At heart, a consulting firm is its people. We're proud of our accomplished team, which is committed to bringing you the most creative and empirically rigorous trial consulting in the business.

David B. Graeven, Ph.D. (President)

Dave Graeven is an expert at designing and evaluating mock trials and advising on case themes and case theory development. He has been involved in hundreds of cases over the past seventeen years, including numerous high profile cases. He is recognized as a leading national trial consultant in product liability and mass toxic tort cases, but his range of experience is broad and includes cases in general business, professional liability, personal injury, intellectual property, insurance bad faith, and wrongful termination.

Dr. Graeven has also played a prominent role in educating the bar about the value of trial and jury consulting through his many articles in industry, legal, and academic publications. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Trial Consultants and he frequently gives presentations before law firms and professional associations around the country. He contributed to the following ABA publications: Jury Trial Innovations, Toxic Mold Litigation, and Managing Notorious Trials. Dr. Graeven's opinions have been sought by The New York and Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio and such television news programs as Good Morning America, ESPN, and CBS Morning News. He received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Iowa and taught as a Professor of Sociology at California State University for more than twenty years, acting as Department Chair for six years. He has testified as an expert in Federal and State courts on transfer of venue motions,jury research, jury selection procedures and social science research methodology.

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Adam Boesen M.A., Ph.D. Candidate

Adam Boesen is an organizational psychologist with special expertise in preparing witnesses, crafting case themes and evaluating case strategies. Before joining TBC as a senior consultant, Adam co-founded Jury Strategies, a Tulsa-based full service trial consulting firm serving Oklahoma, Texas, and Northwest Arkansas. Prior to trial consulting, Adam worked as a management psychologist, providing leadership coaching, strategic planning, and organizational development services to a variety of Fortune 500 clients. His experience as an advisor to top-level decision makers within both the legal and business communities gives him deep insight into how fact finders perceive and interpret complex commercial and corporate litigation, and lends him a unique ability to prepare executives for fact testimony.

Adam received his Masters in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Tulsa, where he later served as an adjunct professor teaching management for the College of Business Administration. He is currently completing his doctoral dissertation on how employee personalities and values shape corporate cultures. Adam is an engaging public speaker and has extensive experience conducting CLE programs and workshops on a variety of topics, including case strategy and witness preparation.

Adam heads our Minneapolis office.
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Jaimi Butler, M.A.

Having studied biological anthropology in both her undergraduate and graduate work Jaimi Butler has acquired a strong analytical and research skill set. Jaimi has participated in several research projects. This research has included her master’s thesis work where she designed and conducted an extensive meta-analysis investigating the relationship between a specific gene and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa where she identified evidence for micro-evolution in this particular population. Jaimi’s education and professional training has made her a specialist at tracking down data and provided her with the ability to analyze this information for key relationships between human behavior and statistical patterns. Since joining the TBC team, Jaimi has utilized these skills to help design and conduct post trial interviews and mock trial research, carry out systematic data analyses, and perform venue and case background research.

Jaimi received her B.A. in Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she received awards for academic excellence and graduated with high honors. Jaimi earned her M.A. in Biological Anthropology at California State University at Fullerton and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. Since graduating, Jaimi has also taught several introductory anthropology courses at both CSUF and local community colleges.

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Julie Covert, M.S., Ph.D. Candidate

Trained as a clinical psychologist, Julie Covert has designed and conducted extensive research studies on memory and memory testing. She has authored/co-authored numerous manuscripts and has presented her research at state, regional, and national conferences. She has also has a wide range of clinical experience, including the assessment and treatment of psychological and personality issues, pain and stress management, and vocational cognitive rehabilitation. Since joining TBC, Julie has developed focus group and mock trial research, performed post-trial interviews, and conducted shadow jury research and witness preparation. Julie’s diverse clinical training also provides her unique perceptions into jury selection, the composition of juror questionnaires, and witness challenges, including demeanor problems and testimony anxiety.

Julie received her B.A. from Purdue University in Pre-Law and U.S. Constitutional History. She earned her second Bachelor’s degree and M.S. in Psychology from the University of North Texas. Julie’s doctoral studies, also at UNT, were in Clinical Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine. She specialized in Neuropsychology, which is the study of the relationship between brain and behavior in such areas as memory, attention, visual-perceptual abilities, and language. While in graduate school, Julie conducted hundreds of comprehensive clinical and forensic evaluations of cognitive and behavioral problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, Post-Concussive Syndrome, and major mental illnesses. Through her clinical work, Julie has worked extensively with diverse populations in terms of age, ethnic background, education, social class, and medical and psychological status, giving her expertise in criminal cases and civil litigation involving personal injury and medical malpractice. Julie is currently completing her doctoral dissertation, where she is examining cognitive deficits and effort in a brain injured population.

