We challenge the myth that verdicts are decided by chaos in the courtroom and show how internal biases quietly compress case value. We lay out a practical framework—psychological safety, structured dissent, red teaming, pre‑mortems, and external testing—to turn doubt into leverage.
• redefining success as process rigor, not just verdict size
• overconfidence and optimism bias inflating forecasts and shrinking settlements
• confirmation bias creating echo chambers that ignore counterfacts
• experience bias sidelining junior insights that mirror juror thinking
• groupthink and the hidden cost of silence before mediation
• building psychological safety and rewarding dissent
• devil’s advocate rotations and pre‑mortems for early risk discovery
• red teaming to map vulnerabilities and sharpen cross‑proofing
• time‑boxed input and structured questions to protect partner time
• mock trials, focus groups, and data to counter juror biases
• diverse teams and venue‑specific valuation for better decisions
• turning rigor into a client‑facing competitive advantage
https://scienceofjustice.com/
