The writers Melissa Pigott and David H. Fauss are the co-founding partners of Magnus Research Consultants, Inc., and Magnus Graphics, Inc. Magnus Research provides jury research and trial consulting services for civil and criminal litigation. Magnus’ research is customized, on a case specific basis, to maximize the results of litigation.

1. Benchmarks for Lawyers, part 2
BY
http://www.magnusweb.com/

2. David H.Fauss Point of view
When writing part 1 of the post on benchmarks, it occurred to me that
some people might ask if there are other benchmarks for service
businesses/practices. In fact, we have been asked many times over the
past 20+ years about our “success rate.” This is always a difficult
question to answer because the answer, as Melissa will tell you as a
social scientist, is that it actually can’t be answered. And, no lawyer can
really, truly explain a success rate for similar reasons (which is why the
Bar does not allow such statements). The problem in litigation, and
probably in other service industries, one does not have a control group
against which to measure success. Does one A/C company perform
better than another? Does one photographer do a better job than
another at a wedding? Would one trial consultant get a better result
for a client? Would a different attorney get a different settlement or
verdict than another? The answer to all of these may be yes, or no.

3. The important factor is whether the client of these service providers is
happy, or satisfied, with the outcome. Thus, another benchmarking
method in service based practices is client satisfaction – which can and
should be measured to provide a benchmark. We routinely survey our
clients about their satisfaction with our services (and we receive
consistently high responses). This same technique can be used in any
type of service practice and it can take the form of surveys, interviews,
or in person sessions.
The key is to track results over time and by attorney or other
professional. This is beneficial for marketing as well as training, among
other things. So, while in many respects we, as service professionals,
cannot prove what might have happened, or what didn’t happen, we
can look for ways to measure success in other forms.

4. Melissa Pigott Point of View
David mentioned the benchmark of client satisfaction as an
indicator of our success on a particular case. As in any service
based business, Magnus’ satisfied clients are the best source of
revenue for our business. The primary way we have always
obtained new cases on which to consult is from past clients whom
we helped achieve a successful outcome on previous cases.
Our second most important revenue source is referrals to new
clients from past clients who were happy with the service we
provided. The common denominator is, of course, the satisfaction
of our clients, without whom our business would cease to exist.

5. Suffice it to say that we cannot please everyone; indeed, we have
found that attorneys who enjoy working with another jury
consultant, and wish we were more like him/her, are better off
not working with us and instead, continuing to work with the
consultant they have always used.
The world of consulting (in any field, not just ours) is relationship
based, such that “one size does NOT fit all.” We strive to please all
of our clients, and based on our analysis of the client satisfaction
surveys we send following the completion of our work on every
case, we are performing at an almost 100% level in terms of client
satisfaction. Now, if that isn’t a good indication of our success,
what is?

6. Author Bio:
The writers Melissa Pigott and David H. Fauss are the co-founding
partners of Magnus Research Consultants, Inc., and Magnus
Graphics, Inc. Magnus Research provides jury research and trial
consulting services for civil and criminal litigation. Magnus’
research is customized, on a case specific basis, to maximize the
results of litigation.
Magnus scientifically evaluates jurors or fact finders (arbitrators,
mediators) responses to case issues by using attitude surveys,
focus groups, mock trials, and mock arbitrations to develop case
strategies, themes, voir dire questions, and more. Voir dire
consultation and witness preparation are also available. Magnus’
provides Insights for Successful Litigation®.
Magnus has worked on cases throughout the United States, in
both federal and state courts. The Magnus team takes pride in
providing quality work. Please visit www.magnusweb.com for
more information.