Recently, a small Cuban cafe opened near our office. While full service Cuban restaurants have never been far away, this one is really close, so I wanted to check it out (even though it is housed in a corner of a gas station). What I found was a guy with a plan. The owner proudly […]

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I agree with David; just as with many things in life, there are good Cuban sandwiches, great Cuban sandwiches, and then there are truly divine Cuban sandwiches. The differences among them are due to: (1) the quality of the ingredients; and (2) the training, expertise, and care of the person making the sandwich. One can […]

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Hotel Fires Reveal Personalities

I have been traveling for work, and, therefore, staying in hotels across the USA, for many years. I have lost count of the number of nights I have spent in hotels, however, I know this number must be in the thousands by now. I have a “been there, done that” attitude when it comes to […]

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Melissa’s travels for work are far greater than mine, yet, on one occasion, she and I were together when the fire alarm sounded. Fortunately, we were in a much warmer climate and our response to the alarm had the benefit of learning from her prior experience. We dressed for the weather, which though warm, was […]

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Origin of the Jurors

Mock jurors may seem like a species unto themselves, but, when properly recruited, they are everyday people who are representative of the trial venue. Following the post on why Magnus controls research videos, I am commenting on the origin of the mock jurors because of another subtle detail I picked up recently in reading a […]

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There are almost as many ways to recruit research participants, including mock jurors, as there are types of jury/trial consultants, with both participant recruiting and consultants falling into “the good, the bad, and the ugly” categories. I will list all of possible ways I know Magnus and its competitors recruit people to participate in research […]

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Guitar techs versus luthiers

I have been playing the bass guitar for almost 20 years and I am the proud owner of several bass guitars. I am not a collector; all of my basses are for my playing pleasure. As with many things in life, from time to time, one of my basses needs to be repaired, as was […]

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I’ll have to say that, since Melissa started playing bass, I’ve learned quite a bit more than I knew about music, and the behind the scenes aspects of music, performers, and the business of music. I don’t know that I knew what a luthier was, for example. I also didn’t know how anything about the […]

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Why We Control The Video Recordings

I recently had the unique opportunity to gather some “competitive intelligence” in the form of reviewing a competitor’s proposal. Hey, it fell into my lap; what was I supposed to do? Anyway, a small part of the proposal touted the idea of using a marketing research facility; in fact, this proposal was somewhat reliant on […]

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Call me a “control freak” all you want; I prefer not to take any chances when I am conducting research for Magnus’ clients. We are not in the video recording or production business, however, part of the services we offer to our clients includes video recording our proceedings, including the presentations made by the attorneys […]

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All my shoes are Boogie Shoes

Ballet dancers wear ballet shoes. Tap dancers wear tap shoes. Many other dancers, such as flamenco dancers, wear some form of dancing shoes. In the 1970s, a Miami group called KC & the Sunshine Band had a long series of hits, including a song called “Boogie Shoes,” released in 1978 at the height of the […]

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We attended a concert by KC & The Sunshine band recently. Their music was ubiquitous in the 70s and 80s. Not my favorite type of music, but I’ll be honest, the show was fun. From the pre-show festivities, including dancers in costume as we entered the hall, through the show with lots of energetic dancers, […]

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Plan B isn’t All Bad

Plan B carries a connotation that it is second best and, therefore, less desirable than Plan A. I guess it is, by definition, but that’s a bad rap as sometimes Plan B turns out just fine. Sometimes, it’s probably better. A few weeks ago while in a somewhat unfamiliar small town for a trial, Melissa […]

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I have a luggage tag that says, “I live my life according to Plan B.” I have found that life isn’t always as neat and tidy as I would prefer. Because of the nature of my job and its ever changing priorities due to fluctuating trial dates of multiple attorneys, I have learned to go […]

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20, 30, 50% Research Breakdown

A Point of View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On December 4, 2018

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

Those of us who work as trial/jury consultants usually thrive on the excitement of the research day, the day when we conduct our focus groups, mock trials, jury simulations, or employ other methods of data collection. These days, thanks to books, movies, and a certain popular television show, many people are aware of some of […]

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Another View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On December 4, 2018

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

I’ve never stopped to consider the percentages breakdown as Melissa has done here. And, I think I’d add that there is some “margin of error” depending on the case, but generally, it does come down to these three big work segments. That is, after I’ve gotten the client to agree on the research design and […]

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