Jeff Dougherty, M.S.

Jeff Dougherty is one of the few consultants in the country to have studied Jury Research and Psychology at the only program of its kind in the country during his graduate education. He earned an M.S. degree in Clinical and Research Psychology and completed additional post-graduate studies focusing on jury research and psychology. Since 2002 Mr. Dougherty has applied his educational training and jury consulting experience to a broad range of civil litigation across the country by designing and conducting mock trials and focus groups, synthesizing jury research findings into winning trial strategies, crafting voir dire questions and assisting in jury selection, facilitating shadow juries, and conducting post-trial juror interviews. One of Mr. Dougherty’s specialties is helping witnesses prepare for deposition and trial testimony, with a special emphasis on uncovering and resolving the emotional, psychological, and communication barriers to effective testimony.

Mr. Dougherty has been invited to speak at various Bar Association conferences and continuing legal education seminars all around the country. Additionally, Mr. Dougherty has been published in techniques for effectively preparing witnesses to testify in depositions and at trial, the essential stages of change for witness improvement, avoiding the traps of cross-examination, and the reasons medical professionals fail when they testify in deposition and at trial. Mr. Dougherty also writes articles in the areas of ideological considerations when selecting juries, the nexus of confirmation and ideology on juror decision making, the impact of nonverbal communication on witness effectiveness, and narrative theory in opening statements.

In his spare time, Mr. Dougherty enjoys spending time with his wife and four kids. He also loves to stay physically and intellectually active by participating in triathlons, running, wakeboarding, playing the acoustic and electric guitar, drums, and bass guitar.

Michelle Larson, Ph.D., J.D.

Dr. Michelle Larson is one of the few consultants in the country to have studied legal decision-making at a joint Social Psychology Ph.D. and J.D. program.  Dr. Larson provides jury research and trial consulting services such as focus groups and mock trials, community attitude surveys, creative opening and closing statement development, courtroom observation, settlement assessment and witness preparation. She also creates and analyzes juror questionnaires for jury selection and post-trial juror interviews. 

In the past twenty-seven years Dr. Larson has consulted on a diverse range of litigation matters such as antitrust, breach of contract, employment, fraud, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, negligence, patent and trademark infringement, product liability, securities fraud, sex discrimination, theft of trade secrets, and toxic tort issues. 

Prior to merging with Delphi, Dr. Larson headed Larson Litigation Consulting, Inc.  Dr. Larson worked in the Jury Research Group of FTI Consulting for over nine years where she consulted on a variety of complex civil litigation matters. She provided clients with pre-trial research, demonstrative exhibit ideas, and on-site trial support and monitoring services. Dr. Larson started her career as a Senior Litigation Analyst at Courtroom Sciences, Inc., where she conducted research and consulted on a variety of litigation matters.

Dr. Larson has presented at the national conferences of the American Psychology and Law Society and the American Bar Association. Her presentations include "Ten Bonehead Ways Not to Examine a Witness in a High-Tech Courtroom" and "The Effect of Context and Legal Instruction on Perceptions of Obscenity." In addition, Dr. Larson has written a book chapter and made CLE presentations regarding post-trial interviews. 

Dr. Larson graduated with distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in psychology. She continued her education in a joint degree program at the University of NebraskaLincoln where she received an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and a J.D. The primary focus of her doctoral research was on decision making within the legal system. While at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law she served as editor of the Nebraska Law Review.

Lora Turner Kenyon, M.A., J.D.

Lora Turner Kenyon is a senior consultant at Delphi Litigation Strategies. Her combined legal and communication background provides a strong foundation for witness preparation, mock trials, focus groups, jury selection/voir dire, and all aspects of trial consulting.

Mrs. Kenyon received her B.A. and M.A. in Communication from Texas A&M University and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. While in law school, Mrs. Kenyon received a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution, making her well suited to assist in arbitrations and mediations.

During and after law school, Mrs. Kenyon spent her early legal career with a small firm in Austin focusing on civil and commercial litigation and family law. During this time, she assisted her clients in obtaining favorable settlements through negotiation and mediation, often reaching agreements on the steps of the courthouse, in the minutes leading up to hearings or trial. Mrs. Kenyon then transitioned to an Oil and Gas boutique in Houston, counseling clients on litigation avoidance across a broad variety of issues.

Lora currently resides in Houston with her husband and son. Lora enjoys reading fiction, hitting the gym, and experimenting with new recipes in her spare time.

Daphny Ainslie, Psy.D.

Dr. Daphny Ainslie holds a Doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) and brings a rare combination of scientific rigor, forensic expertise, and courtroom sophistication to trial consultation engagements across the country.  Her career was built at the crossroads of behavioral science and the law. With extensive experience in forensic evaluation, expert testimony and litigation consultation, Dr. Ainslie brings something rare to the trial team: a professional who understands not just human behavior, but how that behavior plays out in the courtroom through fact witness testimony, party portrayal, expert testimony, and in juror decision-making. 

Dr. Ainslie earned her Doctorate in Psychology from Our Lady of the Lake University, an APA-accredited program, and completed her pre-doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System. She built an extensive forensic practice with expert testimony experience across courts. Her experience in depositions and on the stand gives her an evaluator’s eye, appreciation for a witness’ instincts, and an understanding of the challenges surrounding deposition or courtroom testimony.  She understands what jurors are watching, what attorneys miss, and where a witness’ testimony wins or loses a case. 

Effective trial consultation begins with understanding how people make decisions - and Dr. Ainslie has pursued that question with rigor. As a trial consultant, Dr. Ainslie offers counsel at every stage of litigation. Her work spans jury selection strategy, witness preparation, case theory development, and the translation of complex psychological and behavioral science into language that resonates with judges and juries. 

She has completed advanced training in cognitive bias, heuristics, and forensic decision-making, studying how jurors form impressions, resist information that challenges apriori impressions, and arrive at verdicts that may have little to do with the weight of evidence presented. She has completed advanced training by nationally recognized experts in how jurors process information, the psychology of persuasion, and how confirmation bias and other cognitive shortcuts can shape courtroom outcomes — for better or worse. Her continuing education reflects a sustained commitment to staying at the leading edge of both forensic science and trial strategy. Her work directly helps attorneys anticipate how a jury will receive their case theory, their witnesses, and their experts. 

A skilled communicator who has presented to legal and psychological audiences alike, Dr. Ainslie is equally adept advising attorneys behind the scenes and testifying as an expert in court. What sets Dr. Ainslie apart is that she is equally at home in the world of behavioral and forensic science and in the world of litigation strategy. She holds membership in both the American Psychological Association and the American Bar Association, and has spent her career presenting to, consulting with, and educating legal professionals. She is a genuine collaborator — someone who can sit across the table from a trial team, understand what they need to win, and deploy behavioral science in service of that goal.

Dr. Nicole Friedman

Dr. Friedman has been working with Delphi for more than six years. A sociology undergraduate with a minor in Spanish from Tulane University, she has always enjoyed learning and studying people and cultures. Dr. Friedman graduated with a D.D.S. from Texas A&M’s School of Dentistry. She practiced dentistry for twelve years before making a transition to jury consulting. During the beginning of Covid, she stepped away from dentistry due to health concerns, and began assisting remotely with the analysis of Delphi’s jury research data. As her experience and interest in jury decision-making grew, she began expanding her expertise to witness training, preparation of voir dire questions, and jury selection.

Dr. Friedman lives in Dallas and enjoys photography, riding horses, and traveling with her husband and two children when time permits.