The first question lawyers ask me about focus groups is almost always about hours. Should I do the one-hour or the two-hour? Is three hours overkill?
Wrong question.
The right question is: what do you actually need to learn?
A lawyer testing how regular people react to one piece of evidence needs something completely different from a lawyer trying to test an entire case before trial. The hours follow from that — they’re a symptom of the choice, not the choice itself.
I offer three virtual focus group packages: Basic, Advanced, and Premium. Each one does a different job. Here’s how to figure out which one fits where your case is right now.
What Every Package Includes
Before we get into the differences, the floor: every virtual focus group I run — regardless of tier — includes a video recording of the session, a full written transcript, a copy of the chat, NDAs signed by every participant, and tech-screened participants so the session actually runs the way it’s supposed to.
And at every tier, you’re working with me. Not running this on your own with a Zoom link and crossed fingers.
That last part matters more than the package you pick.
Basic: The Focused Tool
Basic is the package most lawyers underestimate, because the price tag is small and the hour goes fast. But for the right job, it’s the sharpest tool in the kit.
It does two very different things well.
As a diagnostic at the front of a case. You just signed the file. You have the police report, a few medical records, and a working theory. Before you spend a year in discovery and tens of thousands of dollars in expert costs, you want to know: how do regular people actually react to this? Is the liability theory I’m leaning toward the one that lands? Is my client sympathetic, or is there a problem I need to know about now — while I can still do something about it?
One issue, one hour, eight to twelve participants based in Texas, and a clear early read on where to point your discovery and your depositions.
As a practice arena before trial. You’re closer to trial. You want to deliver your opening to a real audience and see what sticks. You want reps on your voir dire questions in front of actual humans, not your paralegal. You don’t need a full case workup — you need live people reacting to you, in real time, before it counts.
Basic gives you that audience without the price tag of a full focus group.
“This format and the pricing of the services makes it very easy to stress test case issues earlier on to develop discovery strategies and case themes. I’m very grateful to have found your business.” Nabilah Hossain San Francisco, CA
What’s included: 8–12 Texas-based participants, one hour, a date pulled from my schedule, a 30-minute planning call with me, the video, the transcript, the chat. You present, I moderate.
Here’s something most lawyers don’t realize about Basic: it isn’t a fixed product. If you want me to present instead of you, that’s available as an add-on. If you want help building the presentation so you’re putting the right question in front of the group, that’s available too. You can keep it lean and run it yourself with my moderation, or pull me in further depending on what you actually need.
One scheduling note worth knowing: Basic runs once a month, and the seat usually fills up. If it’s the right fit for your case, the sooner we talk, the better. Not sure if Basic fits where your case is? Schedule a free consultation call.
Advanced: The Working Case Session
Advanced is where most cases belong.
The anchor is simple: a 30,000-foot view of your case. Not every issue, not every exhibit — but the case as a whole, both sides, with enough room for real feedback. Two hours, 10 to 12 participants, the venire matched to where you’ll actually try the case.
It fits a few different jobs:
- Case workup at 30,000 feet — testing the case as a whole, with feedback on liability and damages and both sides’ arguments
- Mediation prep — getting an honest read before you walk in, so your range and your theory have been pressure-tested by real people, not just your co-counsel
- Trial prep on a lower-value case — when the math doesn’t justify Premium but you still want a real focus group before you stand up in front of a jury
- A deep dive on one issue, especially damages — when you don’t need to test the whole case, just the piece that’s keeping you up at night
What’s included: 10–12 participants, 2 hours, your chosen venue, two planning meetings totaling 75 minutes, presentation creation assistance, a 30-minute post-group strategy session, and a written focus group report with feedback analysis, comparisons, and takeaways.
Two pieces of that are worth pulling out.
The presentation creation assistance matters because almost every first-time focus group presentation has the same problems — too long, too argumentative, or it buries the question that actually needs testing. Fixing that before the focus group is half the value.
The planning meetings matter because the questions you ask the group determine the answers you get. Two hours of focus group on the wrong questions is two hours wasted. We work the questions together before anyone shows up.
