Hon. Kristi Harrington (Ret.)

The Honorable Kristi Harrington (Ret.) brings extensive judicial experience and litigation insight to her role as a jury consultant with IMS Legal Strategies. Kristi has decades of courtroom experience as a private practice attorney, prosecutor, and South Carolina Circuit Court Judge. During her judicial tenure, she presided over more than 250 jury trials. 

Having observed and interacted with thousands of jurors, Kristi leverages her firsthand knowledge to provide guidance to trial teams to position their cases for success. At IMS, Kristi combines her legal expertise with data‑driven jury research to help shape effective and bespoke litigation strategies. She refines voir dire, strengthens case narratives, prepares witnesses, and provides clear thematic guidance to support litigation clients. She is a trusted advisor in complex cases involving catastrophic injury, wrongful death, construction defects, health law, trucking, and professional liability, among many other areas of law. 

Before joining IMS, Kristi worked as a consultant and mediator with First Court, Inc., a litigation support company acquired by IMS in early 2026. In 2018, she retired from the bench after serving two terms, managing a full spectrum of criminal, civil, and appellate matters while also launching the Ninth Circuit’s Adult Drug Court. Concurrently, she developed a significant academic and judicial education portfolio, which includes serving as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Charleston School of Law, and serving on the Faculty Council and as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the National Judicial College. Before taking the bench, she spent six years as a prosecutor handling felony cases. 

Kristi lives in Charleston and remains engaged with the trial community through speaking, teaching, and consulting. Outside of her professional work, she enjoys travel and maintains a thoughtfully curated bucket list that includes walking the Camino de Santiago and visiting Waldorf Astoria properties worldwide. Committed to lifelong learning, Kristi continues to pursue new interests such as fly fishing and tap dancing and is studying Spanish in preparation for future travels. Her early experience competing in cutting horse events continues to inform her perspective on timing, instinct, and sound decision making.