The jury that hears your case is chosen before the first witness takes the stand, and that decision shapes everything that follows. Attorneys who treat voir dire as a formality are handing the other side a structural advantage before opening statements begin. Beverly “Splash” Abbott approaches jury selection the way she approaches every phase of trial: with research, precision, and the kind of real-time intelligence that only comes from someone who has been in courtrooms across 22 states and stayed through every verdict.
What sets Beverly apart from most jury consultants is what happens after the panel is seated. Most consultants leave once voir dire ends. Beverly stays from jury selection through the final verdict, which means her read on jurors during voir dire is informed by an understanding of what those jurors will face throughout the entire trial. That continuity of insight is rare in this field, and it directly influences how she prepares attorneys for jury selection. According to the American Bar Association, identifying and addressing juror bias during voir dire is one of the most consequential and underutilized tools available to trial teams in high-stakes civil litigation.
What Beverly Does in Jury Selection
Beverly works with trial teams before a single juror walks through the door. That preparation starts with understanding your case theory, your venue, and the juror characteristics that correlate with favorable verdicts for your specific case type, whether that is a product liability case against a major manufacturer, a catastrophic injury matter, or complex commercial litigation.
Every voir dire strategy Beverly builds is custom. Jury selection in Florida operates differently than in Washington state. A panel of six jurors deliberates differently than a panel of twelve. Unanimity requirements vary by jurisdiction. Beverly has worked inside these rules across 22 states, and she brings that procedural fluency to every case she takes.
Building Juror Profiles Before Voir Dire Begins
Going into court on instinct alone is not a strategy. It is a gamble. Beverly builds juror risk profiles in advance of voir dire using attitudinal, experiential, and demographic data specific to your venue and case type. The goal is to identify the characteristics most predictive of how a juror will lean before they ever answer a question in open court.
This profiling process draws on several inputs: prior mock jury and focus group research from your case, community attitude surveys in the trial venue, publicly available background information on the jury pool, and Beverly’s own pattern recognition from decades of high-stakes voir dire in civil cases across the country. The resulting profile gives attorneys a clear framework for how to prioritize their questions and peremptory strikes.
Voir Dire Strategy and Question Development
Most voir dire fails not because attorneys ask bad questions, but because they ask questions that produce socially desirable answers rather than honest ones. Beverly develops voir dire frameworks built to elicit genuine responses, structured to surface bias, reveal attitude patterns, and identify jurors whose predispositions will be difficult to overcome regardless of the evidence.
The questions Beverly prepares are designed to work within judicial constraints while creating space for meaningful disclosure. She focuses on attitudinal questions over biographical ones, because attitudes, not demographics alone, are what predict how a juror will actually decide a case. Her voir dire approach builds rapport while generating the information trial teams need to make confident cause challenge and peremptory strike decisions.
Juror Questionnaire Development
Where permitted by the court, supplemental juror questionnaires allow for significantly richer information gathering before voir dire begins. Beverly develops customized questionnaires carefully worded to uncover the precise biases that could make a juror unable to fairly evaluate your case, without tipping off opposing counsel to your strategic priorities. Beverly’s team brings all necessary equipment to the courtroom to ensure the process is seamless for the judge’s staff, including making appropriate copies. The process is managed so it creates no disruption to court operations.
Social Media and Background Research
A juror’s public online presence often reveals attitudes and belief patterns that would never surface in open court. Beverly incorporates background research into the jury selection preparation process, reviewing publicly available social media profiles, consumer data, property records, and other accessible information on jurors identified from preliminary jury lists. This intelligence informs the juror risk profile and helps attorneys make strike decisions grounded in data rather than first impressions.
Real-Time Support During Voir Dire
Beverly is in the courtroom during jury selection, not on the phone outside. She tracks juror responses in real time, observes body language and interpersonal dynamics within the panel, and provides immediate strategic input as voir dire unfolds. When a juror gives an answer that warrants a cause challenge, Beverly identifies it. When the sequence of strikes needs to shift based on what the panel is revealing, she flags it.
This real-time support is the difference between voir dire as a data-gathering exercise and voir dire as a live strategic operation. Beverly prepares attorneys for both dimensions: the planned questioning framework and the in-the-moment adjustments that voir dire always requires.
