Table of Contents
Would you like to speak to a representative from First Court to find out more details about a Mock Trial or Legal Focus Group? Call (701)503-4458. Or complete the form below and we’ll connect you with them today.
Table of Contents
Most attorneys have had the shock of a verdict that came way out of left field. The one they thought they had in the bag, but as it turned out, was not even close.
While you can’t always prevent these situations, you can decrease the chances of their occurrence and increase the odds in your favor by hiring a jury research company to perform a mock trial or legal focus group to help with your case. These companies come as close as possible to mimicking an actual jury and researching their thoughts and perceptions. Their results can help you present your client’s case to achieve the best outcome possible. Sometimes something as simple as using a different term or relaying a story differently can sway the jury to your side. Still, you won’t know this unless you hire help from a mock trial company.
Other benefits of enlisting the professional help of jury research companies include:
- Saving the time and hassle of doing the research yourself
- Ensuring all possible variables are accounted for
- Getting the most reliable results possible
- Giving you and your client more control over the outcome and an idea of when it’s best to settle or litigate a case.
Let’s take a closer look at the top six mock trial companies in no particular order to see what they have to offer.
While all opinions remain our own, this content contains links to companies we may be compensated by.
First Court
Founded over three decades ago, First Court has produced superior insights and resolutions to thousands of clients across all 50 states and has incorporated the feedback of more than 100,000 jurors nationwide. They are battle-tested and help attorneys for both plaintiffs and defendants.
First Court offers a comprehensive range of customizable jury research and consulting services, designed to provide you with the objective insights needed for your high-stakes legal cases. Their offerings include:
- Full-day or multi-day mock trials
- Online legal focus groups and mock trials
- Self-paced online jury research and large-scale surveys
- Expert jury selection consulting
- In-depth juror background and social media research
First Court is:
Data-Driven and Objective
Their proprietary software is a cutting-edge technology in the industry, utilizing cross-tabulation to analyze all data points—from jurors’ background information to the feedback provided in trial questionnaires. First Court is renowned for asking more insightful, high-quality questions that delve deep into the core issues of the case, ensuring a thorough understanding of juror perspectives.
Practical
They offer valuable insights into practical and persuasive arguments that truly resonate with real people. Their focus goes beyond simply analyzing the results; they delve into the “why” behind the decisions of the surrogate jurors. Additionally, First Court ensures superior “quality control” by conducting their own jury recruiting, allowing them to have full control over who participates in their mock trials and legal focus groups.
Flexible
First Court’s vertical integration provides clients with unparalleled flexibility & quality. They recruit all of their own surrogate jurors in-house, and they can tailor any project to meet the specific needs of both plaintiff and defense cases. Whether working within tight deadlines or on a tight budget, First Court offers a range of jury research services designed to accommodate the unique requirements of each case. Their ability to customize solutions ensures that clients receive the precise support they need, no matter the scale or complexity of the case.
Would you like to speak to a representative from First Court to find out more details about a Mock Trial or Legal Focus Group? Call (701)503-4458. Or complete the form below and we’ll connect you with them today.
Grand Slam Verdicts
With over 35 years of experience in jury research, Grand Slam Verdicts was created to help plaintiff law firms obtain massive wins for massive suffering by providing cutting-edge solutions. These consist of:
- Real-time jury insights through their proprietary interactive Vulcan software which will go as far as helping with jury selection, witness preparation, gauging jurors’ trust, courtroom moral leadership, and data-driven feedback on potential jury reactions.
- Innovative and cost-effective settlement testing software that allows you to make a compelling case within just 18 minutes, persuading adjusters to act decisively.
- A comprehensive negotiation tool kit that empowers you to drive faster resolutions, achieve higher settlements, and apply strategic pressure.
- Their video settlement brochure that integrates authentic juror feedback to fuel meaningful negotiations, whether pre-suit or post-closing argument.
- And their theater-based performance coaching.
They are there to support every step of the case from pre-suit evaluations to ADR and trial.
Attorneys who have used their services have said:
“Mike Liffrig and his team at Grand Slam Verdicts have a unique ability to generate valuable jury feedback on every part of a trial. This is a new, highly effective data-driven approach to jury research. I was very pleased with the entire process.” – Andy Young
“I have been helping injured people for 25 years. No tool has helped us win over tight-fisted jurors as much as our contingent research agreements with Mike Liffrig and his team at Grand Slam Verdicts.” – Jeff Weikum
Would you like to speak to a representative from Grand Slam Verdicts? Complete the form below and we’ll connect you with them today.
DecisionQuest
DecisionQuest has been helping attorneys and others in the legal industry for over 30 years. They started by assisting trial lawyers in understanding how the court would view their case using focus groups and in-person research. Over the years, they have incorporated available technologies and were innovative in providing value to both plaintiff and defendant attorneys. They began evaluating opening statements and then witness testimony. DecisionQuest helped pioneer data-driven jury selection, finding that jurors’ values, attitudes, and beliefs made much more difference in a jury’s decision than their demographics. As a result, they are continually refining their processes and adding updated technologies to provide the best services to each of their clients.
DecisionQuest offers many services, including:
- Mock Trials guided by jury consultants can be run once or multiple times per day, allowing you to adjust your strategy as necessary.
- JuryLive provides in-depth insight into how surrogate jurors will react to each element of your case online.
- CaseXplorer is a budget-friendly tool that uses online polls and surveys to provide you with the insights of jury research to help determine if a jury might be pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant.
