A strong trial strategy starts with preparing well before jury selection in order to secure a winning verdict or settlement. Attorneys who are in the know utilize a secret weapon by employing consultants who can help them with everything from pretrial research and jury selection to witness preparation and other tasks.
A jury consultant makes it easier to find a panel that will be more likely to sympathize with the injuries and upset your client has endured. A trial consultant can help you focus on the best way to strategize the case for the outcome you want. Both can be incredible members to bring onboard,
The role of jury consultants and trial consultants is to support lawyers by providing an outside, unbiased, and objective perspective. The best consultants have years of experience in the courtroom and specialize in key areas, effectively becoming an asset to your legal team by being able to see things objectively and pinpointing weaknesses in a case to stay ahead of them before they can sink your strategy.
The Trial Concierge services can help you by analyzing data, choosing a jury, and covering the most important parts of preparation before, during, and even after trial. With proven results through settlements and verdicts of a quarter of a billion dollars in 2024, you’ll have the leading edge in the courtroom. Helmed by Beverly “Splash” Abbott, the Trial Concierge has helped attorneys across the country prepare for and win some of the toughest civil cases through her services as a jury consultant, trial consultant, legal nurse consultant, and presentation specialist.
Her expertise, insight, attention to detail, and full support for her clients—throughout every stage of litigation—has directly contributed to successful verdicts against defendants that are large business entities and corporations. In this blog, the role of jury consultants in trials is discussed along with how jury consultants and trial consultants can be an asset for your case.
What Is a Jury Consultant?
Analyzing Human Behavior in the Courtroom
Jury consultants are essentially behavioral experts who play a vital role in your jury research. Since they’re trained in predicting human behavior, understanding juror behavior, and deciphering body language, jury consultants can be laser-focused on finding the right people from the jury pool to serve in your trial.
As trial consultants, they rely heavily on social sciences and scientifically valid research to guide legal teams at trial. Jury consultants are experts in uncovering hidden biases as well as how jurors perceive evidence and witnesses. In other words, they can look at the bigger picture, allowing you a unique perspective that can help your trial team do its best work and weed through potential jurors.
The Trial Consultant’s Role in Trial Preparation
Supporting Trial Attorneys Throughout the Litigation Process
Trial consultants work closely with attorneys and legal teams to help shape the case strategy. They play a vital role in preparation, from the early case assessment stage, and continue even through the closing statements. Even the best attorneys can use their skills as these consultants help them to make critical decisions about presentation and juror messaging.
In particular, personal injury cases often settle before going to court. Many strong attorneys may not have as much courtroom experience, and knowing the right way to pick a jury and prepare witnesses will be of great assistance in a case.
Jury Selection Process and Voir Dire
The importance of your jury selection strategy cannot possibly be overstated. It can be a huge challenge to evaluate potential jurors during voir dire, as they may have hidden biases. With a jury consultant, you’ll have juror profiles that help you uncover these points. You’ll also get advice on making peremptory challenges as well as cause-based strikes to refine your choices from the jury pool to make the best jury selection. Instead of hiring a jury consultant and a trial consultant, The Trial Concierge provides both of these services for your legal team.
Jury Research and Pretrial Strategy
Focus Groups, Mock Trials, and Data Collection
Before jury selection, mock jury services and focus groups can help you gather valuable data. Through mock trials, focus groups, and pretrial research, case themes can be tested before they go to court. This data can assess how jurors may respond to the evidence presented as well as witness testimony, allowing you to shape your trial strategy. Insight from mock jurors is a powerful tool that can shape the way you conduct your jury selection once inside the courtroom.
Post-Trial Analysis and Feedback
Jury consultants and trial consultants may also analyze verdict outcomes. This can help you improve future case strategies. Some may additionally conduct post-trial juror interviews and use these evaluations as research for future legal strategies.
Witness Preparation and Trial Communication
Coaching Witnesses to Build Credibility
It’s important to understand that these consultants do much more for their clients than help with the jury. They prepare all witnesses, including expert witnesses, for their role in providing testimony. Some witnesses may seem less credible in front of a jury if they’re nervous or lack confidence.
By guiding them on their presentation, ability to provide clarity regarding complex information, body language, and confidence, it aligns witness delivery with the broader legal strategy. For personal injury attorneys, experts in their respective fields may be called in to present data that shows the liability of the defendant, which means they should provide compensation to the client.
How Jury Consultants and Trial Consultants Work With Legal Teams
Integration Into the Trial Team
Jury consultants and trial consultants often join the trial team, becoming a strategic partner in the overall trial strategy. They provide trial services using visuals, juror engagement, and narrative flow, working with the attorneys, paralegals, and expert witnesses for consistency throughout the entire process.
Independent or In-House Support
Many consultants work as independent contractors who serve their clients on a case-by-case basis. However, others work as part of a larger jury consulting team or with trial consulting firms.
The Value of Jury and Trial Consulting in High-Stakes Litigation
Making Informed, Strategic Decisions
Even the most seasoned attorneys can use an objective eye and relevant data to make smarter calls on case presentation and juror targeting that ultimately benefit their clients. With this research, they can more accurately predict outcomes, which can reduce the potential for a surprise during trial.
These services are incredibly valuable in criminal justice cases as well as complex civil trials, such as medical malpractice cases, where liability and damages may be more difficult for jurors to comprehend.
Why the Best Trial Lawyers Use Jury and Trial Consultants
Heading to court isn’t just about the law. The best attorneys know that law is only one metric, and the other is human behavior. Understanding how a jury may react and preparing through that with research and data can better prepare a trial team. This allows you as a lawyer to be more persuasive, controlled, and credible when representing your clients.
Should You Choose a Jury Consultant or a Trial Consultant?
If you’re wondering whether jury consultants or trial consultants can help and are trying to decide, you should know that you don’t have to choose between them. With The Trial Concierge, “Splash” can be your guide from voir dire to verdict to help you every step of the way.
Final Thoughts: Why Jury Consultants Matter
Giving Lawyers and Clients an Edge
Jury consultants and trial consultants provide lawyers and their clients a greater chance of securing a winning verdict. While no one can ever guarantee a specific outcome, arming yourself with the right data can help level the playing field at trial. These professionals provide the skills and expertise to help attorneys connect with the panel of jurors.
In a courtroom, the insights of these professionals can make a difference. Clients will ultimately benefit from a more strategic and informed approach to every aspect of the legal process.
The Trial Concierge becomes a partner in your case to assist you from start to finish. You’ll have a professional who helps with jury selection and questioning, delving deep into their backgrounds to eliminate those that may be less receptive to your case. While most consultants stop there, we are unique in our services and remain present in court to support attorneys during trial with trial consultation services.
This key difference allows for adapting strategies in response to evidence. With this assistance in court, you’ll also have graphics to visually communicate with jurors and simplify the understanding of complex evidentiary support.
Coaching for witnesses and learning what a jury may be likely to think all provide a valuable way to take the upper hand, even in the most challenging of legal circumstances. Schedule your free consultation today to learn more about how these services through “Splash” and her team can provide the valuable support you need to take your legal representation to the next level.
