Securities Finance Expert Witnesses

Craig A. Wolson acts as a Structured Finance and Derivatives Expert Witness and Consultant. He specializes in cases involving credit default swaps (CDS), collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and other types of derivatives and securities.

Background Experience Includes: Acting on behalf of 40,000 investors in $1.6 billion class action suit against bankrupt sponsor of special purpose issuer of notes secured by notes issued by CDO and credit default swaps with sponsor; acting on behalf of class led by two major pension funds against a major bank and numerous large underwriters involving mortgage-backed securities issued by several vehices established by the bank, and securities issued by the bank; acting on behalf of large investment bank defendant in arbitration proceeding brought by another large investment bank involving nine CDOS established by defendant; acting on behalf of large bank that had invested in now-worthless notes issued by SIV established by defendant banks; acting on behalf of large bank against another large bank that had sold the former CDOs and CDS.

Areas of Expertise:

• Securitizations
• Derivatives
• Securities Law and Corporate Finance
• Loans and Credit Facilities
• Due Diligence

SEDA Experts is a boutique consulting firm specializing in Financial Services. They provide superior independent advice, data analytics, valuation, and expert testimony services to financial institutions and law firms in both litigation and business contexts.

Their experts have unmatched industry experience in a vast array of financial services practices. With over 30 years as global managing directors at leading financial institutions and consulting firms, each of their experts is dedicated to applying exceptional real-world economic, financial, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges.  

SEDA Experts provides independent advice, financial consulting, data analytics, valuation, and expert testimony services to financial institutions and law firms in both litigation and business contexts.

Services:

Richard A. Marin, Managing Director, a former finance senior executive with over 40 years of industry experience, and a former clinical professor at Cornell University, is a world-class testifying expert. Mr. Marin is a Finance, Real Estate, and Venture Capital industry executive who is currently the CEO of Low Emissions Resources Corporation.  He also is involved in managing private equity investments, consulting on major commercial real estate and attractions projects, and an expert in the retirement field.

Mr. Marin was previously a senior executive at three major financial institutions; Bankers Trust Company, Deutsche Bank and Bear Stearns.  His initial career spanned corporate finance, sales and trading, structured products, emerging markets, processing, and several other disciplines. Later in his career, he focused on building and running large asset management businesses in both the traditional and alternative spaces and in the institutional and high net worth markets. He also served as Chairman and CEO of AFI (USA), a major distressed commercial and residential property developer, for whom he restructured over $2B of liabilities. 

Mr. Marin has been a successful financial entrepreneur, involved in founding several venture capital firms (Beehive Ventures and Green Visor Capital) and a hedge fund (Ironwood Global).  He served as CEO of the New York Wheel, a $650 million development project, from 2012 to 2017.  He is currently the CEO of Low Emission Resource Corporation, a start-up scientific research & development company working in the areas of hydrogen and ammonia production. 

He is a published author of Global Pension Crisis: Unfunded Liabilities and How We Can Fill the Gap (Wiley & Sons, 2013), Mater Gladiatrix (Lulu Press, 2017) and Gulag 401k: Tales of a Modern Prisoner (Lulu Press, 2017). View full Vitae.

 Areas of Expertise: 

Kenneth Simmons, Managing Director, has over 30 years of industry experience as Executive Vice President at leading financial institutions, and at regulatory agencies such as OCC and FDIC. He is a Review Board Member and Faculty member at the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, and the North & South Metro Atlanta Compliance Roundtable Founder and Chairperson at the Community Bankers Association. 

He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer at Origin Bank, and in a similar position at Hamilton State Bank. During his career he was responsible for all aspects of Regulatory Compliance, he devised comprehensive BSA/AML Programs including complex layers of investigations and an enhanced monitoring system to exceed Supervisory Expectations, and developed comprehensive risk assessments, audit schedule and compliance testing programs addressing regulatory inventory of risks.

