Guiding Principles - R&D Strategic Solutions Trial Consultants









		Our Guiding Principles .......................................................................................................................................................... Strategic We provide strategic advice that is perceptive, practical, and valid. Our value lies in our ability to interpret data and offer solutions that can be realistically implemented. Attentive In order to give each client the attention he or she needs, we are selective about the work we accept. We view the ideal client relationship as one where the client’s needs and expectations match our philosophy, services, and ability to devote focused time. Collaborative We pursue a collaborative relationship with our clients. We find that this relationship is most fulfilling when we become part of a team; not simply people who drop in and leave when our task is finished. Innovative We have built a firm where creativity and innovation are encouraged. New ideas and approaches are continually generated, increasing our enjoyment of the work and its effectiveness for clients. Our Principle Consultants .......................................................................................................................................................... David S. Davis Email Ph.D., Sociology; Princeton University M.Sc.; London School of Economics David Davis has been a trial consultant for over 18 years. After receiving his PhD in Sociology from Princeton, he was a post-doctoral fellow at UCLA. He also worked for the Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime. Since that time, David has been working with lawyers on developing strategies for high risk and complex litigation. He is frequently sought out by the media to comment on jury issues, and is a co-author of the book, The Psychology of Jury Behavior . He lives with his wife and two sons in Lexington, Massachusetts. Rick R. Fuentes Email Ph.D., M.S., Psychology; Texas A&M University M.Ed., Counseling Psychology; University of Georgia Rick Fuentes was a college and professional baseball player for the Chicago White Sox before focusing on the study of jury behavior. He earned a PhD in Applied Psychology from Texas A&M University. He has now been a trial consultant for over 15 years. Clients continually find Rick supplying the key strategies for successful trial outcomes. His trial consultation activities include the development of trial strategy and tactics: jury selection and voir dire, shadow juries, witness preparation, order of evidence, opening/closing statements, development of themes and arguments, demonstrative evidence preparation, and teaching persuasion techniques. He speaks at major legal meetings several times a year, has published many articles in the field, and has appeared on Court Television, CNN Legal Forums, and The Phil Donohue Show. Rick lives with his family in Atlanta. Ross P. Laguzza Email Ph.D., Psychology; University of Nebraska - Lincoln M.S., Counseling Psychology; Western Washington University Ross Laguzza is an expert in the psychology of persuasion. He has consulted on hundreds of complex and high risk matters in this country and in Europe. His clients are major corporations faced with the challenge of developing persuasive messages for many different types of stakeholders (juries, judges, federal and state regulatory agencies, politicians, environmental and other activist groups, communities, and employee groups). His special expertise is developing creative and highly effective communication strategies in extraordinarily difficult situations. Dr. Laguzza also conducts programs for key messengers (witnesses, corporate spokespersons) to assist them in being persuasive while under attack. A frequent lecturer on the principles of persuasion, Dr. Laguzza received his Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Ross is responsible for many of the ideas about jury behavior that are now taken as gospel by trial lawyers, including the effect of alternative damage theories on jury decision making and how knowledge and control drive verdicts. Ross has published many articles on the theory and practice of persuasion. He lives outside of Roanoke, Virginia. Mark S. Sobus Email Ph.D., Psychology; University of Nebraska–Lincoln J.D.; University of Nebraska–Lincoln Mark Sobus is a graduate of the Law/Psychology Program at the University of Nebraska. While at Nebraska he taught introductory and advanced social psychology courses, and he conducted basic and applied research on topics including social norms, attitudes, and motivation. After graduation, Mark immediately began working in the field of jury psychology, having now worked on literally hundreds of cases. He has assisted clients across the country in the development of strategies for both trial and mediation, witness preparation, and jury selection. Mark firmly believes that jury research is really just a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. True jury consulting and litigation strategy is about applying what has been learned through the empirical research processes to the development of real and practical solutions to the problems his clients face. Mark has published numerous articles on jury psychology and trial strategy, and he is routinely invited to speak at legal conferences. He currently lives in Houston with his wife (who is a practicing veterinarian) and his two children. Galina Davidoff Email Ph.D., Psychology; Clark University Dr. Galina Davidoff has nearly ten years of experience helping clients in hundreds of civil and criminal cases across the country. She specializes in the development of trial strategy, themes and arguments, jury selection, witness preparation, opening and closing statements, presentation of complex evidence, and evaluation of possible damages awards. Dr. Davidoff is an author of a number of publications and had directed a nationwide study of attitudes toward corporate litigants sponsored by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and reported in Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. Galina lives with her family in the Boston area. Mark A. deTurck Email Ph.D., Communication; Michigan State University Mark deTurck is a former professor of communication at Cornell University where he researched jury decision-making, attitude-change theory, and social cognition (how people process information, make decisions, and act on information), and has published dozens of articles and chapters on these topics. His research on jury decision-making has won national awards. Given Mark’s specialized understanding of how people process information, he has testified as an expert witness on numerous occasions, as well as advising federal agencies on national security. Mark has applied his unique understanding of how jurors process information to design valuable jury research so as to develop the most persuasive trial strategies for clients. His unique experience as an expert witness has allowed him to connect with witnesses to prepare them to be the most effective messengers in depositions and at trial. Given Mark’s experience, he has been invited to speak at numerous legal seminars. Mark lives in the Atlanta area. Beth W. Devlin Email B.A., Psychology, Statistics; Boston University