This type of field study has been designed and conducted by Nelson Recruiting in collaboration with trial consultants, lawyers, and litigation teams nationwide. Below, we outline what legal teams should consider when planning a community attitude survey.

1. Start With a Clear Legal Purpose

The legal purpose must be determined before you can formulate your inquiries or choose your sample. Are juror prejudice tests being conducted? Assessing public knowledge of a well-known case? Assessing public opinion regarding legislation related to your culpability or defense claims?

In a lawsuit involving a corporate defendant, a poll may be used to gauge public confidence in big businesses. You might want to investigate attitudes toward self-defense or views of law enforcement in a criminal case. By tying your survey to a particular legal objective, you can be confident that the information will be applicable and useful.

2. Focus on the Correct Geographic Area

People in the jurisdiction where the case is scheduled to be tried or where a venue change might be considered, will usually need to provide input. The demographics and viewpoints of the current or prospective jury pool should be reflected in a legitimate sample.

Using ZIP codes, court districts, or media markets, our experts can assist you in limiting your audience, regardless of whether you require results from a city, county, or district. Your data will be more helpful for jury profiling and voir dire preparation the more closely your sample matches the trial location.

3. Define Key Demographics for Your Case

Once your geographic area is locked in, determine which demographics are most relevant. While a balanced cross-section is important, certain cases may require closer examination of specific identity groups, voting blocs, or affiliations.

You may want to compare opinions by:

• Age or generation
• Political affiliation or ideology
• Education level
• Racial or ethnic background
• Employment sector or union membership
• Gender identity

We can help you set quotas to ensure balanced responses across target groups and flag any gaps before fielding is complete.

4. Use Neutral, Clear Survey Design

Well-designed surveys provide accurate information. On the other hand, poorly crafted or prejudicial questions can distort your findings and misdirect your legal approach.

Best practices for survey design include:

• Simple, non-technical language
• Avoidance of legal jargon (or clear definitions if needed)
• Logical question flow with consistent formatting
• Inclusion of both closed and open-ended questions
• Randomized question/answer order to reduce bias

Nelson Recruiting has experience designing surveys specifically for legal research audiences and can assist with question structure, tone, and clarity.

5. Consider Timing and Case Awareness

Participants’ knowledge of your case and their opinions may be influenced by media coverage, online discussion, or local gatherings. Running your survey early, before public opinion solidifies, is sometimes the wisest course of action. You could want to gauge the level of pretrial publicity in comparable circumstances.

To find out if respondents are already aware with the case or subject, include screening questions. This enables you to compare the analysis-related insights of “aware” and “unaware” individuals.

6. Prioritize Quality Control

Accurate results require rigorous quality control. Our team takes care of:

• Removing incomplete or straight-lined responses
• Verifying that participants meet demographic and geographic criteria
• Monitoring quotas for balance
• Flagging inconsistent answers or suspicious patterns

By ensuring clean, structured data, we save your team time during analysis and prevent misleading findings.

7. Choose a Legal-Experienced Research Partner

Accuracy, timeliness, and confidentiality are important considerations in litigation research. Your hiring partner should be able to swiftly adapt to changing case requirements and comprehend how these surveys fit into larger trial preparation.

In order to conduct community opinion polls with courtroom accuracy, Nelson Recruiting collaborates closely with trial consultants, lawyers, and litigation support companies. We take care of the logistics, from acquiring samples to distributing and reporting surveys, so your team can concentrate on strategy.

Partner With Nelson Recruiting

Community attitude surveys offer critical insight into how a jury might respond to your case. With careful planning and the right research partner, you can surface biases, assess public sentiment, and prepare your team for trial with confidence.

Want to get started? Contact Nelson Recruiting to learn more about how we support litigation teams nationwide.