Mr. Simmons served the Office of the Comptroller Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as Compliance/ BSA Specialist Bank Examiner. During his tenure with the OCC he was the functional Examiner-in-Charge (FEIC) on complex BSA & Compliance examinations, and the Supervisory Review Examiner for BSA/AML, fair lending, and CRA examinations. 

He evaluated effectiveness of AML systems (such as FCRM, Bankers Toolbox, and FIS (Prime) and formulated opinions on the use of such systems. He also worked directly with Supervisory office and legal staff regarding BSA/AML violations, MRAs, and consent order issuances, providing guidance and direction to financial institutions regarding resolution of these matters.

In addition, he served as the General Audit Manager for a multi-billion dollar financial institution, and he served as a Compliance Officer for several financial institutions.  View full Vitae.

Areas of Expertise:

Kevin D. Oden, Managing Director, has unrivaled Financial Risk Management expertise and over 30 years of financial markets experience with leading financial institutions firms Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, holding executive positions. 

Mr. is an innovative risk manager and entrepreneur with a strong track record of leading risk teams to the forefront of industry practice. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Risk Management Association (RMA) and on the RMA Journal Editorial Advisory Board and the financial technology firm Scienaptic Systems.

During his career, he managed small and large teams (as many as 4000) across a number of risk disciplines including market risk, counterparty risk, model validation, risk model development, operational risk, cyber security, financial crimes and compliance. Developed an industry leading practice in model risk management with patents pending on several innovations in system design. Highly successful at building working relationships with business leaders as well as U.S. and foreign regulators. 

Mr. Oden has over 30 years of industry experience, including risk management, trading, sales, portfolio management. Superior quantitative background and communication skills provide a unique ability to deliver risk insight to all stakeholders and influence decision making throughout the firm. He was a member of Wells Fargo’s management committee and Asset Liability Committee (ALCO). 

Dr. Oden was an Executive Vice President and Head of Operational Risk and Compliance within Corporate Risk at Wells Fargo & Co., managing second-line risk activities across information security, financial crimes risk, model risk, operational risk, regulatory compliance risk, and technology risk. Prior to this he was the Chief Market & Institutional Risk officer for Wells Fargo & Co.  View full Vitae.

Areas of Expertise:

Mr. Campbell has over 30 years of financial industry experience.  He is the principal of a financial litigation and investment management consulting firm, Kerry Campbell LLC, where he serves as a financial expert witness during litigations and provides consulting services to financial institutions and investors.

He has worked in investment research and portfolio construction, as a Managing Director at Arden Asset Management, and as a Senior Vice President at Guggenheim Partners.  He has worked in prime broker risk management as a Managing Director at Bear Stearns.  Prior to that he worked as a commissioned registered representative, a funding officer and as a credit analyst/loan officer.

He is an Approved FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator, a Chartered Financial Analyst^®, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™ and a Securities Experts Roundtable Member.  He has held the following licenses: Series 7 – General Securities Representative, Series 55 – Equity Trader Representative, Series 63 – New York Uniform Agent and Series 65 – Uniform Investment Advisor.

Litigation Support - Mr. Campbell has served as the sole experience witness for the claimant in an $8.7 million award. (See: www.gerardfoxlaw.com/news/firm-news/gerard-fox-law-attorneys-earn-landmark-87-million-victory-against-wells-fargo-advisors-in-finra-arbitration-for-decorated-retired-ceo/. In addition, he has served as an expert witness for petitioners in State Court, for defendants in Federal District Court, for claimants and respondents in FINRA Arbitrations, and for claimants in offshore Federal Courts. He has been retained by institutional investors, high net worth investors, and large global diversified financial institutions. 

Areas of Expertise:

Financial Management Consulting Group is an affiliation of well-experienced consultants serving banking interests throughout the country. Our years of experience, as bankers, as bank consultants, and as regulators provide valuable insight into case matters. We can assist both from the industry perspective and from the regulatory perspective, offering a comprehensive assessment and well-supported opinion. We have qualified as experts in numerous State and Federal jurisdictions and on numerous banking-related matters. We are dedicated to providing clients with quality, results-oriented service.

