R. Bruce Phillips

In 2005, Bruce conducted his first focus group in preparation for a high-stakes case. Soon after, other lawyers took note and began asking Bruce to lead their focus groups.  Seeing an opportunity, and tuning in to what he is really good at, Bruce decided in 2015 to commit full-time to helping other civil plaintiff lawyers win their cases with focus groups.

Bruce is skilled, both from experience and natural ability, at getting folks to reveal their deepest feelings about a case issue. This talent also comes from more than 12 years of training in “psychodrama.”  Developed by a Freud contemporary, Dr. Jacob L. Moreno, psychodrama is defined as an action method in which participants use spontaneous dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives.  While psychodrama is traditionally used in group therapy, some exceptional trial lawyers are using psychodrama to discover their clients’ stories and to “show and tell” those stories at trial. Directing and participating in countless psychodramas, including scene reenactments in lawyers’ cases, helps Bruce gain a unique insight into people’s mental and emotional processes. He often draws upon this experience when directing a focus group session.