The FTI litigation support services team conducts research to help clients determine the themes and evidence that are most likely to sway a jury in the client’s favor. We explore likely verdicts and damage awards to determine the most persuasive arguments for and against each party. Our approach combines methods used in traditional focus groups with decision-modeling techniques used in mock jury trials.
Combined Focus and Case Test ResearchThe trial services advisors at FTI provide the trial team and corporate client with a full narrative report, including charts and appended data summaries. The report includes an analysis of the factors that influence juror decisions, an assessment of risks, and recommendations for improving the persuasive power of the case. Recommendations include suggested themes, solutions to juror comprehension problems, strategic uses of evidence and ideas for visual presentation. Videotapes of the research sessions are also provided.
Interactive Focus Group ResearchThe interactive focus group reverses the roles in traditional focus groups by allowing the jurors to ask questions of the presenters as case information is given. The questions asked by the jurors become a significant part of the data, which help FTI identify thematic and evidentiary solutions that favor the client as well as show jurors’ reactions to basic case issues and evidence.Once the case information has been presented, the process returns to a traditional focus group format, with interviews led by FTI facilitators who probe the reactions of jurors to the case arguments. Case documents such as motions for summary judgment, briefs and key depositions are reviewed by FTI consultants in order to construct the questionnaire and to provide feedback on the attorneys' presentation scripts prior to the exercise. Finally, FTI provides a written report with content analyses of the group discussions as well as videotapes of the sessions.
Initial Case View FTI litigation support services experts conduct initial case research to help determine the general impact of case claims on a jury. Our team of trial services advisors leverage data from questionnaires and discussions to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a case from a juror’s perspective.To provide the most accurate view of the initial case, FTI conducts a research exercise with a panel of jurors who hear the attorneys’ case summaries and then answer questions about their reactions – both on an FTI-generated questionnaire as well as in deliberation group discussions observed by FTI on closed-circuit video. At the end of the exercise, we provide a report with our assessment of the findings, as well as videotapes of the deliberations, to the attorneys.