Bellwether Trial

Bellwethers are selected — sometimes by the parties, sometimes randomly, usually by a negotiated protocol — to test liability themes, expert proof, and jury response across a range of fact patterns. Crucially, a bellwether verdict binds only the parties to that case; its function is informational. Contractual arbitration bellwethers that purport to bind absent claimants borrow the name while inverting that principle.