Real Estate: Agent / Broker - Standard of Care Expert Witnesses: 12

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

James H. Cantrell, CPM®CAM is a recognized Real Estate Property Management Expert with over 40 years experience. He has served as an expert witness for over 15 years in over 300 cases throughout the country. He is active in day to day management.   Mr. Cantrell has managed a variety of product types, apartments, high-rise office, condominium  association management, industrial/warehouse properties, retail, and large hotels. He is currently active in day to day asset and property management and has established management programs that have maximized the values of the various investments. He is experienced in Case analysis and Court testimony.

Background - Mr. Cantrell served as the President of Cantrell, Harris & Associates, a San Francisco-based real estate management and consulting firm that was formed 30 years ago. He has formed Cantrell Associates which provides property management, litigation support, and expert witness services.  He is a CA Real Estate Broker.  He was an Associate Professor at Golden Gate University for 9 years teaching a  Real Estate Asset/Property management course in the MBA program. He is a graduate of the University of Miami and holds the Certified Property Manager  (CPM) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) where he has been on the faculty for 30 years teaching many courses throughout the United States, Russia and Poland.   

He has an extensive career starting with Arlen Realty as a property supervisor, handling properties in the United States Investment Fund Portfolio, and has held the position of Equity Administrator with Clevetrust Realty Investors, responsible for managing numerous properties throughout the Country. He also served as Treasurer of Regency Equities, a Real Estate Investment Trust, traded on NASDQE, and was President of Plaza Equities Management, Inc., with a national portfolio of mixed assets under his direction. He has served as a Court appointed Receiver on all types of assets throughout California.

Litigation Support - Mr. Cantrell has served or consulted as an expert on behalf of both Plaintiffs and Defendants in over 300 cases. He is uniquely qualified with his experience and teaching background and is your best choice as an expert in litigation.

Areas of Expertise:

View James Cantrell's Consulting Profile.

Rick Rivera is a Commercial Real Estate Professional and Shopping Center Property, Asset Management, and Brokerage Expert in Southern California. In the real estate business for 30 plus years. 

Mr. Rivera is currently Principal of CBM1, Inc. transacting hundreds of leasing and sales deals per year with a team of 12 agents. 

Former President of Centers Business Management (CBM), overseeing 11 million square feet of shopping centers, thousands of tenants, several hundred landlord clients and dozens of property managers and leasing agents. Clients included private and institutional investors.

Areas of Expertise:

Litigation Support - Mr. Rivera offers expert witness services in cases involving commercial real estate. His services are available to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant and include thorough reporting, deposition, and trial testimony as needed. He has also served as a court appointed receiver.

Lawsuit Experience:

View CBM1's Consulting Profile.

Jack G. Cohen has been involved in the Private Money Lending and  Real Estate Industry for over 30 years. He is currently the managing member and director of a private money real estate lending, real estate development, and investment property management company. He is also the San Fernando Realty Real Estate Investment director of the California Bureau of Real Estate. 

Mr. Cohen has experience with commercial, residential, and retail real estate, and construction lending.

Litigation Support: Mr. Cohen has been retained as an expert witness in Real Estate related cases over 50 times since 1990. He represents both Plaintiff and Defense and is experienced with complex cases. His services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

Dick Bridy, PhD, is a Commercial Real Estate expert and entrepreneur with over 40 years of Commercial Real Estate Development, Brokerage, Investment, Leasing, Private Equity Sourcing, Operations, Construction, and Asset Management experience. He is the CEO of DBI Group (DBI) and Bedrock Investments Group (BIG), Bedrock 1st Mortgage, DBI Commercial Real Estate, and a principal of DBI Asset Management. 

Background Experience - Dr. Bridy and his team entitled and built two shopping centers and five single tenant properties. In addition, he has contracted for the redevelopment of over 3.5 million sq. ft. in 14 shopping centers in the Midwest and the Western US.

An accomplished scholar, Dr. Bridy is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.Sc. in Economics. His graduate studies garnered academic honors recognition from the San Diego State University Graduate School of Business, the Marshall School at the University of Southern California, and the University of Phoenix, from which he received an MBA, EMBA, and PhD respectively.

For decades, Dr. Bridy has served on the boards of many prominent real estate organizations, including the National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, San Diego County Commercial Association of Realtors, and CCIM.

Litigation Support - Dr. Dick Bridy delivers real estate expert witness testimony for the commercial real estate and brokerage industry nationwide. He has been engaged by both plaintiff and defense attorneys. As a commercial real estate CEO, investor, developer, asset manager, broker, and syndicator, Dr. Bridy is an excellent communicator, honed by many years in leadership and advisory positions in the commercial real estate industry and as a Marine Corps officer.

