The CSI Blog

Critical Communications    |    Records & Depositions    |    Litigation Psychology


Jury trials during a pandemic: what to consider - part 3
In part 1 of this article about the key factors that trial attorneys, in-house counsel, and claims professionals should consider in evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of a civil jury trial in the midst and wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we wrote about jurors’ perceptions of corporatio...
Melissa Loberg, Ph.D. & Lorie Sicafuse, Ph.D.
— July 2021 — 78 views Anti-reptile COVID-19 Jurors Jury consulting Litigation psychology Reptile Research Trial consulting


Litigation Psychology Podcast #79 - Settlement negotiations
Kellie Howard-Goudy, Attorney with Collins Einhorn Farrell, joins the podcast to talk about strategies for settlement negotiations. Since over 95% of cases settle, honing the skills and process to manage settlement negotiations is a critical skill for litigators. Kellie shares her strategy for set...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— July 2021 — 82 views COVID-19 Focus groups Settlements


Jury trials during a pandemic: what to consider - part 2
In part 1 of this article , we covered two of the four key factors that trial attorneys, in-house counsel, and claims professionals should consider in evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of a civil jury trial in the midst and wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In this second part, we discu...
Melissa Loberg, Ph.D. & Lorie Sicafuse, Ph.D.
— July 2021 — 122 views Anti-reptile COVID-19 Jurors Jury consulting Litigation psychology Reptile Research Trial consulting


Jury trials during a pandemic: what to consider - part 1
Despite the ongoing pandemic, civil jury trials have resumed in many venues throughout the United States. There is little doubt that the frequency of civil jury trials will increase with more widespread distribution of vaccines and the implementation of new social distancing courtroom protocols. C...
Melissa Loberg, Ph.D. & Lorie Sicafuse, Ph.D.
— July 2021 — 150 views Anti-reptile COVID-19 Jurors Jury consulting Litigation psychology Reptile Research Trial consulting


Litigation Psychology Podcast #77 - Safety is NOT your top priority
Sean Murphy, Practice Leader, CSI Critical Communications joins Dr. Steve Wood to talk about the myth that safety is the top priority for most businesses. Many company communications, mission statements, and handbooks default to stating that the safety of their employees/customers/shareholders/com...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— July 2021 — 215 views Communications COVID-19 Crisis Enterprise risk management Social media


Litigation Psychology Podcast #75 - Frequently asked questions
A special episode for the 75th edition of The Litigation Psychology Podcast. Dr. Bill Kanasky answers questions that have come in from podcast viewers and listeners. The questions asked and answered: - Should I do my mock tria l in the actual venue of the lawsuit? - How should I handle confident...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— June 2021 — 186 views COVID-19 Depositions Jurors Jury consulting Litigation psychology Mock trials Nuclear verdicts Trial consulting Witness training


Litigation Psychology Podcast #74 - Emotional witnesses
Attorney Matt LaBeau with Collins Einhorn Farrell joins Dr. Steve Wood to discuss preparing emotional witnesses for deposition. Matt talks about the different types of emotions that witnesses might be struggling with (sadness, anger, nervousness) and how important it is to identify in advance if y...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— June 2021 — 185 views COVID-19 Depositions Litigation psychology Reptile Witness training


Myth #6 - Safety is your top priority
We are going to make a statement that will likely cause severe discomfort for safety directors and risk managers alike – “Safety is NOT your top priority.” We repeat, “Safety is NOT your top priority.” Let us clarify this statement, though. Just because we are saying that safety is not your TOP pr...
Steve Wood, Ph.D. & Sean Murphy
— June 2021 — 333 views Anti-reptile Communications COVID-19 Crisis Litigation psychology Reptile


Litigation Psychology Podcast #71 - Mental health awareness
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Whitney Burkett, Associate Attorney with Anderson, Rasor & Partners, and CSI Litigation Consultant Dr. Alyssa Parker join Dr. Steve Wood to discuss mental health, and in particular the mental health of witnesses. Whitney and Alyssa discuss the importance of as...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— May 2021 — 230 views COVID-19 Mental health Witness training


Litigation Psychology Podcast #69 - Evolution of the insurance claims process
Tim Christ, Vice President of Growth for Claimatic, joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about how the insurance claims process has evolved over time. Tim provides some background on Claimatic, an intelligent decisioning software that automatically and quickly triages, routes, and assign thousands ...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— May 2021 — 309 views COVID-19 Insurance defense


