Samantha Schwartz

With 15 years of experience in trial consulting, she has conducted various forms of jury research and analyzed results from mock trials, focus groups, community surveys, post-trial interviews, and shadow juries. Samantha has consulted on all phases of trial from pretrial preparation through post-trial strategy on moving forward from verdict outcomes. She has frequently worked in court with trial teams on jury selections and trial monitoring. She has advised trial teams on case theme development, witness evaluation and preparation, voir dire, case presentation, jury instructions, and verdict forms. Samantha has provided jury research and consulting services across the country on a range of civil and criminal cases – including antitrust, contract, employment, insurance, intellectual property, murder, product liability, professional malpractice, toxic tort, and white-collar crime matters – at both state and federal court levels.

When Samantha first took an interest in law, she assisted attorneys and trial teams at two top litigation firms and at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She subsequently got her doctoral training in psychology and law, from which she was awarded the First Prize Dissertation Award by the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS), Division 41 of the American Psychology Association (APA). Samantha has worked on research studies concerning public opinion and sociocultural issues, social influences and behavior, attitudes and biases, and decision-making processes. In addition to having taught 11 psychology classes, she has been a frequent presenter and author on juror decision-making and the legal system.

Samantha holds an M.A. and Ph.D. specializing in psychology and law from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she worked with distinguished professor, Dr. Brian Bornstein. She also earned a Master of Legal Studies (M.L.S.) after completing several courses at the Nebraska College of Law to inform her research interests and applications. Samantha received a B.A. in psychology from William & Mary. She loves horseback riding and cooking diverse cuisines in her spare time.