Services include consultation, case review, technical investigation, IME’s, research, laboratory work (in-house or otherwise), report preparation, depositions, arbitration, mediation, court appearances, standby, cancellation of court deposition, and travel. 

Areas of Expertise: 

View Bedrock Consulting Group's Consulting Profile.

Robert S. Griswold, CRE, CPM, CCIM, ACoM, RPA, PCAM, CCAM, GRI, ARM, has over 30 years of specialized experience in the field of Real Estate Management. He is currently active as a day-to-day hands-on, licensed practitioner, consultant, and expert witness in all aspects of real estate (except valuation). A 3-time graduate of the distinguished Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California with a BS ('81), MBA ('86) and MSBA (2nd Masters) ('88) in real estate and related disciplines, Mr. Griswold is a recognized expert on management of all types of residential real estate. He has actively managed over 60,000 residential units and several million square feet of commercial, industrial, self-storage and retail properties nationally. He has extensive experience as a court-appointed receiver (over 160 times) for private lenders and major financial institutions. 

Litigation Support - In the last 30+ years, Mr. Griswold has consulted on over 4,000 litigation matters, has been deposed over 700 times, and provided sworn testimony in trial or arbitration on over 200 occasions in both state and federal litigation matters throughout the United States. Also serving as a court-appointed bankruptcy Custodian and Referee, his case work is very evenly divided between plaintiff and defense work. Mr. Griswold is uniquely qualified to opine on real estate related litigation matters having authored or co-authored the 12 best selling real estate books: Real Estate Investing For Dummies; Property Management Kit For Dummies; Mortgage Management for Dummies and Landlord's Legal Kit For Dummies. His 15+ years as an On-Air NBC-TV Real Estate Expert and a similar tenure as a major radio station weekly talk show host have prepared him to present opinions to juries. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Robert Griswold's Consulting Profile.

Andrew Allocco, PE, is a leading Construction Consultant, Florida Certified Contractor, Florida Licensed Public Insurance Adjuster and Real Estate Broker. With over 45 years of experience in his fields of expertise, Mr. Allocco's services are sought by individuals, corporations, developers, and law firms to oversee and advise on construction projects. He is the current owner of construction, real estate, and engineering consulting firms.

Background Experience - Mr. Allocco is the President of Indian River Construction Services, Inc. Prior to his current role, he served as the President of Better Homes Construction Services, Inc. of Miami, Florida, which performed in excess of 40,000 Building Inspections. As a Forensic Consulting Engineer, he inspects Commercial, Residential, and Industrial Facilities before, during, and after construction. He assists property owners with complex insurance claims, some of which involve significant and lengthy litigation

Mr. Allocco is not only licensed in the State of Florida as a Professional Engineer and Licensed Public Insurance Adjuster, he holds more Florida certified contractor licenses both presently active and past than any other individual in the State

Litigation Support - Since the early 1970s, Andrew Allocco has been an Expert Witness in many court and arbitration cases involving disputes between owners, builders, contractors, and architects. He has extensive knowledge of the court litigation process and has assisted law firms in providing facts and questions to be used during depositions and discovery motions. Mr. Allocco's services include inspection reports on the status of the property, depositions, trial testimony, arbitration, and mediation hearings.

Areas of Expertise:

Insurance Litigation and Structural Consulting - Mr. Allocco is also called upon by insurance companies and attorneys representing property owners to help adjusters evaluate loss. He has been retained to investigate the cause of structural failures, determine the extent of the structural damage, develop subrogation information, prepare the scope of repair, develop a repair design, draft specifications, and more. Mr. Allocco also has experience with code upgrades and notice of dangerous conditions, including hurricanes such as Hurricane Andrew.

View Andrew Allocco's Consulting Profile.

P. Marc Fischer, MBA, CPM^®, RPA^®, CCIM^®, LEED^® GA, BOMA Fellow 

Marc Fischer is a nationally recognized Commercial Real Estate (CRE) expert with more than 30 years of proven performance in the fields of property management, building operations, and asset management. He is widely recognized as an innovative and dynamic leader, and he teaches, writes, and speaks to audiences around the world about CRE topics.