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Chase Hensel M.A., Ph.D.

Chase 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, he 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.

Dr. Hensel 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. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse. With partner Phyllis Morrow, he continues to run 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.

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Lowell W. Hellervik, Ph.D. (CEO, Personnel Decisions International, & Chairman, Trial Behavior Consulting Board of Directors)

Lowell Hellervik is an internationally known management and organizational consultant who specializes in change management, executive coaching, as well as executive development and assessment. He received his Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Minnesota, where he is currently a Clinical Associate Professor. He founded TBC in 1984 after seeing the value of the synergy between organizational psychology and trial and jury consulting.

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Sarah E. Murray, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate 

Sarah Murray is a social/cultural anthropologist recognized for her expertise in trial strategy, jury selection, witness preparation and visual communication. She excels in translating complex technical issues into persuasive trial themes, testimony and graphics. Sarah combines training in statistics with expert knowledge of qualitative research methods and analysis, including sociolinguistic analysis and cross-cultural communication, media content analysis, focus groups, and qualitative interviewing In her time at Trial Behavior, Sarah has selected over 200 juries, interviewed hundreds of jurors, and conducted a wide range of survey, focus group and mock trial research. Her anthropology background helps her evaluate jurors in multinational jury pools as well as uncover and solve the cross-cultural communication problems of foreign witnesses.

A Fulbright scholar and Social Science Council Research Fellow, Sarah conducted two years of field research in Indonesia towards her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. She has also been a teacher, writer and media worker, including a two-year stint developing PR and analyzing research for a major political campaign. While in graduate school, she taught anthropology and qualitative research methods and analysis at Berkeley, twice winning campus-wide teaching awards. She frequently presents on jury selection, persuasive communication and trial strategy issues at local and national legal and professional organizations. She is also a frequent commentator on jury issues and notorious trials in print and on radio and television.

As Chief Information Officer of the company, Sarah keeps abreast of technical developments that affect the litigation field and develops strategic partnerships between Trial Behavior and the best of the graphics and trial support vendors that we encounter in our work.

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John A. Neece, J.D., Ph.D. 

John Neece is an attorney and psychologist whose experience includes trial strategy consultation, mock trials, focus groups, jury questionnaire preparation, jury profiling, jury selection, witness preparation, and post-trial interviews. He also has many years of experience conducting psychological assessments and providing therapy to people with a variety of problems and personality disorders. He consults with attorneys as a non-testifying expert regarding psychological damages claims in personal injury or mental trauma cases.

Dr. Neece received his law degree from Baylor University School of Law and his Ph.D. in psychology from Texas A&M University. As an adjunct faculty member at Utah State University, he taught courses in theories of personality and human development and supervised masters and doctoral level psychology students in the assessment and treatment of mental disorders. Dr. Neece is an active educator for CLE programs, presenting on subjects including trial theme development, jury selection, and witness preparation. He is a member of the Texas State Bar, Dallas Bar Association, American Psychological Association, Dallas Psychological Association, American Psychology-Law Society, and American Society of Trial Consultants.

Click here to read reviews of books John recommends for trial practitioners.

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Amy Peterson, M.S.

Amy Peterson is trained as a counseling psychologist and has a particular interest in the impact of group dynamics on decision making. Before joining Trial Behavior Consulting, Amy counseled students at the University of Michigan, San Francisco State University, and the College of San Mateo. Amy’s background provides her with unique insight into the impact of social factors related to jury research and decision making, including group membership, personality traits, and emotional responses. Her counseling work also gave her extensive experience in testing and questionnaire design. Amy currently has been performing in-depth venue studies, assisting in mock trial and focus group research design and data analysis, and drafting voir dire questions and juror questionnaires.

Amy received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan with a double major in English and Psychology, where she assisted in social psychology research on motivation in the context of cultural values. Amy earned her Master’s Degree in Counseling from San Francisco State University, where her studies focused on how group membership impacts individuals’ perceptions, experiences, and attitudes. Her training included a strong focus on cross-cultural communication and decision making within cultural contexts, as she helped students from around the world make complex decisions about their educations, careers, and personal issues. These experiences have helped her develop insights into the dynamics of juror decision making in culturally mixed and complex jury pools which exist in most metropolitan areas and many rural areas today. She also has extensive training in social scientific research methodology. Amy is a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Counseling Association.

