It might surprise you that the hourly billing system for law firms did not come into frequent use until the 1940s and 1950s. For consulting professionals, it is even more current than that. However, by the mid-1960s, most accounting...
Most of you are likely aware of the idiom “left holding the bag.” My client, in a bankruptcy case in Arizona, was the one left holding the bag. A group of about six men had been conducting a Ponzi...
In a recent Tax Court case,1 the court allowed a charitable deduction that the IRS had disallowed but then imposed a gross valuation misstatement penalty.2 The case dealt with a charitable contribution of a conservation easement that the IRS disallowed. While...
Experienced testifiers will often have more experience in a courtroom than the attorney(s) with whom they are working. And even some experienced attorneys do not always pay attention to the rules. Some years ago, I found myself in a...
Some years ago, I was very active in valuing medical practices, so much so that I caught the attention of the Department of Justice, which had sued a hospital chain in Florida for Medicare fraud. The hospital chain had...
<p>In a very contentious litigation, I was called to testify as to the reasonable compensation for a receiver. A limestone quarry company had been involved in a family dispute over ownership, and the court had appointed a receiver to...
“Tales From the Trenches” is a new blog series. The intention is to post periodically, hopefully monthly. The purpose is to relate some of the experiences I have had during my more than 45 years of testifying as a...
How many times have we been involved as an expert in a litigation case only to see the attorneys not understand business valuation, fumble with discovery, and waste their time and ours at great expense to the clients? This...
A bungled sales process, dumping a board member from a key investor, faulty methodologies, and lack of quantification of synergies? These all occurred in one case! In Hyde Park Venture Partners Fund III L.P. v. FairXchange, LLC,1 the largest investor...
In June 2024, the Florida Appellate Court1 issued two opinions in related cases dealing with personal goodwill. Both appellate opinions were issued on June 21, 2024. The cases are Conde-Berrocal v. Conde2 and Rosenberg v. Rosenberg.3 Both cases were held...