Speakers - Seminars Consultants: 88

Kevin Kucko, MAPT, ATC is a licensed Physical Therapist with over 23 years of experience. His specialty areas include Work-injury Reduction, Outpatient Services Development, and Physical Rehabilitation. 

Background Experience - Mr. Kucko began his career as an athletic trainer working with athletes from college through the NFL. He quickly focused on accelerating recovery times while rehabilitating orthopedic injuries. In 1995, he completed his Masters’ degree in Physical Therapy. Since that time, he has served as Department Director at various rehabilitation facilities throughout the east. 

Litigation Support - With over 13 years of experience performing Functional Capacity Evaluations, Mr. Kucko has helped hundreds of clients resolve cases with the best possible outcome. He provides services to attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defense. Kevin Kucko offers meticulous review of medical records in preparation for trial and depositions. For cases where therapy and physical rehabilitation are involved, he sets the foundation by explaining medical conditions and interventions in a clear and concise manner that jurors understand. Mr. Kucko has been deposed and/or testified 14 times since 2010. 

Areas of Expertise:

Joel L. Kent, MD, is an expert in all realms of Pain Medicine and has focused expertise in the prescribing and oversight of opioid analgesics. His specialties include acute and chronic pain management, opioid analgesics, interventional pain management therapies, spinal cord stimulation, intrathecal drug delivery, RSD/CRPS and low back pain.

Dr. Kent has provided expert case reviews and testimony for over twenty years.  The majority of his expert work has focused on the standard of care in the practice of Pain Medicine and the use of opioid analgesics.  Dr. Kent has provided expert case opinions in Federal and State civil courts.  He has provided defense support to the US Department of Justice in two cases.  He has served as an expert witness and case reviewer for both Maryland and New York State.  Dr. Kent assisted the District Attorney of New Jersey in prosecuting a case of unlawful prescribing of controlled substances.  He has provided expert case review and litigation support to health insurance carriers seeking restitution for fraudulent expenses related to opioid therapy.  

Over the course of his career, Dr. Kent has developed particular expertise surrounding the use of opioid analgesics.  He has provided over 50 lectures to other physicians regarding the safe and proper use of these medications.   He has been recognized as an expert in both State and Federal Court in cases related to opioid therapy.  He has served on advisory boards helping craft regulatory policies related to opioid medication.  All these accomplishments attest to Dr. Kent’s high level of expertise in the complex and evolving realm of opioid therapy. 

Primary area of expertise: Pain Medicine

Expert consulting experience:

• Authored over 50 expert case reports
• Participated in over 25 depositions
• Testimony experience in civil trials and professional hearings
• Provides litigation support and expert testimony in plaintiff and defense cases

Professional experience:

• Over 25 years of experience in Pain Medicine
• Triple Board Certified
• Practice Director of University Multi-Disciplinary Pain Management Practices from 1998 to 2017
• Program Director of a Multi-Disciplinary Pain Management Fellowship Training Programs from 1998 to 2015
• Professor of Anesthesiology, Palliative Care, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at University of Rochester School of Medicine
• Lectures extensively and published 

Mary LaPorte offers Consulting Services to insurance agencies, including assistance in Work Flow, Operations and E&O Loss Prevention, and General Agency Management and Supervision. With over 40 years in the Insurance Industry, Ms. LaPorte helps agencies develop best practices and established procedures. She regularly conducts E&O audits for agencies and assists in developing internal E&O loss control practices. Having worked within the independent agency system and interacted with insurance carriers following industry standards, she assists agencies with refining and developing procedure. Ms. LaPorte is heavily involved in insurance education, is on the national faculty for the Society of CIC, (Certified Insurance Counselor), and teaches agency standards to insurance professionals. Her services are also available to private clients and small, private entrepreneurial companies. Consulting Services:

• Insurance Agency Consulting
• E&O Loss Control
• E&O Loss Prevention
• E&O Audits
• Insurance Continuing Education
• House / Condo/ Co-op Insurance
• Home Insurance
• Insurance Education

View Expert Witness Profile.

