Directors and Officers Liability Expert Witnesses: 15

Max Holmes has over 40 years of experience as a portfolio manager, research analyst, board member, lawyer, NYU Professor and expert witness.

Max Holmes has been an Expert Witness in various Federal & State Cases including Jury Trials / AAA, FINRA, ICDR & JAMS Arbitrations / Mediations.

Since 1993, Max Holmes has been an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Stern Graduate School of Business at New York University, teaching "Bankruptcy and Reorganization."

Max Holmes has been the Chief Investment Officer / Lead Portfolio Manager for two large hedge funds ($2.7 billion and $5.4 billion of peak assets under management) as well as a small insurance company portfolio and a small mutual fund portfolio.

Mr. Holmes has been the Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Director of a life, health and annuity insurer and reinsurer.  Mr. Holmes has been a Vice Chair and Director of a large crypto bitcoin mining company.

Mr. Holmes worked in investment banking, research, trading and capital markets at Drexel Burnham Lambert, Salomon Brothers, NatWest Markets and Royal Bank of Canada.  Since 2015, Max Holmes has been a Senior Advisor to American Industrial Partners LLC, a private equity firm with $17.8 billion of assets under management.    

Max Holmes is a lawyer (member of the NY, TX and DC bars), has served on numerous boards of directors, and has previously held FINRA licenses for securities (Series 3, 7, 9, 19, 16, 24, 56 and 63), RIA, ERISA QPAM, Federal Reserve, FDIC, insurance, mortgage origination and servicing, municipal waste, FERC, ISO, and gaming in Nevada, New York and Canada.

Mr. Holmes is a graduate of Harvard College, Columbia Law School and Columbia Business School.

Areas of Expertise:

Thomas M. Selman, CFA, has served at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, most recently as Executive Vice President for Regulatory Policy and Legal Compliance Officer, for over 20 years. Mr. Selman oversaw more than a dozen regulatory programs and developed FINRA's formal Compliance Program. He is devoted to investor protection and market integrity.

Mr. Selman holds a JD degree., a CFA charter, and a CBDA from the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals. He is a member of three state bar associations.

Litigation Support - As President and CEO of Scopus Financial Group, Mr. Selman provides expert testimony in litigation for any consumer, industry, or associate person who is litigating a matter in which SEC or FINRA rules is an issue, including civil actions brought by customers, industry disputes, and commercial litigation. He has successfully testified in four FINRA arbitrations, one Delaware Chancery Court trial, one AAA arbitration, one United States District Court case, one California court case, and one SEC enforcement matter. Mr. Selman's senior regulatory experience allows him insight into the best approaches to expert testimony and the concerns of a regulator.

Areas of Expertise:

• Rules governing supervision of associated persons of broker-dealers and investment advisers
• Required written supervisory procedures of firms
• Sales practice rules of the SEC (such as the fiduciary duty of investment advisers and Reg BI)
• The 1940 Acts

View Scopus Financial Group's Business Consultant Profile.

Lezlee Liljenberg, CIC, CRIS, MLIS, PA, MA, entered the Insurance business in 2004 as she started her first agency from ground zero, growing the business to over $6 million in revenue in less than 12 years.

Ms. Liljenberg holds a BA in Journalism/Public Relations and a MA in Political Science/Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a Professional Financial Representative holding licenses as 6 & 63 Securities, a Property & Casualty Agent, Life & Health Agent, Risk Manager, Public Adjuster, and Texas Real Estate Broker.

She is well-known in the insurance and real estate industries for her responsiveness, knowledge, and professionalism in handling situations in both of these industries. Her 36 years of contractual knowledge is extensive and is strengthened by her years as a Commodity Electricity trader during Deregulation in 2001.

Litigation Support - Ms. Liljenberg provides Insurance Expert Witness services to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. She offers thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Braden M. Perry specializes in complex Financial Regulation, Enforcement, and Compliance Matters involving Commodities, Futures, Derivatives, and Securities. He is skilled in distilling highly technical and complex subject matter into clear, logical, and accessible analysis for fact finders, regulators, and courts. He excels at explaining financial and regulatory frameworks, tracing monetary flows, and articulating institutional practices in ways that are both understandable and persuasive.

