I am a bit behind in my reading and I just finished a September 2020 CLM Magazine article by James McKeown entitled Rules of the Road: Five Tips for Successful Claims and Litigation Management. Mr. McKeown wrote this article aimed at claims professionals and the attorneys involved in the defense of claims. His 5 tips are:
1) Write your claims notes like you may get abducted by aliens on the way to your deposition. (His point is to be sure someone could pick up where you left off if necessary.)
2) No surprises please.
3) Manage Expectations.
4) Don’t kid yourself.
5) There is no I in team, but there is one in myopic.

Mr. McKeown makes strong suggestions for each of these 5 points, but, I want to point out that what we do as trial consultants in performing pre-mediation or pre-trial focus groups and mock trials (or arbitrations and bench trials) addresses 4 of his points. In short, the type of mock jury research provided by trial consultants ensures that, as long as the clients are honest with us and reveal their weaknesses, each of the items numbered 2 to 5 will be handled. Mock jury research minimizes surprises. Expectations are managed in that everyone involved in the case, the lawyers, the adjuster and claims manager, see the outcome, see the verdicts, and can listen to the deliberations. As a result, everyone involved “sings from the same sheet of music.” Further, some lawyers and claims folks don’t see the risks in certain cases; sometimes they are “kidding themselves” and trying to fool others. Mock juries take away that option. Perhaps the risk is not there, but better to find out in a mock jury, when it doesn’t count, than in the real courtroom when it can hurt, badly. This is related to not being myopic. We have had many experiences when the lawyer is more concerned about the negative outcomes of the case, and they push their client to spend money to hire us. We’ve had at least as many when the claims adjuster didn’t think the lawyer was being as forthcoming about the potential downside. Regardless of who was right or wrong, when it all comes together and people reach verdicts, informed decisions can be made based on data indicating the best ways to manage a particular case. Managing litigation means using the available means to determine successful outcomes.