Dr. Meihls has worked as a trial consultant for over 40 years, and she owned her own firm (Trial Partners) for 20 years before joining DecisionQuest, now TrialQuest. Lee is recognized nationally for her expertise in jury selection, witness preparation, and developing effective trial strategies. She has consulted on over 3,500 cases and selected over 500 juries around the country. She also served as an expert witness in a federal conspiracy trial.
Lee has been the lead trial consultant and selected juries for many high-profile criminal cases around the country (state and federal). For the Defense: People v. Michael Jackson, Illinois v. Robert Kelly (2005 trial), People v. Robert Blake, USA v. Michael Lacey, et al. (the “Backpage” case), People v. Plains All American Pipe, USA v. Bychak, et al., People v. Kelly Soo Park (featured on 48 HOURS), North Carolina vs. Evans, Finnerty and Seligman (the Duke Lacrosse Players Rape case), and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. John E. du Pont. For the Prosecution: People v. Harvey Weinstein, People v. Danny Masterson, People v. Robert Durst, U.S.A. v. Leroy Baca (retrial only), U.S.A. v. Azano, et al., People v. Haidl, et al. (retrial only), and U.S.A. v. Governor Fife Symington.
Lee has worked on many civil cases and selected juries with significant verdicts at stake. For the Plaintiff: Auerbach Acquisition Associates v. Greg Daily (won a $350 million dollar verdict in Los Angeles); Wi-LAN v. Apple (patent infringement in USDC, San Diego); Kohan and Mutchnick v. NBC (the “Will & Grace” case in LASC); Estate of Christopher Wallace (wrongful death of Notorious B.I.G.) v. City of Los Angeles. For the Defense, Mattel v. MGA Entertainment, aka Barbie v. Bratz (MGA won a $310 million counterclaim verdict against Mattel in USDC, Santa Ana, CA); T.I.
Harris, et al. v. MGA (trade dress case, USDC, Santa Ana, CA); Anthony Rapp v. Kevin Spacey (sexual assault case in SDNY); Kelly-Moore Paint Co. v. Union Carbide ($6-Bil. fraud case in Angleton, TX); Brian Stow v. Dodgers, et al. (LASC); and Wells Fargo & Co. v. U.S.A. (USDC, District of MN).
Lee has assisted clients in all types of litigation, including antitrust, aviation, bad faith, class action, construction, contracts, conspiracy, election fraud, defamation, drug importation, employment, environmental, excessive force, false advertising, False Claims Act, fraud, habitability, insurance, intellectual property, murder, patent infringement, personal injury, professional negligence, products liability, securities, sex-related crimes, toxic tort, trade secrets, and wrongful death.
She has published numerous articles and co-authored a book on decision making (Stanford University Press, 1986). In addition, Lee produced live television shows (in cooperation with the former Soviet Union) that were aired nationally on PBS, and she was a film critic for a newspaper in San Diego for many years. Lee is a member of the American Society of Trial Consultants.
Education
University of California, San Diego
Ph.D., Sociology (specializing in applied linguistics, cognitive psychology, and law)
M.A., Sociology
B.A., Sociology
