Admitted to the Virginia State Bar and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Claire C. Carr currently serves as managing partner and vice president of Kalbaugh, Pfund & Messersmith in Richmond, VA. Since joining the firm in 1992, lawyer Claire C. Carr has defended both insurance carriers and insured individuals in approximately 75 jury trials.
In a jury trial, the jury itself is an important factor in a defense strategy, and as jury pools change over time, defense lawyers must plan and execute their strategies accordingly.
Generally defined as the group of individuals born between 1981 and 1996, millennials are now the most populous generation in the United States. Because they are a growing presence in the workforce and society, they play an increasingly important role in jury pools.
Though they are typically more educated and more racially diverse than older generations, millennials are less likely to be religious or to have served in the military. They tend to process information rapidly and visually, which means attorneys would do well to use sound bites and rely heavily on technology. Because millennials place a high emphasis on personal safety, trial lawyers should organize a defense strategy that considers what millennial jurors might think of an employer’s ethical commitment to a safe workplace.
Claire C Carr 