Directors & Officers Liability Consultants

MCS Associates is a nationally recognized consulting group that has provided financial, operations and regulatory/compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, insurance companies and regulatory agencies as well as real estate and financial services organizations for over 40 years. Expert Witness and Litigation Consulting are a primary focus of our services. We undertake expert witness assignments throughout the United States and our clients include several hundred leading law firms around the country, working on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant financial institutions, borrowers, depositors, investors, developers, insurance companies and their insured, securities/insurance/real estate brokers/agents, regulators and government agencies, and individuals. 

Together with MCS Associates’ specialized resources in banking, financial services and real estate, we also draw on key strategic alliances in insurance, economics, academia and the securities industry to meet a wide range of expert witness needs. Our litigation experts include experienced bankers, lenders, consultants, regulators, managers, brokers & agents in insurance, real estate, and securities; insurance claims and underwriting managers; economists, accountants, appraisers, real estate analysts, and academics. 

Areas of Expertise Include:

• Banking Operations/Administration
• Check Fraud
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice
• Loan Underwriting & Credit Administration
• Loan Securitizations & Servicing
• Bankruptcy, Foreclosures and Workouts
• Trust & Fiduciary Issues / Operations
• Securities Brokerage & Investments
• Valuations & Damages Analysis
• Forensic Accounting
• Employment / Compensation
• Real Estate Brokerage & Management
• Title Insurance & Escrow
• Real Estate Appraisal & Transactions
• Insurance Industry Custom & Practice
• Insurance Coverages / Claims Handling
• Insurance Bad Faith

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT EXPERT

Depositions: 800+

Mediations & Arbitrations: 100+

Trial Testimony: 80 in 30 Superior Courts

More than 10,000 properties inspected.

RETAINED BY 400 LAW FIRMS IN 28 STATES

California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio

Nevada, Arizona, Washington, South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa

Hawaii, Idaho, Alabama, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma

Montana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Washington D.C.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Standard of Care; Custom and Practice

Building & Safety Codes

Fair Housing Practices (FEHA)

Personal Injury (Slip, Trip & Fall)

Premises Liability

Landlord/Tenant

PROPERTY TYPES

Multi-family Units Managed: 25,000

Association, Hospitality, & Timeshare Units Managed: 100,000

Associations Managed: 1,000

Commercial Properties Managed: 1,250,000 sq.'

Mobile Home & RV Spaces Managed: 3,800

Single Family Units Managed: 3,500

Commercial Property Inspections Performed: 900

Association Property Inspections Performed: 3,600

Parking lots and Parking Structures: Personal Injury; Snow & Ice

Bank Resources and Solutions is an executive management consulting group that has provided Financial, Operations, and Regulatory / Compliance consulting services nationwide to financial institutions, attorneys, and regulatory authorities since 2008. Their services include: 

Executive Management & Strategic Planning:

• Directors’ and Officers’ Corporate Governance
• Standards of Care, Actions, and Negligence
• Industry Standards, Management Practices, and Procedures
• Strategic Planning and Implementation
• De novo Start-ups; Board and Executive Staff Selection, Obtaining Regulatory Approval, and Capital Campaigns

Bank Operations and Administration:

• Development and Implementation of Effective and Compliant Policies and Procedures
• Internal Bank Control Reviews
• Forensic Accounting, Detection of Money Laundering, Bank Fraud, and Embezzlement
• Human Resources; Employment, Training, and Compensation

Lending:

• Unique Perspective from CEO level from Policy Approval Through Underwriting, Approval, Review, Administration, and Collections
• Bank Regulations, Industry Standards, Credit Policy Issues, and Best Practices
• Real Estate Appraisals, Title Insurance, Guarantees, and Lender Liability Issues, including Negligence, Forensic Accounting, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Other Workout Strategies and Administration

Mark C. Riley is an experienced and successful former Bank Chief Executive Officer whose background includes leading the turnaround of two banks that had been operating under regulatory agreements upon arrival. Mr. Riley’s relevant experience was overseeing all areas of his banks including the development, approval, and implementation of effective risk management programs. For example, as CEO, Mr. Riley was involved in all phases of lending from business development to credit analysis and underwriting to overseeing loan approval and review process, providing due diligence of client bank loan portfolios, developing and overseeing workouts of nonperforming loans.