Areas of Expertise:

• Lender Liability
• Depository Standard of Care
• Lender Standard of Care
• Check Fraud and Scams
• Fidelity Bond Claim
• Failed Bank Analysis

View Mr. Finn's Consultant Profile.

• Leveraged and Unleveraged ESOP Transactions
• Acquisitions and Sales of Employer Stock by Company Retirement plans
• Company Stock in Other Qualified Plans
• ERISA Sec. 404 (c) protection for Employer Stock
• Pass-through Voting and Tender Offer Decision Making
• Management and Divestiture of Shares
• Satisfying Independent Fiduciary Requirement for Meeting Prohibited Transaction Exemption in Connection with Settlement of Litigation Per P.T. Exemption 2003-39 of 12-31-03
• Orphan Plans
• Rabbi trusts

Expert Witness Consulting Services, LLC (EWCS) provides a range of services to law firms, litigation trustees and others engaged in expert witness and related activities. We provide up-front assessment of cases, drafting assistance in writing the economic core of complaints; other consulting expert work; and testifying expert witness reports and testimony. As an affiliate of Gordian Group (one of the leading national restructuring investment banking firms), EWCS can tap Gordian's vast experience in litigation assignments, particularly relating to matters involving solvency, valuation, fairness and Board of Directors responsibilities. In addition, EWCS has built a nationwide cadre of other independent experts so that we can assist law firms and mediators in finding the right expert for each case.EWCS connects vetted and specialized expert witness professionals to law firms across the nation. With its incremental, litigation-experienced professional resources and national recognition within the legal community, EWCS’ mission is to work diligently with client law firms and mediators to provide exceptional work product in an efficient manner, starting with finding the right expert for each case. 

As Experts and Consultants, the professionals at EWCS are able to provide clients and Boards of Directors with advice and guidance in structuring transactions appropriately, and in delivering financial opinions in connection with the same. They can reconstruct financial data through forensic analysis in order to explain how financial markets or decision makers may have made decisions. When it comes to evaluating the performance of boards, management teams, and financial institutions, the experts at EWCS are well-positioned to have a credible point of view, given their experience in cleaning up the aftermath of corporate disasters and fraud up close. The EWCS professionals have substantial experience in most industries, including but not limited to aerospace and defense; consumer goods; electronic technology; finance and insurance; food and beverages; heavy industry and manufacturing; life sciences; metals & mining; oil & gas and energy; real estate and hospitality; and retail and apparel. Their experts have done transactions within these segments, and use their “real world” experience in approaching projects. 

Areas of Expertise:

Kelly T. Hickel, Co-founder at EWCS, is a Financial and Business Advisor who has served as a senior executive for over 30 years. Mr. Hickel has many years of experience in the technology industry and with turnarounds of troubled companies. Throughout his career, he has arranged numerous private and public company financings and financial restructurings and has raised and/or returned over a $1 billion to investors and lenders. Mr. Hickel served as Turn-around President to Miniscribe Corp., a troubled Fortune 500, $600 million annual revenue disk drive manufacturer, and President of the Maxwell Technology Information Systems Group from 1993 until 1997, during which, Maxwell was the 9th best performing stock on NASDAQ and the #1 performing stock in California in 1996. As Chairman and Chief Restructuring Office of The Tyree Company in Farmingdale, New York, Mr. Hickel was responsible for running the largest oil downstream services company in the northeast. With all of his experience, he then founded and managed emerging Pharmaceutical companies, taking a product through FDA approval for a supplement through distribution in over 2000 retail pharmacy outlets. Beltway Catalyst recently interviewed Kelly T. Hickel for their Thought Leader Spotlight. Check out the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/gPg23ue 

