Legal Focus Groups

Our Focus Groups are available to meet Monday-Saturday, including evening sessions. Evening and weekends sessions are conducted on complex litigation where we need to maximize the jury pool due to the anticipated length of trial, etc. Our jury panels, carefully screened, selected from the trial venue, are designed to replicate, as much as possible, the jury panel that you will select at the time of trial. We will provide you with as many panel members as you wish, but our recommendation is an 8-12 member panel. This will provide an excellent cross-section and result in a meaningful panel discussion.

The following is a brief outline of how Litigation Advantage runs its Focus Group:

• Each panel member completes a pre-hearing demographic survey
• During the first phase of the Focus Group, the facilitator/moderator, reads a brief statement of the case to the panel, followed by the statement of the law to be applied based upon state jury charges.
• Counsel then presents the case
  • Openings by Plaintiff and Defendant
  • Witness(es) Testimony
  • Use of Visual Evidence
• Private deliberations then begin and a Jury Questionnaire is completed by each individual panel member during this deliberation process.
• Moderator written statement summarizing events of Focus Group
• Optional videotaping of Focus Group

Once the panel has completed the Jury Questionnaire, counsel returns to the room for discussion and debriefing of the jury, as a group. The Moderator facilitates this discussion; however, counsel is very active in the discussion. The purpose from the discussion is not only to obtain the jury’s verdict but insight as to what they thought were the strengths and weaknesses of the case; what evidence they thought was helpful; what evidence was detrimental to the case; how did they evaluate the witnesses (credibility, demeanor, etc.). In addition, if there are any pitfalls in your case, this is the time to throw them out there and see how the jury reacts.

Our goal at Litigation Advantage is for you to leave your Focus Group with answers to the questions you have been tossing around in your head for months, maybe years.

Litigation Advantage offers you the opportunity to “test drive” the trial of your case.