Susan E. C. Riley is an experienced Senior Officer whose background includes the total responsibility for creating and managing the enterprise-wide systems of two denovo banks. Her relevant experience also includes creating and managing the Human Resources Department, Compliance, IT and IT Security, BSA/AML, ACH, Vendor Management, and related contract negotiations and Retail Bank Management. As co-founder, Mrs. Riley has analyzed, recommended, and implemented complex banking software within tight guidelines. She has established a solid reputation as a “no nonsense, identify the challenges, develop effective strategies and get the solutions in place” administrator. 

View Bank Resources and Solutions' Expert Witness Profile.

Barrington Capital Management, Inc. provides customized financial solutions for unique financial challenges and objectives. Their expertise is in the development, implementation and ongoing management of a customized and diversified investment strategy. Barrington's mission is to assist in building, enhancing, and protecting personal wealth and maintaining financial security. President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Lawson, has over 35 years of financial services experience as an Investment Advisory and Insurance Agency Executive, Securities Principal, and Options Principal. Bob proudly serves as an industry arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the National Futures Association (NFA), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), ERISA (3)-21 Fiduciary, Master Registered Financial Consultant, and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary. In addition to teaching advanced investment strategies and Retirement Planning classes throughout the year. 

Bob Lawson has special expertise in stock options and has presented the following Options Industry Council (OIC) seminars to retail and industry professionals throughout the United States:

Options Basics Options Intermediate Advanced Options

Covered Calls Options Spreads Option Volatility

View Bob Lawson's Expert Witness Profile.

  

Commercial insurance underwriting expert experienced in policy construction and coverage analysis. Areas of underwriting expertise include Commercial General Liability, Excess and Umbrella liability, Professional liability including E&O, D&O, Environmental and Pollution liability insurance, Commercial Automobile and Commercial Property insurance. In depth experience and knowledge of insurance rating plans including retrospective rating plans, captives, retention plans and other risk financing programs, coordination of coverage and reinsurance. 

For CV and cases please visit www.qleapsolutions.com

View Donald Bendure's Expert Witness Profile.

BHK Associates, Inc. (BHK), is a Banking / Finance firm comprised of former bank presidents, chief executive officers, chief creditor officers, and chief lending officers. BHK clients include banks, credit unions, title companies, financial institutions, and insurance companies.

Advisory Services - BHK Associates, Inc., provides a broad range of advisory services to the financial industry and its clients, involving a number of disciplines: Banking Industry Standards & Best Practices, Strategic Planning and Performance Reviews, Banking Operations, Construction Lending, Due Diligence Reviews, Merger & Acquisition Reviews, Troubled Debt Restructuring, Real Estate Appraisal Issues, and more.

Special Credits & Loan Workouts - Their experts have years of experience advising in the areas of special credits, loan workouts, and collection. Specific areas of expertise include: Problem Loan Review & Classification, Problem Loan Workout Strategies, Negotiating Loan Workouts & Forbearance Agreement, Asset Disposition and Loan Sales, Intra-bank disputes, Problem Asset Valuation, Loan Quality Assessment and Analysis, etc.

Brian H. Kelley, Founder and Principal, is a seasoned Banking Executive, Lender, and Attorney with over 30 years of experience in lending, top management, and legal positions for both regional and larger commercial banks in California, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon. He has served as the CEO of three successful community banks and the head of a Multi-Billion Dollar lending group with a large international bank.

Mr. Kelley earned his BA and JD from Brigham Young University. He has been admitted to the CA, UT, and HI Bar Associations. He also has extensive professional course experience in loan underwriting, credit analysis, corporate finance, and lending practices. Mr. Kelley has been a featured speaker and panelist for various industry groups, including the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Hotel Finance & Investment Conference.

View Brian Kelley's Expert Witness Profile.

Hi, I’m Jess Birken.

I am the owner of Birken Law Office. I'm a lawyer and I help nonprofits solve problems so they can quit worrying and get back to what matters most – their mission. I’m not like most attorneys, I actually have an outgoing personality, and – like you – I like to think outside the box. Most of my clients are passionate and have an entrepreneurial spirit. I’m like that too. My goal is to help you crush it. Getting bogged down in the minutia sucks the joy out of the important work. My clients want to do The Work – not the paperwork.

My Credentials

• BA, Sociology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (2001)
• JD, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Magna Cum Laude (2007)
• MA, Nonprofit Management, Hamline University (2010)
• Certified Transformative Mediator
• Want more? Check out my LinkedIn profile.

My Biography

I am the former CEO & Managing Partner at Urban Birken PLLC, a boutique firm that focused on serving the nonprofit community. I have worked with nonprofit organizations for most of my career.

