Are you wondering when should attorneys hire a survey expert? If your case pivots on what buyers really think, then you need to act fast to enlist the skills of a survey expert.

Early input prevents dead ends, shapes pleadings, and gives you evidence that matches how consumers actually shop, whether on a shelf, a product page, or an app. It also keeps you from relying on assumptions that won’t hold up in court.

Keegan & Donato are your go-to survey experts because they build custom surveys around your facts and forum. They scope the right buyer universe, use representative panels, randomize exposure, and balance control. In addition, they explain it all in clear, courtroom-ready reports.

Their team works fast to meet TRO and preliminary-injunction timelines. They tailor stimuli to the actual marketplace (not a template), and stand behind the work with declarations, expert reports, rebuttals, and testimony.

In short, practical, defensible methods plus custom design are exactly what you need to persuade the court why you should hire a survey expert like the team at Keegan & Donato immediately.

TROs and Preliminary Injunctions

Time matters here. Judges want reliable snapshots of consumer perception, and they want it all fast. A focused confusion or deception survey, designed for the exact channel at issue, can anchor your motion with clean numbers instead of speculation. This is where customized surveys often shine.

If your buyers make decisions on mobile PDPs at 11 p.m., a side-by-side lineup on a white background won’t cut it. Recreating the real buying moment makes your showing stronger and more precise.

Discovery Strategy and Settlement Posture

Use surveys to narrow issues and drive practical outcomes.

Results on net confusion or association can set expectations on both sides and create leverage in mediation. They also help you decide which claims to press on with and which to drop. When the data appears clear, negotiations make a natural and rapid projection forward from rhetoric to numbers.

Summary Judgment and Trial

At the merits stage, courts reward methods they can follow. A well-documented survey ties each design choice from universe, sampling, randomization, controls, neutral questions, and back to the legal element.

• For trade dress, that might mean testing the overall commercial impression with realistic stimuli.
• For dilution of a famous mark, it means assessing blurring or tarnishment even without confusion.

The right survey keeps the focus on proof, not conjecture.

When the Other Side Files A Survey

Bring in Keegan & Donato as soon as the opposing survey lands. We’ll deliver a prompt rebuttal showing how an improper universe, weak controls, leading wording, or artificial stimuli undercut weight or admissibility.

Additionally, if the court wants an alternative, our team can also design a counter-survey that corrects those flaws and gives a clearer read on consumer perception.

When Standard Formats Don’t Fit

Accepted likelihood of confusion formats include Eveready for well-known marks, Squirt/lineup for side-by-side encounters. Both are useful starting points. However, they are not one-size-fits-all.

If awareness is modest, an Eveready may under-measure confusion. If shopping happens in search results or on mobile, a static lineup might be misleading.

Keegan & Donato builds custom surveys that mirror how your buyers actually shop, whether on a shelf, in search results, or on a mobile product page. Our team will tailor the universe, stimuli, and controls to your marketplace, producing evidence that’s both more reliable and more persuasive in court.

When You Need Courtroom-Ready Communication

A survey only helps if the court can follow it. Our team is made up of litigation-focused experts who document every step, compute results transparently, and explain the findings in plain English. They are also ready to testify and handle cross-examination. That credibility matters as much as the numbers.

How Keegan & Donato Can Help

Keegan & Donato designs and defends litigation surveys nationwide. The team uses representative panels, careful screening, randomized exposure, balanced controls, and neutral questionnaires. They customize the approach when the facts demand it. The end result? You get start-to-finish support: scoping, stimuli development, fielding, declarations, expert reports, testimony, and rebuttals.

When should attorneys hire a survey expert? Any time, consumer perception will decide the outcome, when the court needs clear evidence, or when you want reliable evidence fast, you should hire a survey expert. Take advantage of the extraordinary expertise of Keegan & Donato Consulting by contacting us online or calling (914) 967-9421 when you need a trademark survey, a marketing survey, or another type of consumer research survey to support your case.