POWERHOUSE TRIAL

The Advantage
Happens Before Trial.

Trial Consulting • Jury Intelligence • Focus Groups • Trial Strategy

PowerHouse Trial helps attorneys prepare stronger cases through strategic consulting, jury intelligence, focus groups, mock trials, and innovative resolution processes. Whether preparing for mediation or the courtroom, we help lawyers evaluate risk, test assumptions, strengthen strategy, and make better decisions before trial.

POWERHOUSE TRIAL™

Better Information.
Better Decisions.

PowerHouse Trial was built around a simple idea: better information leads to better decisions.

Too often, parties enter mediation or prepare for trial relying on assumptions about how jurors will react, how witnesses will perform, or how a case will ultimately be valued. Those assumptions influence negotiation, litigation strategy, and trial preparation, yet they are rarely tested before significant time and resources are invested.

PowerHouse Trial bridges the gap between litigation strategy and dispute resolution. Through strategic consulting, jury research, focus groups, mock trials, and innovative trial-informed processes, we help attorneys evaluate risk, refine case themes, and make more informed decisions throughout the life of a case.

"The strongest trial strategy begins with understanding—not assumptions."

Jury Intelligence

Real community-based jurors provide meaningful feedback about credibility, damages, communication, case themes, and trial presentation before critical decisions are made.

Strategic Evaluation

Test assumptions, identify strengths and vulnerabilities, refine litigation strategy, and better understand how key issues may be viewed before trial begins.

Resolution Through Insight

When attorneys better understand trial risk and jury perception, negotiations become more productive and new opportunities for resolution often emerge.

WHEN POWERHOUSE TRIAL MAKES SENSE

Some Cases Need More Than
Traditional Negotiation.

Some disputes are driven by more than legal issues. Communication, credibility, valuation, jury perception, and litigation strategy often influence whether a case settles—or proceeds to trial. PowerHouse Trial helps attorneys gain meaningful insight before critical decisions are made.

When Mediation Has Stalled

Productive negotiations sometimes reach an impasse because the parties have fundamentally different assumptions about trial risk. Additional insight often creates new opportunities for resolution.

When Credibility Matters

Some cases turn less on legal arguments than on how witnesses, experts, and parties are perceived. Understanding those perceptions before trial can significantly influence strategy.

When Jury Reaction Is Uncertain

Test themes, communication, damages, and overall case presentation with community-based jurors before making important litigation decisions.

When the Numbers Don't Align

Significant settlement gaps often reflect different expectations about liability, damages, or jury response. Better information leads to more informed negotiation.

When Trial Preparation Matters

Refine themes, prepare witnesses, strengthen presentations, and evaluate communication strategies before stepping into the courtroom.

When Clients Need Confidence

Help clients make informed decisions by replacing assumptions with meaningful feedback, strategic analysis, and greater confidence in the decisions ahead.

POWERHOUSE TRIAL'S SIGNATURE SOLUTION

Verdict Lab™

Where Trial Strategy Meets Jury Insight.

Verdict Lab™ is PowerHouse Trial's signature pretrial evaluation process. Designed for high-stakes litigation, Verdict Lab allows attorneys to test case themes, witness credibility, damages, communication strategies, and overall trial presentation before entering the courtroom.

Using community-based jurors and structured evaluation processes, attorneys receive meaningful feedback about how real people perceive the case—not simply how lawyers believe it will be received.

The result is better information, stronger strategy, more productive negotiations, and greater confidence whether preparing for mediation or trial.

Explore Verdict Lab™
Every Verdict Lab Includes
Community-Based Jurors
The Verdict Room™ Deliberation Experience
Jury Feedback & Discussion
Attorney Strategy Debrief
Trial Preparation & Resolution Planning
EXPERIENCE THE COURTROOM BEFORE TRIAL

Summary Jury Trials™

A Courtroom Experience That Informs Better Decisions.
The Summary Jury Trial Process
01

Attorney Presentations

Each side presents opening statements, witness testimony, exhibits, and key evidence in a structured courtroom setting.

02

Community-Based Jurors

Jurors selected from the community hear the evidence and evaluate the case using the applicable legal standards.

03

Deliberation & Verdict

Jurors deliberate privately, return a verdict, and provide valuable written and verbal feedback regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the case.

04

Settlement Conference

Following the verdict, the parties meet with the retired judge to explore informed settlement opportunities using the jury's feedback.

Experience how your case may be received before investing the time, expense, and uncertainty of trial.

Summary Jury Trials™ provide attorneys with an innovative courtroom experience designed to evaluate litigation risk before trial. Conducted before a retired judge and community-based jurors, the process closely mirrors the courtroom while creating opportunities for meaningful settlement discussions.

Attorneys present their case, jurors deliberate in private, and the parties receive valuable insight into how the evidence, witnesses, and legal arguments are likely to be perceived by real decision makers.

The result is greater clarity, stronger trial preparation, more productive negotiations, and better informed strategic decisions for every stage of litigation.

Explore Summary Jury Trials™
POWERHOUSE TRIAL CONSULTING

TrialLab™

Where Better Trials Begin.
Every successful trial begins long before opening statements.

