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Sarah is speaking about sex assault cases on Dec. 9th @ the Association of Defense Counsel’s annual meeting →

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Litigation Research

Many companies can organize a mock trial or focus group. Trialcraft does more — we help you craft a more persuasive case with:

  • research design and questionnaires that clearly identify case problems and point to solutions
  • coaching for you and your team that takes you to the next level of skill in trial presentation
  • actionable insights and recommendations that prepare you for trial or ADR success

Collectively, our senior consultants have designed and executed more than 500 mock trials in venues big and small around the country. Because we are experienced social scientists who also spend a lot of time in the trial, we know the ins and outs of research design and trial performance in state and federal, civil, and criminal courts.

Hire us because of our experience. We’re confident you will come back to us because of our skills. We give you insights no one else does and help you solve your toughest trial problems.

We invite you to experience the difference that serious trial craft can provide.

Sarah’s quick mastery of complicated facts and ability to tailor focus groups and mock trials to the issues in the case is unsurpassed.” 

— Jim McGinnis, Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton

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Good Litigation Research Makes Your Case And Your Trial Team Ship-Shape

Imagine you have built a boat and plan to sail it around the world. If you’re smart, you first conduct a trial in rough weather to determine your boat’s sea-worthiness, to find every possible leak, so you can fix problems safely back in port — not when you are on the high seas.

In the same way, you are wise to test your case — to find and fix holes — before trial. That’s the reason to do a mock trial — to fix your case and get your crew ready to sail in the rough weather ahead.

Mock trials have become a commodity in the trial consulting world. They’re expensive to run, and we find that clients often shop for consultants based on price because of increasing pressures on litigation budgets. But the real product of a mock trial is not the event itself — it’s the insights you and your consultants take away.

It’s no bargain to spend a lot and leave without the answers and guidance you need.

Insights come from the research designs, questionnaires, and minds of great and experienced consultants. Trialcraft provides you great consulting at reasonable prices.

We stand out from competitors by delving deeply into the facts and details of your case and working with you to develop effective presentations. This work helps move trial prep forward as well.

Our custom questionnaires ensure we understand the strengths and weaknesses of your case from all angles, as well as the key psychological decisions jurors make as they respond to the evidence and create their own stories of the case.

Our case analysis, based on all of the data we gather (not just deliberations) helps shift the way you’re presenting your case to maximize your side’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses.

Even long-time litigators who’ve done dozens of mock trials are often surprised that a basic part of our protocol involves spending 70 minutes at the end of case presentations for jurors to fill out questionnaires. This shouldn’t be surprising; if you’re investing thousands of dollars in jury research, don’t you want to take the extra time and care to ensure you collect data that will actually transform your understanding of your case?

Mock trials are expensive, and we extract every benefit from them to create the most value for you and your clients. Whenever appropriate, we use the unique opportunities that a live mock trial presents to help prepare your witnesses, develop and test key demonstratives, and coach you and your team to new levels of performance. If we work on multiple cases for you, we track key questions across your cases and venues to mine the data for insights that go beyond an individual case.

To spread the insights and learning beyond the silo of your individual case and trial, we can also help your firm or company create training and educational materials from the mock trial videos and supporting materials as well.

Sarah and her team developed a deep and essential understanding of all of the facts: the good and the bad. No relevant fact or document was ignored — rather, each was assigned a place in our narrative. Sarah ran efficient and high-value mock exercises designed to address specific critical issues. Their reports from these exercises were not abbreviated profiles of “our” jurors, but rather carefully assessed the strengths and weaknesses of our case for any given jury. Significantly, the reports were used as working documents throughout trial preparation.”

— Tad Allan, Partner, O’Melveny

 

Testimonials

“Sarah's quick mastery of complicated facts and ability to tailor focus groups and mock trials to the issues in the case is unsurpassed.”

Jim McGinnis, Partner

Jim McGinnis, Partner

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton

“… thank you for the excellent advice and guidance you have provided in a number of high exposure cases over the past several years. My clients and I have benefitted from an array of your services — ranging from mock trials to strategies for closing argument in a multi-month trial. What I have found uniquely beneficial is the depth of what you bring to a case and your unflinching commitment to calling it as you see it for the betterment of the case and its presentation. …"

Tad Allan

Tad Allan, Partner

O’Melveny

“After our meeting, I felt like there was a Spock mind-meld and I had the sense that I knew what the objective was for voir dire and, with that sense, I could be successful. It’s funny — I had the sense that the voir dire was a bit of a performance and taking stabs in the dark, but actually, it is much more concrete with clear objectives. Thanks again!”

Glenda Zarbock, Partner

Glenda Zarbock, Partner

Hanson Bridgett, LLP

“… thank you for the excellent advice and guidance you have provided in a number of high exposure cases over the past several years. My clients and I have benefitted from an array of your services — ranging from mock trials to strategies for closing arguments in a multi-month trial. What I have found uniquely beneficial is the depth of what you bring to a case and your unflinching commitment to calling it as you see it for the betterment of the case and its presentation. …

Richard S. Linkert

Richard S. Linkert, Partner

Matheny Sears

“We knew that the testimony of the defendant doctor was going to be the key to winning the case. The work you did to prepare her, getting over her feelings of guilt about the bad outcome and guilt about going against a patient, made all the difference: I don’t think we would have won without you.”

John Hart

John Hart, Partner

Hart Wagner

“When I first started working with you, I had already done maybe 100 jury trials. I was surprised at what I still had to learn about voir dire and jury selection. I’ve used the skills I learned on every case I’ve tried since, to great success — so the value went far beyond what Sarah brought to the cases on which we worked together.”

Jeff R. Street, Partner

Jeff R. Street, Partner

Hodgkinson Street Mepham

“...The difference between our witnesses and theirs was like night and day. It made a huge difference with the jury.”

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Carl McConnell

Hoge Fenton

“...You did a better job on depo prep than I could have done because you were not concerned about interfering with the lawyer/client relationship. Your work was essential to the successful resolution of this case.”

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Steven Piser, Owner

Law Offices of Steven Piser

"... using your script, for the first time in my career I was able to successfully challenge for cause a juror sitting on the panel. In addition, the next day after the jury was empaneled, it was discovered that one of the jurors was under a broker/client relationship for the purchase of a home and sale of an existing home where the broker was the wife of one of the defense counsel. Both the defendant and the judge minimized the possibility of bias. Again, using your script, I was able to get her to say the magic words such that I didn’t even need to move to strike her — the judge determined it on his own. Thank you for your help. It was invaluable!"

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Daniel Glynn, Partner

Greener Burke Shoemaker Oberrecht, P.A.

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