Jeri Kagel, Trial consultant

What I do: Jeri Kagel doesn’t make the courtroom appearances of a star lawyer, but her work is there behind the scenes.

Kagel, 59, the owner and only employee of Trial Synergy, is a trial consultant. “My goal is to help people with their lawsuits, help them navigate the legal system and present their case,” she said.

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Karl Ritzler / AJC Special

Jeri Kagel has practiced law and been a family therapist. Now she puts those skills to use as a trial consultant, helping attorneys, plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses get the most out of their cases.

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What started as advice to lawyers on who would make a good juror has evolved, she said, into helping with all aspects of the case, especially how to tell the client’s story in a way that will win a lawsuit or at least a favorable settlement.

“Should the case go to trial, I help them present their story to the jury,” she said. “And I help determine who the jury should be.”

Kagel deals only in civil cases, not criminal ones, and has worked for both plaintiffs and defendants.

She said she goes beyond stereotypes for jury members — a young, white woman or an older, African- American man, for example — and advises attorneys on questions to ask prospective jury members to determine who may be most receptive to their arguments.

“I teach them how to organize their case in the most effective way and how to present it,” Kagel said. “A lot of what I’m doing is teaching — clients, witnesses and attorneys. I teach them the tools of good communication, being a good storyteller, and help them practice that.”

In tough economic times, fewer cases are going through the costly trial process, meaning Kagel is working with clients earlier in the process. “How can we win this lawsuit earlier?” she asks.

For example, she works with witnesses and clients on how to give a deposition. And she will arrange for focus groups and mock trials to see how a case plays. In addition to finding strategies to win a case, lawyers can use the process to determine what might be a fair settlement amount for their clients.

What got me interested in this: “I began to want to have an impact on something bigger, and the legal system seemed bigger. I wanted to help people get heard,” said Kagel, who started her career as a family therapist.

Best part of my job: “I really like working with people,” Kagel said. “Lawsuits are very concrete things [compared with] therapy,” she said, and she enjoys arriving at a concrete resolution to a problem.

Most challenging part: “People think they have to have a really big case or go to trial” before hiring her, Kagel said. “I have to convince people how I can be a help early on.”

What people don’t know about my job: The varying amount of time she can spend on a case, Kagel said. “I can spend a couple of hours and do one aspect … to help an attorney. Or I can teach a witness how to be more effective. That might take three hours or 15 hours,” she said. Focus groups can take up several days, she said, but “I can spend a very short time and make a difference. … A case doesn’t have to go to trial.”

What keeps me going: “It’s fun. I enjoy it,” she said. “I want my daughter to see me doing something I love, to model that for her.”

Preparation needed for this job: “People do this with a variety of backgrounds — sociologists, attorneys, psychologists. There is no credentialing,” she said. Kagel said her background provides a synergy meshing psychology and law. And, “You have to be someone who enjoys stepping in and stepping out” of the legal process. “You have to be willing to let someone else make the ultimate decisions. I’m not the person who has to stand up in the courtroom.”

Kagel has a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Boston University, a master’s in education counseling and psychology from Georgia State and a law degree from Northeastern University. A licensed counselor, she was a therapist, has practiced law and has been in her current job more than 15 years.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@yahoo.com.

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