Preventing Nuclear Verdicts with Jury Consulting
When your case has millions on the line, jury consulting can be instrumental in preventing your case from exploding.
What are some factors which can cause a nuclear verdict?
- A case that makes jurors upset – either fearful, angry, or both
- Highly sympathetic plaintiffs, or an entire family
- A case involving gruesome injuries (such as burns) or particularly sensitive injuries – physical or mental/emotional
- Bad company documents, internal memos
- Bad optics surrounding company conduct
- The appearance that a corporate defendant does not prioritize safety or puts profits over people
- Evidence that a company violated its own policies
What does a Jury Consultant do?
A jury consultant assists parties during all phases of litigation to ensure they are presenting the most effective, compelling position possible given the available evidence and witnesses and considering the eventual audience – the jury.
Jury Consulting & Research Exercises for
High-Value Cases
A jury comes with a set of opinions, biases and prior knowledge of the parties that will no doubt influence their conclusions, even if they are advised to put those notions to the side.
The trial team must build their case strategy and construct their arguments with their audience in mind.
Early-Intervention Jury Research
Early-intervention jury research will answer:
- Where do we stand?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of our position as well as our adversary’s position?
- How do we need to develop the case and build out our narrative?
These early-intervention exercises will take place during (and even pre-) discovery. They can include:
- Exploratory Focus Groups (online or in-person)
- Damages Assessment Surveys
- Community Attitude / Perception Studies
- Witness Preparation
Witness Preparation
Witness training prior to key depositions as well as in preparation for trial is crucial to keep the case contained.
Prepare your key witnesses prior to their depositions to make sure they stay on message, remain faithful to their side of the story, and not fall prey to reptile tactics.
Preparing for Trial
When discovery is nearing an end or is closed, the trial team will benefit from more adversarial testing such as single or multi-day mock trials (online or in-person).
During the trial, Magna’s consultants can assist the trial team with:
- Voir Dire & Jury Selection Consulting
- JuryScout: prospective juror background and social media searches
- Shadow Jury
- Trial Monitoring & Consulting
- Witness Preparation
Getting Started
Our experienced jury consultants use a multi-phase jury research methodology to ensure the statistical reliability and robustness of our findings
Request a free case consultation with Magna today to see how we can assist you in providing the best possible representation for your clients.
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