Litigation Support - Mr. Perry works with attorneys, law firms, and regulatory professionals seeking a knowledgeable and credible expert in financial regulation, enforcement, and compliance. Ideal clients are those involved in complex litigation, arbitration, or investigations requiring clear, fact-based analysis of commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, or emerging technology issues. He particularly enjoys collaborating with counsel who value strategic insight, responsiveness, and the ability to translate highly technical matters into persuasive, understandable evidence for fact finders.

Mr. Perry brings a unique perspective as a former CFTC trial attorney and Chief Compliance Officer of a global financial institution, bridging regulatory enforcement, institutional compliance, and litigation strategy.

Areas of Expertise:

• CFTC, SEC, FINRA, NFA, CFPB, FTC Investigations
• Standards of Care for Broker - Dealers
• CTAs
• FCMs
• Internal and Regulatory Compliance Programs
• Nationally recognized for work in Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, AI, and Cybersecurity

View Braden M. Perry's Consulting Profile.

Jay Hibert was in the Commercial Banking Industry for over 25 years before leaving to form his own company, a real estate lending and consulting company. The company provides services to banks, non-banks, and individuals in need of creative financing solutions.  Still an ACTIVE lender in the industry, Jay stays updated on current customs and practices and has transacted hundreds of real estate and non-real estate loan negotiations in times of economic growth as well as downturns in the economy. His extensive credit background arms him with the understanding of how banks and other lenders operate internally.  

Litigation Experience - Mr. Hibert has been providing expert witness and consulting services since 2010. He has been designated over 250 times as an expert in 25 different states concerning matters relating to commercial lending, real estate, construction finance, SBA loans, brokerage, hard money loan expert and investment issues. His experience includes both Federal and State court cases where he has provided deposition testimony, trial testimony and arbitration testimony. 

Jay is a licensed Real Estate Broker (Cal DRE #01523) and for 10 years his company was a California Finance Lender and Broker through the California Department of Business Oversight. He is experienced in trial and deposition testimony and his services are available to counsel representing both Plaintiff and Defense. 

Key areas of expertise in litigation work include:

• SBA Real Estate Loans
• Hard Money Loans
• Lending Policies, Custom and Practice/Lender Liability
• Broker Standards of Care and Fiduciary Responsibility
• Loan Underwriting and Credit Administration
• Loan Process and Bank Loan Restructure/Workout Process
• Note Valuations/Collateral Review
• Litigation and Discovery Consulting
• Banking Operations/Administration
• Expert reports adherent to Federal Rule 26
• Hard Money Lending
• SBA Lending
• Loan Syndication/Secondary Market Loan Sales
• Title Insurance Cases
• Private Money Lending
• Predatory Lending
• Financial Elder Abuse
• Covid Related Finance Issues

*****Experienced in trial and deposition testimony*****

View Jay Hibert's Consulting Profile.

Scott S. Margraves, CIC, has over 34 years of Commercial Property and Casualty Insurance experience. He is the Principal Consultant and Founder of Gulf Coast Risk Management, LLC (GCRM). GCRM provides research, analysis and advice to commerce, industry, government and individuals. 

GCRM operates COIs R Us, a certificate of insurance (COI) compliance and tracking company. COIs R Us compares the contractual obligations of a lease agreement with the COI. COIs R Us processes thousands of COIs for landlords and general contractors for compliance annually.

Litigation Support - Mr. Margraves has been designated as an expert witness in over 30 cases across 6 states in both state and federal courts, working with defense and plaintiffs on property & casualty insurance matters he believed in. Services include standard of care review, deposition question preparation, document review, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Background Experience - GCRM provides consulting services to attorneys, property managers, and general contractors regarding insurance placement, interpretation, and recommended contractual insurance requirements while explaining the relationship and alignment with indemnity and insurance provisions.

Mr. Margraves is well-versed in the placement of insurance policies from an insured's perspective. He produced thousands of commercial portfolios, along with personal lines, life, health, and other ancillary insurance products. As a front-line producer, he weathered forty-three (five major) hurricanes, three “five-hundred-year” floods and multiple catastrophic fire claims. Agency roles included insurance broker, claims facilitator, marketing, agency partner, and risk manager. Mr. Margraves developed extensive experience in all aspects of property & casualty insurance policy form interpretation, applications, claims, safety programs, and contract integration. He is familiar with bad faith, standard of care, claims handling, and errors & omissions. 

