MADELINE SUMMERVILLE
Litigator and Trial Consultant | Atlanta, GA
Madeline Summerville
Trial Consultant | Atlanta, GASince January of 2022 alone, Madeline's insight and and input have contributed to over $200 million in verdicts. She will help you and your team achieve a fantastic result for your client.
Madeline has tried cases with some of the best trial lawyers in Georgia. These experiences, coupled with her extensive psychological and social sciences research into tactics of communication and persuasion, have allowed her to develop a modern, unique, and highly successful approach to jury selection and overall trial presentation.
PROCESS
Georgia Trial Consulting will provide you with insight into how best to communicate with your jury at every stage of the game. We specialize in the psychology of choice and persuasion.We can be present as early as you'd like to evaluate your case and develop case strategy.First, GTC evaluates your case file with ample time prior to trial to determine whether any county-based focus groups would be helpful to your case and client. Madeline's focus groups help lawyers uncover biases in potential jurors surrounding all different kinds of topics. From the results of the focus group(s), Madeline will help you develop voir dire questions that will allow you to identify those biased jurors, whose beliefs would otherwise go unrecognized. Her focus groups also help lawyers develop key persuasive phrases that can be used as themes throughout trial. She will help you identify what those are.GTC will then assist you in developing and finalizing your voir dire questions which are specifically targeted to elicit the most crucial information from each potential juror, as well as prime them for the next stage in the game. Madeline will also review your opening statement with you, as well as your visual aids. She will help you adjust your language and the structure of your presentation so that you can communicate with your jury in the most effective manner possible. GTC will help you re-adjust your presentation, if necessary, once a jury has been chosen.Per your and your Judge's preference, Madeline will either sit with you at counsel table or elsewhere in the courtroom as voir dire takes place. She will be taking notes and constantly be listening for statements from a juror which can be used for a causal strike. GTC will either provide you with the case law you need to argue your causal strike, or will happily present the argument to the Court for you.Jury selection can be a hectic and stressful process, which can make it difficult to communicate with your team during the little time you have to make decisions. With GTC on board, you can be sure that all group discussions will take place in an organized and focused manner, with the most pressing and timely goal in mind at each stage. Madeline will use her knowledge of the jurisdictional rules, and keen attention to language and word choice, to help you determine which jurors to strike. When it's down to the wire, and you only have a minute left to choose a strike, Madeline can give you a specific method of decision making which will allow you to make your final choices with confidence.As the trial proceeds, GTC will sit in the gallery every single day. The primary goals here are to: 1) determine the overall dynamics of the trial based upon how all the players (attorneys, judge, witnesses, clients) interact; 2) to identify which phrases used during the day were most or least effective (or offensive) and gather linguistic material for closings and potential areas of reinforcement; and 3) to intuitively feel the jury out and follow their journey with them, so that you can speak to them on their level as the trial proceeds.GTC will use all of the information gleaned during the trial to assist you in catering your closing argument specifically to your jury.From an overall perspective, GTC will help you understand the role you play in these particular jurors' eyes. As you tell your client's story, it is imperative that you understand how your jury perceives you. With a background in psychology and a deep understanding of Jungian archetypes, Madeline will help you determine how the jurors most likely see you, and what language and styles of presentation would be best for you in order for the jurors to trust your message and believe in your case.SERVICES
Please contact us for more information on any of the following services
Jury Selection
V
Trial Observation
Focus Groups
Witness Preparation
Legal Research
Previous Work
Gwinnett Jury Awards $30 Million in Case over Catastrophic Birth Injury
A Gwinnett County State Court jury awarded $30 million against an obstetrician and medical practice for a baby born with severe brain damage from complications during birth.
“So great working with you. Your suggestions were always spot on and your positivity was always a much-needed lift throughout. You truly made a silk purse out of a sou’s ear with that jury panel. That was unlike any Gwinnett jury panel I have seen in 20 years…You know, in 30 years of trying cases, I have never once done a focus group. I believe I will the next time I have a case this big, and you will the first person I call.”
- Attorney Steve Pickens, after a multi-million dollar jury verdict in a birth injury case
Contact Us
1226 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306317-504-1395
Contact Us
Summerville Law, LLC
317-504-1395
© Georgia Trial Consulting 2022