Jeffrey D. Diamond specializes in Insurance Coverage Disputes and Litigation. He has established his law firm as one of the premier Insurance Coverage law firms in the Metro Atlanta area on behalf of policyholders, as well as throughout the State of Georgia and, as he was initially admitted to the State Bar of California in 1978, he serves policyholders in California, as well. 

In addition to his full time law practice, Mr. Diamond has served as an Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law since 1995 in both California and Georgia, having joined the Georgia State University College of Law faculty in 2009 as an Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law and, in 2012, he joined Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School in a similar capacity. 

Mr. Diamond  is also a law instructor for the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), a national educational organization which conducts continuing education programs for financial professionals across the country, teaching in NACVA’s Expert Witness Bootcamp program. Mr. Diamond has been an invited guest speaker on topics of interest at numerous insurance conferences throughout the country. 

Over his 37 year career, Mr. Diamond has successfully represented policyholders, and formerly Insurance companies, in a wide variety of insurance coverage and bad faith actions including:

• Business Insurance Litigation
• Homeowners Insurance Litigation 
• Construction Defect Litigation
• General Business Property and Liability Claims
• Long Term Disability Claims
• Life Insurance Claims

 Litigation Support - Mr. Diamond's experience as an insurance litigator and insurance law professor allows him a unique perspective as a consulting expert witness. His extensive knowledge of insurance law and keen insights into insurance policy interpretation, as well as the covenant of good faith and fair dealing under each State’s insurance related statutes and case law, make him an exceptional consulting expert witness with regard to insurance coverage disputes and issues concerning insurance bad faith issues.

 View Jeffrey Diamond's Expert Witness Profile.

Jim Leatzow has 46 years of "hands-on" practical, property / casualty insurance agency experience. Leatzow has literally worn "every hat there is to wear in the P/C insurance business. He provides expert & arbitration services nationally & internationally with no charge for travel time. He is articulate, efficient & equally comfortable within the U.S. & in foreign venues. His experience includes:

• 46 years national Property/Casualty insurance industry experience
• 30 years national, Property/Casualty insurance Agency Owner
• 23 years national, Property/Casualty Managing General Agent (MGA)
• 20 years national, Third Party Administrator (TPA) insurance claim adjuster
• 26 years Reinsurance experience & Company Founder/President
• 17 years Certified insurance Arbitrator (U.S. / U.K. / Bermuda) 
• 55 years Licensed Pilot with Commercial, Instrument, Multi & Seaplane Ratings 
• Still licensed in Illinois (46 years) & Wisconsin (38 years) 
• Licensed in all states for 20-25 years until 2005 (agency sold)
• Rule 26 Report specialization on complex cases 
• Bad Faith Expert qualified nationally 
• History of representing plaintiff & defense equally
• No charge for travel time "coast to coast"

Leatzow's specialties include: Agent-Broker-MGA standards of care / Bad Faith / Coverage / Agent-Broker E&O Claims / Agent-Broker custom & practice / Professional (E&O) Liability / Claims Adjusting Standard of Care / Claims-made coverage / Surplus Lines issues / Underwriting / Licensing / Property / General Liability /Aviation Insurance

GRANT D. STIEFEL, ESQ.

