When a case is headed to trial, you want someone who has actually stood in front of a jury.
Litigation Consulting · Trial Strategy · Special Counsel
John Raley has spent more than 40 years trying cases in front of juries as lead counsel, for plaintiffs and defendants, for individuals and Fortune 100 companies. Today, law firms and executives bring him in for specific projects: to consult on trial strategy, to play the opposing lawyer in a practice trial, to serve as an executive's personal counsel, or to join a trial team.
Why firms bring John in
Fewer and fewer lawyers have real courtroom experience. John has four decades of it.
Most lawsuits settle before trial, so many excellent lawyers go their entire careers without ever standing in front of a jury. When a major case actually goes to trial, even a strong legal team can find itself preparing for a courtroom few of them have worked in.
That is the gap this practice fills. John has stood in front of juries in state and federal courts for four decades, on both sides of the docket, in matters ranging from commercial disputes and patent infringement to professional liability and personal injury. He has also spent years teaching younger lawyers how juries actually hear a case. Bringing him in adds that courtroom experience to your team for one matter, without the cost or complication of hiring a second law firm.
Every engagement is confidential, checked for conflicts of interest, and clearly defined at the start. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ways to engage
Litigation and trial consulting services
Mock trial consulting and opposition
For trial teams preparing high-stakes matters
Before a major trial, firms often stage a practice trial in front of paid mock jurors to see how their case will land. That rehearsal only teaches you something if the other side is real. John takes the opposing side's case and presents it to the mock jury the way a seasoned opponent would, so your team does not have to argue against itself half-heartedly.
He has done this work for national corporations preparing for trial, including engagements where he was retained specifically because the trial team wanted a genuine courtroom adversary across the room, not a colleague playing one.
Trial strategy consulting
For firms shaping a case for the jury
How to tell the story of a case, which witnesses to lead with, how a jury will actually hear the evidence: these are judgment calls, and the judgment comes from having made them in real courtrooms, with real verdicts on the line. John consults with trial teams on strategy for cases headed to trial, and can join the trial team directly when the matter calls for it.
Special counsel for executives
For officers and directors who need their own lawyer
In some disputes and investigations, an executive's interests and the company's interests are not the same, and one law firm cannot responsibly represent both. John and Kelly Raley serve as independent counsel for officers, directors, and board committees who need representation that answers to them alone.
This is discreet, senior-level work. You deal directly with the attorneys handling the matter, from the first call forward.
Testifying and consulting expert engagements
For counsel who need seasoned trial-practice testimony
When a lawsuit turns on whether legal work was handled properly, or whether legal fees were reasonable, courts hear from experienced lawyers serving as expert witnesses. John accepts these engagements, drawing on four decades as lead trial counsel and his own experience trying professional liability cases from both sides.
The Courtroom Record
Judgment you can verify, from a career spent in front of juries.
For over 40 years, John Raley has tried cases to jury verdicts as lead counsel on behalf of individuals, small businesses, hospitals, and Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies. His trial work spans complex commercial disputes, patent infringement, trade secrets, professional liability, securities and common law fraud, personal injury, healthcare, and constitutional matters.
That record includes cases with tens of millions of dollars at stake, and several with more than $100 million at stake, tried to verdict for plaintiffs and defendants alike.
On appeal, John has argued and won cases before the Texas Courts of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, including a unanimous reversal in the Texas Supreme Court in the case that set the statute of limitations for all general torts in Texas. He also successfully opposed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review one of his cases; the Court declined to take it up.A detailed trial history is available on the trial experience page.
Most lawsuits settle before trial, so many excellent lawyers go their entire careers without ever standing in front of a jury. When a major case actually goes to trial, even a strong legal team can find itself preparing for a courtroom few of them have worked in.
That is the gap this practice fills. John has stood in front of juries in state and federal courts for four decades, on both sides of the docket, in matters ranging from commercial disputes and patent infringement to professional liability and personal injury. He has also spent years teaching younger lawyers how juries actually hear a case. Bringing him in adds that courtroom experience to your team for one matter, without the cost or complication of hiring a second law firm.
Every engagement is confidential, checked for conflicts of interest, and clearly defined at the start. Nothing more, nothing less.
Defined at the start. Nothing recurring, nothing padded.
How engagements work
Common Questions
Litigation consulting, in plain terms
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A litigation consultant advises a legal team on how a case will play in the courtroom: how to present the story, which evidence will carry weight with a jury, and where the other side will attack. John does this work as a project, for a single case, based on more than 40 years of trying cases himself.
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A mock trial is a rehearsal of a real case in front of paid practice jurors, staged before the actual trial to see how the arguments land. It only works if the opposing side is argued for real. Firms bring John in to present the other side's case the way a seasoned opponent would, so their own team does not have to argue against itself.
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When a dispute or investigation puts an executive's interests at odds with the company's, one law firm cannot responsibly represent both. In that situation the executive retains independent counsel whose only duty is to them. John and Kelly Raley take these engagements directly, with no handoffs.
Start a Conversation
If a matter on your desk could use trial-tested judgment, reach out. Initial conversations are confidential and carry no obligation.
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 429-8055
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