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.
Garson M. Caruso, MD, MPH, PA, is a board certified Occupational Physician in private consulting practice with extensive clinical and administrative experience in emergency and occupational medicine, including:
Case Review, Analysis, and Management
Impairment Determination and Disability Rating
Medical Direction
Industrial Illness and Injury Care
Medical Review Officer functions
Dr. Caruso has performed occupational health services and consulting for organizations including Lockheed Martin, Bechtel Aberdeen, PepsiCo, Dean Foods, The New York Transit Authority, and multiple Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. He has very broad and in-depth case management and file review experience involving complex disability and workers’ compensation claims. He is a Fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) and International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators (IAIME); a Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME; 2009-2014); and a Certified Medical Review Officer. He has also held numerous leadership roles in ACOEM, and both published and presented at national, state, and local conferences in his areas of expertise. Dr. Caruso's primary professional interests are worker disability prevention and management, with a particular focus on the psychosocial aspects of occupational medicine and workers compensation, and prevention or minimization of unnecessary work disability.
Litigation Support - Dr. Caruso's expertise is available to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. His services include Independent Medical Evaluations, written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Dr. Caruso is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, New York, Virginia, Louisiana, and North Carolina.
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:
Executive Compensation
Employment and Hiring Practices
Wrongful Dismissal
Lost Earnings
FINRA Arbitration
Employment Discrimination
Compensation Consulting
Institutional Asset Management
Mutual Funds
Hedge Funds
Private Equity
Wealth Management
Broker / Dealers
Retail Financial Advisory
Sales Process for Investment Products
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.
Fred Whittlesey is an Internationally-recognized expert providing expert testimony and litigation support services in Executive Compensation, Stock-Based Compensation, and all aspects of Employee Compensation. Mr. Whittlesey formed Compensation Venture Group to leverage his 20 years of consulting experience in a portfolio of compensation advisory and data solutions centered around consulting to Boards of Directors and senior management teams to develop financially-oriented solutions to complex compensation issues.
Erin O’Callaghan BS, MA, JD, CRC, NCC, LPC, CLCP, is a Life Care Planner, Vocational Rehabilitation Consultant, and Licensed Attorney with over 15 years of experience as a Rehabilitation Professional. Ms. O’Callaghan has consistently provided the highest standards of professional ethics while staying current with the needs of modern and complex litigation. Her experience and training gives a unique perspective as a forensic rehabilitation evaluator. She has an in depth understanding of the evidentiary requirements of an expert’s evaluation and conclusion, including the importance of following an accepted methodology in the process and preparation of an opinion. Ms. O’Callaghan is a member of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, International Academy of Life Care Planners, Michigan Rehabilitation Association, and the Michigan Bar Association. She is also a qualified Vocational Expert by the Social Security Administration. Erin O’Callaghan has been providing Litigation Support to counsel for Plaintiff and Defense for 15 years. She has provided over 1,000 cost projections and has testified in both Federal and State cases. Ms. O’Callaghan has specialized knowledge of the Affordable Care Act, Social Security issues and Medicare Set Asides. Her services include case management, earning capacity evaluations, life care planning and lien disputes. Litigation Support Services for:
Dr. Christopher A. Lowery, DHSc, CLCP is a Clinical Health & Rehabilitation Consultant with a special interest in helping individuals and organizations with public health impairment issues.
Since 2002, Dr. Lowery passion is to educate, empower and provide hope to individuals that deal with catastrosphic health impairments by educating them on how to live a better quality of life due to poor health care conditions, which will address social, cultural and behavioral barriers across all diverse populations.
He currently hold the following degrees from University of North Texas, Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Studies (07); University of Oklahoma, Master of Arts in Human and Health Administration Services (10); Capital University Law School, Post-Speciality Certificate in Life Care Planning (12); University of Arkansas, Post-Master's Certificate in Rehabilitation Counseling (14); and Nova Southeastern University, Doctor of Health Science in Global Health (16).
