Mr. Hensel is a socio-cultural and linguistic anthropologist specializing in the development of case themes and persuasive trial narratives; mock trial research and research design, including how to conduct valid research in alternative venues; and how cultural factors shape testimony and its interpretation by jurors.
For a number of years, Chase has worked as an independent consultant in Alaska, focusing on cases involving rural Alaska and/or Alaska natives that have presented substantial challenges in cross-cultural communication. In 1991 he was recognized as an expert on Alaska Native Cultures and Languages by the Superior Court in Alaska. He has also served as an expert witness on a variety of civil and criminal cases, and was extensively cited in the constitutional challenge to Alaska’s Official English Law now before the Alaska Supreme Court.
Chase received his M.A. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and his Ph. D from the University of California Berkeley. He taught as an Associate Professor of Anthropology for the University of Alaska, teaching a wide range of subjects. He has received research grants from National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (as research director of a three year, multi-million dollar study of Alaska Native Sobriety).
Chase continues to run his own firm, Morrow & Hensel Consulting, located in Fairbanks, but is now affiliated with Trial Behavior and is applying his insights to a broad range of complex commercial litigation, including insurance coverage and intellectual property.