Focus Groups – How it Works

Complete the information below to begin the focus group planning process

law-building-solid Step 1: Choose Focus Group Type(s)

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Type of Focus Group

General Description

Presentation Time

01

Type of Focus Group:

Voir Dire practice

Description:

You practice your jury selection

Presentation Time:

15 minutes to 1 hour

02

Type of Focus Group:

Narrative

Description:

You present the case very neutrally to learn what jurors think and what pre-conceived notions they have that help or hurt your case.

Presentation Time:

1 hour

03

Type of Focus Group:

Opening Statement

Description:

Testing your opening statement. Find out what you might be missing, and what is the most effective way to present your opening.

Presentation Time:

3 – 4 hours

04

Type of Focus Group:

Plaintiff and Defendant Opening Statements

Description:

Let the focus group hear both openings and tell you who is most likely to win the trial and why.

Presentation Time:

4 – 6 hours

05

Type of Focus Group:

Timeline improvements

Description:

What should you cut out of your timeline. Find out where the gold in your case is, and don’t distract your case by too many facts on the timeline that don’t help your case.

Presentation Time:

2 hours

06

Type of Focus Group:

Framing of Issues

Description:

Strong to weak framing, find out before trial what the jurors think.

Presentation Time:

1 hour

07

Type of Focus Group:

Bumper Stickers

Description:

What catch phrase will a jury adopt about your case. How can you make sure your bumper sticker works

Presentation Time:

1 hour

08

Type of Focus Group:

Labels

Description:

The right label or nickname can direct your case toward a win or a loss. Find out what works.

Presentation Time:

1 hour

09

Type of Focus Group:

Key Issue Attributes

Description:

What facts are believable, and which ones are unbelievable. Learn what the jury will believe is true in your case.

Presentation Time:

2 – 4 hours

10

Type of Focus Group:

Claims, Defenses, and excuses that may backfire

Description:

Find out what the jurors may find cause a jury to roll their eyes.

Presentation Time:

1 – 2 hours

11

Type of Focus Group:

Word Association

Description:

Are there buzz words that help or hurt your case.

Presentation Time:

1 hour

12

Type of Focus Group:

Products Liability Safety

Description:

This is a specialized focus group that will help you find what jurors think about how a product can be made safer, and address warnings, labels and other issues likely to come up in a products liability case.

Presentation Time:

4 – 8 hours

13

Type of Focus Group:

Detecting the Lie

Description:

Let your focus group tell you who is being honest and who is lying.

Presentation Time:

1 – 3 hours

14

Type of Focus Group:

Knowledge of Medicine

Description:

Designed to help you communicate effectively regarding medicine.
How to calibrate your presentation so you do not talk over the jurors’ heads or talk down to them about medicine they already have a good grasp of.

Presentation Time:

1 – 3 hours

15

Type of Focus Group:

Generational Attitudes

Description:

Gen X, Gen Z, Millennials, Religion and other potential attitudes jurors may have that relate to your case.

Presentation Time:

1 – 2 hours

16

Type of Focus Group:

Impression of Expert Witnesses

Description:

Is the expert liked, loved, or hated. Learn what the jury thinks before your trial.

Presentation Time:

1 – 4 hours

17

Type of Focus Group:

Impression of lay witness

Description:

Find out what your may need to pre-frame in your opening before a witness takes the stand. And or what reframes work with tough witnesses.

Presentation Time:

1 – 4 hours

18

Type of Focus Group:

Choosing the right Words

Description:

Build rapport with the right words.

Presentation Time:

1 – 2 hours

19

Type of Focus Group:

Mechanism of Injury

Description:

How can you make the causation of damage clearer to your jurors. How does the medical evidence support your case.

Presentation Time:

2 – 4 hours

20

Type of Focus Group:

Patterns of behavior

Description:

Employment Focus Groups to make clear what the boundaries and patterns are that work for your case.

Presentation Time:

1 – 4 hours

21

Type of Focus Group:

Value of the case

Description:

Determining what your case is worth is so important, so you don’t overreach, or under ask your jurors.
Collecting video clips of focus group members explaining the value of the case to use in your mediation and demand letters.

Presentation Time:

2 – 6 hours

22

Type of Focus Group:

Jury Instructions

Description:

Find out which instructions resonate with the jury with your facts. Which instructions are most important to consider for your closing arguments.
Find out what jurors want to achieve by giving a verdict.
What are the best ways to explain legal concepts the jurors will use for their verdict.

Presentation Time:

1 hour

23

Type of Focus Group:

Categories of Jurors who are good for your case

Description:

You might be surprised that certain life experiences and demographics may help or hurt your case. Find out who are the better jurors and who are the bad jurors for your case.

Presentation Time:

4 – 8 hours

This usually takes multiple focus groups to see a pattern of who is the best fit for your case.

24

Type of Focus Group:

Closing Argument

Description:

Test your arguments and find out which ones are most persuasive.

Presentation Time:

4 hours

25

Type of Focus Group:

Plaintiff and Defendant Closing Arguments

Description:

Learn what has the most impact on your jury well before your trial.

Presentation Time:

4 – 6 hours

26

Type of Focus Group:

Demonstrative Aids

Description:

Make sure your visual aids are fine tuned to give a clear message. Are there too many details or are there gaps that need to be filled with information to be more persuasive.

Presentation Time:

1 hour

27

Type of Focus Group:

Photographs

Description:

Find out which photographs help, and which ones hurt your case, and how to deal with the juror’s feelings about photographic evidence.

Presentation Time:

1 hour

28

Type of Focus Group:

Adversarial Focus Group / aka Mock Trial

Description:

This is the real test where you let a focus group give you key information each step of the way through your Mock Trial. Then watch them deliberate and find out what you need to address for your real day in court.

Presentation Time:

8 – 10 hours

29

Type of Focus Group:

Deliberations

Description:

What are the jurors talking about that you don’t know yet.

Presentation Time:

2 – 6 hours

law-building-solid Step 2: Customize Your Focus Group(s)

number10 Do you want to do a live-in person focus group or virtual focus group via Zoom?

If live, what location do you want to use?

If live, do you plan to attend? NOTE: sometimes it is not a good idea for them a client to attend. For example: There was a suicide of a client and hearing what a focus group said about them.

If live, how many cameras do you want to record the focus group?

number11 Do you want to do all of the presentation, a portion of the presentation, or have Focus4Juries handle the presentation for you? NOTE: There are additional charges for Focus4Juries to present.

number12 Do you want the focus group to be comprised of a specific demographic?

How many participants do you want in your focus group?

law-building-solid Step 3: Focus

Provide Focus4Juries with all materials needed at least 5 days in advance of your focus group(s).

If you are handling all or part of the presentation, now is the time to practice and FOCUS! If you need help, Focus4Juries and provide the assistance and guidance you need.

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