David S. Davis 
Ph.D., Sociology; Princeton University
M.Sc.; London School of Economics
David is a founder of R&D Strategic Solutions. David's goal with clients is to provide them with the most compelling and persuasive way possible of presenting their case to fact finders. David specializes in the development of trial strategy and tactics; jury selection and voir dire; shadow juries; witness preparation; order of evidence; opening/closing statements; the development of themes and arguments; demonstrative evidence preparation; teaching persuasive techniques; the estimation of case outcome, including damage awards; and the evaluation of outcomes of different trial approaches. David is a frequent speaker at law firms, bar association meetings, and other legal functions. He has been frequently quoted by many publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. David has been the author of the National Law Journal Annual Juror Outlook Survey, as well as a survey for the Wall Street Journal on the concept of the stealth juror.
Mark A. deTurck
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.
Ray Fuentes
Graduate Studies (Latin American Politics); The University of Florida
B.A. (Political Science); The University of Florida
Ray Fuentes has a deep background in jury research and in identifying juror attitudes and beliefs. As a consultant, he has interviewed over a thousand jurors who have deliberated to verdicts in cases involving medical malpractice, products liability, patent infringement, securities law violations, and many other areas. He has extensive experience in conducting jury focus groups, summary mock trials and data collection exercises, and he has participated in well over five hundred such sessions encompassing virtually all areas of litigation and all geographic regions of the United States, including experience in the Federal jurisdiction of Puerto Rico. He has assisted clients in jury selection, creation of juror profiles and other aspects of trial strategy. He was educated at the University of Florida where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and completed two years of graduate study at the Center for Latin American Studies. Prior to working as a consultant, he was a Correctional Administrator and a licensed Private Investigator.
Rebecca M. Fuentes
M.S., Counseling Psychology; Florida International University
Becky Fuentes has provided court liaison and therapeutic services to clients involved in civil cases and criminal cases at both the state and federal level. She has 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. Becky has extensive experience in developing juror profiles for jury selection and post-verdict analyses of jury decision-making.
Rick R. Fuentes
Ph.D., M.S., Psychology; Texas A&M University
M.Ed., Counseling Psychology; University of Georgia
Dr. Fuentes is a founding partner of R&D Strategic Solutions, LLC. He has specialized in jury behavior and decision-making and the evaluation of complex evidence for more than 18 years. Dr. Fuentes has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Georgia, and a Master's Degree and Ph.D. in Applied Psychology from Texas A&M University. He has worked with trial teams on hundreds of criminal and civil cases involving issues of tort, contracts, anti-trust, intellectual property, product liability, and professional malpractice. Through the use of focus groups, mock trials and surveys he assists trial attorneys and in-house counsel in the development of persuasive jury messages and themes, witness preparation, jury selection and case valuation. He has authored numerous professional articles on the topics of jury behavior and jury decision-making and he has appeared on numerous legal forums including CNN's Talk-Back live, The Phil Donahue Show, and Court Television's series "The Art and Science of Jury Persuasion." Dr. Fuentes is on the University of Montana Law School NITA Faculty where he lectures on jury selection and persuasion. He has delivered dozens of CLE programs around the country and is a regular speaker for the Georgia Institute of Continuing Legal Education, as well as at other local and National Bar Associations.
Samantha D. Holmes
Ph.D., Social Psychology; University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Dr. Sam Holmes graduated from the Social Psychology program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. While a graduate student and National Science Foundation research fellow 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 working in the field of jury psychology, and has worked on hundreds of cases‚ including insurance, employment, product liability, tort, securities, contracts, intellectual property, and medical and professional malpractice‚ in various venues nationwide. She has worked with attorneys across the country and helped them develop persuasive strategies for both trial and mediation, and has also helped clients in the courtroom with jury selection and shadow juries. 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 and analysis and have given her impeccable interpersonal skills. Sam has served as a faculty lecturer at dozens of conferences and has delivered numerous CLE programs nationwide. She is a regular speaker for the South Texas College of Law and other local and national bar associations.