Beth Devlin has studied the science of jury persuasion and the jury decision making process for numerous criminal and civil cases, including anti-trust, contracts, patents, product liability, toxic tort, and white-collar crime. She has a BA from Boston University in psychology and statistics. Beth has worked with trial teams to assist them in forming the most effective and persuasive trial strategy through the development of case themes and arguments. She also has experience in forming juror profiles for voir dire and jury selection and conducting post-verdict analyses of jury decision making. Beth has participated in pro bono projects with the Boston Bar Association. When not at work, Beth spends a lot of her time on her bicycle, and has participated in athletic and fund-raising events, including the Boston-to-New York AIDS Bikathon. Rebecca M. Fuentes, MS Email M.S., Counseling Psychology; Florida International University Provided court liaison and therapeutic services to clients involved in civil cases and criminal cases at both the state and federal level. Assisted trial teams in preparing the most effective and persuasive trial strategy through the development of case themes and arguments and through assisting with witness preparation for deposition and trial testimony. Experienced in developing juror profiles for jury selection and post-verdict analyses of jury decision-making. Patricia A. Hastings Email Ph.D., Psychology; York University Patricia Hastings has been involved in extensive research in the areas of social psychology and the law for over a decade. She received her Ph.D. from the Psychology Program at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Pat has specialized in the study of jury decision-making in both applied and academic settings. Her focus is identifying the decision process used by decision-makers (e.g., jurors, judges) in complex legal matters and applying that knowledge to assist clients in crafting strategic persuasive communications. Pat also spends much of her time helping witnesses to become more effective communicators during deposition and/or at trial. She has taught numerous courses in research methodology and statistics, and spoken at numerous conferences and seminars on jury persuasion issues. Pat currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida. Samantha D. Holmes Email Ph.D., Social Psychology; University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Samantha Holmes graduated from the Social Psychology program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. While at Michigan, she taught introductory and social psychology courses, counseled undergraduate students, and conducted experimental and survey research on topics including personality, attitudes, motivation and emotion. After graduation, Sam immediately began applying her training to the field of jury psychology and has worked on hundreds of cases in various venues nationwide. She has helped clients across the country develop strategies for both trial and mediation. She has also assisted clients in the courtroom with jury selection and provided critical real-time feedback during trial via shadow juries and trial monitoring. Sam’s philosophy is that empirical research is an important tool for developing sound, creative, and practical solutions to the problems her clients face. Sam’s training and experience have made her highly skilled at data collection, management and analysis and have given her impeccable interpersonal skills. Sam has given lectures on jury psychology at various legal seminars, meetings and conferences. Sam lives in the Houston area. Dan Jacks Email Ph.D., Clinical and Research Psychology; Texas A&M University Dan Jacks graduated from Texas A&M University’s Clinical and Research Psychology program. After graduation, Dan spent several years teaching graduate courses in social psychology, doing clinical work with inmates and families involved with Children’s Protective Services, and doing jury research. He eventually moved into full-time jury research and has now done research on hundreds of cases across the country. Dan is a pragmatist who understands that the true goal of jury research is to develop real solutions to the problems his clients face, whether those problems are preparing a difficult witness, conducting voir dire in an unfriendly venue, or developing a truly persuasive trial “story.” Dan’s clinical background makes him particularly effective at preparing witnesses for deposition or trial. Dan has published many articles on persuading jurors and he is frequently invited to speak at legal seminars. Dan currently lives in Houston with his wife and two daughters. Jennifer M. Keeney Email M.S., Research Psychology; University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Jennifer Keeney has an M.S. degree in Research Psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Jennifer has worked in the field of trial consulting for four years, and has specialized in jury decision-making for six years. She has worked with trial teams on all types of civil cases involving issues of tort, contracts, product liability, intellectual property, fraud, anti-trust, and malpractice, as well as on criminal cases involving white collar crime and capital murder. Jennifer has delivered CLE presentations on a variety of general topics including jury selection and voir dire, persuasion and jury decision-making, and many area-specific topics such as medical malpractice, employment law, and product liability. Jennifer lives and works in Atlanta. James L. McGarity Email M.S., Industrial/Organizational Psychology; Florida Institute of Technology James McGarity has an M.S. degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology. James has consulted on civil and criminal cases including white-collar crime, medical malpractice, copyright/patent violation, and product liability litigation. He has assisted counsel with case strategy preparation, juror profile development, and post-verdict analyses of jury decision-making. His main focus has been on research methodology and survey design, with an emphasis on psychology and law issues. James lives and works in Atlanta (except for the 180 days a year he spends on the road). Maithilee K. Pathak-Sharma Email Ph.D., Social Ecology; University of California - Irvine J.D.; University of Nebraska - Lincoln Maithilee Pathak-Sharma has both a PhD in Social Ecology (from UC Irvine) and a JD degree (from the University of Nebraska). Maithilee has more than a decade of experience in psychology, social behavior, and human decision-making. Her doctoral work focused on the evaluation of complex evidence and decision-making in legal and policy contexts. Her post-doctoral work in the area of psychology and law examined factors influencing the evaluation of evidence in a variety of legal areas. Maithilee has consulted on both civil and criminal cases, including the infamous trial of Timothy McVeigh for the bombing of the Alfred Murrah building in Oklahoma City. She has handled cases across all areas of law including anti-trust, intellectual property, contract, personal injury, toxic tort, employment, products liability, and medical malpractice. Maithilee's credo is to give her all to solving her clients' problems. Maithilee makes her home in Atlanta.