Securities: Stock Options Expert Witnesses: 5

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

Mr. Homes has been an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Stern Graduate School of Business at New York University, teaching “Bankruptcy and Reorganization” since 1993.  He has been the Chief Investment Officer / Lead Portfolio Manager for two large hedge funds ($2.7 billion and $5.4 billion of peak AUM) as well as an insurance company portfolio and a mutual fund portfolio.

 The funds invested in credit, capital structure arbitrage, distressed debt, rescue finance, direct lending, specialty finance, event stocks and special situations securities, including long and short positions. The funds invested across the capital structure: bank debt, DIP loans, second lien debt, secured and unsecured bonds, floating rate and fixed rate notes, trade claims, preferred stock, common stock, put and call options and credit default swaps (CDS). Investments were in a variety of businesses, public and private, including startups, venture capital, infrastructure, leveraged buyouts, private equity, turnarounds, restructurings, bankruptcies and liquidations. Direct lending was conducted through a Business Development Company (BDC) ($1 billion assets under management). Mr. Holmes has analyzing thousands of companies and investment opportunities over his career.

Areas of Expertise:

Mr. Holmes has been the Chair and CEO of a life, health and annuity insurer and reinsurer and has been an independent director of a large bitcoin mining company. He 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 $16 billion of AUM.

David Tilkin is a Litigation Support and Expert Witness specialist with over 40 years of experience in the Securities Industry and over ten years of experience in the Compliance Software Industry. Mr. Tilkin has been providing litigation and expert witness services at varying degrees since 2000 when he left First Union Securities to start Protegent.

The Tilkin Group has been singly involved with litigation support and providing expert witness services since 2008. The efforts of the Tilkin Group have supported both private practice attorneys litigating against the securities industry and supported the efforts of financial service firms in their defense of claims.

Mr. Tilkin currently maintains a Series 65 license and has previously maintained a Series 63, 7, 8, 4 and insurance licenses. He has extensive training in the securities industry as a broker, manager and regional director. He has leveraged his intensive background in all aspects of broker-dealer operations, has been retained in over 200 cases, and testified in 85 cases around issues of suitability, supervision, and raiding and sales practices.

David Tilkin has published numerous articles on the issues of suitability, supervision and financial services software. He offers substantive, compelling opinions to support effective legal strategy in the following areas:

View The Tilkin Group's Consulting Profile.

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.

James W. Lovely, BBA, MBA, JD, is an experienced provider of expert witness testimony, case analysis and consulting advice. He has more than 30 years of business and legal experience in the financial markets with particular expertise in:

• Complex financial products, including swaps, swaptions, options, futures, repurchase agreements, foreign exchange, commodities, prime brokerage arrangements, securitizations, structured notes and municipal bonds;
• Secured commercial lending and hedging arrangements often (but not exclusively) involving those complex financial products; and
• U.S. commercial, commodities, securities and banking law and regulations governing those financial products; and
• LIBOR transition to SOFR, Ameribor and other rates.

Mr. Lovely is adept at simplifying or clarifying complex financial products and disputes and translating between a client’s legal team and its executive/financial officers while delivering insightful analysis and persuasive testimony. He is a very capable writer and public speaker and currently maintains his own consultancy in the above-described areas of expertise. He is intimately familiar with ISDA, NAESB, EEI, ICOM, IFEMA and SIFMA financial product documentation, forms and protocols. 

Recent Expert Witness Engagements:

• Analysis of documents, opposing expert’s report, and damages, and deposition testimony in NY case re: $500 million municipal bond repurchase agreement, interest rate derivatives, and municipal bond securitizations.
• Analysis of transaction documents and opposing expert’s report, preparation of rebuttal report, and deposition testimony on $17 million aircraft loan, related guarantees, and swap documentation and sales practices in Federal case.
• Preparation of expert rebuttal report and deposition testimony in a U.S. Federal District Court case involving claims of wrongful registration of transfer of securities under the UCC and refuting fiduciary duty and negligence claims asserted against the issuer defendant.
• Analysis of trading activity and millions in losses in an NFA arbitration involving an agricultural futures and options account of a U.S. grain farmer and claims due to discretionary trading in a non-discretionary hedging account.

View James Lovely's Consulting Profile.

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.