Trial Lab®, LLC

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OUR APPROACH

Trial Lab treats each case as an opportunity to help trial counsel and clients find the answers to some deceptively straightforward questions:

What is this case about, really?
What are the simple themes that best capture our position, that the ultimate decision-maker – mediator, arbitrator, judge, or jury – will most likely embrace?
Who among our witnesses can most effectively communicate with the jury?
What weaknesses are there in our case, and how do we address them at trial?
What is the likely settlement value of the case?

The process is evidence based. Our analysis centers on the probable impact of our case themes, witnesses, trial strategy, and graphics, as indicated by the data. Throughout our involvement, we seek to apply that analysis in a meaningful and practical way.

Our twenty years of experience in courtrooms throughout the United States convinces us that evidence-based decision making supports the usefulness of conducting a focus group or mock trial before submitting a case to an ADR proceeding. It indicates that a panel of jury-eligible research participants, chosen from the actual venue, will generate a more reliable assessment of the settlement value of a case than can be determined from the collective hunches or “gut feelings” of the trial team.

This philosophy also means that any Trial Lab project – whether it is a focus group, mock trial, or witness-training session – will be tailored to the circumstances of the case, a mix that includes a particular trial venue, particular witnesses, a particular set of facts, and a particular budget. Within those parameters, our job is to gather and analyze jurors' reactions to your case. At the same time, we are not in the business of academic research. As important as the data is, we believe it is our mission to interpret and present that data in a manner that is immediately useful and practical.