When preparing for voir dire in a personal injury case the first thing you must do is take a hard look at your case and determine if you need a liability jury or a damages jury. There are crucial differences between the two and oftentimes these jurors do not look the same. So, how do you know if you need a liability or a damages jury? Weigh the issues. If you have more issues and problems with liability, then you need a liability jury. Conducting a research project, such as a focus group or mock trial, is an excellent indicator of how a potential jury will view your issues. Oftentimes, attorneys tend to drink the Kool-Aid or become too bogged down in their cases to see things as clearly as possible. What you may think is a huge issue a focus group will tell you is not a problem at all. When in doubt, focus on liability because without a strong liability case, damages will not matter.
Millennials
