Legal Research
Case Strategy Research: Prior to beginning discovery in a wrongful death suit in which the plaintiff's son committed suicide, our client sought to understand what responsibility potential jurors perceived the suicide victim to have and the conditions under which jurors would attribute outside influences as contributory to the suicide. Focus group research was utilized to assist our client in identifying areas of the case that may prove to be damaging and which he should work to keep out of the discovery process and which issues would be helpful in laying responsibility with outside influences. The research was helpful in providing information relevant to the selection of jurors and identifying issues that would have the greatest impact on jurors' judgment.

Quantitative Communication Testing for Class Action Settlement: As part of a class action settlement case, our client was interested in maximizing class member response to a settlement offer. MDRG designed and conducted a survey among class members to estimate the likelihood acceptance of the proposed settlement offer and to identify the most likely timeframe in which class members might respond to the settlement offer. Research helped our client refine the language used in the settlement offer and to develop an optimal timetable for accepting responses to the offer.

Qualitative Communication Testing for Class Action Settlement: Focus groups were also used in a class action settlement case to evaluate the effectiveness of written materials in communicating both content and terms of the settlement and whether the information motivated class members to take advantage of the settlement offer. Research was used to refine the layout of the information provided to class members so as to improve the likelihood that class members would understand the information and respond to the offer.