Mr. Margraves is Past President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Houston, Past Vice chairman of IIAT IMPACT Region 10, Member of Insurance Academy, and Lifetime Committeemen for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He started his second career as a full-time consultant in 2020. He is an insurance industry expert that brings extensive experience in all aspects of property casualty insurance interpretation, policy forms, claims, safety programs, HR coordination and contract integration.

View GCRM's Consulting Profile.

Frederick J. Fisher, JD, is the President of Fisher Consulting Group, Inc., a Professional Liability firm. 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.

Mr. Fisher provides Expert Witness services and Litigation Strategies to attorneys representing Plaintiff and Defense. He testifies regularly as an expert witness in cases dealing with:

• Insurance Broker Standards of Care
• Real Estate Broker Standards of Care
• Third Party Administrator Standards (TPA)
• Claims Handling and Bad Faith
• Wholesale Broker Policies with "gotchya's"

Background Experience:

• For almost 20 years, Mr. Fisher was the Founder of E.L.M. Insurance Brokers, a Wholesale & MGA facility specializing in Professional Liability and Specialty Line Risks. 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
• Mr. Fisher began his career on the service side, as an Independent E&O claims adjuster. In 1982, he bought the Company. In only 4 years, the annual billings increased by 400%
• In 1989, Mr. Fisher became a Founding Member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), and was elected to the PLUS Board of Trustees in 1993. After serving in all Officer capacities, he was elected President in 1997. He 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

For more information on his Litigation Support Services, Email Frederick Fisher at: fjfisher@fishercg.com

View Frederick Fisher's Consulting Profile.

Dave Bano has 40 years of hands-on experience across all aspects of Property Casualty Insurance Operations. He is a cross-functional and seasoned senior executive who has led Sales, Claims and Underwriting operations. Mr. Bano possesses a deep understanding of P & C customs, practices, standards and the duty of care. As a retired Chief Claims Officer, a Business Unit President/COO, as well as a Regional/State Executive at Nationwide, he has very broad multi-discipline knowledge and experience.

Litigation Support - Mr. Bano managed all aspects, and coverage lines, within Nationwide Claims including their bad faith/extra-contractual litigation. He also testifies relative to Sales and Agency operations, as well as Underwriting practices. He is a true general manager and expert across the P&C spectrum. 

Areas of Expertise:

Background Experience - Mr. Bano began his career as an adjuster trainee and worked through every operating level within Claims, eventually becoming Nationwide's first company-wide Chief Claims Officer. As a hands-on leader with strong experience in P/C general management (sales, agency operations, underwriting) as well as claims, he offers current expertise across any aspect of Property & Casualty insurance. 

As Chief Claims Officer, he was responsible for 8000 employees, all claims operations, across all lines of coverage. He partnered closely with his legal teams and held decision-making authority over all claims-related litigation, including extracontractual and bad faith situations. He led Automobile, Homeowners, Commercial, Agribusiness, Excess & Surplus [Scottsdale Insurance], Environmental, Pet & Veterinary, as well as the National Catastrophe group and the Special Investigations anti-fraud teams. He sat on several industry Boards including:  ISO/Verisk, National Insurance Crime Bureau [NICB], Coalition against Insurance Fraud, Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Authority. 

Mr. Bano managed the entire P&L for the state of Michigan, and earlier, across the five-county Philadelphia, PA market. 

Jacob Rebo is an AI governance attorney and expert witness who brings an uncommon combination to the standard of care for artificial intelligence: the law of a JD, the business judgment of an MBA, the analytical discipline of a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, the credentialed expertise of the IAPP AIGP, and years spent building and transforming enterprise AI governance at scale. Mr. Rebo renders opinions grounded in all of them.

He opines on how a reasonable organization or professional should select, validate, govern, monitor, and document AI systems, including large language models, and on whether a party met that standard. His approach is analytical rather than theoretical: he measures the actual decisions, controls, and documentation against the duties and frameworks that govern them, the way a Master Black Belt measures a process against its requirements.

Mr. Rebo has built and led enterprise AI governance for two multibillion-dollar technology companies. At Infinera he built the AI governance program from the ground up. At Nokia he transformed an outdated and ineffective function into a compliant and efficient program, approving large language models for deployment and authoring the policies, procurement standards, and contracting terms that put responsible AI into practice. He also led the enterprise-wide adoption of an AI-based contract lifecycle management system.

