What Makes Jurors Tick?

Jurors are telling you how to win cases! If you know how to listen, you can use juror attitudes and beliefs to shape your case, your delivery and even your courtroom demeanor for maximum impact. The faculty for this program has over 10,000 hours in the courtroom trying cases. This seminar is designed for Attorneys and those Involved in Civil or Criminal Law. Everything from jury selection to reactions to attorneys and witnesses to jury deliberations will be discussed with a focus upon practical strategies for dealing with the realities of the juror decision-making process. Learn techniques used by the best trial lawyers to get the the best results - when it matters most.

Agenda
8:30 - 9:30	Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00 - 9:05	Opening remarks and program overview
9:05 - 10:00	Pretrial Research - Applying what you learn through mock trials and focus groups into the courtroom What is the difference between mock trials and focus groups? How can they each benefit trial strategy? How do you assess which evidence resonates with jurors? How about witnesses?  Learn the answers to these questions, and more as we discuss the uses of mock trials and focus groups to ensure you your clients will be battle ready at trial time. Aref Jabbour, PhD, Senior Consultant Elizabeth K. McCloskey, Keker & Van Nest Erin E. Meyer, Keker & Van Nest
10:00 - 11:00	Jury Selection – Essential Strategies and Tactics Perhaps no aspect of trial sees more divergent approaches than jury selection. Some attorneys treat it as an afterthought, others believe it is the most important part of a trial. Some focus voir dire on identifying as many hostile jurors as possible, others use every opportunity to introduce key themes to the venire. This panel will discuss what the best practices truly are, from which goals to prioritize to how to craft questions for maximum advantage. Stephen Duffy, M.A., Trial Behavior Consulting Alex D. Jakle, J.D., Ph.D., Trial Behavior Consulting David Faustman, Fox Rothschild LLP
11:10 - 12:15	Social media - benefits and limitations to conducting social media searches on jurors When law firms now have Facebook pages and it seems every ad campaign comes with its own hashtag, you can be pretty sure social media is dominating the cultural sphere. Jurors in your venire will have digital presences on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and more, and it can be advantageous to know what they say in such an unfiltered and public space. This panel will demonstrate what attorneys and consultants can look for on social media – and how they can effectively and efficiently look for it – but also discuss the limitations of social media research, including the danger of spinning your wheels during jury selection when you could be focusing on other approaches. Alex D. Jakle, J.D., Ph.D., Trial Behavior Consulting Ronald F. Beaton, M.B.A., Trial Behavior Consulting Marc R. Lewis, Lewis & Llewellyn LLP
Lunch - On your own
1:30 - 2:30	Openings - developing themes and effective visuals for openings Jurors bring diverse attitudes and preconceptions with them into the courtroom.  You do your best during voir dire to eliminate the worst jurors.  The next important step is to tailor your opening so it resonates with the jurors who will ultimately be seated.  This panel will discuss how to work with beliefs and opinions in the jury box to tell a more persuasive story.  We also look at the benefits of visual aids, and share techniques for creating more effective visuals to support your opening. Aref Jabbour, PhD, Trial Behavior Consulting Laura Clementi, Trial Behavior Consulting
2:30 - 3:15	Witness Prep – Core Concepts and Difficult Witnesses Problematic witnesses come in every stripe: the defendant who can’t control his fury over being sued; the individual guilt-stricken over an injury or death; the plaintiff whose story keeps changing. What are the best ways to prevent such witnesses from sabotaging your case at deposition or trial? This panel addresses optimum approaches for dealing with recurring types of difficult witnesses, as well as the concepts critical to get across to every one of your witnesses.      Stephen Duffy, M.A., Trial Behavior Consulting Valerie N. Rose, Walkup Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger Paul T. Llewellyn, Lewis & Llewellyn LLP
3:25 - 4:30	Lessons from Ongoing Trial Research Both During and After Trial As important and valuable as pre-trial jury research is, no one can ever predict what will actually happen in trial.  Opposing counsel, witnesses and, of course, the judge can disrupt the best-laid plans and make your trial strategy obsolete.  For this reason, ongoing jury research is so valuable; it enables you to make mid-course corrections with some degree of confidence.  And interviews with jurors following a verdict are invaluable for getting feedback on strategies that worked, that came close to working and that will never work.  This panel will discuss the benefits, drawbacks and limitations to this kind of insight into what makes jurors tick. Ronald F. Beaton, M.B.A., Trial Behavior Consulting Michael Li-Ming Wong, Gibson Dunn
Program Concludes

This program has been approved for 6.0 hrs of MCLE for California attorneys. Bridgeport is a State Bar of CA provider of MCLE (Provider 11872).