Trust in Justice Project

What Trust in Justice Project does

The Trust in Justice Project is a non-profit research initiative launched in 2024 to investigate and address declining public trust in America's legal institutions. Its work is organized around a multi-phase methodology: Phase One was a national survey measuring public confidence in law enforcement, courts, Congress, and the corrections system; Phase Two comprised focus groups and interviews exploring the root cultural and systemic causes of trust erosion; and Phase Three consists of community forums engaging legal professionals, jurors, judges, police, corrections officials, policymakers, and citizens in dialogue about reform. The project produces research deliverables — the Phase Two Report, the "Tried and True: Best Jury Trial Practices" resource guide (developed with ABOTA and ASTC), and the "America's Rule of Law" report (developed with Online Courtroom and Ipsos) — and distributes findings through legal industry publications, podcasts, conferences, its website, and in-person forums.

The organization's underlying "technology" is its research methodology and stakeholder network rather than a software platform. It is supported by a coalition of more than 25 organizations, including category anchors ASTC (American Society of Trial Consultants), ABOTA (American Board of Trial Advocates), and NITA (National Institute for Trial Advocacy), alongside numerous trial consulting firms and an individual practitioner. The team is small and founder-led: Richard Gabriel serves as Founder and Author of Reports; Michelle Rey LaRocca and Emily Shaw are co-authors of the Phase 2 and Phase 1 reports respectively; Gabriela Cedré is Director of Operations; Jonathan Ross is a team contributor.

The Trust in Justice Project does not sell products or services and has no pricing tiers, subscriptions, or commercial transactions. The organization is funded through support from partner organizations and operates as a research and advocacy initiative rather than a revenue-generating entity. Its "customers" in the broad sense are four stakeholder groups: legal system constituents, trial consulting and legal organizations, the general public (survey participants), and policymakers and law professors who use the research to inform reform.

Name

Trust in Justice Project

Legal name

Trust in Justice Project

Website

https://trustinjusticeproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Trust in Justice Project is a non-profit research initiative launched in 2024 that studies declining public trust in America's legal institutions through national surveys, focus groups, community forums, and collaborative reports with legal and trial consulting organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Research Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPADAGAL

Transitional Justice, Accountability & Reparations

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Human Rights, Democracy & Governance

SECONDARYBPAHALAG

Litigation Support & Expert Witness Services

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Research, Analytics & Expert Services

Keywords

• Justice system research
• Public trust surveys
• Jury trial practices
• Legal policy advocacy
• Nonprofit legal research

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Trust in Justice Project is a non-profit research initiative that conducts national surveys, focus groups, and community forums to measure and address declining public trust in America's legal institutions, including law enforcement, courts, Congress, and corrections. It produces research reports and a resource guide on best jury trial practices in collaboration with legal associations.

Product overview

The Trust in Justice Project is a research initiative (not a software product) that produces reports, conducts surveys, and organizes forums. Its main offerings include: (1) Phase One National Survey measuring public confidence in justice institutions; (2) Phase Two Report based on focus group research and analysis; (3) Tried and True: Best Jury Trial Practices resource guide for legal professionals; and (4) Community Forums facilitating dialogue among legal system stakeholders. The organization does not offer a unified software platform but rather produces research deliverables and facilitates discussions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tried and True: Best Jury Trial Practices: A comprehensive resource guide initiative collecting best practices from judges, attorneys, trial consultants, and court administrators nationwide to enhance how jury trials are conducted.

