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Articles Witness Effectiveness An article by Dr. Melissa Pigott and Dr. Harris Friedman of Magnus, “Enhancing Fact Witness Effectiveness”, reviews social psychological factors related to persuasion, then applies these factors to techniques for witness preparation. Fact witnesses were the focus of the article due to a general absence of literature on preparing fact witnesses for […]

Working with a trial consultant Presentation Technology in Mock Jury Research Magnus’ clients often use visual aids to enhance their mock jury arguments. These aids include video taped depositions, animations, and PowerPoint(tm) presentations. We welcome our clients’ use of visual aids in mock jury research, however, several practical considerations must be taken into account. First,

Why do research The Changing Practice of Law The practice of law is constantly changing and growing. Litigators must keep up with changes in the law, changes in their clients’ needs, and changes in fact finder (jury) impressions. The amount of information an attorney must process in handling a case is enormous. Ironically, while the

Where to do research Venue Specific Research Many attorneys ask where their jury research should be conducted. The answer is, “in the trial venue.” The reasons jury research should be conducted in the trial venue are: jurors’ attitudes and life experiences vary from venue to venue; the salient issues in the case are different depending

Mock Jurors Where Do We Get Mock Jurors? We are frequently asked, “where do you get your mock jurors?” While there are as many philosophies of mock jury recruiting as there are jury research practitioners, the only proper way to recruit mock jurors is the most difficult, time consuming, and expensive. This method involves random

Methodologies Using Jury Research to Evaluate Witness Effectiveness Attorneys’ impressions of their own and the opposition’s witnesses are often different from jurors’ impressions of the witnesses. One way to determine whether an attorney’s impressions of witnesses are accurate is to include a witness evaluation in mock jury research. Witness evaluation can be accomplished in one

Witnesses Are You Getting the Most You Can From Your Witnesses? Many of our clients have indicated that they rarely use the services of jury experts to prepare witnesses for depositions or testifying at trial. Magnus Research Consultants believes this is a potentially dangerous practice because it has been our experience that litigators and trial

Voir Dire Avoiding Stereotypes in Voir Dire Most people use stereotypes as quick and easy ways of judging other people. Social psychological research on stereotypes has been conducted for almost 80 years and in general, has revealed that stereotypes often lead to bad decisions. Although, by definition, stereotypes contain a “kernel of truth,” they are

Presentation Magnus Graphics Magnus Research Consultants, Inc. has an affiliate corporation, Magnus Graphics, Inc. Magnus Graphics specializes in providing creative visual solutions to enhance case information presented at mediation, arbitration, or trial. Magnus Graphics’ consultants include graphic designers, medical illustrators, animators, photographers, and videographers, all of whom have a wealth of experience in their respective