Jim Timmins, ASA BV/IA, MAFF, CEP, is the Managing Director and heads the valuation, litigation, and advisory services practices at Teknos. He has worked in Silicon Valley for more than 35 years, as a Valuation expert, a Venture Capitalist, and an Investment Banker. Mr. Timmins has overseen 1,000s of valuations, fairness opinions, and solvency opinions in connection with financial reporting, tax compliance, merger and acquisition transactions, financings, spin-offs, and recapitalizations, and litigation. He has also participated in numerous merger and acquisition transactions, private placements, and public offerings during his career. Prior to forming Teknos, Mr. Timmins was a Managing Director at Pagemill Partners, where he created and managed the valuation practice. Before that he was the Managing Director of the Silicon Valley office of NIF Ventures (the venture capital arm of Daiwa Securities SMBC of Japan), and a General Partner of Glenwood Ventures and Glenwood Capital. Earlier in his career, he held positions in investment banking at Hambrecht & Quist and Salomon Brothers. Mr. Timmins has served as an expert witness for more than 60 cases involving valuation, fiduciary duty, and venture capital practice. He has been retained as an expert by both plaintiffs and defendants.

Paul S. Black, President of Paul S. Black & Assoc., Inc. has more than 35 years of experience as a Real Estate Market Feasibility Analyst, including multiple types of residential, office, retail, industrial and mixed-use properties. Mr. Black has been employed by local and international accounting firms in their real estate consulting groups as well as local and regional consulting companies. For 20 years, Mr. Black has served as a lecturer/adjunct professor teaching Real Estate Principles and Practices as well as Real Estate Market Analysis at the graduate (MBA) and undergraduate levels. Areas of Expertise: Economic Damages, Construction Defects / Delay Damages, Lost Revenue / Profits, Unjust Enrichment, Due Diligence, Commission Disputes, Procuring Cause, Real Estate Brokerage, Broker/Realtor Standard of Care, Code of Ethics – National Association of Realtors (NAR), Real Estate Disputes, Fraud / Misrepresentation, Insurance Defense, Eminent Domain, Market Feasibility / Evaluation.

Bob Lawson,  AIF®, CFE®, MRFC®, LUTCF®, is a Securities & FINRA Expert Witness retained for FINRA arbitration, mediation, and federal/civil court litigation. Mr. Lawson possesses over 35 years of experience within the securities and insurance industries. In 1988, Mr. Lawson founded Barrington Capital Management, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisory firm and Insurance Agency, and currently serves as the Managing Principal of Barrington Financial Consulting Group, Inc, a 12-person Securities Litigation and Consulting Expert firm.

In addition, Mr. Lawson serves as a FINRA Mediator and presides as a FINRA & NFA Dispute Resolution Chairman for disputes concerning investors, financial services professionals, broker-dealers, and dually-registered investment advisers. Claims often arise regarding breach of fiduciary duties, securities fraud, employment disputes, conflicts of interest, churning, unsuitable investments, and failure to supervise, among others. Mr. Lawson also serves as a public mediator and is a Qualified Neutral under Minnesota Rule 114 of Standard Practice in Mediation and Arbitration. His breadth of experience includes managing and supervising FINRA broker-dealer branch offices as a Registered Securities Principal, Options Principal, and Chief Compliance Officer.

Mr. Lawson also has considerable experience with insurance products including variable annuities, fixed and indexed annuities, long term care, and life insurance. Mr. Lawson possesses numerous accolades and is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE®), Master Registered Financial Consultant (MRFC), and a Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF®).

Retaining Mr. Lawson as an Expert Witness and Litigation Consultant will clarify and address relevant issues pertaining to your case from an insider's point of view. Upon a thorough examination and analysis of the case material, Mr. Lawson’s conclusions and opinions are impartial, objective, and predicated upon years of industry expertise and experience. Expert testimony and reports are supported by thorough and detailed research through case-specific analysis.

