NOTE: My wife and I leave for Botswana Africa this week and I will not be posting anything for several weeks. Thanks for checking back later —————————————————————————————- We all know the value of focus studies. The problem is there are so many ways of conducting focus studies that they can lead to incorrect conclusions. My own view is that mock trial studies, that is presenting a mini trial with plaintiff and defense evidence and argument is fraught with the danger…
Most lawyers are convinced that focus studies are an invaluable method of getting helpful feedback regarding cases. There are a variety of ways of conducting these studies. One can use a telephone survey like the calls you get when there is a pending election. One can also conduct a case study with a group at a meeting place. This technique can involve numerous approaches from a full mock trial to simply showing documents to the group for a spontaneous reaction….
In a recent auto collision case the defendant admitted liability. There was no dispute that the plaintiff had very serious injuries and that there was substantial economic loss. The defense lawyer in argument suggested a specific minimum dollar verdicts for the consortium claims and a specific amount for the injured person. The defense figure was about half of the plaintiff’s figure. You would consider the defense numbers a fixed floor and the jury likely to bring in a verdict in…