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Kim Silbert has a background in general psychology studies and women’s studies. Now an associate consultant, she began at Trial Behavior as a research associate, organizing mock trial research, coordinating jury selection and other trial work, analyzing mock trial data and assisting with juror questionnaire evaluation and in court jury selection. She has built upon her research experience to develop top level skills in post trial interviewing, jury research design, witness preparation, and trial strategy. Kim was the coordinator and a primary researcher for a shadow jury in a four-month long, high stakes fraud trial in Texas that was named as one of the top defense wins of 2005. She has extensive experience in personal injury, trucking, wrongful death, and medical malpractice cases but enjoys working on a wide range of both civil and criminal cases, particular cases where individual emotional responses and family emotional dynamics play a key role.

Kim received her B.S. in Psychology from Guilford College in North Carolina with a concentration in women’s studies. She also studied criminal justice and organizational development. During a college internship, Kim designed a curriculum to teach life and parenting skills to female prisoners for an innovative alternative to prison for women with children.

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Carolyn Spencer-Mork is a socio-cultural anthropologist with specialized training in gender issues and sociolinguistics, the understanding of human communication in social context. Carolyn's training in anthropology provides a strong background in both qualitative and quantitative research, as well as powerful insights into the interpretive frameworks of jurors from diverse backgrounds. She is fluent in Russian. She provides jury consulting on case themes, case evaluation through jury research and post-trial interviews of jurors.

As a Fulbright Scholar and National Science Foundation Research Fellow, Carolyn conducted extensive ethnographic field research in Russia. Carolyn’s research focused on how people translate social needs and evaluations of social problems like health care into monetary measures—in other words, how morality and money intersect. She has found that her research translates directly into understanding how jurors who may share similar evaluations of evidence nevertheless have strikingly different ideas about how social damage should translate into monetary compensation. She is currently writing her doctoral dissertation in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. She is a member of the American Anthropological Association.

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Mike Tiktinsky, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Mike Tiktinsky is a licensed psychologist who is an expert in statistical methodologies, data analysis, personality assessment and coaching. He also has a background in the computer industry and has knowledge and expertise in sales, distribution, software development, and microprocessor design and process issues. As a trial consultant, he has special expertise in jury selection, witness preparation and trial strategy. His background and expertise combine well in his two favorite areas of litigation: employment and intellectual property. He has worked on over 50 patent cases around the country and has developed extensive experience in key patent venues, including Marshall, TX; Los Angeles, CA; and Wilmington, DE. Before joining Trial Behavior Consulting, he worked for fifteen years as a management consultant on employment issues and served as an expert witness in employment cases. Dr. Tiktinsky has consulted on cases involving (among other areas) intellectual property, including process and design patents and LCD technology; race, sex and age discrimination; personal injury and product liability; general business issues; wrongful termination; wrongful death; employer hiring practices; hostile work environment; and workplace violence. He has also frequently done data analysis and expert witness work on complex hiring and firing data to determine if there is statistical evidence that a company has engaged in discrimination.

Dr. Tiktinsky received both his Ph.D. in Psychology and M.P.H. in Public Health Epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley. He completed a two-year post-doctoral clinical training program at the Stanford University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry. Besides teaching graduate statistics and research methods as an associate professor for six years, for ten years Mike coached the Napa High School mock trial team, leading them to the State Championships a number of times . In 2004, the Constitutional Rights Foundation gave Mike their Outstanding Commitment to Youth award in recognition for this service.Commitment to Youth award.

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Amber Watkins, B.A.

Amber Watkins received her B.A. in Psychology from Michigan State University with an emphasis on socio-cultural studies. She was also a nationally accomplished intercollegiate debater and coached hundreds of high school students in debate preparation and oral persuasion. While studying psychology at Michigan State, she won an internship as an advocate for domestic violence survivors. As an intern, she worked with survivors to help them develop independent resource strategies and tutored other interns in interpersonal dynamics and effective communication.

Amber has a strong background in quantitative and qualitative analysis. In addition, her competitive debate experience is invaluable in crafting persuasive arguments and trial themes. She has assisted extensively with designing mock trial research, analyzing mock trial and community survey data, constructing and evaluating juror questionnaires and drafting voir dire. She is exceptionally skilled at developing rapport with jurors, and has conducted numerous post-trial interviews. Amber has worked on a wide range of cases, including complex contract, product liability, intellectual property and capital trials.

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