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CONSULTING
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Frequently Asked Questions
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1)
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How do you get your jurors?
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Show Answer
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CSI employs a team of in-house recruiters to ensure the quality and accuracy of our research panels. CSI’s repository of potential jurors includes nearly 20 million candidates from all over the United States. Our nationwide experience allows CSI to gather intelligence on America’s courtrooms for the recruiting process. Research panels must replicate who is seated at the courthouse, and we understand the differences between census data, the central jury room, and the jury box. CSI screens our research panels for conflicts and to maintain confidentiality. This careful attention to detail and focus on quality means that CSI seats the most realistic mock jurors in the industry.
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2)
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How many trials have you worked on?
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Show Answer
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CSI typically prepares approximately one hundred matters per year for trial.
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3)
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About electronic presentation systems: when you come into the courtroom with all of that fancy equipment, don’t jurors assume your client is “rich”?
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Show Answer
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In this era of pervasive and sophisticated media, we have found that modern jurors expect courtroom technology to reflect the same degree of sophistication. The issue is not “wealth”, but professionalism. The jury equates graphics and high-impact presentation with “preparation.” Jurors are surprised and extremely disappointed in the failure to do so professionally.
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4)
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Since a trial consultant is not an attorney, isn’t the work that he or she does discoverable?
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Show Answer
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Our work is protected by the attorney-client privilege.
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5)
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Why is there a need for trial consultants?
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Show Answer
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The trial consultant bridges the gap between the way lawyers view cases and the way jurors problem-solve them. CSI strives to become a part of the trial team and offer insights, observations, and experiences from a non-legal perspective. Trial counsel is always the final decision maker and CSI respects this fact.
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6)
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Isn’t the trial consultant there basically to help pick the jury, and that’s it?
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Show Answer
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In the past, yes. But today, trial consultants can add value at all stages in the litigation by conducting witness training sessions as well as pre-trial jury research in the form of Mock Trials, Focus Groups, voir dire preparation, juror questionnaires, Courtroom Monitoring, and Mirror Juries®. Please review our services within this site and feel free to request more information as it pertains to your case.
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7)
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Aren’t all trial consultants alike?
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Show Answer
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CSI is a full-service firm, meaning all of your trial-support needs can be found under one roof. This insures timeliness, confidentiality, and quality control of all of our services, including multimedia. We invite you to allow us to outline and display our talents and abilities.
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8)
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Isn’t jury selection just relying on old stereotypes about people, such as race, gender, ethnicity, social status, or clothing?
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Show Answer
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We find that pre-disposed beliefs and life experiences--not stereotypes--are what matter. What CSI adds to the jury selection process is a way to uncover dangerous attitudes that jurors harbor. That is, we draft the voir dire questions and juror questionnaire items, for example, that glean this pertinent information. This is typically done after conducting pre-trial mock jury research to identify pre-existing beliefs and dispositions that jurors bring to the courtroom.
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9)
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What’s the difference between a mock trial and a focus group?
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Show Answer
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At CSI, Focus Group projects are more exploratory in nature and are run early in the litigation. Mock Trials, which add deliberations and witness testimony, as well as more extensive analysis and reporting, are more of a dress rehearsal and are implemented later in the litigation, when much of the discovery has already been conducted.
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10)
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Do you have an office in Dallas?
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Show Answer
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Yes, we have one office, but a national practice. Our mobile units assist in out-of-area cases. We have been involved in litigation in all 50 states.
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11)
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How much do your services cost?
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Show Answer
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Most of the services we provide are billed hourly. Other services, such as pre-trial jury research exercises, are billed as flat fee services.
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12)
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How do I get CSI involved?
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Show Answer
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Give us a call. We would be happy to discuss our case and our potential involvement. Click here to contact us.
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