Juror Psychology and the Medical Lens
Beverly’s background as a trauma nurse and hospital administrator gives her a reading on juror psychology that is genuinely different from what other consultants bring. Medical training builds a specific kind of attentiveness to behavioral signals, the nonverbal cues, the micro-expressions, the pattern of how someone responds under pressure, that translates directly into reading a jury panel during voir dire.
She is the only trial consultant in the country with both a medical degree (RN, MBA, LNCC) and her track record of verdicts. That combination of clinical observation skills applied to jury behavior is not something that can be replicated by research alone. It is one of the reasons attorneys who work with Beverly on witness preparation and case strategy consistently bring her back for jury selection as well.
How Jury Selection Connects to the Rest of Trial Preparation
Jury selection does not exist in isolation. The juror profile Beverly builds during voir dire preparation directly informs how she approaches the rest of trial: which case themes will land with this specific panel, how witnesses should be framed, and what kinds of trial graphics and demonstratives will be most effective. Because Beverly stays through the verdict, she is always thinking about jury selection in terms of the full arc of the case, not just the first morning.
This integrated approach, connecting voir dire strategy to mock jury research, witness preparation, and trial presentation, is how Beverly consistently contributes to outcomes at the level of the $42 million verdict in Spokane, the $56.7 million verdict against Ford in Colorado, and the more than half a billion dollars in total verdicts and settlements she has helped deliver across 22 states. Learn more about how jury selection fits into the full trial preparation process on our jury selection blog.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jury Selection Consulting
What does a jury selection consultant actually do during voir dire?
A jury selection consultant works alongside the trial team to build juror profiles before voir dire begins, develop targeted questioning frameworks, and provide real-time assessment of juror responses during selection. Beverly is present in the courtroom during voir dire (not advising from outside) and delivers live strategic input on cause challenges, peremptory strike priorities, and how to adjust questioning as the panel reveals itself.
How does Beverly’s approach differ from other jury consultants?
Most jury consultants leave after jury selection ends. Beverly stays through the entire trial, which means her voir dire strategy is built with the full trial arc in mind. Not just who to seat, but how the seated panel will respond to your case themes, your witnesses, and your closing argument. Her medical background also gives her a distinct read on juror behavior that extends beyond demographic analysis.
How does jury selection vary from state to state?
Significantly. The number of jurors on a panel varies: six, eight, or twelve depending on the jurisdiction and case type. Unanimity requirements differ. The scope of voir dire questioning permitted by the court varies considerably between state and federal courts. Time limits on voir dire, the use of supplemental juror questionnaires, and the number of peremptory strikes available all change by jurisdiction. Beverly has conducted jury selection in 22 states and understands these procedural differences at a working level.
What is a juror risk profile and how is it built?
A juror risk profile is a data-backed framework identifying the attitudinal, experiential, and demographic characteristics most likely to produce favorable or unfavorable jurors for your specific case. Beverly builds profiles using mock jury research data, community attitude surveys in the trial venue, background research on the jury pool, and her own pattern recognition from high-stakes voir dire across 22 states.
When should jury selection consulting begin?
As early as possible, and ideally well before trial. The most useful juror profiling work draws on mock jury or focus group research conducted months before trial, allowing Beverly to identify the attitudinal patterns most predictive of verdict leanings in your specific venue. That said, Beverly works with trial teams at whatever stage she joins the case, including last-minute voir dire preparation when timelines require it.
Can jury selection consulting be combined with mock jury research?
Yes, and the combination is significantly more powerful than either in isolation. Mock jury research produces the attitudinal data that informs the juror risk profile Beverly builds for voir dire. The two services are designed to work together: focus group and mock trial findings directly shape the voir dire strategy, questionnaire design, and strike prioritization. Beverly offers both as part of an integrated trial preparation approach.
Work With a Jury Consultant Who Stays Through the Verdict
Beverly “Splash” Abbott is one of the most sought-after trial consultants working in civil litigation today, the only one with a medical degree, the one with over half a billion in verdicts across 22 states, and the one who does not leave after the jury is seated. Her approach to jury selection is grounded in research, built on pattern recognition from decades of courtroom experience, and connected to every other phase of trial preparation she provides.
If you are preparing for a high-stakes trial and need a jury consultant who will be with you from voir dire through the verdict, contact The Trial Concierge to discuss your case.