Litigation Psychology Podcast #68 - Cross examination
With in-person trials beginning to ramp up again after the shutdowns caused by COVID-19, dusting off trial skills becomes important. In this episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast, Dr. Bill Kanasky speaks to trial attorneys Paul Motz of Segal McCambridge and Georgianne Walker of May Oberfell...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— May 2021 — 476 views COVID-19 Litigation psychology Trial consulting Witness training


Litigation Psychology Podcast #67 - Virtual depositions
Colleen Burke, James Hunter, and Kari Melkonian, Attorneys with Michigan law firm Collins Einhorn Farrell join Dr. Steve Wood to discuss the topic of virtual depositions. The group shares their experiences thus far with doing online depositions, including how they got started and what they've lear...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— April 2021 — 477 views COVID-19 Depositions Witness training


Updated guidance from the ABA on remote work
Recently, the American Bar Association shared new guidance for attorneys when working remotely. Coming nearly one year after the start of virtual work for most attorneys because of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Formal Opinion 498 identifies some of the minimum requirements under ABA Model ...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— April 2021 — 318 views COVID-19 Records Retrieval


Mental health, witnesses, and litigation
* Introduction * The Covid-19 pandemic has been responsible for a high level of stress, anxiety, fear, and concern for everyone. The pressure on individual’s mental health can’t be overstated. To rapidly monitor recent changes in mental health since the start of the pandemic, the National Center f...
Alyssa Parker Hwang, Ph.D. - Litigation Psychology
— March 2021 — 422 views COVID-19 Depositions Litigation psychology Witness training


Scientific evaluation of juror damage awards post-COVID
Few individuals would argue that COVID-19’s aftermath has left potential jurors in a heightened state of emotion. Our own research at Courtroom Sciences, Inc. has confirmed these assumptions as well.   This becomes problematic when considering that jurors in a heightened state of emotion have les...
Steve Wood, Ph.D. - Litigation Psychology
— February 2021 — 434 views COVID-19 Jurors Jury consulting Litigation psychology Mock trials Research Trial consulting


Discovery obligations during the pandemic
Having resolved discovery disputes related to the COVID-19 pandemic for almost a year, trial courts have considered myriad creative discovery objections concerning whether and how litigants must present their witnesses for deposition testimony. With increased familiarity and experience resolving w...
Jae Ellis - Courtroom Sciences, Inc.
— February 2021 — 417 views Court reporting COVID-19 Depositions Paralegals


Impact of pandemic-related mental stress on witnesses
Dr. Alyssa Parker, CSI Litigation Consultant, is featured on the Best's Insurance Professional Resources podcast discussing the impact of pandemic-related mental stress on witnesses. Click the image to view the episode. None   watch the podcast http://www.ambest.com/video/video.aspx?...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— February 2021 — 464 views COVID-19 Depositions Insurance defense Litigation psychology Witness training


The Litigation Psychology Podcast #56 - Trucking & Covid-19
This episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast focuses on how the trucking and transportation industry responded to the pandemic and the impressions, attitudes, and beliefs that jurors have toward transportation and trucking companies. Dr. Steve Wood discusses research that CSI has conducted ...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— February 2021 — 482 views COVID-19 Jurors Litigation psychology Research Trucking & transportation Witness training


Litigation Psychology Podcast #55 - Managing witness mental health
Trucking defense attorney Mike Bassett joins the podcast to discuss the steps that he takes before he begins working with a witness: establishing trust, understanding their backstory, addressing their concerns and questions and establishing their state of mind. Without the proper pre-preparation, ...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— February 2021 — 508 views COVID-19 Depositions Litigation psychology Mental health Planning Trucking & transportation Witness training


Litigation Psychology Podcast #54 - Mental health in litigation
Trucking defense attorney Mark Perkins shares his personal experience with mental health and how he handles and addresses it. Mark and Bill Kanasky, Ph.D. talk about the ways the legal industry has, and has not, addressed mental health issues. They also discuss how the personal struggles that witn...
CSI - Courtroom Sciences Inc
— January 2021 — 656 views COVID-19 Depositions Litigation psychology Mental health Planning Trucking & transportation Witness training