LITIGATION INFORMATION SERVICES

We have significant experience assisting clients with a variety of analysis and damage computations for both plaintiff and defense cases. Our extensive trial experience and methodologies have provided a long list of successful engagements. You will appreciate the fact that our trial experts are also the same individuals who prepare the analysis of the facts. You are assured we will be intimately knowledgeable of our role and the information we have prepared for testimony.

We provide assistance to attorneys in connection with a legal proceeding. It could be that the attorney is checking out the issues and trying to advise his/her client as to the risks and merits of filing a case in court and requests our assistance in evaluating the economic damages (and sometimes liability issues.) The case could already be filed in court and the attorney is requesting assistance with evaluating issues associated with the case for purposes of settlement or in trial preparation.

We perform financial analysis and write a report on our findings and conclusions (which the Court refers to as "opinions"). Often times, we refer to our report as a "Rule 26" report which simply refers to the section in the Federal or State Rules of Civil Procedure regarding expert witness disclosure. If necessary, our deposition may be taken and we may also be asked to give testimony at trial regarding the work we performed. We are often asked to review reports and analyses prepared by other economic experts and to critique their findings.

We assist attorneys on Commercial Liability and Damage Issues. Our assistance has been provided in various types of legal proceedings. The bullets highlight the most common types of proceedings in which we are involved.

Business Interruption
Contractual Disputes/Terminations
Failed Financing
Divorce
Fraud & Forensic Accounting
Insurance Claim Support & Failure to Defend
Lost Profits
Malpractice (medical, accounting & legal)
Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
Valuations are sometimes used in Litigation
Other Litigation Services

Business Interruption
This refers to the provision in an insurance policy that provides coverage for the profits lost and certain expenses that a business may incur due to a "covered loss" (i.e., a fire, flood, theft, etc.). J & A computes the amount of profit that a business has lost due to the covered loss event and analyzes the business' expenses to tell the insurance company how much they should pay under the claim.   top

Contractual Disputes/Terminations
This refers to situations where two parties are in dispute over a contract (i.e., a contract to build a commercial building). If one party does not perform according to the contract, the other party may have suffered economic loss. J & A computes the amount of the economic loss (i.e., lost profits) under the contract terms. Similar work would be performed if one party terminates a contract causing some type of economic loss to the other party.   top

Failed Financing
This refers to a situation where one party's actions caused another party to not obtain the financing terms that otherwise should have been obtained (i.e., one party's delay in finishing the construction project caused the other party to pay additional interest). J & A computes the amount of the additional interest that the party had to pay as a result of the other party's delays.   top

Divorce
J & A assists with valuing specific assets that are involved in the divorce (i.e., a dental practice or some type of company owned by one or both of the parties). We seek to have the parties agree on the value of as many assets as possible so as to limit the focus of our work on the truly disputed values. We also compute the present value of pension benefits that have been earned during the marriage.   top

Fraud & Forensic Accounting
Forensic accounting refers to the application of accounting concepts and theories to a legal proceeding. Typically in the fraud area, J & A is called in to assist after the fraud has already been discovered or if it is suspected. We then assist with building the case to try to prove that the fraud occurred and also to quantify how much economic damage was done as a result of the fraud. J & A reviews all sorts of documents and records and identifies transactions or information that helps support the fraud theory and allows us to estimate the amount of dollar damage that was done.   top

Insurance Claim Support & Failure to Defend
J & A assists insurance companies and insurance adjusters in processing claims (i.e., reviewing invoices submitted by the insured for payment). For large claims, we may also act as document managers to help keep track of various loss elements associated with a claim (i.e., lost profits, extra expenses, personal property, payroll). The Business Interruption service is typically a part of the assistance we provide to the insurance company.   top

Lost Profits
This service refers to any situation where a business has lost profits (typically because of another party's actions or lack thereof). J & A analyzes the business' historical revenue, expenses, and profits in order to determine how much we think the business lost during the period in question. We often utilize business projections and budgets, and information pertaining to the industry in which the business operates, in performing our computations.   top

Malpractice (medical, accounting & legal)
J & A computes damages in malpractice suits. For medical practices, damages typically consist of the present value of lost earnings and additional costs, plus increased medical expenses. Damages in accounting and legal malpractice cases usually result from lost profits or lost opportunity costs. For engineering malpractice, damages usually consist of increased costs.   top

Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
This service refers to any situation where there is an economic loss to an individual (or an individual's estate). J & A analyzes the person's earnings history and quantifies how much the individual has lost resulting from the event in question (i.e., an auto accident). We may also look at the value of services the person provided to their household that they might no longer be able to provide (or provide to a lesser extent). In cases where the injury is severe, we may also compute the present value of the future medical services and expenses that relate to the injured person for the remainder of their life. An expert in that area provides (the medical information to us.)   top

Other Litigation Services
J & A also provides assistance to attorneys in a variety of additional ways including:

• Stock or entity valuation for closely held businesses, financial institutions, professional practice firms, farms, ranches and ESOP plans
• Expert witnesses or trial consultants
• Trial testimony planning and presentation
• Analyze opponent's damage claim