Expert Witness Services
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Expert Services - Mission Statement
My mission is to provide timely, authoritative and professional expert services to my clients and their counsel. To do so, I will listen well, carefully review relevant case materials, and deliver effective analysis and persuasive testimony. Success is achieved when my clients and their counsel are able to reach well-informed decisions regarding their case and are aided in the skillful assertion of their legal position.
Expert Services Clients
For privilege and confidentiality reasons, Mr. Lovely is typically engaged directly by the lawyer or law firm seeking the assistance of a consulting or testifying expert witness. Mr. Lovely has been retained by national, regional and local law firms and by public defenders. He has assisted both plaintiffs (including in individual and class actions) and defendants equally. References are available upon request.
Types of Expert Witness Services
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your dispute or litigation is critical to the effective assertion of legal rights and your counsel's ability to provide robust representation. As an experienced executive and attorney, Mr. Lovely can help your counsel achieve these aims efficiently. He is available to review transaction documentation, pleadings, discovery production, and other pertinent materials and offer constructive input and feedback. He can assist in framing and responding to discovery requests. He can prepare a consulting report to evaluate a case and help frame strategy, even if not acting as a testifying expert.
Cogent and persuasive expert testimony serves to maximize the strength of your legal position. Mr. Lovely is available to provide expert testimony in depositions, mediations, arbitrations, and at trial.
Expert opinions are best supported by relevant expertise and well-grounded reports and analyses. Mr. Lovely has a demonstrated track record of excellence in evaluating, explaining and writing about complex financial and legal issues.
Appeals offer the opportunity to correct (or defend) a lower court's ruling in a case. Grounds for appeal can include incorrect legal holdings, illegality or ultra vires claims, and clearly erroneous conclusions of fact. Having an expert witness, who is also able to understand the legal nuances of appellate practice, can assist your counsel in wrestling with the highly specialized topics arising from financial products litigation.
Derivatives, Swaps, Options, Futures, Forwards, Caps, Floors, Collars, Repurchase Agreements, Securities Lending Agreements, ISDA, ICOM, IFEMA, and NAESB documentation, Prime Brokerage Arrangements, Clearing and Collateralization Arrangements, LIBOR/SOFR/Ameribor Transition or Adoption, Hedge Funds, Foreign Currency, Foreign Exchange, Secured Lending, Commercial Loans, Guarantees, Security Agreements, Letters of Credit, UCC - Articles 8 and 9, Finance, Hedging, Economics, Investments, Securities, Commodities, Commodity Pools, Bonds, Municipal Bonds, Auction Rate Securities, Tender Option Bond Programs, Public Finance, Securitizations, Structured Products, Asset-Backed Commercial Paper, CDOs, Synthetic CDOs, Credit Derivatives, Banking, Business, Commodities, Financial, and Securities Law, CFTC and SEC Regulation, Dodd-Frank Regulation.
- Analysis for defense of transaction documents, opposing expert’s report, and related financial issues (including estimated damages), assistance to counsel during opposing expert’s deposition, and provision of deposition testimony in a New York State Court case concerning a $500 million municipal bond repurchase agreement, municipal bonds (fixed rate, floating rate, and auction rate), interest rate derivatives, and tender option bond programs. Case settled.
- Review of municipal transaction documents and opposing expert’s report for defense, preparation of a written rebuttal report on a $17 million aircraft loan, guarantees and related swap documentation and swap sales practices issues, and provision of deposition testimony in a U.S. Federal District Court case concerning industry standards, customs and practices with respect to loan and guarantee documents and swaps. Case settled.
- Evaluation for public defenders of transaction documents, opposing expert's opinion, and witness statements as to whether certain promissory notes were "securities" under Florida and Federal law and provision of both deposition and trial testimony in a Florida State Court criminal case. Defendant acquitted by jury on all counts.
- Review of loan and swap documents involving an entity and its counterparty and development with bankruptcy counsel of arguments on objection to loan claim, asserting that the related interest rate swap was illegal and void under the Commodity Exchange Act and applicable state law. Objection to claim denied on ancillary grounds.
- Preparation of expert report and expert rebuttal report for plaintiff in complex, multi-expert, multi-billion dollar Federal Court case involving considerations of state insurance law, an analysis of the use of derivatives by a large insurance company over an extended period, and the treatment of such derivatives as "securities" for various purposes. Case settled.
- Analysis of trading activity, losses and churning metrics for claimant in an NFA arbitration proceeding concerning an agricultural futures and options account of a U.S. farmer with hog and grain operations. Assisted counsel with rebuttal of respondents' positions. Arbitration settled during mediation phase.
- Retained expert for plaintiff in Florida State Court case brought against large corporation for wrongful registration of transfer of securities under the UCC and other claims related to forged signatures and improper transfers of securities. Case settled during mediation.
- Preparation of expert rebuttal report and deposition testimony in a U.S. Federal District Court case involving claims of wrongful registration of transfer of securities under the UCC and refuting fiduciary duty and negligence claims asserted against the issuer defendant. Case settled.
- Review and analysis of real estate loan and swap documents in a U.S. Federal District Court case involving a disputed voluntary close-out of an interest rate swap in anticipation of a committed loan refinancing. Work included deconstruction of the valuation obtained by the client on close-out and criticism of the conduct of the swap dealer during the period from execution to termination of the swap. Evaluated opposing expert’s report. Case settled ahead of trial.
- Analysis of trading activity, losses and purported hedging strategy for claimant in an NFA arbitration concerning an agricultural futures and options account of a U.S. grain farmer (corn, soybeans, milo, winter wheat). Claims arose from alleged discretionary trading in a non-discretionary account (without customer orders or authorization). Assisted counsel in all phases of this NFA arbitration from discovery through mediation, preparing briefs, and the arbitration hearing. Assisted counsel in evaluating and critiquing opposing experts' presentations. Arbitration settled shortly after Mr. Lovely's testimony and related cross-examination.