Due to the broad knowledge of education, he practice as an expert on the following topics: expert testimony, litigation support, vocational evaluations, employment support/job placement, earnings capacity evaluations, rehabilitation consulting, life care planning, provide reviews/opinions on independent medical examinations, disability case management, and a wide range of public health, medical, psychological and psychosocial aspect of disabilities.
**If you have a case that needs Dr. Lowery's expertise, please feel free to give his office a call for a free consultation.
Note: Please see below or website for more expertise areas. Areas of Expertise:
Vocational Evaluations
Employment Support/Job Placement
Life Care Planning
Personal Injury
Medical Malpractice / Medical Negligence
Counseling
Independent Medical Examiniation Review
Family Law / Domestic Relations
Worker’s Compensation
Veteran’s Benefits
Labor and Employment Discrimination
Jones Act / Longshoreman Cases
Matrimonial / Divorce Matters
Health & Rehabilitation Education
Expert Testimony on a variety of health related topics
Gordon Kamisar, Esq., is a certified expert in Executive Recruiting, who has placed hundreds of different executives in the past 27 years in a variety of industries, and who also has a sub-specialty in Attorney Recruiting. A Duke Law School graduate who received his B.A., with distinction, from the University of Michigan, Gordon Kamisar is President of his own executive search firm.
Litigation Support - Mr. Kamisar has been deemed qualified as an expert in trial court, and was found in a recent court opinion to be a "credible and knowledgeable" expert on the subject of executive and attorney placements and compensation, testifying for the defendant employer. Mr. Kamisar has experience testifying in depositions and at trial. He is available to travel nationally and within the past two years has testified in cases in San Francisco, Dallas, and New York City.
Mr. Kamisar has served as an expert witness on the subjects of:
Executive and Attorney Employability
Executive and Attorney Compensation
Executive and Attorney Marketability
Executive and Attorney Earning Capacity
Executive and Attorney Job Search Analysis
Executive and Attorney Hiring Practices
Executive and Attorney Recruitment
Plaintiff / Employee Mitigation of Damages
Recent Cases
Presently retained in a federal New York City case involving an associate attorney at an AmLaw100 law firm alleging termination was in retaliation for reporting ethical concerns
Served as an expert for plaintiff on the subject of executive and attorney employability, job search analysis and mitigation of damages in federal district court in San Francisco (N.D. Cal.) case of Wadler v. Bio- Rad Laboratories, Inc. where plaintiff was awarded approximately $11 million in damages plus attorneys fees when the jury found violations of Whistleblower protections in the retaliatory firing of the company's Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Served as an expert in a Dallas case on the subject of the employability of dismissed Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager
Kit Darby was the president of AIR, Inc., the largest Career Information Resource company for pilots for 25 years. Mr. Darby Provides Answers and Statistical Data, but also Guidance through the Constantly Changing Aviation Industry. He works with Military, General Aviation, Corporate, and Commuter Pilots transitioning to the larger airlines. Mr. Darby provides complete, timely, and accurate career information to help pilots make informed decisions throughout their job search and to assist them in their career development as an airline pilot. Retired United Airlines captain, airline and military instructor pilot.
AIR-Experts Services Provided:
Pilot Career Earnings and Employability Models
Depositions and Trials
Expert Witness and Litigation Support
Case Preparation and Analysis
Pilot Forecasting:
Pilot Hiring and Equipment forecast
Economic Forecast
Pilot Supply and Demand
Pilot Hiring Trends
Pilot hiring requirements
target="blank">www.air-experts.com and www.KitDarby.com
Dianne Simmons-Grab, MA, CCM, CDMS, CLCP, is Life Care Planning and Vocational Rehabilitation specialist with over 30 years of experience. She is a Certified Case Manager, Certified Disability Manager, and a Certified Life Care Planner.
Professional Associations and Experience - Ms. Simmons-Grab has taken an active role in the rehabilitation industry on a national level by serving on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) for six years (1997-2004), and on the state level by serving on the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Brain Injury Association (2000-2004). She also served on several committees and taskforces including the IARP Annual Conference as chair (2000-2006), TBI Medicaid Waiver Taskforce, New Jersey Brain Injury Association Conference Planning Committee for over 11 years serving as co-chair (2001-2005), the NARPPS ethics committee, the NJ CMSA ethics committee, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for Padula Institute of Vision and Sage Rehab, Inc.
