Services / Jury Research
Find out how the case lands before the people who decide it do.
Mock trials, focus groups, and surveys built with jury-eligible participants from your venue, designed by a consultant who conducts and publishes his own research on how jurors actually reason.
Jury research is the core of the practice. Everything else the firm does, from voir dire design to witness preparation to settlement valuation, is better when it rests on data gathered from people who look like the panel you will actually face. The question is never whether mock jurors voted for your side. The question is why, what moved them, where they got confused, which witness they trusted, and what number they reached once they were angry or sympathetic. Those are the findings that change a trial plan.
We run research from New York to Alaska and across the 8th, 9th, and 10th Circuits, in person and remotely, for civil plaintiffs and defendants, for criminal defense including capital cases, and in regulatory matters. Formats scale from a half-day remote focus group on a single issue to a multi-day, multi-panel mock trial with live witnesses and full demonstratives.
Mock Trials
Abbreviated presentations of both sides to multiple independent panels of jury-eligible participants recruited from the venue, followed by observed and recorded deliberations. Panels are structured to test specific questions: liability, causation, damages anchors, the effect of a particular witness or exhibit, or alternative theme sets.
- Multiple independent deliberating juries
- Pre- and post-deliberation questionnaires on every participant
- Live observation with real-time questions to the moderator
- Structured debriefs and individual juror interviews
- Written report with verbatims, attitude data, and recommendations
Focus Groups
Moderated group sessions that isolate one piece of the case, an opening theme, a key document, a damages model, a difficult fact, and explore how ordinary people process it. Faster and less expensive than a full mock trial, and often the right first step early in discovery when the story is still being built.
- Issue-specific and theme-testing designs
- Concept and exhibit testing
- Damages and anchoring studies
- Early-case and pre-mediation formats
- Remote sessions available in days rather than weeks
Community Attitude Surveys
Probability-based telephone or online surveys of the jury-eligible population in the venue, measuring case-relevant attitudes, experiences, and exposure to pretrial publicity. Used to build juror profiles, support change of venue motions, and calibrate mock trial samples.
- Venue-specific sampling frames
- Instrument design tied to case themes
- Statistical analysis suitable for expert testimony
- Comparison venues for change of venue motions
- Declarations and testimony as needed
Damages and Case Valuation Research
Research designed specifically to understand how jurors arrive at a number: which anchors they accept, how they treat punitive and non-economic damages, and how the range shifts with different presentations. Frequently used to inform settlement authority and mediation positions.
- Anchor and range testing
- Punitive damages reasoning
- Noneconomic damages deliberation analysis
- Reports written for adjusters and general counsel as well as trial counsel
Capital and Criminal Case Research
Research for criminal defense matters, including capital cases, where the questions are different: death qualification, mitigation reception, the weight of confession and forensic evidence, and how jurors reason about intent and mental state. Much of this work is pro bono or at reduced rates for institutional defenders.
- Death qualification and Witherspoon-Witt attitudes
- Mitigation and penalty-phase presentation testing
- Confession, eyewitness, and forensic evidence perception
- Community attitude work supporting venue and cross-section motions
Online and Remote Research
Every format above can be run remotely on a secure platform with participants recruited from the venue. Remote research is not a lesser version of in-person work; it is a different tool with a wider recruiting pool and a faster turnaround, and we choose between the two based on the research question, not habit.
- Venue-matched recruiting
- Recorded, observable deliberations
- Same-week scheduling available
- Cost structures suited to pro bono and public defense matters
How we work
Research designed to be relied on, not just watched.
The firm designs research to answer specific questions, states the limits of the sample plainly, and reports findings the team can act on.
- Define the questions Before recruiting anyone, we sit with the trial team to decide what the research must answer. Liability exposure, a damages range, the credibility of a particular witness, the reception of a defense theme. The design follows the questions.
- Recruit from the venue Participants are jury-eligible residents of the trial venue, screened to match its demographics and, where the case calls for it, its attitudes. Recruiting is done in house or through vetted regional field services we have worked with for years.
- Present both sides fairly Abbreviated presentations are written so the opposing case is as strong as the other side will make it. Weak opposition produces flattering results and bad decisions.
- Measure before, during, and after Individual questionnaires capture each participant’s leanings before deliberation, so we can separate what the evidence did from what the group did. Deliberations are observed and coded, not just recorded.
- Report what the data support Findings are reported with the sample size and its limits in view. Where three panels agree, we say so. Where they split, we say that too, and we say what it likely means for the real jury.
Where we work
From New York to Alaska, in the courtroom and online.
The firm’s practice spans federal and state courts across the 8th, 9th, and 10th Circuits and the Northeast, in civil, criminal, capital, and regulatory matters. We are members of the American Society of Trial Consultants and work within its Professional Code and Practice Guidelines.
Civil litigation
Plaintiff and defense work in commercial, professional liability, personal injury, products, employment, energy, and environmental matters, with a particular concentration in insurer bad faith on both the policyholder and carrier side.
Criminal and capital defense
State and federal criminal matters including death-eligible cases, from pretrial venue and cross-section motions through penalty phase. A substantial share of this work is pro bono or reduced-fee for appointed and institutional defenders.
Regulatory and high-publicity matters
Administrative and enforcement proceedings, and cases tried under media scrutiny where the jury pool’s prior exposure is itself a litigation issue.
Questions counsel ask
Before you retain us.
It depends on the question. Three deliberating panels of eight to twelve is a common design for a full mock trial, which yields a reasonable read on group dynamics and a usable individual-level sample for attitude analysis. A single-issue focus group can be informative with one or two panels. We will tell you when a proposed sample is too small to support the decision you want to make with it.
Early enough to act on the results. For theme development and discovery strategy, that can be a year out. For a final check on the trial presentation, six to eight weeks before trial leaves time to adjust. Remote formats can be turned around in days when a settlement conference or hearing moves up.
Yes, when it is designed for the medium. Remote deliberations differ from in-person ones in some ways, and we account for those differences in design and interpretation. The advantages, especially a wider and more representative recruiting pool, are real.
Yes. Criminal and capital research is a significant part of the practice, often on a pro bono or reduced-fee basis for institutional defenders and appointed counsel.
Discuss a jury research engagement. Remote or in person, anywhere the case is.
An initial conversation about the matter, the venue, and the timeline costs nothing. Pro bono and reduced-fee inquiries from appointed and institutional defense counsel are welcome.