Clients & partners
Who commissions our research
Our research is commissioned by the organisations that shape how the legal profession works.
Cortex designs and conducts research studies for organisations in the legal sector. We investigate complex "black box" practices – the areas where decisions are made on instinct and defended with reasoning – and produce evidence that helps legal professionals make better decisions and build fairer processes.
Research projects are commissioned by organisations that want to understand a specific practice, test an assumption or build an evidence base for change. Clients include arbitral institutions, litigation funders, regulators, professional associations and law firms.
Projects range in scope from targeted studies with a focused research question to sector-wide programmes spanning multiple phases, jurisdictions and methods. A typical project involves a combination of qualitative and quantitative research – interviews, surveys, behavioural experiments – designed to produce findings that are rigorous enough to publish and useful enough to act on.
A multi-phase study mapping how party-appointed arbitrators are selected in practice, and why the same individuals are repeatedly appointed. The research found that the ad hoc methods parties typically use to select arbitrators are vulnerable to cognitive bias, narrowing candidate pools and limiting diversity. The study introduced a structured framework for more rigorous selection.
Download the full report →A global research programme combining senior stakeholder interviews with a large-scale survey with participants drawn from 70+ jurisdictions, examining how ethnic diversity on arbitral tribunals influences perceptions of legitimacy and fairness. The findings revealed a clear disconnect between what practitioners believe matters for legitimacy and what the composition of current tribunals reflects.
Download the full report →A study examining how experienced arbitrators select co-arbitrators and tribunal chairs – an influential but under-examined stage of tribunal formation. The study found that unconscious cognitive biases play a significant role in shaping appointments, particularly in trust-based, relationship-driven contexts. The paper identifies practical interventions to reduce the influence of bias and support more balanced appointment outcomes.
Download the full report →A report examining the science of human memory and its implications for the preparation and presentation of fact witness evidence in international arbitration. The project combined a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on memory distortion with an original experimental study testing witness recall accuracy in a business context. The report sets out practical measures that counsel, witnesses and tribunals can take to protect the reliability of witness evidence.
Download the full report →We work with you to understand your goals and identify the core questions the research should address.
We design rigorous, tailored studies and collect data using established psychological research methods.
We share early findings to validate direction, shape next steps or feed into internal discussions.
We analyse the full data set and deliver clear, actionable insights in a written report.
We help you share the research – through presentations, events or publication – to make the most of the findings.
Our research is commissioned by the organisations that shape how the legal profession works.
Tell us what you're investigating and we'll tell you how we can help.
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