Services / Bench Trials, Arbitration & Settlement
Most cases never reach a jury. The research still matters.
Mock bench trials and arbitrations, judicial and arbitrator audience analysis, case valuation research, and settlement and mediation presentation support, for the matters that will be decided by a professional or resolved at the table.
New York to Kansas Federal and state venues across the 8th, 9th, and 10th Circuits and the Northeast
Remote and in person Every service offered in the courthouse city, at your office, or on a secure remote platform
Capital cases undertaken Death-eligible matters, including pro bono engagements
ASTC members American Society of Trial Consultants, bound by its Professional Code
Judges and arbitrators are people too, with their own reasoning habits, priors, and reactions to advocacy, and the research on judicial decision-making shows that they are less immune to framing and anchoring than the profession assumes. The firm brings the same discipline to non-jury proceedings that it brings to jury trials: understand the decision-maker, test the presentation, and build the case around what the research shows.
Settlement is the other half of this practice. A credible case valuation, grounded in research with venue-matched participants rather than in the trial team’s optimism, changes negotiating posture and mediation outcomes. We prepare valuation studies, mediation presentations, and settlement videos, and we brief adjusters and general counsel as readily as trial lawyers.
Pro bono is part of the practice, not a sideline Every year the firm takes on matters where the stakes are as high as they get and the budget is nonexistent: indigent capital defense, wrongful conviction work, and civil rights cases. Those engagements have shaped how we work for paying clients. They demand research designs that produce reliable answers on small samples and short timelines, and they keep the firm connected to the jury pools and defense bars of communities that larger consultancies rarely see.
Grounded in original and continuing research The firm’s principal conducts his own jury research and continues formal academic work in psychology with a forensic emphasis. That means the methods used on your matter are informed by the current peer-reviewed literature on juror decision-making, group deliberation, and persuasion, not by folk wisdom accumulated in the 1990s. It also means the firm can speak the language of Daubert and Frye when research must be defended as evidence.
Insurer bad faith, on either side of the v. The firm has a particular concentration in insurance bad faith and extra-contractual litigation, representing both policyholders and carriers. Those cases turn on how jurors reason about promises, fine print, delay, and corporate decision-making, and on how they translate anger into a number. We know the attitudes that predict which way a panel leans, and we design research to measure them rather than assume them.
What the engagement includes
Bench Trials, Arbitration & Settlement services
Each component can be retained on its own or as part of a broader trial program. Scope, timeline, and budget are set with counsel at the outset and adjusted as the case develops.
Mock Bench Trials and Mock Arbitrations
Abbreviated presentations to panels of retired judges, experienced arbitrators, or senior practitioners selected to resemble the actual decision-maker. Panelists serve as fact-finder, critic, and strategist in turn: they rule, they explain what moved them, and they help refine the arguments and exhibits before the real hearing.
- Panel selection matched to the tribunal
- Written findings and oral critique
- Strategy working session with the panel
- Remote and in-person formats
Judicial and Arbitrator Audience Analysis
Analysis of the decision-maker you have: published opinions, prior awards, courtroom practices, and the reasoning patterns visible in the record. Combined with the general literature on judicial cognition to produce practical guidance on how to frame and sequence the case for this particular audience.
- Opinion and award review
- Judicial profile memoranda
- Presentation recommendations for the specific tribunal
Message Preparation for Professional Fact-Finders
Review and refinement of briefs, opening statements, witness outlines, and demonstratives for a professional audience. Judges and arbitrators penalize overreach and reward candor and structure in ways juries do not, and advocacy tuned for a jury frequently needs adjustment.
- Brief and argument review
- Candor and concession strategy
- Demonstratives for the bench
Case Valuation Research
Structured research with venue-matched participants designed to produce a defensible range of likely outcomes, including liability probability and damages distribution. Reports are written for the people who set authority, adjusters, general counsel, and clients, as well as for trial counsel.
- Liability probability and damages range estimation
- Punitive exposure assessment
- Comparison against verdict and settlement data
- Reports for authority-setting audiences
Mediation and Settlement Presentations
Themes, structure, and visuals for mediation statements and presentations, built to move the mediator and the other side rather than to rehearse the trial. Includes settlement videos produced with the firm’s graphics collaborators where the case warrants them.
- Mediation statement theme development
- Presentation design and rehearsal
- Settlement video production coordination
- Day-of mediation support
Insurance Bad Faith Valuation and Resolution
Bad faith and extra-contractual claims carry punitive exposure that is notoriously difficult to value. The firm’s research in this area, on both the policyholder and carrier side, supports realistic valuation, authority decisions, and resolution strategy, whether the goal is a fair settlement or a trial.
- Extra-contractual exposure modeling
- Policyholder and carrier perspectives
- Adjuster and claims witness assessment
How we work
Treat the tribunal as an audience, and study it.
The instinct in a bench trial or arbitration is to argue the law harder. The evidence suggests that judges and arbitrators respond to narrative, sequence, and credibility much as jurors do, with the added factor of professional expectations about candor. The method accounts for both.
- Profile the decision-maker Published opinions, prior awards, and courtroom practice are reviewed for the reasoning patterns and preferences that will shape how this judge or panel hears the case.
- Test the presentation A mock proceeding before panelists chosen to resemble the tribunal surfaces the weaknesses a professional audience will find and the arguments it will reward.
- Calibrate the value Research-based valuation replaces the team’s intuition with a defensible range, so that settlement authority and negotiating posture rest on evidence.
- Prepare for resolution Mediation presentations and settlement materials are built to persuade the mediator and the other side, drawing on what the research showed about the case’s strengths and exposures.
- Refine the advocacy Briefs, outlines, and demonstratives are adjusted to the professional audience, with particular attention to candor, structure, and the concessions that build credibility.
Remote
Mock trials, focus groups, witness sessions, and strategy work run on a secure video platform with jury-eligible participants recruited from the actual venue. Remote formats widen the recruiting pool, shorten lead time, and cut travel out of the budget, which matters for pro bono and public defender matters as much as for commercial clients. Deliberations are recorded and observed live, with counsel able to pass questions to the moderator in real time.
In person
Traditional facility-based research in or near the trial venue, in-court jury selection, and on-site witness preparation. In-person work is the default for capital cases, for multi-day mock trials with live witnesses and demonstratives, and whenever counsel wants to sit behind the glass and watch the deliberation unfold. We travel; the firm’s practice has always been regional and national rather than local.
Where we work
From New York to Kansas, in the courtroom and on the screen.
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.
Retired judges, experienced arbitrators, and senior practitioners in the relevant field, selected to resemble the actual tribunal in background and outlook. Panelists are compensated and bound by confidentiality.
Valuation research done at counsel’s direction is generally work product, and it is typically used internally to set authority and inform negotiation. Whether and how it is shared in mediation is a strategic choice for counsel.
Yes. Remote focus-group-based valuation studies can be designed, fielded, and reported in one to two weeks. We will tell you what a compressed timeline can and cannot support.
Yes. The firm works with carriers, their panel counsel, and their claims organizations, as well as with policyholders and their counsel. We are careful about conflicts and will disclose any prior involvement with a party.
Discuss a bench trials, arbitration & settlement 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.