SOUND JURY CONSULTING - Key Persons

Alexis works closely with her clients from discovery through trial to devise and implement winning trial strategies. Her consulting expertise is in complex civil legal cases, including product liability, medical malpractice, intellectual property, commercial, and employment disputes. Whether working with Fortune 500 companies or solo practitioners, she approaches each of her clients' cases with equal attention, energy, and competitive drive.

Jeffrey Jarman works closely with clients on all aspects of their case, including case strategy, witness preparation, community attitude surveys, jury research and jury selection. Jeff has worked for more than 10 years on matters including employment, patents, medical malpractice, and product liability. Jeff also is the Director of the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University. He is the former Director of Debate at WSU. He teaches classes in argumentation, persuasion and research to both graduate and undergraduate students. His academic research draws on motivated reasoning in political contexts, including presidential debates and political fact-checking. Jeff earned a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas and a B.S. in political science from Missouri State University. In his free time, Jeff enjoys entering bike races and duathlons where he has an excellent record of finishing in last place.

For 20 years, Jill has been putting her Ph.D. in Communication to good use: first as a college professor teaching courses in all aspects of the field (e.g., public speaking, interpersonal, intercultural, rhetorical theory, visual advocacy, persuasion, crisis communication, gender communication, etc.), and for over a decade now as a litigation consultant. Jill's love of teaching, communication, and the law brought her to the litigation consulting field, and she has never regretted it.

Joe has practiced in the field of visual arts and persuasion for over twenty years. He holds a Masters of Business Administration in Health Care Administration & Marketing from Avila University. He has additional advanced certification, coursework, and training in graphic design, web development, and photography. Joe has worked in various lead marketing roles in his career and has performed brand management, visual design, and web design services across the country. Joe is also a professional photographer.

Job Titles:

• Associate
• Consultant

Lesley Rone is an Associate Consultant for Sound Jury Consulting. She works closely with clients designing, facilitating, and analyzing focus groups and mock trials. She has worked throughout the country on high-dollar matters ranging from wrongful death and product liability cases to employment and complex fraud cases.

Job Titles:

• Associate Consultant With

Mike Anderson is an associate consultant with Sound Jury Consulting. He has consulted on mock trials and focus groups across the country covering issues from wrongful death claims to billion dollar environmental disaster matters. Besides working as a consultant, Mike has taught collegiate courses in public and persuasive speaking, problem solving in teams and groups, and behavioral research methods for more than 15 years; he currently teaches public speaking at an art and design college in Savannah, Georgia.. Mike has published his research on public address and audience retention in various academic journals. He has also worked professionally with both academy award winning actors and writers, along with appearing in televised promotions for Hallmark, Sprint, Boulevard Brewing, and countless others. Because of his work inside and out of the classroom, Dr. Anderson has been named the "Most Interesting Character in Small Town America," by Readers Digest. Mike received his Ph.D. in public address and communication studies at the University of Kansas.

Job Titles:

• Consultant
• Director of Debate at the University of Texas

Scott Herndon is a Consultant for Sound Jury Consulting. He works closely with clients on case strategy development and jury research. He has worked on a wide variety of litigation types throughout the country, including product liability, corporate negligence, copyright, patent and trademark infringement, and employment claims. Scott is also the Director of Debate at the University of Texas at Dallas. During his time with the program, he has taken it from a small, relatively unknown debate program to one of the top programs in the country. His decades of research and coaching experience provide clients with practical strategy advice and clear plans for execution at any stage of the litigation process. Coming from academics, Scott works to fuse the best research on persuasion, decision making, juror attitudes and emotions, to create effective persuasive strategies.

Taylor Forrest has provided audio/video production services to lawfirms and corporate clients across the country for over ten years. He has managed, recorded, and/or edited hundreds of projects. From small editing jobs to full-scale video productions and setting up of complex closed-circuit audio/video sites, Taylor's professionalism and experience is unmatched. His most common services include recording and editing video presentations, setting up and managing on-site video production suites, setting up live feeds, and managing media formatting. He works in a wide variety of media formats and is fluent in both the Adobe Premiere Editing Suite and Trial Director. Taylor's ability to work within diverse media platforms, trouble-shoot audio/video situations quickly and effortlessly, and customize the production strategy to meet the needs of the client, have established him as an industry leader.

Thomas O'Toole, Ph.D. has practiced across the nation for over fifteen years in nearly every litigation type. He has consulted on matters as small as low exposure medical malpractice and as large as "bet-the company" MDL class actions and billion dollar environmental claims. His cases have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, and have been the subject of feature films and documentaries. He co-authored the book Jury Selection Handbook, published by Carolina Academic Press, and is the host of the popular podcast, The Sniper Defense.