Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF JURY DECISIONS Trial lawyers need to understand the basic principles of psychology that are involved in jury decision-making. Professor Victoria Finkelstein, J.D. A member of the faculty at Willington University published an article about some of the basic psychological factors involved in our decision-making as human beings that are fundamental. Here are some examples we need to understand in our jury trials. Primacy Effect The first information people receive on an issue tends to…

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Most attorneys who work in civil litigation are familiar with the “anchoring effect,” and know that suggesting a number has an influence on damages. Numerous studies have shown that the amount of a juror’s damages decision is strongly affected by the number suggested by the plaintiffs’ attorney, independent of the strength of the actual evidence. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that, independent of the evidence, asking for more in trial raises the chance of getting more on the verdict form. And the…

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