Products and services

• National Survey (Phase One) A comprehensive national survey measuring public trust and confidence in justice system institutions including law enforcement, courts, Congress, and corrections system. Targeted at legal professionals, policymakers, and the general public to inform research on declining trust.
• Phase Two Report A research report based on focus groups and interviews exploring root causes of trust erosion in the legal system, including feedback analysis, systemic causes, and suggested improvements. Targeted at legal professionals, policymakers, and the public.
• Tried and True: Best Jury Trial Practices A collaborative resource guide initiative collecting and sharing the most effective jury trial practices from judges, attorneys, trial consultants, and court administrators nationwide. Targeted at the legal profession to enhance how jury trials are conducted.
• Community Forums Community forums bringing together jurors, judges, lawyers, police, corrections officials, politicians, law professors, and social psychologists to explore challenges and discuss strategies for enhancing public trust in the justice system. Targeted at legal system constituents and community members.
• America's Rule of Law Report A report published in collaboration with Online Courtroom and Ipsos presenting national survey results and focus group findings on Americans' views regarding the Constitution, rule of law, and democratic institutions. Targeted at policymakers, legal professionals, and the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• National survey measuring public confidence in law enforcement, courts, Congress, and corrections system
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• New York County Lawyers AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2025NYCLA hosted the first community forum for the Trust in Justice Project, gathering leaders of New York's legal community to discuss how judges, lawyers, and the media can start rebuilding public trust in the justice system.
• American Society of Trial Consultants (ASTC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASTC is a key collaborative partner in the Trust in Justice Project. The project was launched in collaboration with ASTC, and Phase 1 survey was conducted with ASTC's support. Richard Gabriel presented Phase 2 findings at ASTC's 2024 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerABOTA is a premier supporter of the Trust in Justice Project. ABOTA collaborated with the project on the 'Tried and True: Best Jury Trial Practices' initiative to collect and share best practices from legal professionals nationwide.
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNITA is listed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project, contributing to the collaborative effort to restore trust in America's legal institutions.
• National Board of Trial AdvocacysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Act of CommunicationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Better Witnesses Trial Consulting ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Courtroom PerformancesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• First CourtsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Focus Litigation ConsultingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Harbinger Jury ConsultantssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• IMS Consulting and Expert ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Jeffrey Frederick Trial Consulting ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Judy RothschildsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as an individual supporter of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Karen Hurwitz & AssociatessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Kuehn Trial ConsultingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Litigation Consultants of HawaiisupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Litigation TechsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Lundgren Trial ConsultingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Magna Legal ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Malekpour & Ball Litigation StrategysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• National Jury Project Litigation ConsultingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Persuasion StrategiessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Strategic Insights ResearchsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• The Caissa GroupsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Tobin Trial ConsultingsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Trial DynamicssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Trial SciencesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• TrialcraftsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporting organization of the Trust in Justice Project.
• Online CourtroomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Online Courtroom to conduct a national survey with Ipsos and a series of online focus groups on Americans' views on the rule of law, the Constitution, and recent challenges to democratic institutions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Brennan Center for Justice: Brennan Center is a non-profit law and policy institute that produces research and advocacy on democratic institutions, courts, criminal justice, and the rule of law. Its overlap with Trust in Justice Project is strongest on the rule-of-law and democratic-institutions framing (America's Rule of Law report), though Brennan operates with a much larger staff and broader policy scope.
• National Center for State Courts: NCSC is a non-profit that conducts research, provides training, and offers guidance to state courts on public trust and court performance. It is a direct peer on the court-focused research and jury-practice dimension of Trust in Justice Project's work.
• Council on Criminal Justice: Council on Criminal Justice is a non-partisan, non-profit policy organization that conducts research and convenes stakeholders to advance criminal justice reform. Like Trust in Justice Project, it combines national surveys, focus groups, and practitioner engagement, and targets similar audiences of policymakers and justice-system stakeholders.
• Center for Court Innovation: Center for Court Innovation is a non-profit that operates demonstration projects and conducts research on how courts can increase fairness, legitimacy, and public trust. Its focus on jury trials, problem-solving courts, and community-court models parallels Trust in Justice Project's community-forums and jury-practice work.
• Vera Institute of Justice: Vera is a long-standing non-profit research and policy organization that produces data-driven research to advance justice system reform, including policing, courts, and incarceration. It is the closest direct peer to Trust in Justice Project in mission (public trust / system reform), research-output style (reports, surveys, policy recommendations), and non-profit operating model.

Emerging players

• National Center for Access to Justice: NCAJ is a non-profit research and advocacy organization focused on measuring and expanding access to justice in U.S. courts. It overlaps with Trust in Justice Project's focus on fairness, transparency, and trust in legal institutions, but with a more access-to-counsel and metrics orientation.

Others

• National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA): NITA is a non-profit that provides trial-skills training and resources for lawyers. It is listed as a supporting organization of Trust in Justice Project and shares the "Tried and True: Best Jury Trial Practices" mission of improving jury trial practice — making it a strong adjacent (training-side) peer rather than a direct research competitor.
• American Society of Trial Consultants (ASTC): ASTC is the professional society for trial consultants and is a core collaborative partner of Trust in Justice Project (Phase 1 survey collaboration, 2024 Annual Conference presentation). It is an adjacent/enabling peer in the trial-consulting ecosystem rather than a competing research organization.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation (Justice Policy Program): RAND's Justice Policy Program conducts rigorous empirical research on policing, courts, corrections, and access to justice. While a much larger and broader research organization, RAND is comparable on research methodology, target audience (policymakers, scholars), and the type of survey-driven evidence base Trust in Justice Project is building.
• Pew Charitable Trusts (Public Safety Performance Project): Pew's Public Safety Performance Project produces data-driven research on U.S. criminal-justice system performance and reform. It is a broad incumbent with a much larger research budget, comparable methodology (surveys, focus groups, data analysis), and similar policymaker audience as Trust in Justice Project.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Trust in Justice Project