Samantha D. Holmes, PhD
Dr. Samantha (Sam) Holmes is a partner and chief data scientist for Edge Litigation Consulting, LLC. Sam earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan and certification in data analytics using artificial intelligence and machine learning from Brown University. She has worked in the field of jury psychology for 25 years and has worked with clients on hundreds of different cases—including wrongful death/personal injury, insurance/bad faith, intellectual property, pharmaceutical, amusement/leisure industry, product liability, tobacco, corporate fraud, antitrust, contract disputes, employment, toxic tort, securities, and medical and professional malpractice. She has worked on cases in a wide variety of venues including those in Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, and even Alaska. Sam has helped attorneys from around the country develop persuasive strategies for both trial and mediation. Sam’s training and experience have made her highly skilled at data collection and interpretation, statistical analysis, and juror profiling and have given her impeccable people skills. Sam has authored several published articles and served as a faculty lecturer at many law firms, as well as regional and national conferences including ones sponsored by the American Bar Association, the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the Defense Research Institute.
Sam and her partners often help clients understand and identify the strengths, vulnerabilities, risks, and opportunities of their cases by conducting pre-trial jury research. Additionally, she and her colleagues help lawyers prepare witnesses and develop strategies to make them more confident and persuasive communicators during deposition and at trial. Sam helps clients in court with jury selection and helps the trial team develop ongoing trial strategy through opening statement analysis, trial monitoring and shadow juries. She also assists lawyers in understanding how jurors evaluated actual cases through conducting post-trial interviews.
When Sam is not helping attorneys tackle high-profile cases, she enjoys traveling, Broadway musicals, spending time with her family and pets, and riding the world’s best roller coasters.
