Compensation Consulting Expert Witnesses: 7

As a highly professional & credible Expert, Consultant, & Speaker, Jean Seawright has provided trusted advice & HR Consultation to thousands of organizations nationwide. As president of Seawright & Associates, a Human Resource Management-Consulting Firm, Ms. Seawright is widely respected for her knowledge of state & federal employment regulations including, but not limited to FLSA, ADA, FMLA, Title VII, & others.

Since 1987, she has focused on engagements involving hiring, coaching, & terminating employees; regulatory compliance; charges of discrimination; performance management systems; internal investigations (including harassment); employee handbook development; compensation plan design; HR audits; hiring systems; job descriptions; & others. Ms. Seawright is a frequent speaker at state & national trade associations & is the author of numerous articles & publications in the field of human resources, including the popular book, The Employment Genie®, an exclusive hiring, coaching, & termination system for businesses. 

Areas of Expertise:

• Negligent Hiring and Retention
• Discrimination and EEO Compliance
• HR Policies and Programs
• FLSA and Wage and Hour Compliance
• Harassment
• Expert Witness Services for Employment Law Matters
• ADA
• FMLA
• Hiring Procedures
• Title VII
• Employee Handbooks

Ms. Seawright is available for case analysis, case theory evaluation, expert witness reports, depositions, analysis of other expert testimony, and trial testimony.

Jeffrey Ketchum, CRA, is an Executive Recruiter and Executive Compensation Consultant with 28 years of executive level (C-level, VP & Director) search consulting experience for small, middle market and Fortune 500 companies. He has global executive research experience in North America, South & Central America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region.  

Mr. Ketchum's expertise is in leadership advisory, strategic talent planning, succession planning, executive talent attraction, executive compensation, management appraisal & executive assessment, and executive & managerial development. He has personally completed 200 engagements focused on executive recruiting, executive marketability, executive compensation and executive assessment (skills, competencies, experiences, performance).

Mr. Ketchum is a Graduate of Cornell University's Advanced Program for Executive Search & Leadership Consulting. He is AESC Certified Researcher/Associate (CRA) through the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants, the official representative of the industry to the US Government and European Commission.  

Litigation Support - Mr. Ketchum is available for select expert witness engagements, consulting (non-testifying), strategy, and litigation support. He asseses executive experience, skills, and performance for divorce, negligence, personal injury cases (future lost earning capacity or wage loss), shareholder suits, whistleblower and wrongful termination cases. He opines on issues related to executive earning capacity, executive employability, executive job search analysis, and (un)reasonable compensation. 

As an Executive Recruiting and Executive Compensation expert witness, cases may include:

• The career path, opportunities, and compensation plaintiff would likely have had if not injured;
•  Whether an individual used reasonable efforts to find substantially equivalent employment;
• The long-term impact on an individuals career because of an employment termination;
• Whether defendant was negligent in vetting candidates which contributed to damages 

Areas of Expertise:

Laurie Chua, SHRM-SCP, is a highly skilled Employment Practice Professional with over 30 years experience in working as an HR Professional employed by Fortune 25 companies and nonprofit associations, including Dell Computers, Pfizer Pharmaceutical, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and California Employers Associations (CEA). 

Litigation Support - As an HR Expert Witness, Laurie Chua has provided analysis for employment litigation cases. She is experienced and comfortable explaining California and Federal Employment Law to an audience, one-on-one, and over the phone. Ms. Chua has expert level knowledge in the areas of:

Ms. Chua maintains an active multi-state HR consulting practice with in depth knowledge of California labor code, employment regulations, and opinion letters. She was previously employed by SHRM as an HR Knowledge Advisor, providing guidance and responding to resolve over 3,500 requests per year in HR compliance and best practices. Ms. Chua is Certified by the Society for Human Resource Management as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with emphasis in Human Resources Management and Labor Relations. 

With extensive teaching and public speaking experience, Ms. Chua presents onsite management training seminars, conferences, webinars on sexual harassment, discrimination, disabilities in the workplace, as well as other programs focused on compliance. She has presented the SHRM Certification course globally to prepare HR professionals to sit for the intensive SHRM certification exam. Ms. Chua is highly skilled presenting the required AB1825 California's Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prevention training. 

View Laurie Chua's Consulting Profile.

Beth De Lima, MBA, SPHR-CA. consults with Plaintiff and Defense attorneys in regard to human resource management, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), discrimination and related topics.

