Focus Groups

---

Time. Money. Research. Experts. Witnesses. Exhibits. 

So much goes into preparing for trial. Don't you want to test your case in front of those people that really matter - the jurors?

In today's changing world, understanding what a jury thinks of your case is vital. At ProvenFocus, we help you test your case in front of the people who reflect your actual jury pool. We run focus groups and mock trials in your case venue, with participants recruited from the local population that are consistent with the local demographics. We will help you test your case to learn your pitfalls and strengths, and put together the best case possible.

On any given day, the jurors that are called for your case will be different and can be unpredictable. Some courtrooms have limited time for voir dire, making the selection process even more difficult. 

Jurors all bring their own life experiences, biases, and personal emotions into the courtroom. Conducting focus groups and mock trials will test your case in front of local individuals so you can learn how actual jurors perceive your case, what arguments resonate with them, what factors may be confusing, and even what they think about your exhibits or witnesses. 

Your goals for the information you want to learn, as well as the stage of litigation your case is in, determine which type of focus group is best for you.

Discovery Focus Groups: Early on in the case, learning what a jury would like to hear is critical to developing a discovery plan. Jurors may want to see a certain document or understand why it is not available. They might want to hear from a certain witness you didn't identify as important. You certainly want to learn all this before discovery closes. Focus groups also uncover specific language or explanations that resonate with jurors that can then be utilized in depositions with witnesses and experts to tailor your proof before it's set in stone.

Targeting Focus Groups: These are helpful in preparing trial exhibits and learning if an exhibit makes sense to the jurors, whether it is helpful or harmful. Learning if specific facts are important to a jury streamlines your trial prep and the trial itself. Focus groups directed at witnesses or expert testimony let you know - before jury deliberations - if that testimony translates to jurors and proves the point you want to make.

Adversarial Focus Groups & Formal Mock Trials: These types of focus groups help hone your presentation and provide a "dry run" before the actual trial. These focus groups allow the participants to deliberate about the case facts from both sides and provide valuable insight. In these focus groups, ProvenFocus presents both sides of the case with a neutral moderator who will illicit from the jury their responses to the evidence and any questions or concerns they have. This gives you a real, honest view of how the jury will receive your case as a whole.

In this day and age - where social media, online forums, and AI reign supreme - many think that big surveys and quick internet questionnaires can gather all of the data you need. We disagree. 

Why leave how you try your client's case up to online surveys?

While there may be some useful information gained online, the best way to test your case is in the exact venue where the case will be tried. Jurors in the Rocky Mountains are different from jurors in the southeast. Jurors on the east coast are different from jurors on the west coast. Jurors in cities are different from jurors in rural areas. Testing in the proper venue with determined demographics provides the best representation of your actual jury and gives real data to guide your case.

We hear from other attorneys and consultants that they have used social websites and temp agencies to get participants for jury study projects. The result is repeat participants who say what they think you want to hear and folks who are not representative of the actual jury pool. That is why we work hands-on with a specialized recruiter to vet all participants and ensure that they are local and match the demographics of your case's likely jury pool.

Focus Groups and Mock Trials uncover information vital to your case. You learn biases of the local population and what pre-conceived ideas they have about your type of litigation. We find terminology that jurors use and understand, what they want to know, and what is confusing about your case to your likely juror. You also learn what resonates with your jurors.

You will develop and test themes and determine if they are compelling. We test and refine exhibits and witness testimony and help create a discovery plan to fill in the gaps from what your jurors are missing. 

Focus grouping is the only change you get to listen to jurors deliberate and learn how they perceive your case before it really matters.