Litigation Consulting Services

General Services

The following are the general services provided as litigation support consultants:

  • Assistance in obtaining documentation necessary to support or refute a claim.
  • Review of the relevant documentation to form an initial assessment of the case and identify areas of loss.
  • Document management.
  • Assistance with Examination for Discovery including the formulation of questions to be asked regarding the financial evidence.
  • Assistance in preparing witnesses for depositions and trial.
  • Discovery assistance including document production.
  • Attendance at the Examination for Discovery to review the testimony, assist with understanding the financial issues, and to formulate additional questions to be asked.
  • Review of the opposing expert’s damages report and reporting on both the strengths and weaknesses of the position taken.
  • Assistance with settlement discussions and negotiations.
  • Attendance at trial to hear the testimony of the opposing expert and to provide assistance with cross-examination.

Bank Loans

  • Conventional bank loans
  • SBA guaranty loans
  • Industrial Development Bonds

Bankruptcy – Debtor Filings or Out-of-Court Settlements

We may be retained to provide services for debtors in a bankruptcy proceeding or for out-of-court settlements. Out-of-Court settlement services have included assisting the debtor or its attorney in developing a plan to settle debts and negotiating with creditors. Services for debtor in bankruptcy may include the following:

  • Analyzing contracts, leases, and transactions for possible avoidance.
  • Assisting in developing a reorganization plan or liquidation and debt settlement.
  • Assisting in identifying, classifying, and valuing claims (debts) and any related collateral, and processing and reconciling proofs of claims filed by creditors.
  • Creditors or Out-of-Court settlements
  • Gathering, analyzing, classifying and summarizing information for presentation in official forms and schedules, monthly operating reports, or disclosure statement required to be filed with the bankruptcy court.
  • Prepare information for creditor’s committee proposed plan
  • Preparing documentation related to court motions and testifying in court as an expert witness about a matter related to the proceeding.
  • Preparing prospective or pro forma financial information, liquidation analyses, or valuations of specific assets or the business as a whole to demonstrate that a proposed plan of reorganization is feasible and will provide creditors with more value than liquidation.
  • Review and analyze the financial reports filed by debtor

Business Economic Losses

Examples of assignments involving business economic losses include contract disputes, construction claims, or expropriations.

Business Fraud Investigations

Business investigations can involve funds tracing, asset identification and recovery, forensic intelligence gathering, and due diligence reviews. Employee fraud investigations often involve procedures to determine the existence, nature and extent of fraud and may concern the identification of a perpetrator. These investigations often entail interviews of personnel who had access to the funds and a detailed review of the documentary evidence.

Business Interruption/Other Types of Insurance Claims

Insurance policies differ significantly as to their terms and conditions. Accordingly, these assignments involve a detailed review of the policy to investigate coverage issues and the appropriate method of calculating the loss. A Forensic Accountant is often asked to assist from either an insured or insurer’s perspective in the settlement of a case. Examples of these types of assignments include: business interruptions, property losses and employee dishonesty (fidelity) claims. Friedman Consulting, LLC has extensive experience and background in the insurance and reinsurance field.

Claims Against Accountants (Malpractice Cases)

  • Case evaluation
  • Documents production and management
  • Development of case strategy
  • Assisting with depositions
  • Drafting interrogatories, responses, contentions, affidavits and other court documents
  • Testimony on liability, causation and damages

Contract Disputes

  • Consulting Agreements
  • Distribution Agreements
  • Employment Agreements
  • Joint Development Agreements
  • Operating Agreements
  • Shareholder Agreements

Criminal Tax Cases

The services of an accountant retained to assist an attorney in a criminal tax case may include the following:

  • Accompanying the attorney to meetings and court sessions, preparing presentations for them, and testifying as a fact witness or expert witness.
  • Assisting the attorney and taxpayer to comply with the government’s summons or subpoena for the production of documents.
  • Assisting the attorney in developing a theory of defense and questions to ask.
  • Gathering information by interviews and review and analysis of documents, returns, and financial records.
  • Reviewing and analyzing the government’s proof of income for accuracy, omissions, and strengths and weaknesses and preparing an alternative proof.

Employee Fraud Engagements

  • Anticipate areas of weakness in internal controls
  • Conduct interviews with witnesses and suspects
  • Gather evidence within the legal system
  • Indentify suspected forged or reconstructed documents
  • Trace accounting entries in documents

Trusts, Estates, Wills

  • Living and Testamentary Trusts
  • Estate and Trust Property
  • Determination of Size of the Beneficiary’s Interest

Matrimonial Disputes

From a forensic accountant’s point of view, matrimonial disputes often involve the tracing, locating and evaluation of assets. The assets to be evaluated and valued may be businesses, personal property, and/or other assets.

  • Determine the amount of alimony and child support that should be paid.
  • Determine marital (community) property
  • Determine separate property
  • Indentify, valuate, and divide property between the divorcing spouses
  • Investigative services
  • Net Worth Statement
  • Property Settlement Schedule

Out-of-Court Settlements

  • Negotiations
  • Workout Plan of Settlement

Shareholders/Partnership Disputes

These assignments often involve a detailed analysis of numerous years’ accounting records to quantify the issues in dispute. For example, some common issues are:

  • Minority interest
  • Dissenting shareholders suits
  • Evaluation – fair market value or fair value

In connection with an actual or anticipated lawsuit, identify and analyze the event(s) that may be the basis of a stakeholder’s cause of action.

  • Calculate estimation of damages
  • Gather related information, including financial data
  • Identify and document events
  • Identify related contractual or common law issues that were violated or are otherwise at issue
  • Reports results

Valuation of a Closely Held Business

These valuations are often necessary in the following:

  • Antitrust suits
  • Breach of contracts suits
  • Condemnation (eminent domain) proceedings
  • Dissenting stockholder suits
  • Divorce Actions
  • Lender Liability suits
  • Lost-profit analyses
  • Performing a valuation
  • Punitive damage awards

White Collar Crime

    • Fraud
    • Insider Trading
    • Money Laundering
    • Tax Evasion
    • Federal Sentencing Guidelines
      • Determine the offense level
      • Criminal history calculation
      • Departures issues
      • Calculating the loss
      • Determining Offense Level on Multiple Counts
      • Determining the sentence
      • Financial Disclosures
      • Plea Agreements
      • Pre-sentencing statements
      • Restitution, Fines, Assessments, Forfeitures
      • Appeals

Alternative Dispute Resolution (Mediation or Arbitrations)

In our roles as consultants and experts, Friedman Consulting, LLC can provide a wide range of services relating to alternative dispute resolution. Commonly provided services include:

    • Reviewing of the relevant documentation to form an initial assessment of the case and identify areas of strength and weakness.
    • Preparing lost profits analyses.
    • Assisting in determining the amount of alimony and child support that should be paid in divorce cases, and valuing and dividing marital property and/or separate property between the divorcing spouses.
    • Preparing cash flow projections to assist the client in assessing the ability of a party to pay the proposed settlement amount.
    • In mediation cases, assisting the client’s attorney in selecting a client representative to attend mediation sessions. Usually, the person selected is a member of senior management who has the authority to negotiate a settlement.
    • Assistance with settlement discussions and negotiations.