How to Deal With the Many Types of Anti-Corporate Jurors

Two litigation consultants (Ken Broda-Bahm and Kevin Boully) offer advice on How to Deal With the Many Types of Anti-Corporate Jurors, Nat'l L.J., Feb. 2, 2007.

People who dislike or distrust corporations fall into different categories:

Anti-corporate individualists, who distrust a corporation's level of power and control, will not share the same views as anti-corporate environmentalists, who disparage the side effects of some forms of corporate behavior. Anti-corporate moralists, who focus on corporate dishonesty above all, will not always agree with anti-corporate populists, who value the common person and draw sharp distinctions between themselves and elite executives. Anti-corporate egalitarians, who inherently mistrust profit itself and resulting concentrations of wealth, differ from anti-corporate nationalists, who fear the transnational influence of corporations on so many facets of life.

There even exist anti-corporate capitalists, who are critical of modern corporations precisely because of the high standards they impose for the responsibility of corporations in a self-policing economic system. Bearing in mind these distinctions and many others, it pays to know why a potential juror may dislike a big company, in order to know whether that juror should serve and, if the juror serves, how he or she might be persuaded.

(emphasis added) It all makes sense, but who knew?

The authors offer different voir dire and trial strategies to address each type.