What does it take to make a good trial consultant?
In essence, a good trial consultant is able to meet the needs of a trial attorney and litigant to their satisfaction. Getting to that point is the hard part.
The most effective and experienced trial consultants make the job look so easy. Like most professionals, trial consultants have an important service to offer. And like most services in the marketplace, the services of trial consultants are driven solely by the demands of potential clients. For trial consultants, the clients are trial attorneys and litigants who also have important demands placed upon them. In addition, different types of trial attorneys and litigants have different needs.
Your ability to meet their needs as a trial consultant will require many years of education and preparation in addition to an innate sense of how to accurately gauge the underlying needs of your client(s). A skilled ability to apply what you have learned to help solve their litigation problems must also then be present.
In our view, a good trial consultant has a working knowledge of the science of psychology and research and how to apply the information and research methods developed in psychology to answer difficult questions about persuading judges, jurors, and arbitrators in matters of great importance. A good trial consultant has a deep and abiding respect for our judicial system and a working appreciation of the needs of trial attorneys and litigants to do their best job in the courtroom. We believe that a good trial consultant has a natural desire to assist attorneys and their clients as a supporting member of the trial team, rather than a desire to gain glory for themselves.
The old adage, "To sell something, you have to have something to sell", is just as true for trial consulting as it is for everything else. Studying to be a trial consultant is a long, but interesting process. A good trial consultant is never hesitant to make the effort to learn whatever is necessary to be able to provide a client with the most reliable and creative advice.