JuryLogic

Sometimes, being a jury consultant reminds me of being a teacher. Or perhaps a parent. I never attend trial without issuing some specific behavioral guidelines to my team. Sometimes I feel a little silly for doing so, but I have never worked with a trial team who failed to heed to the advice I imparted.

Watch your Ps and Qs from the moment you leave the hotel room.
Keep your note-passing to a minimum.
Whisper only when necessary.
Keep your work space clean.
Be organized.
Do not react.

In a nutshell?  Always, always, always exude the utmost degree of professionalism.

I know. Everyone knows this, right?! How demeaning to remind them. Maybe… but I do. Each and every client. Each and every trial. Each and every venue. Every single time. The size of the trial doesn’t matter. The potential damages don’t matter. The number of gray hairs on counsel’s head doesn’t matter. The decades of expertise held by my team doesn’t matter.

I would be remiss if I did not share my wisdom with the team. If they already know the drill, it’s a simple reminder to keep on keeping-on. If they question me? I have plenty of juror feedback to support the statements. These guidelines are, to me, much like a Commandment in the Courtroom.

Follow them, and ye shall be rewarded. Ignore them? Be prepared for consequences.

I write this post because I recently returned from a trial where it appeared that opposing counsel was not privy to this little nugget of advice. Or perhaps, they knew the guidelines but chose to ignore them.

The trial occurred in what many consider to be one of the hottest venues for plaintiff verdicts. It was a rural venue. Our courtroom was about the size of a shoebox. It was so small that plaintiff counsel could literally hold hands with a juror in the jury box. We’re talking s-m-a-l-l. But I digress.

Opposing counsel’s team was comprised of what many consider to be top-notch, A-list Plaintiff attorneys. Individually, these attorneys have quite a reputation for winning big verdicts and having great trial skills. Collectively? They were a very formidable opponent.

While the skills of the opposing trial team was certainly nothing to sneeze at, what I witnessed in the courtroom was very unexpected. I observed a disorganized, loud, somewhat fractured trial team that seemed to struggle with the proper courtroom demeanor and conduct.

And apparently. The jury felt the same way.

After a few days into trial, the jury had had enough and submitted a written note to the judge. The judge read the note, which basically contained a plea from jurors to opposing counsel to… well… for lack of a better word, behave.

Jurors were frustrated with the paper-shuffling. The loud whispers. The digging through boxes. The noise and distraction caused by counsel (and their clients) leaving the courtroom during testimony. And perhaps the biggie? The soft shouts from one attorney to the questioning attorney about what to ask next.

Fortunately, my trial team was the epitome of professionalism throughout the entire trial. They followed the rules of conduct and they met juror expectations. In fact, a couple jurors contacted our lead attorney to extend thanks for being organized, for being respectful, and for not wasting the jury’s time.

My client avoided a potential verdict in excess of $15 Million and jurors returned a verdict of no liability against my client in less time than it took my team to order our lunch.

Did counsel’s conduct play any role whatsoever in juror perception of the facts or their views on liability? Perhaps not.

But it certainly doesn’t hurt to always take the high road.