Social Security (Law / Disability) Expert Witnesses: 6

Marguerita M. Cheng, CFP®, CRPC®, RICP®, CDFA™, 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, policy makers, 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:

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. She 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:

• Tortious Injury / Negligence
• Medical Malpractice
• Worker's Compensation
• Auto No Fault
• Wrongful Death
• Long Term Disability
• Divorce
• Lien dispute
• Special Education

View Erin O’Callaghan's Consulting Profile.

Todd Finnerty, Psy.D. is a Psychologist in Columbus, Ohio and an expert on Psychological Impairment Assessment and Disability Claims. Dr. Finnerty has been licensed as a psychologist since 2003, and is currently in active clinical practice providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (particularly for insomnia). Dr. Finnerty offers both forensic and treatment services in-person and telehealth examinations.

Background Experience - Since 2004, Dr. Finnerty has performed tens of thousands of medical records reviews on Social Security Disability Claims for the Ohio Division of Disability Determination. He also conducts psychological evaluations related to Impairment and Workers Compensation Claims (ex: for the Ohio Industrial Commission). He performs file reviews on short-term and long-term disability insurance cases and he's performed hundreds of medical records peer reviews for disability insurance companies (ex: working through Professional Disability Associates). 

Dr. Finnerty has experience reviewing the medical records of military treatment facilities after the suicide of their service members to determine whether the standard of care was met during the treatment. He provides disability evaluations and independent medical opinions for veterans (has worked with VES and QTC in the past contracting with the VA), and psychotherapy and psychological assessment (including validity testing) using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and other evidence-based approaches.

Dr. Finnerty was named "Disability Review Physician of the Year" in 2012 by the National Association of Disability Examiners, Great Lakes Region, and the Ohio Association of Disability Examiners' "Consultant of the Year" in 2010.

Litigation Support Services: Dr. Finnerty is available to perform Independent Psychological Evaluations as well as Medical Records Reviews. His ideal clients are attorneys and organizations in need of disability claim review, worker's compensation claim review, or litigation related to impairment such as personal injury. 

• Medical Records Reviews and IME's related to short-term and long-term Disability Insurance and related issues
• Independent Medical Opinions / Nexus Letters for Veterans VA Disability Claims
• Psychological Evaluations (IMEs) related to Disability Insurance Claims, Workers Compensation (Federal and Ohio), and Functional Impairment
• Opinions / Form Completion related to Disability Leave
• Personal Injury psychological evaluations and records reviews

Contact Dr. Finnerty directly on his cell phone with questions at 330-495-8809.

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 at 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 at Little Rock, 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, medical life care planning, formulate 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:

View Christopher Lowery's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Michael J. Perrotti, Ph.D., a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, specializes in Clinical and Forensic Psychology. He has over 30 years of experience with consumers, courts, and counsel including civil, prosecution, defense counsel, family court and the US Government. Dr. Perrotti contributes to the profession as an Expert Consultant for the State of California Board of Psychology, and the California Board of Behavioral Science Examiners and is certified by LA County System Court as an Expert Witness in Neuropsychology, eyewitness ID and false confession.

Dr. Perrotti was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at the Keck School of Medicine, USC (2005-2006), and conducted complex neuropsychological evaluations in USC. Dr. Perrotti possesses specialized training and has clinical and research interns. His practice is an approved internship site at UCLA. He also has expertise in the area of Assessment of Sexual Deviation and Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations. His training, experience, and use of the Abel Assessment of Sexual Interest Computerized Test from the Abel Center in Atlanta, Georgia, enables him to add a state-of-the-art sophisticated tool for the evaluation of sexual offending. Dr. Perrotti has served as an expert witness for plaintiff and defense in personal injury and employment and workplace matters. Dr. Perrotti was awarded the Volunteer Services Award from the President's Volunteer Council as Service and Civic Participation, the White House. Dr. Perrotti is a member of the Orange County Sheriff's Reserve, Professional Services Division.

Services Include:

• Neuropsycholgical Assessment
• Sanity / Competency to Stand Trial Assessment
• Police Misconduct
• Suggestibility and False Confession
• Crime Scene Investigation in Report Formulation
• Sexual Predator Determination
• Effects of Psychotropic Medications on Confession
• Expert Neuropsychologist in Sexual Assault Trial
• Expert in Bonding Studies and False Confessions
• PTSD (acute and complex) in General, Law Enforcement, and Iraq War Veterans
• Panic Disorders and Phobias
• Custody Evaluation
• Severe Trauma in Children, Adolescents, and Adults