• Grant D. Stiefel, Esq. is a nationally-recognized, full time attorney fee consultant, testifying expert and the principal of Litigation Limited, a boutique legal fee consulting firm
• Mr. Stiefel has testified in nearly 100 lawsuits, including matters in federal district courts, California trial courts, JAMS/AAA arbitrations, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, State Bar courts, and attorney-client fee arbitrations
• He has qualified to testify and has testified live at trials and arbitrations as a designated attorney fee expert
• Mr. Stiefel’s methodology for reviewing, auditing and evaluating legal invoices has been cited, approved and adopted by California state and federal courts
• He has been retained as a testifying attorney fee expert by the world’s largest law firms, including Reed Smith; McDermott Will and Emery; Jones Day; Sheppard Mullin; Sidely Austin; Dykema Gossett; Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe; and Littler Mendelson, among many others
• Mr. Stiefel is a member of the California State Bar and is unique among fee experts in that he practiced law for many years at two of the world’s largest law firms (Akin Gump and K&L Gates)
• Mr. Stiefel has managed a multi-billion dollar litigation portfolio and has audited hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees from law firms nationwide since 2008 
• He has developed and implemented outside counsel billing and case management guidelines for Fortune 500 corporations
• He is a California State Bar-approved continuing legal education instructor on attorneys’ fees who has trained hundreds of executives and in-house counsel from a host of Fortune 500 corporations
• Mr. Stiefel is qualified as an attorney-client fee dispute arbitrator with the California State Bar’s Mandatory Fee Arbitration program and as a judge pro tem with the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles

SAMPLE ENGAGEMENTS

• Grant Stiefel was the testifying fee expert on a series of fee applications by class counsel in Jones v. Wells Fargo, on behalf of aggrieved California consumers in the first consumer class action brought under the Unruh Act.  Relying upon Mr. Stiefel's testimony regarding the reasonableness of hourly rates and overall work performed, the trial court awarded more than $25 million in attorneys' fees to class counsel
• The district court for the Central District of California adopted and approved Mr. Stiefel's methodology for identifying and quantifying block-billed, vague and redacted billing entries in cutting Plaintiff's fee request by more than sixty percent in CNS v. Planet, from $4.8 million to $1.9 million
• In Vides v. ABM Janitorial Services, the trial court reduced Plaintiff's fee request in a FEHA action by over $1 million based upon Grant Stiefel's expert testimony.  Plaintiff moved for an award of $1,578,232.50 in attorneys' fees, which the trial court reduced to $544,183.12.  Mr. Stiefel's testimony showed that the hourly rates claimed by Plaintiff's counsel were unreasonable under the circumstances, that excessive time was spent on inter-office communications, and that the matter was overstaffed

View Grant Stiefel's Expert Witness Profile.

Matt Hartley Lighting, LLC combines the Science of Engineering Design to the Art of Illumination. They provide a wide variety of services to the lighting design community, some of which include:

• Lighting Design and Simulation - Produced over 12000 different designs for interior, exterior, roadways, daylighting, and sports lighting facilities
• Manufacturing - Includes both technical marketing services and optical design; creation and management of specification sheets, IES file review and management, fixture testing coordination, certification management of fixtures, BIM modeling, AGI32 instabase management, and competitive analysis of fixtures
• Teaching and Presenting - Provide training for large or small groups in areas including general lighting, photometry, applications, and advanced topics. Past training experience with Lithonia, Lighting Analysts, and Peerless

Principal, Matthew J. Hartley, is a noted expert in Lighting, Lighting Design, Product Development, AGI32, and Photometry He has been in the Lighting Industry for over 24 years. In that time, he has held positions in design, product management, customer service, and design engineering. Mr. Hartley has been employed by manufacturers, lighting software companies, and lighting agencies. He has immersed himself in different facets of the industry including indoor and outdoor lighting, safety and security, lighting and human health, and lighting standards. 

Mr. Hartley has been involved with several standard writing committees within the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, producing over six standard documents. Since 1999, he has taught Lighting and Lighting Design to diverse groups, from students to seasoned lighting professionals, and presented at conferences and seminars on a variety of topics, such as of photometry, design, or IES Documents.

View Matthew Hartley's Expert Witness Profile.

William Santoro, MD is Board Certified in Addiction Medicine and board eligible in Family Medicine. His professional consultant services are utilized by Pharmaceutical companies to educate doctors on why and how to use medication for substance use disorders. Dr. Santoro also gives talks and seminars to groups on all aspects of addiction medicine.