Before becoming a private practice attorney, I spent four years inside a national nonprofit organization, Pheasants Forever. In that role I managed about $50M in state and federal government grants and worked on hundreds of conservation real estate deals. I also gained a deep knowledge of just what it's like to work inside a nonprofit - not just tell people what to do. My strength in that role was working with staff, volunteers and government stakeholders to keep complex projects moving and maintain a zero defect environment for audit time.

Since that time, I have run my own firms. I’m now the owner of Birken Law Office a firm designed to help nonprofits. Ideal Client Engagements are nonprofits looking for a strategic partner who will give pragmatic advice and keep business operations on track so the mission work stays a priority. I love working with organizations that understand that 'nonprofit' is a tax status - not a business model.
My work experience entails largely business and compliance needs of nonprofit issues around:

Formation Executive Compensation HR Real Estate Property Tax Board / Staff Conflicts

Voting Member Issues Internal/External Stakeholder Conflict Government Grant Compliance Transactions Crisis Management

My Contact Information

You can contact me via e-mail or follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

Click here to schedule a free call now.

Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®, CRPC®, RICP®, CDFA™, Chief Executive Officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, is a Certified Financial Planning Expert with 18 years of experience. Prior to co-founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth, she was a Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial and an Analyst and Editor at Towa Securities in Tokyo, Japan. Ms. Cheng is a past spokesperson for the AARP Financial Freedom Campaign and a regular columnist for Investopedia & Kiplinger. She is a CFP® professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, a Retirement Income Certified Professional® and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. As a Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) Ambassador, Ms. Cheng helps educate the public, policy makers, and media about the benefits of competent, ethical financial planning. She served on the Financial Planning Association (FPA) National Board of Directors from 2013 – 2015 and is a past president of the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area (FPA NCA). 

Marguerita Cheng CNBC Interview on Social Security

Awards and Honors - Ms. Cheng is a recipient of the Ameriprise Financial Presidential Award for Quality of Advice and the prestigious Japanese Monbukagakusho Scholarship. In 2017, she was named the #3 Most Influential Financial Advisor in the Investopedia Top 100, a Woman to Watch by InvestmentNews, and a Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE®) by the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC).

Litigation Support - Ms. Cheng serves as a Women’s Initiative (WIN) Advocate and subject matter expert for CFP Board, contributing to the development of examination questions for the CFP® Certification Examination. She also volunteers for CFP Board Disciplinary and Ethics Commission (DEC) hearings. Services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant include financial due diligence, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Litigation Expertise:

Financial Planning Issues Social Security Elder Financial Abuse

Financial Planner Standard of Care Financial Planner Code of Ethics Investor Rights

CMC Advisors Inc. (CMC) provides expert Insurance Consulting and offers clients the upper hand in managing their assets and liabilities. They assist clients in managing investment portfolios by helping to determine if current Financial Retirement plans such as IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, 401(K), Keogh Plans, Pensions and Profit Sharing Plans are meeting retirement goals.

Consulting Areas:

Annuities Life Insurance Term Insurance Single Premium Variable Insurance

Retirement Disability Insurance Consultant Expert Witness Services

Wayne Citron has 45 years of experience as an expert in Forensic Reconstruction of Insurance Transactions. He is an insurance expert and consultant.

Mr. Citron established the Citron Agency and CMC Advisors Inc. in 1972, where his duties included executive and managerial responsibilities, sales, service, compliance with all insurance matters as well as securities laws and regulations. Both firms are leaders in life, health, disability and property and casualty insurance.

Mr. Citron has served as an instructor for Prudential Insurance Company Brooklyn Agency (1973) educating personnel in general insurance matters, underwriting, and insurance law. He has worked with companies including Prudential Insurance Company, United States Life Insurance Company, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, American General Life Insurance Company, William Penn Life Insurance Company, American Life Insurance Company, Chubb Insurance Company, Travelers Insurance Company, Mass Mutual Insurance Company, John Hancock Insurance Company, and American International Group (AIG), among other.

Mr. Citron recently volunteered for Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group (OCLTRG) to reopen Super Storm Sandy flood claims and examine National Flood Insurance Policies, as well as deal with FEMA in these matters (2015 & 2016).

View Wayne Citron's Expert Witness Profile.

David Friedler, LMHC, MPH Is an expert in the regulatory standard of care in Nursing Facilities, Psychiatric, Alcohol/Substance Use Rehabilitation Facilities as well as Group Homes for the disabled. He has worked in clinical and administrative roles in these environments over four decades. He has extensive experience with survey compliance, Federal and State regulation, JCAHO and CARF accreditation, OSHA compliance and policy and procedure development.

Areas of Expertise:

Long Term Care

Nursing Homes

Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation

Behavioral Health / Psychiatric Care in Drug Treatment Facilities

Psychiatric care in Nursing Homes, Group Homes

Frederick J. Fisher, JD, is the President of Fisher Consulting Group, Inc. and was the Founder of E.L.M. Insurance Brokers, a Wholesale & MGA facility specializing in Professional Liability and Specialty Line risks. He is a Member of the Editorial Board for Agents of America; a Faculty Member of the Claims College, and Member of the Executive Council, School of Professional Lines sponsored by the Claims & Litigation Management Association and a course designer and webinar Instructor for the Academy of Insurance.

Consulting - Since his career began, Mr. Fisher focused on one vision: providing financial security to the client. The result was a successful 40 year career in Specialty Lines Insurance which have resulted in substantial cost savings for clients. He provides consulting and audit services in all areas of Professional Liability, D&O, and EPLI Insurance. This includes Processes, Underwriting, Claims, and Product Distribution.

Background - In 1975, Mr. Fisher began his career on the service side, as an Independent E&O claims adjuster. In 1982, he bought the Company and increased annual billings by 400% in only 4 years.

In 1995, he formed what is now known as ELM insurance Brokers, a firm that has acted as an MGA and Wholesale Broker of Professional Liability Insurance and Specialty Lines. From nothing, the firm grew rapidly to a $30 Million dollar facility when sold in 2008.

Author and Speaker - Frederick Fisher has lectured extensively on professional liability issues since 1978, and authored over 64 articles in trade journals and periodicals. He is the author of BROKER BEWARE, Selling Real Estate within the Law. Mr. Fisher remains a Special Materials Expert for several RPLU courses and is the Senior Technical Advisor for The Professional Liability Manual, first published by the International Risk Management Institute in 1990. He has taught over 100 CE classes and lectures.

Mr. Fisher can be reached at: fjfisher@fishercg.com

View Frederick Fisher's Expert Witness Profile.

Innovation Insurance Group, LLC is a consulting firm to the insurance industry providing a broad range of professional services including the development and launch of new insurance products and services, and expert witness services. The firm delivers high quality services to the insurance industry, law firms as well as to entrepreneurs seeking access to the insurance industry.

The firm's Principal, Ty Sagalow, is a 30-year veteran of the Insurance Industry who specializes in Directors and Officers Liability Insurance and Professional Liability Insurance (including cyber). He is the former chief underwriting officer and general counsel for the largest provider of management and professional liability insurance in the world and the former chief operating officer of a major provider of network security insurance.

Mr. Sagalow is widely credited as the major author of the modern D&O policy form used in the industry and has spoken before numerous venues on the subject of directors and officers liability and insurance. He is the author of a number of works on the subject including The D&O Handbook published by the National Association of Corporate Directors. He is also the author of the foundation work on cyber-insurance, @Risk - the definitive guide to cyber-risk insurance and reinsurance issues.

The firm's two practice groups are:

Expert Witness Services - Provide expert reports and testimony in litigation or claims disputes involving the "financial lines" product group including directors and officers insurance, professional liability insurance and security & privacy (cyber) insurance.

Product Development - Full end to end high quality services to the insurance industry for new product development and launch of new products. These services can be applied to new products from simply "rewrites" to New to the Market products for emerging risks, such as reputation risk, intellectual property, supply chain, climate change as well as many others.

View Ty Sagalow's Expert Witness Profile.

Mr. Campbell has over 30 years of financial industry experience.  He is the principal of a financial litigation and investment management consulting firm, Kerry Campbell LLC, where he serves as a financial expert witness during litigations and provides consulting services to financial institutions and investors.

He has worked in investment research and portfolio construction, as a Managing Director at Arden Asset Management, and as a Senior Vice President at Guggenheim Partners.  He has worked in prime broker risk management as a Managing Director at Bear Stearns.  Prior to that he worked as a commissioned registered representative, a funding officer and as a credit analyst/loan officer.

He is an Approved FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator, a Chartered Financial Analyst^®, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ and a Securities Experts Roundtable Member.  He has held the following licenses: Series 7 – General Securities Representative, Series 55 – Equity Trader Representative, Series 63 – New York Uniform Agent and Series 65 – Uniform Investment Advisor.

Litigation Support - Mr. Campbell has served as the sole experience witness for the claimant in an $8.7 million award. (See: www.gerardfoxlaw.com/news/firm-news/gerard-fox-law-attorneys-earn-landmark-87-million-victory-against-wells-fargo-advisors-in-finra-arbitration-for-decorated-retired-ceo/. In addition, he has served as an expert witness for petitioners in State Court, for defendants in Federal District Court, for claimants and respondents in FINRA Arbitrations, and for claimants in offshore Federal Courts. He has been retained by institutional investors, high net worth investors, and large global diversified financial institutions. 

Areas of Expertise:

Liability Damage Calculations Out-of-Pocket Damages Market-Adjusted Damages Well-Managed Account Inappropriate Asset Allocation Over Concentration Suitability Breach of Fiduciary Duty Trading Analysis Uniform Prudent Investors Act Portfolio Management Security Analysis

Risk Management Elder Financial Abuse Wasteful Dissipation of Marital Assets Due Diligence Misrepresentations and Omissions Negligence Failure to Supervise Due Diligence Stocks, Bonds, Options and Futures Mutual Funds Hedge Funds Exchange Traded Funds (Inverse and Leveraged)

Kinsel Forensic Accounting, LLP has over 60 years of Forensic Accounting industry experience. Their firm delivers unsurpassed service combined with a strategic approach that provides clear cut answers for even the most complex financial cases. Kinsel services include:

• Forensic Accounting For Insurance Matters - various types of claims include business interruption claims, extra expense, fidelity and surety, property damage and fraud
• Forensic Accounting For Any Business Situation - support services in the areas of economic damages, lost profits, business interruption, fraud investigation, product recall, business fraud and business valuations
• Fraud Investigation Support - trained and experienced with skills for investigating fraud, concealment, and misrepresentation cases

Principal, Stacy A. Kinsel, CPA/ABV/CFF, CFE, has been engaged in Forensic Accounting and Economic Damage Analysis for over 20 years.

Ms. Kinsel earned both her Masters Degree in Accounting and Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California. A Certified Public Accountant in the State of California, Ms. Kinsel is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) by the AICPA. She is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

Ms. Kinsel has conducted seminars on loss of earnings, business interruption calculations, fidelity loss investigations, and other forensic accounting issues. Presentations have included such topics as "Elder Fraud and Financial Exploitation," "Loss of Earnings Claims for Attorneys," and "The Post-Great Recession Fidelity Landscape."

Select Consulting Experience:

• Measurement of business interruption loss to hospital resulting from earthquake damage
• Investigation of fraudulent practices of a city’s mayor and misuse of city funds
• Measurement of business interruption loss to refinery after damage to plant from explosion
• Investigation of faithful performance claim of employee involving mishandling of trust funds
• Investigation of fraudulent vendor billing scheme in a cargo handling company

View Stacy Kinsel's Expert Witness Profile.

Guy O. Kornblum has specialized as a trial and appellate lawyer for 40 years. He is certified in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the prestigious National Board of Trial Advocacy, and is a Fellow of the American College of Certified Attorney Specialists.

Mr. Kornblum has handled over 4,000 litigated matters to conclusion and has several million dollar plus cases to his credit. He has represented hundreds of clients, small businesses, individuals, and large Fortune 500 corporations during his 40 plus years of practice in his practice. He is highly regarded for his courtroom and appellate skills, and his representation of his clients in mediations, where he has a strong track record of successful settlements.

Areas of Practice:

Personal Injury Wrongful Death Insurance Law Insurance Coverage / Bad Faith Claims Medical and Legal Malpractice

Punitive Damage Actions Commercial Disputes Class Actions Nursing Home Negligence & Abuse Elder Abuse

Guy Kornblum is a Life Member of the Multi-Million Dollar and Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum, for those attorneys who have achieved multi- million dollar awards or settlements for their clients. He is also a Charter Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary, a Platinum Member of The Verdict Club, recognized for his “professional excellence in litigation,” and is a Legends Society “Top Lawyer” in the personal injury field and a Silver Member of the Elite Lawyers of America.

Mr. Kornblum is the author of: Negotiating and Settling Tort Cases: Reaching the Settlement, published by the Thomson West Publishing Company and American Association for Justice, Second Edition, 2013; and co-author of Litigating Insurance Claims: Coverage, Bad Faith and Business Disputes (Wiley & Sons, 1991); and the California Practice Guide: Bad Faith (The Rutter Group, 1986). He also is a contributing author to the California Continuing Education of the Bar’s “Alternative Dispute Resolution in California,” which was published in 2005. He has authored over 200 published articles on trial practice, discovery, civil procedure, and insurance law and related topics.

View Guy Kornblum's Expert Witness Profile.