Damages and fraud analysis for commercial disputes.
Lost profits, contract damages, partner disputes, and funds tracing for litigators in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Built from source documents, with every assumption disclosed and stress-tested before the other side gets to it.
Commercial damages work at scale
At Navigant (now Guidehouse), built valuation and damages models in matters totaling over $2 billion in claimed damages, supporting Am Law 100 litigation teams on high-stakes commercial disputes.
When the dispute comes down to a number
Lost profits & contract damages
But-for models where the damages period, margin, and growth rate are stated, supported, and tested against the alternatives.
Partner & shareholder disputes
Buyouts, valuation challenges, and capital-account reconstructions when partners remember the numbers differently.
Embezzlement & vendor fraud
Funds tracing, disbursement and vendor-master analysis, and a loss figure that ties back to the bank records.
Fiduciary & estate accounting
Accountings by trustees, executors, and managing co-owners: what came in, what went out, and what the records support.
Rebuttal of opposing damages experts
The opposing model restated under consistent assumptions, with the swing quantified line by line.
Demonstratives
Contradiction charts and issue-priority matrices that make a damages dispute easy to follow.
How a rebuttal looks on paper
Two formats that often do more in cross-examination than twenty pages of narrative.
| Assumption | Opposing report | Restated | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damages period start | Jan 2021 | Jun 2022 (alleged breach) | −$310K |
| Profit margin applied | 38% gross | 22% incremental | −$265K |
| Growth rate | 12% / yr | 4% / yr (historical) | −$140K |
| Discounting | None applied | 9% discount rate | −$85K |
| Claimed damages | $1.42M | $0.62M | −$800K |
Illustrative. Each restatement ties to a disclosed assumption and a source document.
Contested issues ranked by dollar impact, with cumulative share. Two issues carry 78% of the money at stake — that is where trial time goes.
Notes on damages and expert practice
Short, practical notes for counsel. All insights →
Reading an opposing expert's report: start dates and asymmetry
Opposing reports rarely fail on arithmetic. They fail on choices, and two of them are worth checking in almost every report you'll see.
Read the note → Expert PracticeWhat counsel should send a damages expert in the first week
The first week of an expert engagement sets the pace for everything after it. Here is what lets the expert scope the work and flag gaps before they become deadline problems.
Read the note → Expert PracticeConsulting expert or testifying expert? Structuring the engagement from day one
The expert's role affects what gets disclosed and how the file is organized. Decide the structure early, even if the designation decision waits.
Read the note → Commercial DamagesLost profits or lost business value? Choosing the damages model
The same injury can be measured as a stream of lost profits or as a drop in the value of the business. The choice drives the number, and doubling up is the classic mistake.
Read the note →Discuss a commercial damages or fraud matter.
Share the parties, the forum, and the next deadline. Conflicts are cleared before anything substantive is discussed.
Conflicts are checked before we discuss the merits of any matter.