In addition to being the Chief of the Section of Addiction Medicine at Tower Health System, he was the Medical Director at the Reading Hospital & Medical Center detoxification and rehabilitation program for 36 years. He was also the Medical Director for a Methadone Treatment facility for 22 years where he was responsible for all admission physical examinations and for prescribing methadone to approximately 950 opiate dependent patients.

Dr. Santoro is the Addictionist on staff at The Reading Hospital & Medical Center within the Department of Family & Community Medicine. He is consulted by hospitalists to care for patients admitted to the hospital with addiction complicating their condition. Dr. Santoro runs an outpatient program utilizing buprenorphine and naltrexone maintenance for over 300 patients. With a special interest in Sports Medicine, in 2001, he served as a volunteer physician for the U.S. Olympic Training Team in Lake Placid, New York. 

Professional Services:

• Consultant speaker for Forrest Pharmaceuticals. Responsible for teaching physicians about using Campral for alcohol dependence, 2005 to 2007
• Consultant speaker for Indivior (formerly Rickett-Benckiser). Mentoring program to teach physicians how to appropriately use Suboxone and Sublocade  for opioid use disorder, 2005 to present
• Consultant speaker for Pfizer Labs. Responsible for teaching physicians how and why to use Chantix for tobacco addiction, 2007 to present

View William Santoro's Expert Witness Profile.

Michael Levittan, Ph.D. is an Expert Witness, Psychotherapist, Media Consultant, and Lecturer at UCLA Extension and California Graduate Institute. Dr. Levittan works as an expert witness on cases involving domestic violence, child abuse, post-traumatic stress, anger issues, child custody, school violence. He is director of a certified Domestic Violence/Anger Management program and has numerous articles published on violence and abuse.

Dr. Levittan presents at UCLA, National Alliance on Mental Illness, L.A. Superior Court, U.S. Marines, Hillsides Children's Home, Loyola Marymount Univ, International Conference on Violence, Abuse, Trauma, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Grief & Loss Conference, The Maple Center, Womens Shelters.

Dr. Levittan's website: www.michaellevittan.com.

Michael Levine – Security and Investigative Consultant, D/B/A SENTAC INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS. Network of Ten-Percenters - There is an old saying in Federal Law Enforcement: “Ten percent of the investigators are responsible for ninety percent of the cases.” Mike Levine is one of the most decorated supervisory agents in the history of the Drug Enforcement Administration. He has 45 years of courtroom and field experience (civil and criminal) as a Trial Consultant, Expert witness, and Investigative / Security Consultant. A Police Training Consultant, 

Mr. Levine specializes in Undercover Survival and Informant Handling Tactics and Procedures, saving lives and providing indemnity to law suits. Mr. Levine has direct and immediate access to a hand-picked network of investigators comprised of men and women who have proven themselves with long experience as creative, hard driving and successful experts in each of their fields, and like himself are each much awarded veterans of law enforcement.

 Services Offered:

• Complicated Investigations in Support of Litigation (intra and international)
• Personal Security Assessments and Counseling (all areas)
• Plant and Operational Security Assessments and Counseling (all areas)
• Sensitive Position Background Investigations and Counseling
• Investigative and Research Support Extensively Backed by a Continually Updated Database of Information that Relates to Each Area Expertise
• Media & Technical Consulting

Background Experience - Michael Levine's law enforcement career encompasses 25 years service with DEA, Customs, BATF & IRS Criminal Investigations Division. His supervisory experience includes being in command of task force units combining officers of FBI, BATF, IRS, Customs, NYPD and other local police agencies. During Mr. Levine's Department of Justice service, he served as an OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility) Inspector during which time he was trained in the reliable methods of investigative file review in affixing management responsibility for operational failures, tactics which he has continued to use in the analysis of cases and the testimony related thereto. 

Mr. Levine has extensive experience working executive protection details for both the Secret Service and Department of Justice and is a graduate of the Secret Service Executive Protection Training Program. He also served as a Security Consultant and Operational Advisor for a major internet pharmaceutical company. 