Litigation Support - As an expert witness, Mr. Fischer assists landlord and tenant counsel in finding the truth. His services include thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. Mr. Fischer supports both plaintiff and defendant counsel in a variety of real estate related issues including:

Highlights Include:

• 30 years of experience in all aspects of commercial real estate (CRE) property management, asset management, property operations, and construction
• MBA in Management / Organizational Behavior

Industry Designations:

• Real Property Administrator (RPA®)
• Certified Property Manager (CPM®) Designee
• Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM®) Designee
• LEED® Green Associate
• BOMA Fellow

Author of eight (8) CRE textbooks published by BOMA International (all translated into Mandarin):

• Acquisitions, Dispositions & Underwriting textbook
• Measuring Financial Returns textbook
• Lease Analysis, Evaluation, Negotiation, and Approval textbook
• Foundations of Real Estate Management textbook
• BOMA International Proactive Maintenance Guidebook for Industrial Properties
• Managing Industrial Properties
• Guide to Developing a Standard Operating Procedure Manual
• BOMA International Guide to Exterior Maintenance Manual

View InpiRE CRE, LLC's Consulting Profile.

Jeffrey S. Lapin, CPM, ARM, DREI, is an expert in maintenance and management procedures and reasonable standards of care for commercial and residential properties including multifamily properties and HOA's. He has been directly involved in Real Estate Management, Leasing and Construction for over 40 years. 

Mr. Lapin is a Certified Property Manager (CPM®) and an Accredited Residentlal Manager (ARM), certified by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®), a California licensed Real Estate Broker and a Tennessee licensed Affiliate Broker. Mr. Lapin is a certified instructor for IREM® and is a co-author of IREM's Maintenance and Risk Management Course. Mr. Lapin teaches for the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA®) and is a Distinguished Real Estate Instructor (DREI). Mr. Lapin teaches courses for these prestigious international property associations, including courses required by IREM® and by BOMA® for the respective professional accreditations they offer, centered around construction and maintenance topics. He also served as President of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM®) Chapter 22 in Sacramento, California in 2016. 

Mr. Lapin specializes in Standards of Care for Landlords, Property Maintenance and Inspection Procedures, Management Policies and Procedures, and Asset Value Protection. His background includes roles with institutional landlords including TIAA CREF, MetLife, The New England Life Insurance Company, and Principal Mutual Life, as well as a diverse group of private property owners. His experience is in managing and leasing all types of property including commercial and multi-family residential, industrial, office, and retail real estate assets. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Lapin provides expert witness services on Commercial and Residential Real Estate Standards of Practice. His cases involve injuries, personal and financial, that occur as a result of an alleged failure by a commercial landlord to follow reasonable standards of care, for either the landlord or a non-landlord plaintiff's counsel. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Jeffery Lapin's Consulting 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:

Christopher Hanson, JD, CCIM, has over 44 years of experience in the Real Estate Industry. A retired trial lawyer of over 25 years who's dealt exclusively with real estate cases, Mr. Hanson currently provides subject matter expertise in all areas of real estate litigation.
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Background Experience - As a California real estate trial attorney, Mr. Hanson has participated in over 880 Trials, Arbitrations, and Mediations (only 3 UDs). Cases have included negligence, fraud, non-disclosure, breaches of fiduciary duty, and contract. He's defended and sued brokers and their insurance companies. He has represented bidders, borrowers, and banks in regard to foreclosures; and both sides in loan workouts, and worked with national chains doing state-wide store rollouts, and lease renegotiations.  

Prior to his time as an attorney, Mr. Hanson worked for 12+/- years as a Real Estate Broker, actively selling and leasing property (commercial and residential). He holds a CCIM designation, earned by doing deals.  Before his role as a broker, he spent 7+/- years as a title insurance company Advisory Title Officer, where he researched and wrote Preliminary Reports.

Litigation Support - Mr. Hanson offers a balanced and unbiased opinion. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include document review, depositions, and discovery, along with arbitration and mediation. His opinion takes into account all the technicalities and nuances of real estate along with his 4 decades of experience, and is delivered in a way a jury can easily understand. 

Areas of Expertise:

Steven D. Epcar, CPM an Expert in Real Estate and Property Management Issues with 35+ years of experience;including residential, commercial, retail, hotel, condominium and mixed-use properties. Experienced in litigation support including standard of care, partnership conflicts, brokerage issues,landlord/tenant, valuation, personal injury, habitability, environmental, life safety cases. 

Steven is a member of the Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA).  He serves as a real estate consultant for institutional and private investors, providing an array of services: asset/property management related assignments, organizational assessments, financial feasibility, due diligence,and new development services. 

Previously, Mr. Epcar served as President, Residential Services for Carmel Partners a R/E investment/management firm in San Francisco, Principal/Founding Partner of Ventana Property Services, a West Coast third party management and consulting firm and President,Prometheus Management Group,a development/investment/management firm.

Areas of Expertise: