Richard Waites

Waites’ published articles and presentations continue to be used by academic, legal, and professional organizations as part of their continuing education programs for professionals who practice in the courtroom. e.g. Seak Expert Witness Conference Crittenden Medical Insurance Conference - 2007, Defense Research Institute – Medical and Health Care Law Conference.

After 2004, Waites published many professional papers and articles exploring varied applications of jury research findings to the practice of law and trial advocacy in the courtroom. In 2010, Waites and James E. Lawrence, Director of the Blakely Advocacy Institute at University of Houston Law Center and senior trial consultant with The Advocates, published the first known work examining the application of social science research techniques for use in international arbitration advocacy. (Chapter 4: "Psychological Dynamics in International Arbitration Advocacy" in The Art of Advocacy in International Arbitration, 2nd edition, authored by Doak Bishop and Edward G. Kehoe and published by Juris Publishing, 2010). In this work, Waites and Lawrence examine the merger of experimental social science research techniques used widely in the United States with multi-culturalism for use in the development of persuasive advocacy in the international arbitration context.

In 2003, editors and publishers with American Lawyer Media invited Waites to author a book for trial attorneys and corporate representatives who manage litigation which would merge practically useful knowledge from peer-reviewed social science and psychology research with state-of-the-art trial advocacy practice. This book, entitled Courtroom Psychology and Trial Advocacy, was released in 2004.

Between 1982 and 2003, he published many of his research findings and discoveries of advanced trial advocacy techniques designed to enhance the effectiveness of courtroom presentations to judges, juries, and arbitration panels. During this time, many books, professional papers, and articles written by Waites appeared in publications of academic institutions, professional societies, and legal associations. Many of his papers and articles have more recently appeared as part of the curriculum in academic and professional training programs.

Between 1973 and 2002, Waites studied, conducted research, and/or practiced as a board certified trial attorney and social psychologist during which time he reviewed thousands of peer reviewed scientific research studies and learned how best to integrate applicable findings into the process of understanding the decision-making processes of judges, jurors, and arbitrators.

Richard C. Waites, J.D., Ph.D., (October 7, 1951-April 25, 2016), a noted board certified trial attorney and social psychologist, is an internationally recognized expert in jury and courtroom decision maker research, a field he helped to develop and that he continues to advance.