Benefit: Assessment of Case Viability
There are several notable benefits to working with consulting experts, but perhaps the most valuable benefit is their ability to assess if the case has the potential to be successful. In other words, will your client’s position pass the smell test?
To provide an informed recommendation, a consulting expert will consider, among others, the following questions:
- Are the asserted damage claims founded with credible, defensible data, or are they largely subjective and exposed to challenge by an opposing expert?
- Is the strategy for the case likely to play out in the desired manner? (The consulting expert will consider this based on his prior experience with similar fact patterns.)
- What specific issues are the opposing parties likely to raise—and can we sufficiently neutralize them?
- Are our positions strong enough to move forward with the case and incur the cost of litigation?
Consider the following fact pattern, in which the early involvement of a consulting expert can be beneficial: A group of investors claims that it lost $50 million of capital through the inappropriate investment actions of a fund manager. The investors want their attorney to assert at least $65 million in damages to include what they feel they “would have earned” had the fund manager properly followed the fund’s stated investment plan (i.e., the original $50 million invested plus at least $15 million of reasonably expected returns). The alleged inappropriate investment activity included investing fund assets in education-sector stocks in contrast to the fund’s stated investment objective to invest only in technology-sector securities.
Before preparing and filing its complaint, counsel might want to have a consulting expert review the facts and circumstances of the case. If the consulting expert is able to identify that only $5 million of original investor capital was inappropriately invested in education stocks, with the remainder being appropriately invested in technology securities that lost value due to a market downturn, the validity of the claims will be questionable.
Benefit: Case Preparation
A consulting expert can be invaluable in assisting counsel with depositions by helping prepare witness outlines, lists of questions to be asked, and lists of follow-up questions to anticipated deponent responses.
Furthermore, a consulting expert can play an important role when it comes to your testifying expert. The consulting expert can take the first crack by investigating several avenues to help determine which items are relevant to the trial strategy and which information is irrelevant and may serve only to confuse the facts at hand. The consultant can then help the testifying expert (1) focus her report and testimony by introducing only those elements and items that are most relevant to the case and (2) provide clarity to the key points at issue.
Benefit: Cost Savings
A consulting expert, especially one hired early in the process and who is involved as the case develops, can save time and money by helping the litigation team hone in on key issues and identify potential problem areas.
As mentioned, a consulting expert can first review the merits of the case to understand the potential strategy to defend an individual or entity accused of wrongdoing; its potential effectiveness; and the impact that strategy may have on considerations at trial related to plea agreements, the chance to prevail, and the overall cost of mounting a defense. This allows the litigation team to set appropriate expectations with the client; potentially save money for the client on trial, experts, and proceedings; and explain how those costs relate to potential fines, penalties, and potential incarceration.
In situations where opposing litigants do battle in part by swamping each other with thousands of pages of extraneous discovery, a consulting expert, with assistance from forensic technology professionals, can expeditiously identify the most relevant documents, often without the laborious work of first having a team of junior lawyers and paralegals read and categorize every single document. A good consulting expert knows what type of documents are going to yield useful information.
As an example of the way in which a consulting expert can benefit counsel, let’s assume that a client believes that someone has been misappropriating money from the company. An individual in the finance department found some irregularities suggesting that a fraudulent act may have occurred; the whistle-blower submitted information through the company’s hotline, and the company subsequently retained outside counsel to investigate. Your first thought may be to do a widespread and time-consuming analysis. However, that can hamper the ability to quickly identify relevant documents (financial, email, and other) and may not uncover well-disguised fraud. Instead, you could leverage a consulting expert with specialized knowledge of forensic procedures and processes that will yield a rapid, more accurate picture of the facts and circumstances. A consulting expert can identify if funds have gone missing or if someone is simply using unorthodox accounting methods and all assets can be accounted for. If funds are, in fact, being misappropriated, the consulting expert can help you develop a strategy to explain the potential fraud in a less technical, easy-to-understand manner.
Benefit: Privilege
Privilege is another benefit of engaging a litigation consulting expert. Working with a consulting expert affords counsel the opportunity to freely discuss all aspects of the case, including potential stress points and related strategies, without the concern that such communications will be discoverable.
Conclusion
Without a deep understanding of the accounting and financial facts at play in a case, attorneys can find themselves plowing directionlessly through some of the financial nuances of discovery, interviews, document review, and deposition testimony. A good litigation consulting expert can help litigators avoid costly blind alleys and can keep the case focused on the most viable and valuable issues.
Michael Braverman, CPA, CMGA, CFE, is a partner in RSM’s New York, New York, office. Chris Ekimoff, CPA/CFF, CFE, is a director in RSM’s Washington, D.C., office.