- SocialDiscover uses the power of social media to research litigants, claimants, witnesses, and other subjects to reveal their online activity, attitudes, beliefs, and habits.
- Additional trial services include venue evaluation research, case consultation, mock bench trial or arbitration panel study, case consultation, witness evaluation and preparation, jury selection, opening statement study, damages analysis study, shadow jury, and post-trial jury interviews.
NJP
Susan Macpherson, VP of NJP, has been conducting thousands of nationwide legal focus groups, trial simulations, and post-trial interviews for state and federal cases since 1976. Macpherson and her team help attorneys maximize their pre-trial research value by developing messages that will stick with the fact-finders and impactful presentation strategies. They have worked over 10,000 cases in all 50 states. NJP focuses on the following types of cases:
- Intellectual property cases
- Anti-trust cases
- Commercial disputes and construction litigation
- Criminal defense
- Personal injury
- Employment, discrimination, and civil rights
Their jury research and analysis services include:
- Legal focus groups
- Mock trials or trial simulations
- Qualitative research
All of these test vital issues and explore potential jurors’ interpretations, reactions, and attitudes toward a case. They only use a carefully screened panel of jury-eligible participants that will mirror the characteristics of the actual jury pool. After hearing summary case presentations for each side, each mock juror participants complete written questionnaires and participated in group discussions. Then the NJR team of experts analyzes the findings and makes recommendations for trial and jury selection. Finally, they adjust their qualitative research to match the complexity of your case and budget.
Persuasion Strategies
Persuasion Strategies rely on their proven results to develop a customized verbal and visual message. They are focused on your unique needs with attention to every detail. When you hire Persuasion Strategies, you get the expertise of an entire team of nationally recognized consultants, including:
Shelley C. Spiecker, Ph.D., Senior Litigation Consultant
Experienced with:
- International Fortune 50 companies
- Oil and Gas
- Medical Negligence/Malpractice
Ken Broda-Bahm, Ph.D., Senior Litigation Consultant
Experienced with:
- Real-world knowledge in state, federal, and appeals courtrooms
- Community attitude surveys
- White-Collar Crime
- Products Liability
- Qui Tam Litigation
Kevin Boully, Ph.D., Senior Litigation Consultant
Experienced with:
- Researching jury-eligible individuals in more than 30 states
- Patent and other Intellectual Property Litigation
- Energy and Environmental
Katerina Oberdieck, Quantitative Researcher
Katerina provides data analytics and statistical models to help litigation attorneys understand the motivations and attitudes of potential jurors.
Services
Persuasion Strategies offers several services to best fit your needs and budget. These include:
- Mock trials via a closed-circuit or remote stream explore the jury decision-making process and analyze individual jurors’ reactions to summary arguments.
- In-person or lives stream legal focus groups can help you understand how particular facts, choices, and issues influence jurors’ opinions.
- Online jury research can carefully identify and analyze a jury panel’s experiences, attitudes, and opinions expressed on social media to pinpoint concerns or assets.
MAGNA
In 2007, Peter Hecht, Mark Calzaretta, Bob Ackerman, and Jon Ackerman founded Magna Legal Services with a desire to serve and a goal to offer end-to-end litigation support services to law firms, corporations, and governmental agencies all over the globe. Today they provide litigation support services at every stage of legal proceedings. It’s their mission to provide high-quality, reliable work in a responsive manner. From the inception of their company, the founders believed success would come if they prioritized high-quality work with outstanding customer service, and their philosophy has served them well.
MAGNA provides a wide range of jury research and consulting services. Some of their services include:
JuryConfirm (online jury research)
A platform that allows efficient and cost-effective testing of theories, themes, and storylines in a condensed but still entirely fully interactive jury research session. JuryConfirm includes:
- Countless visual capabilities for you to present exhibits, videos, and other visual aids
- An AI-powered evidence analyzer that automatically takes notes and observes jurors
- Virtual simulation of courtroom complete interactive live juror avatars
- Live attorney presentations and jury deliberations
- Real-time results with customized questionnaires and polling, and presentation feedback
- Detailed reports containing case evaluation, theme development, and jury profiles
JuryEvaluator (online damage assessment tool)
This analysis provides you with an evaluation and perceptions of potential damages by surrogate jurors within your venue. In addition, you’ll receive a statistically reliable range that includes both economic and non-economic damages and apportionment of liability.
Community Attitude/Perception Studies
Magna consultants can perform a large-scale community attitude and perception survey that will help you determine any pre-existing knowledge, attitudes, and biases about your client’s case. For example, after community members hear brief summaries of the plaintiff and defense cases, Magna will collect and analyze verdict orientations and views on damages. These studies allow MAGNA to craft statistically reliable pro-plaintiff versus pro-defense juror profiles, highlight the best litigation approach, and create focused juror questionnaires and voir dire topics/ questions.
Using a mock trial company can have many benefits for your client’s case. For some, it can make the difference between a damage award or receiving nothing for an injury. Or the difference between a not guilty verdict and spending decades in prison. With many excellent options to choose from, you can select the best company for your budget, goals, case type, and client needs.
Attorney at Law Magazine is a national legal publication, publishing content for and about private practice attorneys as well as resources for legal consumers. The staff at Attorney at Law Magazine interview attorneys as well as other industry professionals to provide educational content as well as to highlight the individuals and firms driving success in the legal industry.
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