Litigation Support - Dianne Simmons-Grab is routinely retained by plaintiffs and defendants due to her unbiased opinion and thorough review. Her primary focus is on individuals with Brain Injuries and their secondary injuries including orthopedic, amputations, burns, and mental health issues. Her expertise is called upon for Workers’ Compensation, Catastrophic Injury, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, and Motor Vehicle Accidents. Ms. Simmons-Grab's services include:
Life Care Planning:
Future Medical Costs & Services - comprehensive assessment, data analysis and research which provides an organized concise plan for current and future needs with associated costs for individuals who have experienced catastrophic injury or have chronic health care needs
Medical Record Review & Analysis - to determine the level of function in the workplace and the subjects' ultimate employability and recovery
Following a neurological event such as a traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular event, multiple sclerosis, etc., the medical needs of the person are of primary importance initially, for purposes of survival. As medical treatment proceeds and the survival needs of the person are met, the team of rehabilitation professionals will be established in an attempt to improve upon function performance in order to sustain quality of life. The rehabilitation team may be composed of a physician, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, recreational therapist, vocational specialist, case manager, the psychologist, social worker, and nurse, to name several. It is often during this tim e that additional medical and rehabilitative needs are identified through diagnosis or observation by member s of the rehabilitation team.
1. Proper Classification of Past Relevant Work (PRW)
A. Define PRW according to Recency and Duration
B. Job Titles, including DOT codes, according to the U.S Dep't. of Labor (Source document)
C. Skill (SVP) and Exertional Level (Posture and Lift/Carry)
Susan D. Green, M.S., CRC, FVE, ABVE has been active in the rehabilitation community for over 20 years in the areas of Workers' Compensation, Disability Management, and Vocational Consulting. Ms. Green is a Forensic Vocational Expert, Certified Vocational Expert and Certified Vocational Counselor. Since 1995, she has been President of Susan Green and Associates. Ms. Green provides expert testimony as requested by plaintiff and defense attorneys as well as by the Court.
Ms. Green's services include counseling industrially injured workers under the auspices of the State Department of Industrial Accidents. She offers comprehensive vocational rehabilitation counseling, vocational exploration, evaluation, research, plan development, monitoring and job placement services.
Areas of Expertise:
Forensic Rehabilitation Vocationologist
Vocational/Employability Evaluations
Return-to-Work Services
Post-Incident Mitigation Potential
Loss of Expected Earnings and Earnings Capacity Analysis
Dr. Jeffrey D. Joy is a Vocational Expert with more than 20 years of experience serving persons with disabilities in various vocational rehabilitation settings. Dr. Joy's past work includes that of Director of Vocational Services and Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Department of Veterans Affairs and has served persons in various vocational rehabilitation settings. He is Nationally Certified as a Rehabilitation Counselor by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification as well as a Board Certified Vocational Expert.
Dr. Joy has been qualified as a Vocational Expert to the Social Security Administration and accepted as a Vocational Expert from members of the Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts Bars. He has been called as both a consulting and testifying Vocational Expert in Personal Injury, Workers Compensation, and Family Law matters. Dr. Joy consults on complex disability related matters including:
Employment and Catastrophic Injury
Earning Capacity and Employability in Family law, Workmen's Compensation, Personal Injury, and Social Security Disability
Lost Earning Capacity & Present Value Analyses
Vocational Expert for Social Security Administration Disability Hearings
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:
Dr. Christopher A. Lowery, DHSc, CLCP is a Clinical Health & Rehabilitation Consultant with a special interest in helping individuals and organizations with public health impairment issues.
Dianne Simmons-Grab, MA, CCM, CDMS, CLCP, is Life Care Planning and Vocational Rehabilitation specialist with over 30 years of experience. She is a Certified Case Manager, Certified Disability Manager, and a Certified Life Care Planner.