Michael Levine is currently lecturing on Undercover Tactics and Informant Handling for the US State Department in Brazil. His widely published articles and books include the New York Times and national best-sellers Deep Cover, The Big White Lie, and Fight Back, the community anti-drug plan recommended by the Clinton Administration Drug Policy Office, BLIND MULES-FICTION OR FACT?, and The Weakest Link, a paper based on Michael Levine’s presentation before the Defense Intelligence College, Southern Command, analyzing the devastating effect of unqualified management in law enforcement and military on public safety. 

While still serving as a DEA supervisory agent in 1988, Mr. Levine was the subject of A Random House/Times Books biography, Undercover, by Donald Goddard Mr. Levine has been a consultant and on-air expert for in excess of one hundred radio and television shows, including 60 Minutes, CNN, Crier Report, MSNBC, CBS News & Morning Show, ABC’s Nightline, Crossfire, Macneil Lehrer News Hour, and CBS. He also appeared on The History Channel’s "20th Century", Geraldo, Eye on America, Like It Is (Gil Noble), Dick Cavett, Inside Edition (Bill O’Reilly), Sony Pictures, Spelling Productions, Contrapunto (Spanish language version of Crossfire) and more. Mr. Levine is also the host of New York City’s “The Expert Witness Radio Show,” featuring interviews with top international law enforcement and legal experts covering all the areas of Mr. Levine’s expertise. 

View Michael Levine's Expert Witness Profile.

Riki Ellison, one of the top Missile Defense Experts in the World, is Founder and Chairman of MDAA. He received his degree from the University of Southern California, including a Certificate in Defense and Strategic Studies. 

Mr. Ellison has more than twenty five years of experience as an advocate for the Deployment and Development of a Missile Defense System for missiles of all ranges. He has become an expert on the issue and is the Premier Spokesperson on the Nation’s Missile Defense Program.

Mr. Ellison was hired by the United Missile Defense Company in 1997, and was responsible for marketing and the business development for the lead systems integrator of the National Missile Defense System which was a requirement of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.

During the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, in 2001, Ellison founded and developed the business strategy that would later become Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance in conjunction with the United States withdrawal from the anti-ballistic missile treaty and the decision by the President of the United States to deploy missile defense systems.

Mr. Ellison is a former NFL Football Player and three-time Super Bowl Champion who is a seasoned Public Speaker on the topics of Missile Defense, Defense, Football and Motivation.

• Alabama Counseling Association - Ethical and Legal Issues for the Rehabilitation Counseling Professional: The Evolution of the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) Code of Ethics and its Impact on Modern Practice
• IARP Alabama Chapter Annual Conference - The Utilization of Vocational Experts

Nevium specializes in managing and increasing the value of intellectual property portfolios. You have your business plan; you have your marketing plan…Where is your IP plan? Quite surprisingly, most businesses don’t have an IP plan; nonetheless even know the total contents of their IP portfolio. At Nevium, we manage and monetize intellectual property and intangible assets. We believe these assets need to be identified, organized and managed in order to maximize value.

Nevium specializes in valuing, managing, monetizing and providing expert testimony related to intellectual property. Nevium values IP for business transactions, tax/estate, joint venture negotiations, transfer pricing and bankruptcy.

Nevium builds and manages intellectual asset management strategies for clients who want to monetize their IP. Mr. Bania and Mr. Buss are frequent lecturers on IP valuation and licensing issues and publish articles for numerous industry publications. Areas of expertise include music, apparel, publishing, film, food, automotive, sporting goods, furnishings, advertising, media, photography, retail and not-for-profit.