This is where working with me earns its keep. The focus group is the centerpiece, but the planning calls and the strategy session afterward are where most of the actual value gets unlocked.
“I hired Elizabeth to conduct a focus group for a complicated trucking accident case at an uncontrolled intersection, where liability was deeply contested. We were preparing for pre-trial mediation and were concerned we were overvaluing our case and the defense was undervaluing. We were able to get very clear feedback on key witnesses and disputed evidence in the case, and armed with that information, reached a very favorable settlement at mediation a week later.” Craig Steger
Premium: For Trial, Themes and Bigger Cases
Premium is the package for cases that need more — more breadth, more evidence on the table, more time for the group to work through what’s in front of them.
A few situations where Premium is the right fit:
You’re going to trial. You want most of the main evidence — both sides — in front of real people, so you know what’s landing and what isn’t before you stand up in front of a jury. Three hours gives you the room to walk through enough of the case for that read to actually mean something. Not a Trial Strategy Session in a focus group costume — a real focus group, with the breadth to cover the case the way a jury will see it.
You’re testing case themes. You have a working theory of the case, and you want to know if it holds up across multiple pieces of evidence, not just one. Themes are tested by repetition and contrast — does the theme survive the defense’s best evidence? Does it land with the same weight across liability and damages? Premium gives you the room to find out.
You have a case with multiple defendants or multiple claims. There’s simply more case to put in front of the group, and three hours gives you the room to do it without leaving the most important pieces on the cutting room floor.
You want broad feedback before a major decision point. Whether that’s mediation on a high-value case, a settlement conference, or any moment where you need a real read on the case as a whole — Premium gives the group enough time to engage with the full picture rather than a slice.
“Elizabeth’s focus group provided invaluable insights that significantly strengthened our trial preparation. It was incredibly helpful to hear what each person in the focus group thought was important — which helped us understand how to organize the evidence and what to emphasize in the opening statement. It was particularly interesting how the focus group assessed evidence that was not there and the theories they came up with for the motivation of bad acts. This strategic advantage enabled us to approach trial with greater confidence and a more persuasive framework for presenting our strongest arguments.” Tanis Holm, Yellowstone Law
What’s included: 10–12 participants, 3 hours, your chosen venue, 90 minutes of planning across two meetings, a 60-minute post-group strategy session, and a full written focus group report.
The longer planning matters because designing 3 hours of useful focus group requires more architecture than 2 hours. There’s more to sequence, more to balance, more decisions about what to cover and what to leave out. The longer post-group session matters for the same reason — there’s more to talk through and more decisions to make on the back end.
If you’ve got a case headed for trial, or themes that need testing, the smartest first step is a free consultation. Let’s scope it together.
How to Pick
Match the package to the question you’re actually trying to answer:
You just took the case and want to know where to dig → Basic, as a diagnostic
You want to practice voir dire or your opening statement on real people → Basic, as a practice arena
You’re heading into mediation and want a real read before you walk in → Advanced
High-value case heading to mediation, and you want full-case feedback before you go → Premium
You have an active file and you’re making discovery, deposition, or settlement decisions → Advanced
You want a deep dive on one issue — often damages → Advanced if you want focused testing; Premium if the damages picture itself has multiple pieces
You’re going to trial and want to know how the case lands as a whole → Premium
You’re testing case themes across the full evidentiary picture → Premium
You have a case with multiple defendants and multiple claims → Premium
You’re 30 days from trial → Basic is likely already booked, and the timing is too tight for Advanced or Premium. Let’s talk about a Trial Strategy Session instead.
Lawyers who pick a package based on price end up with focus groups that don’t answer the real question. Pick based on what you actually need to learn, and the right tier becomes obvious.
One Last Thing
Picking a focus group package from a chart on a website is a poor substitute for a 15-minute conversation about what your case actually needs.
No matter which tier you choose to work with me on, you’re going to get significantly more out of it than you would running a focus group on your own. That’s the actual difference between a focus group that produces a useful answer and a focus group that produces a pile of opinions.
Bring your case. We’ll figure out what fits. Schedule a free consultation here.