Litigation Support: Mr. Rebo assists litigators and firms in matters where AI use is at issue, including professional malpractice, standard of care, and commercial disputes. He also advises insurers and corporate legal departments, and accepts engagements nationwide, for plaintiff and defense, for case review, consulting, and testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Mr. Rebo holds a JD and an MBA from the University of Montana, the IAPP AIGP credential, and Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification. He previously litigated civil matters in Montana state and federal courts, and is a decorated United States Army veteran who served 15 years and retired at the rank of Captain.

Craig Chiappone is a seasoned multi-family Real Estate Professional with 26 years of hands-on experience spanning brokerage, general partner roles, consulting, investment sales, and asset management. 

Mr. Chiappone is a former Principal of Apartment Realty Advisors (later ARA Newmark), participating in brokerage operations, investment sales, and strategic initiatives culminating in the firm’s acquisition in 2015.  As an owner and operator of multifamily assets, and general partner of various LLCs which own and operate multifamily assets, he has a transaction history of $2.5B. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Chiappone is available to serve as a testifying or consulting expert witness in matters involving complex Real Estate Matters. He is experienced in presenting complex investment analysis to institutional investors, lenders, municipalities, and private investment partnerships and individuals. Mr. Chiappone is available for case review, rebuttal analysis, and deposition preparation support.

Areas of Expertise:

View Orders Expunging Records Relating to Insurance Fraud, Obstruction, Criminal Attempt, and Certificate of Occupancy.

Wayne Citron has 50 years of experience as an expert in Forensic Reconstruction of Insurance Transactions. He is an insurance expert and consultant. Litigation Support - Wayne Citron specializes in policy interpretation of the rules, laws, and regulations governing insurance and financial matters. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include effective reports, affidavits, depositions, and testimony as needed. Areas of Expertise:

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 is an expert in all forms of insurance, including:

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. 

View CMC Advisors' Consulting Profile.

Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®, CRPC®, RICP®, 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, policymakers, 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:

Jess Birken, MNM, Esq.

Jess is the owner of Birken Law Office PLLC, a boutique law firm serving nonprofits and charitable entities with their compliance and operational issues. Jess empowers nonprofits to achieve their mission by doing things right. She connects clients with the right tools, right coaching and right contacts. Ms. Birken is a nationally recognized attorney both for her service and understanding of the nonprofit & charitable sector as well as for her innovative subscription based law firm model. Listen to Jess' podcast Charity Therapy on your favorite podcast player.

Credentials

• BA, Sociology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• JD, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Magna Cum Laude
• MA, Nonprofit Management, Hamline University School of Business
• For additional information view LinkedIn

Litigation Support 

Ideal client engagements are with attorneys for either plaintiff or defendant representing nonprofits involved in complex nonprofit business or compliance cases.

Biography

Ms. Birken is the former CEO & Managing Partner at Urban Birken PLLC, a boutique firm that focused on serving the nonprofit community and started her own firm in 2016. Jess has extensive non-legal experience working inside nonprofit organizations for most of her career prior to law school as well as after attaining her masters.

Before becoming a private practice attorney, Ms. Birken served inside a mid-sized national nonprofit organization, Pheasants Forever. In that role she managed ~$50,000,000 in state and federal government grants and worked on hundreds of conservation real estate transactions. Jess is deeply experienced in the reality of federal grants management across the entire life cycle. Ms. Birken has a deep understanding of the norms and best practices of the nonprofit sector, as well as the legal and regulatory environment these organizations exist within. This expertise was developed through her academic work obtaining a Masters in Nonprofit Management, in the work environment and through private practice experience.

Birken Law Video Introduction

Contact Information

You can contact Ms. Birken via e-mail or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

Click here to schedule a free call now.

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

Richard George is a Banking Expert Witness with 30 years of experience as a Commercial Banker for a global bank with emphasis in commercial real estate underwriting.  Formerly community bank CEO. Twenty-five years as expert witness.  Have Testified at deposition and at trial more than 50 times for major law firm clients.  Have testified for both Plaintiffs and Defendants.

Ideal Client Engagement - Major law firm acting on behalf of major banks in cases involving board-level issues.