Strategies for Witness Preparation

For more than two decades, Chris Dominic has counseled clients on cases ranging from everyday casework and ADR to some of the nation’s most high-profile, high-stakes trials and multidistrict litigation.

While his experience is broad, Chris specializes in strategy and speechmaking. He worked for Fortune 500 companies as a management consultant and served as president at Tsongas Litigation Consulting before the firm joined IMS.

With more than 20 years of trial consulting experience, Dr. Jill Leibold has applied her expertise in juror decision-making to hundreds of cases across all genres of litigation.

Dr. Leibold specializes in developing statistically based juror risk profiles to identify jurors for cause and peremptory strikes during jury selection. She also applies qualitative analyses to inform the development of case stories and trial themes.

With nearly 20 years of litigation consulting experience, Dr. Keith Pounds is adept at helping trial teams identify and develop compelling case themes and presentation strategies.

He also specializes in providing quantitative and qualitative analysis through focus groups and mock trials, in addition to assisting clients with witness preparation, voir dire, and jury selection.

Dr. Melissa M. Gomez has worked on 1,000+ jury trials across the US, focusing on the psychology of learning, behavior, and decision-making. She has three decades of expertise in research design and methodology, as well as behavioral and communication skills training.

Dr. Gomez assists counsel in targeting discovery efforts and developing a case strategy with the goal of favorable resolution.

Theodore (Ted) Prosise has 20+ years of experience working with trial teams in hundreds of venues nationwide. He has prepared 1,000+ witnesses for deposition and trial, conducted 250+ mock trials and focus groups, and selected 200+ juries.

His current focus areas are trial strategy and theme development, and witness preparation—particularly for medical professionals and foreign witnesses in the US.

Dr. Merrie Jo Pitera is a psychology and communication expert who specializes in complex litigation and trial consulting. With more than 30 years of experience in the field, Merrie Jo has managed hundreds of cases and understands what is at stake. Her areas of expertise include intellectual property, employment, commercial, environmental, transportation, insurance bad faith, and product liability/personal injury litigation. She is a perceptive listener and observer of jury dynamics and sentiments, and she provides clear insights into how they are likely to impact the decision-makers in a case. Merrie Jo’s insight and guidance has been deemed “invaluable” by multiple clients. In addition to being a jury specialist, Merrie Jo prepares witnesses for deposition, trials, arbitration, and congressional hearings.