Advisors/Experts @ MCS Associates
Managing PartnerNorman Katz
17731 Irvine Blvd.Suite 200
Tustin, CA 92780 Phone: (949) 263-8700 Fax: (949) 263-0770 Email: experts@mcsassociates.com Website: www.mcsassociates.com
Specialties
A nationwide specialist consulting and expert witness company (established 1973) that concentrates exclusively in Banking, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Financial Services, Economics / Statistics and Accounting and related Damages.
Area of Expertise include:
BANKING: Operations/Administration, Depository/Checking Accounts, Regulatory issues, Compliance; LENDING (all categories), Underwriting, Credit/Administration, Servicing, Policies/practice; FINANCE: Securities, Investments & Brokerage, Trusts & Fiduciaries, Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts, Investment Banking, Corporate Finance; REAL ESTATE: Lending, Brokerage, Title/Escrow, Property Management, Development; INSURANCE (all categories): Coverage, Claims, Broker/Agent functions, Industry Custom/Practice, Operations and Actuarial; DAMAGES & ACCOUNTING, Economics, Statistics, Valuations/Appraisals, Forensic Accounting & Accounting/Audit.
Degrees/Licenses
MBAs; PhDs; CPAs; ASA/MAIs; CPMs; CREs; CFPs; RE Brokers/Agents; Insurance brokers/agents; CPCUs; CLUs; ARMs and many more.
Prior Expert
As our primary focus for 30+ years, 500+ highly qualified and experienced experts/consultants providing evaluation, testimony and litigation consulting on behalf of both plaintiff and defendants of all types re: 4,000+ cases. Clients include leading national and regional law firms, also many smaller/boutique litigation firms and attorneys, and numerous governmental / regulatory agencies (FDIC, SEC, IRS, US and State DOJs, FHLB etc.)
We provide TARGETED SEARCHES AT NO COST for unique, hard-to-find/unusually specialized experts not already within our wide-ranging group; STRATEGIC ALLIANCES NATIONWIDE across the banking, financial, real estate and insurance industries; LEADING EXPERTS from the worlds of economics, accounting, academia and the regulatory agencies; POWERFUL CAPABILITIES IN DAMAGES, Forensic Accounting. Economic Analysis, and Valuations / Appraisals.
Baker Tilly
PartnerFrank A. Wisehart, CPA
505 Montgomery StreetSuite 600
San Francisco, CA 94111 Phone: (415) 593-1323 Alternate: (415) 956-8323 Fax: (415) 956-1405 Email: frank.wisehart@bakertilly.com Website: www.bakertilly.com
Specialties
Baker Tilly's Global Forensics team is a leading FORENSIC ACCOUNTING, BUSINESS VALUATION and CONSULTING practice that specializes in the legal, corporate and insurance markets globally.
Its accountants and consultants have performed comprehensive financial investigations and valuations for over 40 years.
Bringing experience and expertise in a broad range of sectors to clients on every engagement, Baker Tilly's investigative accounting, business valuation and financial consulting services deliver clarity in the most complex situations. Their partners have a long history of serving as financial expert witnesses. They have testified as expert witnesses on the measurement of economic damages, business valuation issues and fraud examinations in dispute proceedings and litigation in State and Federal courts across the U.S.
Degrees/Licenses
CPA's, ABV's, CFF's, CFE's, MAFF's
Formal Education
MBA, Cornell University; BS, Business Administration, Miami University
Prof. Affiliations
Baker Tilly International
Prior Expert
Frank Wisehart is a court approved expert witness with over 25 years of experience in: forensic accounting; business valuation; IP valuation; family law; transaction due diligence; damages; bankruptcy/reorganization. He is a trusted advisor on the financial implications of strategic transactions and business disputes.
