Occupation

[Eschatos]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=422.msg65730#msg65730 date=1234199375]
I do commercial appraising, but thats down the toilet.  So it looks like I'm also doing my dad's company's bookkeeping since she is having health problems.  Luckily I had a pretty comprehensive education.

is the company a she? what kind of health problems does a company have?
[/quote]

Or did your dad get the operation?

[rumsfald]

Trial & jury consulting.

As in selection / voi dire?

If so, what background do you bring to such a job?

Also, congrats to Surf's Dad New Mom.

[Aerox]

As in selection / voi dire?

If so, what background do you bring to such a job?

That's a part of what we do.  Really, trial consultants do all sorts of stuff.  A lot of our work is pre-trial focus groups and mock trials that help to A. Test out what themes work and don't work, B. build a jury profile so we can actually go into voir dire and jury selection and know what kind of attitudes and experiences we're looking for, C. figure out what information is missing from the case, and D. in civil cases get a rough estimate of what kind of damage figures we're looking at.

We also do a lot of lawyer prep for voir dire, and in some cases we'll go to court and pretty much pick the juries.  Other stuff we do includes witness preparation, venue research stuff for both jury selection and change of venue motions, media management (we are kind of well known among some lawyers for handling lots of big media circus murder & criminal cases), and give recommendations and suggestions on how to use and present visuals for the best effect.

The backgrounds can be really varied, depending on who you are working for.  Some consultants specialize in witness preparation and bring things like theater/drama backgrounds.  Our company is one of the few that do some serious statistical analysis in jury selection, so most of us (although my company is only 4 people big) have psych backgrounds.  Our senior consultant has a Ph.D in Clinical Neuroscience, I have a BA in Psychology (my school had a pretty serious focus on stats and research design/development in undergrad, and that's pretty much what got me hired - my research group work and my thesis), and then my boss I believe has a BA in Theater and a Masters in Communication, and also 20 years of experience as a consultant with work on a bunch of big cases.

It's a really interesting field and it really takes all types of people, but it can be hard to break in to because the number of consultants and consulting firms is relatively small.  I got REALLY lucky and just stumbled across a job opening here where conveniently all the qualifications they were looking for were pretty much word for word exactly what skills I had.  If you're interested in the field, I can tell you a bit more about it over PM or something.

[Dave]

tl;dr

dave is a student
i used to lift things for money
im joining the army when i fail this course.

[Surf314]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=422.msg65730#msg65730 date=1234199375]
I do commercial appraising, but thats down the toilet.  So it looks like I'm also doing my dad's company's bookkeeping since she is having health problems.  Luckily I had a pretty comprehensive education.

is the company a she? what kind of health problems does a company have?
[/quote]

Previous bookkeeper.  Sorry if that was confusing.  She has a weird pain disease, needs heavy meds but can't work on them.  My dad really needs someone to learn her job and I need something to do while the market goes down the crapper. Its working out pretty well.  Also I get to learn lots of awesome stuff.

[shoopfox]

I do editorial work for the MS version of Google Adwords. It doesn't pay very well but it's cushy/easy.

[Ianki]

tl;dr

dave is a student
i used to lift things for money
im joining the army when i fail this course.

Don't join the army, you could always play for ManU



(what a horrible movie)

[rumsfald]

Aerox gave me wood.

[Vlambo]

I'm one of them students, who use to prepare quality food at a quality family restaurant

[Scary Womanizing Pig Mask]

[quote author=rumsfald link=topic=422.msg65777#msg65777 date=1234219510]

As in selection / voi dire?

If so, what background do you bring to such a job?

That's a part of what we do.  Really, trial consultants do all sorts of stuff.  A lot of our work is pre-trial focus groups and mock trials that help to A. Test out what themes work and don't work, B. build a jury profile so we can actually go into voir dire and jury selection and know what kind of attitudes and experiences we're looking for, C. figure out what information is missing from the case, and D. in civil cases get a rough estimate of what kind of damage figures we're looking at.

We also do a lot of lawyer prep for voir dire, and in some cases we'll go to court and pretty much pick the juries.  Other stuff we do includes witness preparation, venue research stuff for both jury selection and change of venue motions, media management (we are kind of well known among some lawyers for handling lots of big media circus murder & criminal cases), and give recommendations and suggestions on how to use and present visuals for the best effect.

The backgrounds can be really varied, depending on who you are working for.  Some consultants specialize in witness preparation and bring things like theater/drama backgrounds.  Our company is one of the few that do some serious statistical analysis in jury selection, so most of us (although my company is only 4 people big) have psych backgrounds.  Our senior consultant has a Ph.D in Clinical Neuroscience, I have a BA in Psychology (my school had a pretty serious focus on stats and research design/development in undergrad, and that's pretty much what got me hired - my research group work and my thesis), and then my boss I believe has a BA in Theater and a Masters in Communication, and also 20 years of experience as a consultant with work on a bunch of big cases.

It's a really interesting field and it really takes all types of people, but it can be hard to break in to because the number of consultants and consulting firms is relatively small.  I got REALLY lucky and just stumbled across a job opening here where conveniently all the qualifications they were looking for were pretty much word for word exactly what skills I had.  If you're interested in the field, I can tell you a bit more about it over PM or something.
[/quote]
Aww, I thought it meant it you were basically Maya Fey :/

[Aerox]

Aww, I thought it meant it you were basically Maya Fey :/

Think of us as smarter, more helpful, less attractive versions of Maya Fey.

[Scary Womanizing Pig Mask]

[quote author=Scary Womanizing Pig Mask link=topic=422.msg65827#msg65827 date=1234232300]
Aww, I thought it meant it you were basically Maya Fey :/

Think of us as smarter, more helpful, less attractive versions of Maya Fey.
[/quote]

Awesome. I'll call you up some time for a channeling