OTLA Trial Lawyer Fall 2020

42 Trial Lawyer • Fall 2020 By Shangar Meman OTLA Guardian M any, if not most, plaintiff attorneys utilize focus groups to prepare for trial. If the case is complex, or if the initial injury leads to subsequent injuries and amended claims, a second or even third focus group can be helpful as the case evolves. We did something a little differently on a recent case at my firm and our use of a somewhat unique focus group — law students. We have a complicated medical mal- practice case that Portland attorney Brendan Dummigan and I are litigating. The original three-week trial date was quickly approaching. We had already conducted two focus groups with indi- viduals in the county the case would be tried in. After the second focus group and in anticipation of trial, we worked with a third-party company to prepare the trial demonstratives. Shortly before trial, our client sus- tained additional injuries arising from the initial malpractice. The three-week trial was reset at the eleventh hour, and an amended complaint was filed. In some ways, we were starting over. Dummigan and I decided to use a third focus group, but this time with law students. I am sure many of you are thinking, “But law students are not a true reflection of a potential jury in the com- munity!” True — but that was precisely the point. We felt hungry law students would tear our case and demonstratives apart, and that would better prepare us for trial. The approach I contacted my Willamette Univer- sity College of Law torts professor, Yvonne Tamayo, and proposed the idea. Thrilled, she connected me with the school administration as well as the school’s moot court president. I con- tacted the moot court president through an email alias to ensure anonymity. I then provided himwith a synopsis of what the focus group would entail, as well as the time commitment required from the students. Within one day, we had ap- proximately 30 interested students who wanted to spend half their day giving their opinions on a real case — an op- portunity law students do not typically Shangar Meman have. The students were comprised of different backgrounds and came from different parts of the country. Partici- pants were ages 23 to 64. We chose to pay the law students an hourly rate for their time. Money may have played a role in their interest. How- ever, I believe we would have had a healthy level of enthusiasm, regardless of compensation. To reiterate, this is an opportunity for most law students. The chance for a law student to critique and provide an opinion regarding trial strat- egy is practically unheard of. The moot court board members handled logistics and coordination of the focus group. They reserved the room and organized the technology necessary for us to present our case. Our only task was to prepare and present to the law stu- dents. The usual focus group headaches of coordination with various individuals and finding a neutral location were eliminated entirely. We hired a third party to transcribe the focus group, organize the paperwork and prepare a final report of the entire experience. Prior to beginning, we asked every participating law student to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Next, we per- formed a conflicts check through various questions, including the student’s place of employment. We conflicted out one student who worked for the opposing counsel’s office. No explanation was provided as to her inability to participate A Focus Group of Law Students