Advisors/Experts @ MCS Associates
Managing PartnerNorman Katz
17731 Irvine Blvd.Suite 200
Tustin, CA 92780 Phone: (949) 263-8700 Fax: (949) 263-0770 Email: experts@mcsassociates.com Website: www.mcsassociates.com
Specialties
Nationally recognized banking/financial services consulting group (established 1973). Experienced litigation consultants/experts: bankers, consultants, economists, accountants, appraisers. Specialties: Banking operations; Lending policies and practices (all types); Real estate transactions/appraisal; Trust, Securities, Investments; Economic analysis; Valuations / damages assessment; forensic accounting, Actuarial analysis.
Degrees/Licenses
MBAs, PhDs, CPAs, ASA/MAIs.
George McLaughlin MBA
J. S. Held LLC
1330 Broadway#430
Oakland, CA 94612 Phone: (510) 740-0384 Fax: (510) 740-0190 Email: gmclaughlin@jsheld.com Website: www.jsheld.com
Specialties
Qualified expert in State and Federal Court. Recognized and respected authority in the measurement of economic loss of income resulting from personal injury, wrongful death, employment discharge, medical malpractice, construction defect, and business interruption. Expert in business valuations in shareholder or partnership disputes, and marital dissolutions.
Degrees/Licenses
CVA, CEA, MBA.
Marty Dirks, MBA
Consultant and Expert WitnessInvestment Strategy & Analysis
268 Bush Street#3631
San Francisco, CA 94104 Phone: (415) 845-7829 Fax: (253) 248-0027 Email: mdirks@isacm.org Website: www.isacm.com/
Specialties
Complex litigation related to investments: Stock Selection, Investment Manager Selection, Due Diligence; Private Equity; Venture Capital and Hedge Fund Investments; Short Selling; Fraud and Ponzi Schemes; Defined Benefit and 401(k) Pension Plans; Alternative Investment Strategies and Implementation; Materiality of Information; Insider Trading; Damages; Lost Profits.
Degrees/Licenses
MBA
Formal Education
MBA, Finance and Investments, Harvard Business School; BS, Physics, Bemidji State University.
Registration and Licenses
Non-Public Arbitrator, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA); California Registered Investment Advisor (inactive) FINRA series 65 (inactive).
Previous/Current Position
Consultant and Expert Witness, Investment Strategy & Analysis; Senior Investment Consultant, Milliman/Sole Consultant to Endowments, Foundations, Defined Benefit Pension Plan and 401(k) Plans; Adjunct Professor of Finance, Golden Gate University; Director of Research, McCullough & Associates; Long/Short Equity Portfolio Manager, Harvard University's Endowment; Head of Distribution, Meros Investment Management.
Honors/Awards
Judge, Pension Bridge 2019 & 2020 Institutional Asset Management Awards; Member, Investment Committee, San Francisco Zen Center Retirement and Endowment Funds; Ellis/LeBaron Fellowship, Harvard Business School; Named to Advisory Boards for several Early-Stage Companies; Board Member, Federated Retirement System for the City of San José (prior).
Prof. Affiliations
Member, Harvard Business School Forum; Voting Member, Securities Experts Roundtable; Advisory Board, Silicon Valley Venture-Private Equity Capital Roundtable (prior).
Publications
"Cypress Semiconductor Corporation and SunPower Corporation," (case and teaching note), Ivey Publishing, September 14, 2009, available at Harvard Business Publishing Education; "Selling Short: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters," (case and teaching note), Ivey Publishing, August 21, 2017, available at Harvard Business Publishing Education; "PIMCO StocksPLUS and StocksPLUS Absolute Return Analysis Report," Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association, June 16, 2014.
Prior Expert
Marty Dirks is a court approved Expert Witness and has acted as an Expert Witness in complex Financial Litigation since 2005. In 2019, he served as a Materiality Expert for three large class-action cases. He is recognized as an excellent communicator, who clearly explains complex topics to non-expert laypersons.
Mae Lon Ding MBA
PresidentPersonnel Systems Associates, Inc.