TrialLab™ is PowerHouse Trial's strategic litigation consulting practice. Designed for attorneys preparing for high-stakes matters, TrialLab provides experienced guidance before critical courtroom decisions are made.

Whether developing persuasive case themes, preparing witnesses, refining courtroom communication, strengthening voir dire, or evaluating presentation strategy, TrialLab helps attorneys build confidence before trial rather than reacting during trial.

The result is stronger advocacy, clearer communication, better prepared witnesses, and trial strategies that are intentionally designed rather than improvised.

Explore TrialLab™
The TrialLab Method™
01

Discover

Understand the case, identify objectives, evaluate risks, and establish strategic goals.

02

Develop

Build persuasive case themes, narratives, communication strategies, and trial messaging.

03

Prepare

Refine witness testimony, voir dire, openings, demonstrations, and courtroom presentation.

04

Evaluate

Pressure-test strategies, identify vulnerabilities, and strengthen the overall presentation.

05

Refine

Incorporate feedback, improve advocacy, and adjust strategy before trial.

06

Deliver

Enter mediation or trial with confidence, clarity, and a fully developed litigation strategy.

POWERHOUSE SENIOR JUDICIAL ADVISORS

Experience
Changes Perspective.

The most valuable litigation insight often comes before a ruling is ever issued.

PowerHouse Senior Judicial Advisors bring together retired judges whose decades of courtroom experience provide attorneys with thoughtful strategic insight before, during, and after litigation.

Whether evaluating settlement opportunities, discussing dispositive motions, preparing for trial, or considering appellate issues, judicial experience often reveals opportunities and risks that may otherwise go unnoticed.

The result is stronger decision making, better preparation, and greater confidence throughout the litigation process.

Explore Judicial Insight
Judicial Perspective
Litigation Strategy
Settlement Evaluation
Appellate Insight
Motion Practice
Executive Consultation
Courtroom Experience
Complex Case Analysis
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Matters We Frequently Handle

PowerHouse Trial is frequently selected for matters where litigation risk, jury perception, communication, and strategic decision-making are central to the outcome. While every dispute is unique, these are representative matters where our trial-informed approach can provide meaningful value.

High-Stakes Civil Litigation

Catastrophic Injury

High-exposure personal injury litigation involving significant damages, future care needs, and complex valuation issues.

Wrongful Death

Cases where communication, credibility, damages, and jury perception often influence the outcome as much as the legal issues themselves.

Medical Negligence

Complex healthcare disputes requiring evaluation of expert testimony, credibility, causation, and damages.

Business Litigation

Partnership disputes, shareholder conflicts, fiduciary claims, restrictive covenant litigation, and other commercial disputes.

Employment Litigation

Cases involving workplace investigations, retaliation, discrimination, executive employment matters, and communication challenges.

Construction & Multi-Party Cases

Litigation involving multiple parties, insurers, contractors, experts, and layered issues requiring coordinated strategy.

Matters Requiring Strategic Insight

Stalled Negotiations

When mediation or settlement discussions have reached an impasse and additional insight may create movement.

Credibility-Driven Cases

Matters where witness credibility, communication, or presentation may determine the outcome more than the underlying law.

Trial Preparation

Cases where attorneys want to test themes, refine presentations, evaluate witnesses, and strengthen strategy before trial.

DESIGNED FOR BETTER DECISIONS

Every Great Strategy
Begins With Understanding.

Every PowerHouse Trial engagement is intentionally designed to help attorneys make informed decisions before critical litigation choices are made. Whether through Verdict Lab™, TrialLab™, Summary Jury Trial™, or another customized engagement, our goal is to provide meaningful insight—not simply another opinion.

01

Strategy

We begin with your case—not our process. Together we identify litigation goals, negotiation history, communication challenges, and the questions that matter most.

02

Design

Every matter deserves the right approach. We design a process tailored to your litigation strategy using Verdict Lab™, TrialLab™, Summary Jury Trial™, or another customized engagement.

03

Insight

Community-based jurors, structured evaluation, communication analysis, and strategic discussion provide meaningful information that cannot be gained from assumptions alone.

04

Evaluate

Together we review the results, discuss strategic implications, identify opportunities, and determine the best path forward.

05

Move Forward

Whether the case settles, proceeds toward trial, or continues through additional strategic work, you move forward with better information and greater confidence.

WHY WE BUILT POWERHOUSE TRIAL

A Judicial Perspective

PowerHouse Trial was created around a simple idea: some cases require more than another round of negotiation. They require meaningful evaluation, strategic insight, and a better understanding of trial risk before critical decisions are made.

“Today's most difficult cases often require more than traditional negotiation. Strategic evaluation, jury insight, and thoughtful process design help attorneys make better-informed decisions before trial.”
Hon. Timothy J. McManus (Ret.) Retired District Court Judge
Senior Judicial Advisor | PowerHouse

Some cases settle because
people talk.

Others settle because people
finally understand the risk.

PowerHouse Trial helps attorneys make informed decisions through strategic evaluation, jury insight, and customized trial-informed processes designed for today's most challenging litigation.