When Sam is not helping attorneys tackle high-profile cases, she enjoys traveling the country tackling the nation's largest and fastest roller coasters.
Alayna Jehle
Ph.D. (Social Psychology); University of Nevada, Reno
M.A. (Social Psychology); University of Nevada, Reno
B.S. (Psychology and Criminal Justice, Honors Degree); University of Delaware
Alayna Jehle graduated from the Interdisciplinary Social Psychology program at the University of Nevada, Reno. Throughout her academic career, Alayna conducted research on the psychology of victims and juror decision-making. Her expertise includes research methodology, experimental and survey design, and quantitative data analysis. While in Reno, Alayna taught introductory sociology, guest lectured for research methods courses, and mentored undergraduate and graduate students. She has published several articles and has presented her research at numerous academic and professional conferences.
Jennifer M. Keeney
M.S. (Research Psychology); University of Tennessee Chattanooga
B.S. (Psychology); Central Michigan University
Ms. Keeney has worked in the field of trial consulting for ten years, and has specialized in jury decision-making for eleven years. Ms. Keeney received her advanced degree in research psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has worked with trial teams on all types of civil cases involving issues of tort, contracts, product liability, insurance, intellectual property, fraud, anti-trust, and malpractice, as well as on criminal cases involving white collar crime and capital murder. Ms. Keeney 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.
Ross P. Laguzza
Ph.D., Psychology; University of Nebraska - Lincoln
M.S., Counseling Psychology; Western Washington University
Dr. 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 and works in Virginia.
James L. McGarity
M.S., Industrial/Organizational Psychology; Florida Institute of Technology
Consulted on civil and criminal cases including white-collar crime, medical malpractice, copyright/ patent violation, and product liability. Assisted counsel with case strategy preparation, juror profile development, jury selection, witness preparation for deposition and trial testimony, and post-verdict analyses of jury decision-making. Study has focused on research methodology and survey design, with an emphasis on psychology and law issues. Has been a speaker at numerous CLE events and legal conferences, including the Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel, the PICA Defense Counsel Symposium, and was a member of the faculty for the 2004 University of Montana School of Law Advanced Trial Advocacy Program.
Maithilee K. Pathak
Ph.D. (Social Ecology); University of California Irvine
J.D., University of Nebraska - Lincoln
M.A. (Social Ecology); University of California Irvine
B.A. (Psychology); University of California Santa Cruz
Dr. Maithilee Pathak has been a consultant in the Atlanta office of R&D Strategic Solutions, LLC since the company's inception. Prior to this position, she has worked in the area of trial consulting for 6 years, and has specialized in jury decision-making and the evaluation of complex evidence for 15 years. Dr. Pathak received her law degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and her Ph.D. in Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine. Social Ecology is an interdisciplinary field, combining the perspectives of psychology, sociology, criminology, and law and society to conduct applied research. She has worked with trial teams on all types of civil cases involving issues of tort, contracts, product liability, and malpractice, as well as on civil and criminal cases relating to fraud, anti-trust, and domestic terrorism. Dr. Pathak 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 premises liability, etc.
Dr. Pathak has conducted research on human decision-making in law and policy arenas and has been active in professional organizations including the American Psychology Law Society, American Psychological Association, Law and Society, American Society of Criminology, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
Lauren M. Rothenberg
J.D.; Harvard Law School
A.B. (Public Policy Studies and English, summa cum laude); Duke University
Lauren Rothenberg has assisted trial teams in preparing effective and persuasive trial strategies through the development of case themes and arguments. She also has experience in forming juror profiles and assisting trial teams with voir dire and jury selection. Combined with her experience as a consultant, Ms. Rothenberg's prior experience as a litigator and federal district court clerk provides a unique perspective for helping clients communicate their cases to jurors.
