For over 40 years Mark C. Schultz has been litigating and trying cases in several states and has achieved numerous large verdicts for his clients. Mark is a former Bar Association president, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, and a member of the Supreme Court Disciplinary Board as well as a member of the American Society of Trial Consultants.
During his career as lawyer, Mark has regularly utilized focus groups for over 15 years and has become a firm believer in their necessity as part of the discovery and trial preparation process.
Seven years ago he began conducting focus groups for other lawyers to assist them in preparing and evaluating their cases, and ultimately formed Keystone Focus in 2018 to provide a neutral platform for these services. Since that time Mark and his team have helped numerous clients prepare for successful trials.
Outside of law, Mark has been happily married to his wife Susie of 40 years, and has two wonderful children. Mark is also a professional musician, performing regularly in the Philadelphia area.
Keystone Focus provides several types of focus groups to assist lawyers in the discovery and trial preparation process. Focus groups are tailored to the particular case in collaboration with the trial lawyer.
The methodology and content of focus groups can yield valuable insight into juror perceptions and biases and identify unanticipated problems in your case. They can serve as the basis for restructuring your approach and making informed decisions about trial strategy, settlement decisions and trial themes.
Focus groups are often perceived as cost-prohibitive, because they are often offered by larger companies with substantial overhead. Other lawyers may conduct focus groups internally to reduce cost, but this can also reduce objectivity in the data. Mark Schultz has developed cost-efficient, rigorous methodologies that make focus groups accessible to smaller firms at reasonable price points.
concept FOCUS GROUPS
VIRTUAL FOCUs
GROUPS
STRUCTURED FOCUS GROUPS
MOCK TRIALS
Jury Recruiting/Screening
Jurors are selected to include diverse age, racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, educational, and occupational backgrounds, which provides varied and useful perspectives. We screen potential jurors to ensure that they have no relationship to anyone involved in the case.
Before/After Consulting
Consultation is provided before and after focus groups to ensure communication of key elements, information, and insights.
Moderation
The moderator eliminates the risk of lawyers’ emotional investment in cases and results in a neutral presentation and questions calculated to gather the most critical information, both positive and negative, and an objective evaluation of responses.
Videography
A DVD of the entire proceeding is provided for subsequent and repetitive review.
Customized Report - (Optional)
A fully customized report summarizing key juror input and providing recommendations for utilizing the information in trial preparation and settlement decisions is included upon request for an additional charge.