Consulting Services Include:

• IP Management - Nevium Identifies, organizes and values IP and IA
• IP Valuation - Nevium values brands, trademarks, copyrights, patents social media and Internet assets for M&A, estate, business transactions, tax and transfer pricing
• IP Monetization - Nevium assists with setting royalty rates, building licensing agreements and buying and selling IP

Doug Bania, CLP, Founding Principal, has over a decade of expertise in managing, valuing and monetizing intellectual property. Prior to founding Nevium, Mr. Bania managed 100s of projects related to brands, intellectual property and related intangible assets. He has assisted clients in intellectual property matters related to acquisitions, litigation, bankruptcy, tax, estate, family and marital disputes, and licensing. Mr. Bania delivers presentations and seminars on IP valuation, management, and damages issues for various business and legal entities across the United States.

View Nevium's Expert Witness Profile.

Non-Surgical Orthopaedics, P.C. was established in 1993. Specializing in Spine Care and Pain Management, the practice has developed into one of the premier non-surgical orthopaedic practices in the southeast, and an industry leader for the non-invasive treatment of back and neck pain. Non-Surgical Orthopaedics P.C. offers a wide variety of Non-Surgical options to Treat Pain and Musculoskeletal Injuries. Their goal is to eliminate pain with a strong emphasis on injury prevention and rehabilitation. Services include:

• Pain Management
• Orthopaedic & Sports Injuries
• Workers’ Compensation
• Auto Injuries
• IME's & Disability Evaluations

Video: Non-Surgical Orthopaedics, P.C. | The Overview

Arnold J. Weil, MD has over 29 years of experience specializing in Non-Surgical Orthopaedics and Pain Management. A Diplomat of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Chief Executive Officer of Non-Surgical Orthopaedics, P.C., one of the premier orthopaedic practices in the metro Atlanta area. 

Dr. Weil's practice focuses on conservative, non-surgical care of orthopaedic injuries, including the spine and extremities, with emphasis on spine rehabilitation, functional restoration, pain management, and ergonomic modifications. He treats patients with back and neck pain and a variety of other orthopaedic conditions. Focusing on acute and chronic pain management through an advanced Non-Surgical approach, 

Dr. Weil has become one of the leading experts on Spine Care and Disability Management. Dr. Weil has been a Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. An active lecturer, Dr. Weil speaks nationally and internationally on the nonsurgical management of back and neck pain as well as new advances in pain management. He also provides practice management to small-medium sized medical practices.

View Dr. Weil's Expert Witness Profile.

Dr. Kanellakopoulos is a Technology leader with 25+ years of experience in R&D, operations, administration, and management, in both academia and industry. He has authored or co-authored books, numerous articles in peer-reviewed technical journals and refereed technical conferences, and multiple standards contributions. He is also the co-inventor on more than 25 patents. He has been the plenary speaker at major technical conferences, and an invited speaker at more than 40 industrial and academic venues in 12 countries across 4 continents.

In his industrial career, he Designed and Built Telecom Products such as DSL and Carrier Ethernet hardware and software, and has significant experience with international telecommunication standards (ITU-T). He has also worked in wireless communications (3GPP, Wi-Fi), primarily on digital signal processing methods for baseband transceivers.

In his academic career, Dr. Kanellakopoulos conducted research on adaptive control of nonlinear systems, with applications to automotive control systems, specifically ADAS (adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping, vehicle collision avoidance) and active suspension. He directed a project on automation of heavy-duty vehicles as part of the California PATH Program; one of the most visible results of this research was the “Variable Time-Headway” algorithm for adaptive cruise control, which was demonstrated on a fully-automated heavy-duty (Class 8) 18-wheeler truck and has found widespread use in current adaptive cruise control systems. His UCLA team also designed and built a prototype full-size fully-automated electric vehicle that has been used for research purposes on multiple college campuses.

Dr. Kanellakopoulos has directed collaborative projects with several automotive/truck manufacturers and vendors (Ford, Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, Freightliner, Gentex, Visteon).

He has consulted for clients such as technology companies (on intellectual property strategy and product development), private equity firms (on due diligence for investment), and law firms (on expert witness matters).

He is an IEEE Fellow and a recipient of multiple national and international awards.

View Dr. Kanellakopoulos's Expert Witness Profile.