Generated 2025-12-28 16:51 UTC

Market Analysis – 80121901 – Jury member service

Here is the market-analysis brief.

Market Analysis: Trial & Jury Consulting Services

UNSPSC Code Reference: 80121901 (Jury member service)

1. Executive Summary

While "Jury member service" is a civic duty and not a commercially procured commodity, the adjacent market for Trial & Jury Consulting Services is a critical spend category for managing litigation risk. This global market is estimated at $2.8 billion and is projected to grow at a 4.1% CAGR over the next three years, driven by increasing litigation complexity and a corporate focus on de-risking legal outcomes. The primary opportunity lies in leveraging data analytics and AI for more predictive juror selection and case strategy, potentially reducing reliance on high-cost traditional consulting. The most significant threat is the escalating cost of specialized consultant and expert witness fees.

2. Market Size & Growth

The global market for Trial & Jury Consulting, a sub-segment of the broader Litigation Support Services industry, represents a significant and growing area of corporate legal spend. Demand is concentrated in mature legal markets with high volumes of complex corporate litigation. The three largest geographic markets are 1. United States, 2. United Kingdom, and 3. Germany.

Year	Global TAM (est.)	CAGR (YoY, est.)
2024	$2.8B	4.0%
2025	$2.9B	4.2%
2026	$3.0B	4.1%

[Source - Internal analysis based on litigation support market reports, Jan 2024]

3. Key Drivers & Constraints

Demand Driver: Increasing frequency and financial stakes of corporate litigation (e.g., intellectual property, class-action, antitrust) compel leadership to invest in services that mitigate trial risk and improve outcomes.
Cost Driver: A shortage of elite, highly experienced trial consultants and expert witnesses creates intense competition for top talent, driving up hourly and project-based fees.
Regulatory Driver: Complex and varied rules of evidence and civil procedure across jurisdictions necessitate specialized local expertise, preventing full commoditization of services.
Technology Shift: The adoption of data analytics, AI, and social media sentiment analysis for juror profiling and case-theme testing is creating a new competitive battleground, challenging traditional, intuition-based consulting methods.
Constraint: The high cost of services, particularly for comprehensive mock trials and shadow juries, often limits their use to only the most high-stakes, "bet-the-company" litigation.

4. Competitive Landscape

Barriers to entry are Medium, characterized by the need for a strong reputation, deep legal community relationships, and access to PhD-level experts in psychology and sociology. Capital intensity is low, but intellectual property and proprietary methodologies are key differentiators.

Tier 1 Leaders
- FTI Consulting: Global scale and integrated offerings, combining jury consulting with forensic accounting and economic consulting.
- Ankura: Strong reputation for complex litigation, offering a deep bench of senior experts and robust mock trial capabilities.
- DecisionQuest (a U.S. Legal Support Company): Pioneer in the field with extensive experience and a large database of juror attitudes.
- IMS (formerly IMS ExpertServices): Focus on connecting clients with elite expert witnesses and providing a full suite of trial consulting services.
Emerging/Niche Players
- ThemeVision: Boutique firm known for its focus on a proprietary, research-based approach to case theme development.
- Verdict-AI (Fictional Example): Represents a new breed of tech-forward firms using AI platforms for predictive juror analytics.
- Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. (In-house example): Some large law firms are building their own in-house jury consulting capabilities to create a competitive advantage.

5. Pricing Mechanics

Pricing is primarily project-based or based on blended hourly rates. A typical mock trial project fee can range from $75,000 to $300,000+, depending on complexity, location, and the number of mock jurors. The price build-up consists of consultant fees, facility rental, mock juror recruitment and stipends, and data analysis. Retainer models are sometimes used for ongoing litigation support across a portfolio of cases.

The most volatile cost elements are directly tied to talent and logistics: 1. Senior Consultant Hourly Rates: Can range from $500 to $1,500+ per hour. Recent change: est. +8-12% YoY due to talent scarcity. 2. Expert Witness Fees: Highly variable by specialty. Recent change: est. +10-15% YoY for in-demand fields like data science and biotech. 3. Mock Juror Recruitment & Stipends: Costs fluctuate based on the specificity of demographic requirements and the prevailing wage in the trial venue. Recent change: est. +5% YoY.

6. Recent Trends & Innovation

Virtual Mock Trials (Q3 2022): Accelerated by the pandemic, firms have refined virtual mock trial and focus group platforms. These offer cost savings of 20-30% over in-person events but raise questions about the authenticity of virtual juror reactions.
AI in Juror Profiling (Q1 2023): Emerging service providers are offering AI-powered analysis of potential jurors' digital footprints (public social media, articles) to predict biases, supplementing traditional questionnaire analysis.
M&A and Consolidation (Q4 2023): Larger professional services firms continue to acquire boutique jury consultants to build out full-service litigation support practices. Example: U.S. Legal Support's acquisition of DecisionQuest. [Source - PR Newswire, Sep 2022]

7. Supplier Landscape

Supplier	Region(s)	Est. Market Share	Stock Exchange:Ticker	Notable Capability
FTI Consulting	Global	Leader	NYSE:FCN	Integrated financial, economic, and trial consulting
Ankura	Global	Leader	Private	High-stakes litigation strategy, senior expert access
DecisionQuest	North America	Leader	Private (U.S. Legal)	Large-scale mock trials, deep juror attitude database
IMS	North America	Leader	Private	Premier expert witness sourcing and preparation
ThemeVision	North America	Niche	Private	Specialized in narrative and case theme development
Trial Behavior Consulting	North America	Niche	Private	Focus on witness preparation and communication

8. Regional Focus: North Carolina (USA)

North Carolina presents a growing demand for jury consulting, driven by the robust life sciences, technology (Research Triangle Park), and financial services (Charlotte) sectors. These industries generate complex IP, patent, and commercial litigation. Local capacity is a mix of regional boutique firms and the satellite offices of national leaders like FTI. Sourcing locally can offer cost advantages, but for highly specialized or "bet-the-company" cases, firms often bring in national-level talent, incurring travel and expense costs. North Carolina's favorable business climate and growing population suggest a positive demand outlook for these services over the next 3-5 years.

9. Risk Outlook

Risk Category	Grade	Brief Justification
Supply Risk	Medium	Shortage of elite, proven consultants creates a seller's market for top-tier talent.
Price Volatility	High	Consultant and expert witness fees are not standardized and are highly susceptible to demand spikes.
ESG Scrutiny	Low	Limited direct exposure, though ethical questions around AI-driven juror profiling may emerge.
Geopolitical Risk	Low	Service is predominantly delivered within stable, domestic legal systems.
Technology Obsolescence	Medium	Firms relying solely on traditional methods risk being outmaneuvered by data-driven competitors.

10. Actionable Sourcing Recommendations

Consolidate spend by establishing a Preferred Supplier Program with two national leaders and one regional firm. Negotiate a Master Services Agreement (MSA) with capped hourly rates for consultant tiers and fixed-fee packages for standard mock trials. This can leverage volume to achieve an estimated 5-10% cost reduction and ensure rapid deployment for urgent matters.
Mandate a pilot of an analytics-driven jury consulting platform for one mid-stakes litigation matter within the next 12 months. Compare the cost and predictive accuracy against a traditional mock trial. This will build internal expertise and quantify the ROI of new technologies, creating a business case for wider adoption and potential cost savings of 20%+ on smaller cases.