Start a Jury and Trial Consulting Practice

1. 1

   Understand what the job actually is

   Trial consultants translate human behavior into strategy: reading potential jurors' expressions, body language, and answers during voir dire; running mock trials and focus groups to see how arguments land; preparing witnesses to communicate credibly; and advising on themes, openings, and demonstratives. It is equal parts emotional perception and research synthesis, which is exactly why it fits the rare profile Dee's research describes.

2. 2

   Build the credential story honestly

   The field is unregulated (no license, no single required path), but clients expect a strong foundation in human behavior: graduate study in psychology, communication, or sociology is the common route, and trial attorneys and litigation paralegals transition in through the law side. Join the American Society of Trial Consultants (ASTC), whose professional standards are the field's reference point, and study its published practice guidance.

3. 3

   Apprentice before you hang the shingle

   Work or contract with an established trial consulting firm, assist a solo consultant on mock exercises (recruiting respondents, coding observations, drafting reports), or offer research support pro bono through a law school clinic. Real case experience is the portfolio; nobody hires an untested consultant for a bet-the-company trial.

4. 4

   Start with focus groups and witness prep

   Small case-theory focus groups and witness communication preparation are the accessible entry offers: they need your core skills, modest logistics, and produce visible results attorneys talk about. Full mock trials (recruited surrogate jurors, presentations from both sides, deliberation observation, a findings report) are the premium product; established firms commonly charge $30,000 to $60,000 plus expenses per exercise, which tells you what the market bears at the top and why even modest versions price in the thousands.

5. 5

   Price by product, keep research costs visible

   Hourly advisory for jury selection support, fixed-fee focus groups scoped by recruit count, day rates for in-court assistance, and project fees for mock trials with respondent incentives, venue, and recording billed transparently. Litigation budgets respect clear scopes; surprises kill referrals.

6. 6

   Market through litigators, one verdict at a time

   Trial lawyers hire people their peers vouch for: speak at bar association CLEs on jury psychology, write case-note analyses of notable verdicts, and cultivate the litigation boutiques and insurance defense firms that try cases regularly (much of BigLaw settles; you want the lawyers who actually pick juries). One attorney who credits you in a war story is worth a year of advertising.

7. 7

   Hold the ethical lines the field is judged by

   No contact with sitting jurors, no misrepresentation in research recruiting, confidentiality on everything, and honesty with clients when research says their case is weak. ASTC standards exist because the field's credibility is fragile; the consultants who last are the ones judges and opposing counsel cannot dent.

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Best for: People readers with research discipline: the friend who notices what everyone in the room is feeling and can also run a clean survey

Not for: People who need certainty and quick wins: trials are episodic, verdicts humble everyone, and the apprenticeship road to credibility takes years, not weeks.