Our Services
Focus Groups & Mock Trials on a Contingency Fee!
Our Team:
Record holding jury verdict trial attorney, Jason Waechter can be involved to any degree in your case. Even to pick your actual jury or help try the case. The Director of First Trial, Shelby Seeley, holds a Bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts and is the Team Lead for focus groups.
248-304-7016
The Waechter Courtroom
Focus groups and mock trials are held in our full size courtroom and jury room. There is benefit in practicing your case in a full size 'real' courtroom.
Contingency Fee Structure
There is no fee unless and until you get paid on the case.* Let's talk about it and get creative. Our fees are at par or even lower than other companies.
Legit Jurors
Each juror participant is strategically screened and must meet the eligibility requirements of the local county court jury pool. This gives you feedback from the kind of people who could actually sit on your real jury.
Our Philosophy: Test. Learn. Practice.
(Before the Real Trial)
Test
Case concepts, key facts, exhibits, analogies, your money ask, voir dire questions, and trial themes.
Our Services
The "Concept" Focus Group
A Concept focus group is usually done before discovery. One detailed and neutral statement is read to the juror participants. We then simply ask, “What’s this case about?” Ideas and issues about the case are explored. Jurors react to topics like fault, responsibility, medical treatment, damages and key “hot button” facts. If there is video of the incident or police bodycam footage, it can be played and inquired about.
The true key concepts are identified early in the case is crucial for refining trial strategy, minimizing risk, and ensuring discovery targets the most persuasive evidence, allowing lawyers to build a more compelling narrative and avoid surprises by understanding potential juror reactions to arguments, witnesses, and evidence early on.
Just-Before-Trial Focus Group
During discovery, new defenses, detailed facts, and additional evidence often emerge—information that wasn’t available when you were first retained. A Just-Before-Trial Focus Group allows you to “test drive” how your case will likely play out at trial. By presenting key evidence, witness testimony, and central themes to mock jurors, you gain insight into how real people perceive your case. Their reactions reveal strengths, weaknesses, and areas of confusion, helping you refine your strategy, sharpen arguments, adjust settlement values, and anticipate challenges before the stakes are highest. This process helps ensure your case is presented as clearly and persuasively as possible when it matters most.
More Unique Features & Info
Trial Technology Presentation by TRIALPAD
Trial Technology Presentation: Showing your evidence and demonstrative aids to the jury during your trial is paramount. We use Apple’s TrialPad. It is a full-featured courtroom presentation tool that allows lawyers & staff to present documents, photographs, video and audio files, and demonstrative evidence wirelessly in a courtroom. It’s easy and we can teach it to you.
Video System & Transcripts
We have a state-of-the-art video system. Focus groups and mock trials are recorded. You are provided the footage. Presently it is our intent to run it through ai so we can also furnish you with usable transcripts.
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Camera One shoots the lawyer from podium to space in front of jury.
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Camera Two shoots jury box.
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Camera Three shoots judge’s bench and witness box.
Report & Analysis
A full report with analysis is generated by the First Trial team. It includes a clear summary of what was evaluated, how participants responded, and the implications for trial strategy and settlement planning. It converts unfiltered juror reactions into specific, actionable guidance the trial team can use.
Safe Space: Judgment Free Zone
Hollywood directors and acting coaches know that creative breakthroughs happen in safe, judgment-free spaces. The same is true for lawyers. At First Trial, attorneys can test bold themes and strategies without fear of criticism—only opportunities to learn, experiment, and improve. There’s no failing here, only progress.
Our Guarantee
As lawyers, we can’t give our clients any guarantee.
With First Trial, we can make a guarantee: After any of our focus groups or mock trials, your case will be better. Your trial skills will be better.
Confidentiality
Everything is confidential. From the fact that you made an initial call with some questions to the jury’s verdict after a full mock trial—it’s all confidential. All First Trial team members have worked in plaintiff law firms and understand this ethical duty. Signed Confidentiality Agreements are required by all participants.
We Follow Best Focus Group Practices
We understand the dynamics necessary to ensure the best feedback and results for your case. Here are some rules for focus groups; mock trials are a little different:
Don’t Reveal Your Role or Stake
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Never tell them it is your case or that you represent one side.
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Never hint which side you “think” should win or what result you want.
Don’t Condition, Argue, or Sell
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Never say “You’re going to love/hate this case” or otherwise condition their reactions.
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Never argue with a participant or try to persuade them you are right.
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Never “fix” their opinion in real time if you don’t like it; just explore it with “Why?”
Don’t Use Loaded or Spin Language
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Never describe it as a “huge wreck,” “horrific crash,” “outrageous conduct,” or “obvious negligence.”
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Never add adjectives/adverbs when repeating their comments; repeat their words exactly.
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Never use tone, sarcasm, or emphasis that signals whose “side” you’re on.
Don’t Praise or Judge Comments
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Try not to say “Good point,” “Great answer,” or “That’s not important” in front of the group.
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Try not to say “Why is that important?” unless they first called it important.
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Never mock, minimize, or roll your eyes at any answer.
Don’t Lead or Suggest Answers
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Never ask, “You’d agree the defendant is mostly at fault, right?”
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Never embed your theory in the question: “How reckless was this driver?”
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Never ask questions that clearly telegraph what you want them to say.
Don’t Let One Person Bully the Room
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Never allow a dominant or rude member to intimidate others; remove them if needed.
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Never let cross-talk devolve into personal attacks or political fights.
Don’t Over-Explain or Fill Silence
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Never rescue them from thinking time by jumping in with your own explanation.
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Never answer your own question, then ask for agreement with a show of hands.
Don’t Contaminate the Data
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Never change your neutral fact statement mid-group to “help” your side.
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Never tell them new facts selectively because you dislike where they’re heading.
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Never reveal confidential or inadmissible information you would not use at trial.
Talk Less, Listen More
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We try to talk as little as possible.
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Listen actively and “squeeze the lemon dry” by asking “Why?” until we understand the reasoning.
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Do not dismiss a seemingly small comment; explore it.
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Use an emotional scale in your written materials.
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* Contingency: We will work contingency on most all plaintiff personal injury cases. Each case is different. It also depends on the level of our involvement. Let’s have a conversation and figure out what works for the case.
** Video and transcripts: Transcripts will be done by artificial intelligence. It will not be perfectly accurate. There could be technical difficulties. We will make our best efforts to provide better than sufficient copies.