Litigation research exercises

Zehner Trial Consulting’s litigation research exercises will provide crucial guidance to the legal team at all stages of the litigation process. Whether you are just beginning discovery, considering settlement, heading into mediation or preparing for trial, Zehner Trial Consulting’s litigation research exercises will give you confidence to expertly navigate any of your cases through the various steps of the litigation process. Whether you choose a mock trial, focus group, or early case assessment exercise, each is based upon the most recent cognitive research to assist you in accurately evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in your case and to identify the best way to convey your message.

There is a wide-ranging variety of reasons our clients choose to do litigation research. Some of the reasons include the following:

• Plaintiff and Defendant have vastly different views on the value of the matter
• Multiple parties involved have differences of opinions on the best way to present the facts in the case
• The matter involves an uncomfortable topic and the legal team needs guidance on the best way to convey this information to the jurors
• Liability is uncertain but the value of the matter is considerable or liability is clear but the potential value is uncertain
• The topic is complicated and boring, and the legal team needs to understand how best to keep the jurors interested in the matter
• There is a very specific question that needs to be address in a matter, ie: will jurors care whether someone is undocumented
• A key witness has provided poor testimony and you want to know how it may affect the overall case
• A fragile witness is giving a deposition but is expected to perform poorly and you need to prepare them without destroying the relationship between the witness and the attorneys
• You want to know if there is a potential for a runaway jury verdict
• There is a need to evaluate your legal team’s strengths and weaknesses

Any of the above research goals can be met through the various litigation research exercises, which utilize surrogate jurors to identify the issues that are driving the surrogate jurors’ behavior. In all the research exercises, the surrogate jurors’ attitudes and inclinations are tracked throughout the day to identify what issues are causing the surrogate jurors to change or alter their views. After all the presentations and instructions on the law, the surrogate jurors are divided into several groups and instructed to deliberate to a verdict. After a sufficient time of deliberations, the Zehner Trial Consulting staff conduct a more detailed focus of the surrogate jurors to clarify and solidify any of the various jurors’ views and positions in the matter. Which research exercise is best for each individual case depends on the particular research goal, the timing of the exercise, cost constraints and a variety of other factors. Zehner Trial Consulting staff will assist you in crafting the right research exercise to meet your needs.