P.O. Box 28597Anaheim Hills, CA 92809 Phone: (714) 281-8337 Fax: (714) 281-2949 Email: mding@personnelsystems.com Website: www.personnelsystems.com
Specialties
Employment discrimination; Executive and employee compensation; Lost wages/benefits; Employability; Performance appraisal; Personnel policies/procedures; Wrongful termination; Determination of "reasonable employee compensation" in business taxation/divorce cases (spouse working in family-owned business), overtime exemption.
Degrees/Licenses
MBA, CCP.
White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna, Wolf & Hunt
Barbara Luna, PhD, Partner
Dean Atkinson, CPA CFE ABV, Partner
John Luna, CPA CFE ABV JD MBA, Partner
Venita McMorris, MA, Partner
15490 Ventura Blvd., Suite 300Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 Phone: (818) 981-4226 Fax: (818) 981-4278 Email: expert@wzwlh.com Website: www.wzwlh.com
Specialties
Expert witness testimony for complex litigation involving damage analyses of lost profits, unjust enrichment, reasonable royalties, lost earnings, lost value of business, forensic accounting, fraud investigation, and investigative analysis of liability. 500+ times testifying as an expert witness at trial and arbitration. Excellent communications with extensive testimony experience throughout CA and other states. Experts hold PhDs, MBAs, JD's, CPAs, ASAs, CVAs, ABVs, CGREAs, CFFs and CFEs. Prior "Big Four" accounting firm experience. Areas: Accounting, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, business interruption, business dissolution, cash flows available for support, class actions, construction defects + economic damages, delays and cost overruns, elder abuse, false advertising, fraud, insurance, intellectual property including trademark, patent and copyright infringement, and trade secrets, lemon law, lender liability, misrepresentations, partnership disputes, personal injury, product liability, professional malpractice, real estate disputes, securities litigation, tracing, trusts & estates, unfair competition, valuation of businesses, white collar crimes, and wrongful termination.
Degrees/Licenses
PhD, CPA, CFE, ASA, CVA, ABV, CGREA.
Formal Education
PHD - Applied Math - Harvard
MBA/JD - UCLA
Mark Cohen
Chief EconomistCohen Volk Economic Consulting Group
1155 Alpine RoadWalnut Creek, CA 94596 Phone: (925) 299-1200 Fax: (925) 482-0824 Email: mcohen@cohenvolk.com Website: www.cohenvolk.com
Specialties
High quality, reasonably priced economic analysis/valuation in business, personal injury, wrongful death, employment discharge and marital litigation. Lost earnings, future care costs, labor/job markets consultation/studies. Develop/broker structured settlements.
Degrees/Licenses
BS, MS, MA, Cert. Earnings Analyst, Lic. Life Agent (CA).
Formal Education
BS, Finance, University of CA, Berkeley; MS, Finance, Boston University; MA, Counseling, St. Mary's College.
Registration and Licenses
Certified Earnings Analyst, Lic. Life Agent (CA).
Previous/Current Position
Vice President, The Udinsky Group. Adjunct Professor of International Investments, Dominican College. Adjunct Professor of Money and Banking, Statistics and Management, European Business School; Board Member, Bay Area Psychotherapy Training Institute.
Honors/Awards
Graduated first in Boston University Master's program. Honor's Student's Society, University of CA, Berkeley.
Prof. Affiliations
American Society of Appraisers (Business Valuation); American Rehabilitation Economics Association; American Economic Association; Career Planning Faculty Committee at Dominican College.
Publications
The Economics of Employment Discharge.
Prior Expert
30+ years experience in analyzing losses in Business, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Employment Discharge, Marital Litigation.
Celeste K. Plaister
PrincipalCeleste K. Plaister CPA
209 Prune TreeHealdsburg, CA 95448 Phone: (707) 431-7422 Alternate: (707) 326-1999 Email: Celeste@ckplaister.com Website: www.ckplaister.com
Specialties
Economic damages, lost profits, business valuations, construction defect claims, labor disputes, personal injury, family law and trust/estate matters. Over 15 year's forensic accounting/expert witness experience in San Francisco Bay Area.
Degrees/Licenses
CPA; CFF; ABV.