Jessica BryloApr 13, 20174 minHow Well Do You Know Your Case?How well do you think you know your cases? I don’t mean the deadlines for discovery or the legal rulings by the judge. I mean, how well d...
Jessica BryloFeb 17, 20135 minThe Various Shapes, Sizes, and Costs of Focus GroupsOver the years, I’ve come to realize that a good majority of attorneys believe that there are only one or two variations of focus groups ...
Jessica BryloNov 13, 20123 minPowers of Confirmation Bias: Juror Interview ClipsConfirmation bias is the tendency for a person to distort information to fit with existing beliefs. Any information that conflicts with t...
Jessica BryloOct 5, 20122 minPower of the Self-Protective MechanismI was running some focus groups this past weekend on a negligence case where the main issues were causation and damages. Without breaking...
Jessica BryloSep 6, 20122 minJurors United? Something to Consider During Jury SelectionThe jurors in the Drew Peterson case are drawing some media attention. While it seems to be out of a movie (Runaway Jury, in fact), the j...
Jessica BryloJul 26, 20122 minKeeping Jurors Awake and InterestedOn my days off, I walk into my nearest courtroom and watch jury trials. I look for how long it takes me to figure out what the case is ab...
Jessica BryloMay 8, 20122 minMaximizing your Budget for Voir DireThe more I am called in to help attorneys with jury selection, the more I realize their money may have been spent better elsewhere. Am I ...
Jessica BryloApr 15, 20123 minLessons from a Defense VerdictA few weeks ago, I watched some very seasoned attorneys try a negligence case. I was only able to watch one day of testimony but spoke w...
Jessica BryloMar 9, 20122 minFrom the Mouths of Babes [Jurors]This post is a plug for focus groups – not necessarily done by me, although I welcome the opportunity always – but done by anyone who know...
Jessica BryloFeb 21, 20123 minWhy Should You Keep Old Jury Lists?This post is not strategy-related, but as a practical matter, I often run into an issue when working on focus grouping a case that can be...
Jessica BryloFeb 6, 20122 minHow to Use “Herd Mentality” to Your AdvantageAs advanced as humans are, we are still primitively just mammals belonging to a herd. Animals and people stay in herds because it provid...
Jessica BryloJan 12, 20123 minWhat Do Jurors Care About?Do you ever feel like jurors decided your case randomly or based on something other than the evidence you presented? It’s highly probabl...
Jessica BryloDec 7, 20112 minMistakes in “Polarizing” – Are You Hurting Your Case?If you are a Plaintiff’s attorney and have not yet read Rick Friedman’s “Polarizing the Case,” I highly suggest it – and this post probab...
Jessica BryloNov 20, 20112 minUnreliability of Eyewitness Memory & How to Counteract ItIf you’ve spent any time interviewing jurors, you know that eyewitness testimony holds great weight. And if you’ve spent any time resear...
Jessica BryloNov 9, 20112 minWatch for InconsistenciesIn my last post, I talked about trusting jurors. The flip side to that is that you need to be trustworthy. There are many elements that...
Jessica BryloOct 22, 20112 minDetecting Lies During Voir DireThere have been many studies done on lie detection and the results are often disheartening. Most of us, including police officers, fare ...
Jessica BryloOct 10, 20112 minA Look At the New Argumentative Theory of ReasoningIn one of my previous posts, a reader asked about a new theory called Argumentative Theory or Argumentative Reasoning. I thought it woul...
Jessica BryloOct 2, 20114 minHow Well Can You Predict the Outcome of Your Case?In my years of studying jurors, I have come to find attorneys just as intriguing. Attorneys know their cases extremely well. So well, i...
Jessica BryloSep 26, 20115 minLessons from the Deliberation RoomWhen you go through law school, socialize with other attorneys, and draft motions directed to attorneys and judges, you can easily lose t...
Jessica BryloSep 15, 20112 minActs vs. Omissions – A Small But Powerful DifferenceYou’re creating the story of your case for opening and trial. You have a situation where a business allowed an unsafe condition to exist...