First Court Litigation Insights

How to win (or defend) a billion dollar verdict

Nov 8, 2019 3:55:32 PM / by Mike Liffrig posted in Jurors, Voir Dire, Advocacy, Jury Research, Emotion, Law, jury trial, voir dire rehearsal, jury selection, North Dakota

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First Court has helped our clients to win some of the biggest cases in recent judicial history. 

Four years ago, our research assisted the defendants in the Aurora Theatre shooting civil case in winning a defense verdict. 

Recently, we helped the plaintiff victims of a drunk driver win a record verdict of more than $1 billion to compensate for the death of two young women and catastrophic injuries to a third. 

We have compiled and shared the key lessons from these landmark decisions for advocates on either side of a case with big verdict potential:

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Powerful, Cost-effective Jury Research - Introducing Three Hour Trial by First Court

Dec 14, 2018 9:54:22 AM / by Joe Liffrig posted in Jurors, Jury Research, Focus Group, innovation, jury trial, jury selection, three hour trial, online jury research

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We have helped thousands of clients win better outcomes in their lawsuits using our Private Jury Trial service over the last three decades. Woven into that success, we have heard two needs from our clients that we cannot meet with an all-day, in-person trial: 1) It's not cost effective for smaller cases, and 2) Because of the cost and time commitment, it's likely they can only do it once in a given case... even as the case evolves and new questions arise. 

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How to choose compelling experts

Nov 29, 2018 12:20:36 PM / by Joe Liffrig posted in Jurors, Jury Research, Witness, Testimony, Experts

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You pay a premium for expert testimony. Why? To persuade jurors. But do you have any way to know if you are investing in the right expert(s)? There is no single rule to pick the best experts for each case, but we have had the chance to measure the effectiveness of thousands of experts over the years, and have identified a handful of key traits we see in expert witnesses that achieve their desired effect – persuading jurors.

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How Jurors Work: Emotions Lead the Law

Oct 17, 2018 10:49:27 AM / by Mike Liffrig posted in Jurors, Jury Research, Emotion, Law

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Consider this fact pattern and outcome from a case we recently worked on: Plaintiff rear-ends trailer pulling a large load of logs. I repeat: Plaintiff rear-ends defendant. But the jurors assign most of the blame to the defendant… who was rear-ended.

Juror's Feedback:
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What Jurors Really Think of Lawyers

Jun 4, 2018 3:53:31 PM / by Mike Liffrig posted in Jurors

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Although jurors come from all walks of life, they hold some common beliefs about what they like and dislike from attorneys in the courtroom.

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Eight Tips for Better Voir Dire

May 30, 2018 3:14:16 PM / by Mike Liffrig posted in Jurors, Voir Dire, Advocacy

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Jurors are the single most important part of a trial. They decide who wins and who loses. While it is easy to focus on the arguments and the presentation of evidence - all of which are important - it is vital to remember who is actually deciding the case. Arguments do not decide cases. Evidence does not decide cases. Jurors decide cases.

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