Ms. De Lima is nationally certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources with a California specific certification (SPHR - CA) by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and was appointed to sit on the Employee Health, Safety, and Security Special Expertise Panel, 2006-2010. She is a certified mediator, U.C. Berkeley, Extension Program and had been appointed to the Amador, Calaveras, and Tuolumne County Superior Court Mediation Panels. Specifically, Ms. De Lima can assist you in preparing responses and compiling evidence for existing cases. Her litigation support services may be used to:

• Formulate questions for depositions
• Conduct investigations and interviews
• Evaluate the adequacy of personnel policies
• Analyze evidence and presentation materials
• Identify case weaknesses and alternative strategies
• Document employee physical suitability for work
• Determine "reasonable accommodation"

Please visit her website at www.hrmconsulting.com for more details. Ms. De Lima has offices in Murphys and San Jose California and are available at your convenience to discuss cases on a confidential and complimentary basis.

View Consulting Profile.

Malcolm S. Cohen, PhD, President of Employment Research Corporation, has over 30 years of experience in the field of Economics and Employment specializing in Labor Markets and Statistical Analysis. 

Dr. Cohen founded the firm in 1997, after retiring as the Director of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Michigan, which he directed for 13 years. With a PhD in Economics from the MIT in 1967, his research interests include labor market information, labor turnover, employment forecasting and labor shortages. He has directed several major studies to identify national shortage occupations and measure labor turnover using administrative records. 

Dr. Cohen's book, Labor Shortages as America Approaches the Twenty-first Century, was published by the University of Michigan Press. His most recent book, Global Skill Shortages, written with Professor Mahmood A. Zaidi, is published by Edward Elgar Publishing. He has had articles published in a large number of journals, including: Journal of Human Resources, Monthly Labor Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Statistics, Journal of Economic Theory, and The American Economic Review. 

Litigation Support - Dr. Cohen has either testified or been a consultant in over 1,000 audits or cases and has testified over 150 times. He has also served as an expert to the EEOC and U.S. Department of Labor in discrimination cases, and has directed many research projects sponsored by government agencies. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Cohen's Consulting Profile.

Frank Carr has extensive background and experience as an Investment Industry Employment and Compensation Expert Witness, especially Investment Management Firms, Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Wealth Managers, and Broker-Dealers. Mr. Carr is a former corporate banker, investment firm Chief Financial Officer and a 20 year veteran of executive search for the Investment Management industry. He has written articles for and has been frequently quoted by publications such as Bloomberg News, CNN Money, Fund Fire, Ignites, Absolute Return, Hedge Fund Alert, and Hedge Fund Manager Week. Prior to entering the executive search field, he was the Chief Financial Officer of a Connecticut-based hedge fund and Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). Mr. Carr started his career in commercial bank lending, initially with Citigroup in their Wall Street Commodities division and later specialized in financing independent feature film producers, TV producers, and television station owners on behalf of European American Bank in New York. 

Litigation Support - Frank Carr is an Investment Industry Employment and Compensation Expert Witness who has been retained by both plaintiffs and defendants for American Arbitration Association, JAMS and FINRA arbitration, mediation, and federal court litigation. Mr. Carr has over 30 years of experience in Financial Services, Investment Management, and Banking and his areas of coverage include Traditional and Alternative Investments – Equities, Fixed Income, Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, and Managed Futures. Specialist in Wall Street Divorce. 

Areas of Expertise:

Prior Expert Witness Assignments:

• Represented a hedge fund portfolio manager as an expert rebuttal witness in a high profile hedge fund employment/compensation lawsuit. Prepared a rebuttal opinion letter submitted to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Represented a $12 billion Texas-based SEC Registered Investment Adviser and leading global alternative credit manager in a JAMS arbitration regarding a terminated employee. Prepared a rebuttal expert witness report and provided live testimony at the JAMS arbitration hearing.
• Represented a financial advisor in a FINRA arbitration against one of the top 5 U.S. wealth management firms. The scope of the opinion included projected career advancement, compensation analysis and calculation of lost earnings.
• Represented a portfolio manager/ investment analyst in a wrongful termination action against one of the largest U.S. Broker-Dealers with over $600 billion in assets. The scope of the opinion included projected career advancement and compensation analysis. Prepared an expert witness report and provided live testimony at the FINRA arbitration hearing.

Education - Mr. Carr is a graduate of Williams College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy. He completed the Management Training Program at Citigroup in New York, including courses in accounting, finance, and capital markets. He has previously held FINRA licenses, Series 3, 6, and 63 and has completed Level I of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) program.

View Frank Carr's Consultant Profile.

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