President
State of the Society
January 2010
Goals for the New Decade
It’s time for 20/20 vision. I’d like to share my thoughts on membership, job seekers, communications, committees and what is happening in ASTC today. As the New Year turns into a new decade, it is an easy time to look at what is in our future and what goals we can accomplish. Whether I’m a great prognosticator or not, January is a time for reflection and foresight.
Job Seekers. ASTC could see membership increase with more students, more young professionals looking for internships and an influx of the hybrid lawyer/trial consultant. As many law firms downsized in 2009, many young lawyers started looking for new career opportunities. Many trial consultant companies received a plethora of resumes from new job seekers. As President I probably receive more requests than most and unfortunately cannot employ all the talented professionals. For those not fully acquainted with the field, I try to educate them about the many routes to becoming a trial consultant. My bias is to encourage seeking a good education, practical experience, and to reap the benefits of ASTC membership.
Matching Interns to Consultants. Academic institutions could see increased enrollment in psychology & law programs as individuals look for law related careers. Academic programs that have an internship as part of their curriculum do a great service to their students. The mutual benefit of training young professionals is underutilized by many trial consultants. A better matching service would be a great endeavor for our association. A goal for the coming decade for ASTC members is to be better integrated with universities through internship programs.
Up in the Air or Working Locally. We survived a sluggish economy and clients less prone to send their consultants on a quest for 10 million miles status. That’s ok, as banking mileage is overrated and getting on a plane is not as glamorous or as fun as it was pre 9/11 or even pre Christmas ‘09. (See Up in the Air if you want a dismal view of constant travel or take a flight today. Even those special upgrade privileges take a toll on a balanced life.) The good news is that the quality of life improves with increasing regional or local relationships. Many of our national practices have become localized and virtual offices are more prevalent. Networks of alliances will continue to develop to fulfill client needs.
Meetings or Teleconferences. We maintain a healthy attendance at our Annual Conference with a significant proportion of our members attending each year. In 2020 there will still be a need for personal contact and our Annual Conference will still be the best gathering place for practice development, building alliances, finding employment and to socialize.
Several cities (e.g., Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Dallas) have a cluster of trial consultants and bringing members together regionally takes good coordination of compelling topics or interests. Face to face meetings with clients, colleagues and mock jurors decrease as more online social networking, virtual juries and teleconferences take place. We can integrate teleconferences with skype and maximize attendance by offering CE or CLE.
The Jury Expert. TJE continues to disseminate practice insights to attorneys at rapid speed. Rita Handrich’s tireless work as editor and her tweets maintain constant feed to ASTC’s visibility. TJE is adding advertising. Future income can turn this online publication into an even more fabulous enterprise. The Jury Expert continues to attract a larger audience and will be profitable once expenses stabilize and revenue actualizes. By January 2020 we will hit three million viewers and look at our most current issue that reached 18,000 viewers in December 2009 with fond memories. In the future TJE could develop an editorial board to support Rita Handrich, assistant editor Kevin Boully, and advertising editor Ralph Mongeluzo. Currently Executive Committee members Beth Foley, Tara Trask, Dennis Elias, Ron Matlon and myself are developing a three-year strategic plan for the publishers. We all value the tremendous effort of the TJE team and the Communications Committee co-chairs Julie Howe & Doug Keene.
Protecting Trademarks. We are aware that as our association and publications mature, there are threats to our identity and protecting our trademark is vital. We have stepped up to those who attempt to water down our mark through unauthorized use on social networking systems or websites. We continue to protect our intellectual property.
Turning Over the Keys to ASTC. Anne Reed turns over the keys to Deliberations, her well-known blog, to ASTC. We value Anne’s contributions to ASTC and the trial consulting profession over the years. Technology will certainly continue to evolve beyond my imagination for 2020. However, I forecast that whatever the current technology, ASTC will be there in the lead.
New Professional Visibility Co-Chair. Finding the right person for any leadership role is important. In talks with many committee leaders and members I discovered various talent within our organization. Kathy Kellerman, Ph.D. stepped into the role of Professional Visibility Co-chair with Pat McEvoy’s retirement at the end of 2009. Kellerman, who held three academic positions in Communication Departments before becoming a trial consultant brings us a new focus on a Speakers’ Bureau for trial consultants speaking opportunities to bar associations and other professional organizations. As our Committee Leader Collaboration continues monthly calls, Professional Visibility and Professional Associations Committees continue to work together.
A Balanced Budget. Money makes the world go around and a balanced budget maintains harmony. At our Midyear Board meeting in Seattle last November, our board members were dedicated to creating a budget that supports our operations, Annual Conference, publications, and committees. We are turning in a positive direction by reducing the number of conference hotel rooms in our Annual Conference room block. For Minneapolis and future conferences, attendees will want to register early to reserve hotel rooms from our block. Profit from our Annual Conference funds future member benefits and ASTC operations.
Camradery. Defining a trial consultant will continue to evolve throughout the next decade as some of us continue as empirical researchers, while others employ skills from communication, graphic arts, journalism, theatre, political science, law, or a combination of fields with applied crafts or trades.
We are in good working order with happy members and good conversation online. I look forward to a productive 2010 and not retiring from practice before 2020. Let’s help one another in areas where our duties overlap. As consultants our job is to make others look good. Let’s focus on the positive and make this volunteer professional activity fun for all. Let’s leave no male nor female consultant behind. Let’s be a great Society.
Sincerely,
Cynthia R. Cohen, Ph.D.
ASTC President