Bob is an active in the following organizations:  Vice-Chairman - Master Registered Financial Consultants |  Mentorship and Practice Management Chair - Securities Experts Roundtable | Twin Cities Certified Fraud Examiners Association, Membership Chair - Minnesota State Bar Association ADR Section

Areas of Expertise:

• FINRA Expert Witness
• Securities Expert Witness
• FINRA Arbitration
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty
• Liabiity Expert
• Promissory Notes
• Securities Fraud Investigations
• Ponzi Schemes
• Options, Stocks & Bonds
• Due Diligence
• Professional Malpractice
• Economic Damages & Losses
• Employment Discrimination & Termination

Services:

• Litigation Consulting
• Unbiased Case Analysis
• Discovery Review & Recommendations
• Portfolio Risk Reports
• Securities Fraud Investigation
• Damage Calculations
• Expert Testimony

View Bob Lawson's Consulting Profile.

Alistair Hynd has over 15 years experience in Corporate Finance. He heads the Project Finance and Financial Modelling Team that functions at Baker Tilly Corporate Finance, LLP (Baker Tilly). Mr. Hynd specialises in Project Finance, PFI, PPP and Debt Advisory plus Financial Modeling. 

Mr. Hynd is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and member of the Institute's Corporate Finance faculty. He is also a full member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. Mr. Hynd's team at Baker Tilly can become involved in Project Finance or Financial Modeling in three ways:

• Financial Adviser to the Government – structuring projects, evaluating bids, and negotiating detail
• Financial Adviser to the Consortium – assembling the bid, refining and optimising it, and acting as interface with funding markets
• Acting for the Banks and other Lenders - providing reassurance that the model on which they are lending is fit for purpose.

Other Services Include

• Capital Markets: Reporting Accountants, Flotation e.g. advice on Financial Structuring, Accounting Systems and Policies, Share Option, Director / Employer Benefits, Audit and Taxation services
• Due Diligence: Historic Performance, Cash Flows, Assets and Liabilities, Forecasts, Working Capital Requirements, Financial Systems and Controls, Taxation
• Mergers and Acquisitions / Private Equity:Preparing / Maximise Value from Business Sales, Negotiate Terms and Raise Private Equity / Debt Finance to Support Management Buy Out or Buy In, Raising Private Equity / Debt Finance for Growth, Cash Out or Recapitalisation, etc.
• Valuations: Shares, Businesses, Options and Warrants, Various Derivatives, Brands and other Intellectual Property, Film and Media Rights,Income Producing Assets

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

Education:

• Princeton, 1964 (B.A., Economics, with honors)
• NYU Business School, 1966 (MBA, Top of class)

Expertise: Mr. Purcell has over 40 years of experience in every area of investment banking including the following:

• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Leveraged Buyouts and Recapitalizations
• Fairness Opinions and Fairness Issues
• Adequacy Opinions
• Solvency Opinions
• Bankruptcy issues, including fraudulent conveyance
• Valuations
• Advice to Special Committees of Boards
• Due Diligence and Disclosure Issues
• Fiduciary Issues
• Damage issues and analysis
• Lender Liability
• Fee issues
• Document Interpretation and Standards from investment banking point of views
• Criminal cases involving alleged securities violations and insider trading
• Financing of Debt and Equity (both public and private, taxable and tax-exempt, including structured financings)
• Venture Capital
• Leasing and Real Estate Financing

Background: Mr. Purcell was a Managing Director at Dillon Read for almost 25 years and has been a Senior Advisor to a number of medium-sized investment banks. He also has served as interim CEO of a public company and has served on Boards of Directors. Mr. Purcell is currently Senior Director to the Investment Banking Firm of Seale & Associates, Washington, DC. area. Mr. Purcell has been an expert in more than 100 cases with over 100 Law Firms, including cases for the SEC, IRS and the DOJ. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants. Subjects include all areas mentioned above.

 View Consulting Profile.