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About M&B

Expert Litigation Consultants

Malekpour & Ball works nationally on civil and criminal cases of every size and scope.  The firm's methods are meticulously researched and thoroughly practice-tested for today's changing juries. The strategies we provide for trial are known to have changed the face of trial advocacy, and are widely considered the "gold standard" of the consulting field.  As we develop and adapt these strategies for each specific case, you are provided with tools that maximize your chances of doing well at trial or in mediation. Learn more

Our Services

Case Workday

Malekpour & Ball offers a WorkDay or WorkSeries of sessions, available on either a flat fee or a sliding fee based on verdict or settlement. This intensive brainstorming workshop – conducted by video conference in a full day or spread over a 2 or 3 multi-day series (dependent on case needs and goals) – will frame your case into David Ball on Damages, Damages Evolving and other strategy principles. We start by conducting a critical overview of your case, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, as well as areas that need more attention and the questions to address. Then we work with you and your team to develop the optimum case narrative and framing for the decision-makers. We end by applying the methods we teach and continually-evolving strategies to your discovery, jury research, trial preparation, jury selection and trial.

Timing of the WorkDays depends on the intent and goals of the session, so it’s best to contact us well in advance of trial to schedule accordingly, but no later than two weeks before the trial date. For WorkSeries, it’s best to begin scheduling session one as far in advance of trial as possible. We do a limited number of sessions per month, so if you're interested, contact us as soon as possible.

Research (Focus Group) Sessions

We place a great deal of importance and value on jury research (focus groups). Research is a key ingredient to fully vetting your case and shaping negotiation and trial strategies. Focus group juror deliberations or discussion sessions show what jurors will focus on, how they will handle the evidence, and what they perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of the case (from their decision-making role) – and they almost always reveal unanticipated but crucial factors.

A properly conducted research session helps create and refine the rules in your case and the analogies that put your case in their world. It also shows you what jurors believe they have personally at stake within their case decision-making and what evidence you might be missing and what evidence does not help (and can even hurt) you from the jurors’ (most important) perspective. A properly conducted research session also provides guidance on what to do about specific problems and questions you have. Additionally, you learn new arguments to support your side, undermine the opposition and how to arm your jurors at trial to fight for you in deliberations.

Research sessions are just as important for mediation as for trial and also provide essential guidance to maximize the benefits and minimize the dangers of discovery.

Focus group research is only as valuable as the ability of its consultants to turn its results into viable case strategies.  This is why we design and conduct the case research sessions ourselves.

The success of the research depends on presenting a well-prepared, fair and unbiased assessment of the case. Our goal is not to win the research session but to learn how jurors react to the issues and work towards decisions.  Based on what we learn, we guide you in preparing the strongest possible case strategies and presentation for mediation and/or trial.

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Our Team

Artemis Malekpour, J.D., M.H.A.

Trial Consultant

artemis@consultmmb.com

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David Ball, Ph.D

Trial Consultant

jurywatch@gmail.com

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Get in Touch

Hourly Consultation

We are available for consultation on an hourly basis in person, or via phone or video conference. We tailor the conference format, length and topics to your needs and resources. We offer special guidance with developing and refining rules, openings, mechanism of harm explanations and tentacles spreading.

When to Bring Us On Board

We can get involved at any stage – from helping you decide whether to take a case, all the way through discovery and trial. Earlier is always better, as turning case analysis into mediation or trial strategy takes time, so we encourage you to plan ahead.  See below for our recommended timeframe to maximum the benefits our services for your case needs:

Hourly consulting:
Available any point during the process, though the earlier the better.

WorkDays:
Before, during, or after discovery. It is best to leave at least two weeks between the WorkDay and trial. The longer the better.

WorkSeries:
Any time over your trial preparation, but the earlier the better in order to maximize the benefit of these multi-part sessions and allow more flexibility in scheduling and follow-up.

Research (focus groups) Sessions:
You need to get scheduling and preparation started with us no later than 90 days before trial so we (and you) can properly prepare. That will also allow the minimum one month necessary between the Research Session (focus group) date and trial date to analyze and strategize the results.

Emergencies:
We’re available for emergency advice for unanticipated matters that arise at any time. This service is offered on a priority basis to attorneys we have already worked with, but we try our best to be available on an emergency basis to everyone.

In-House Training Sessions:
We do half or full-day in-house training sessions in-person or by video conference.

To get started, call us at 919-961-8177