Rising to Meet New Challenges
Meet Our New Principals
Matthew Aharonian
Lucia
Bazzucchi
Sujay
Dave
Laurence Freed
David Hutchings
Timothy McAnally
Marti
Murray
Jack
Stirzaker
During his tenure at Brattle, Dr. Aharonian has provided expert testimony on damages, valuation, irreparable harm, and market efficiency in various forums. He has also led teams providing economic analysis and settlement support in high-profile domestic and international disputes. These engagements have included general securities litigations, securities class actions, Delaware minority share appraisals, asset valuations (traditional businesses and tech/start-up ventures), derivatives valuations, risk management, debt capacity analyses, cost of capital estimations, tax disputes, regulatory costing models, and international asset appropriations.
In Canada, Dr. Aharonian has provided expert testimony on aggregate class damages and market efficiency, and has consulted on tax disputes for both taxpayers and government agencies. He has also supported testimony before provincial and federal regulators, including coauthoring a report for the Canadian Transportation Agency on cost of capital methodology.
Outside of his consulting work, Dr. Aharonian is regularly invited to speak on the evolving US securities litigation landscape. He also serves as an adjunct in the MBA program at Babson College, where he has taught courses on fixed income securities and financial theory.
Dr. Aharonian delivers rigorous, resourceful, and principled consulting services and expert testimony on matters related to securities, financial markets, valuation, corporate finance, tax, and international arbitration.
Matthew.Aharonian@brattle.com
Boston | Toronto
Matthew Aharonian
Lucia Bazzucchi
Jack Stirzaker
She has worked on state aid cases before the European Commission, ratemaking proceedings, financial asset valuations, and economic analyses of transportation markets. Dr. Bazzucchi has coauthored several reports and whitepapers on the cost of capital for telecom, airports, toll road operators, and utilities; as well as on the increasingly important role in financing infrastructure projects that public-private partnership (PPP) contracts will serve over the coming years.
Among her work in Europe, Dr. Bazzucchi has estimated the cost function of toll road services and analyzed related economies of scale; implemented methodological advancements for estimating the cost of capital for airports in Italy; and supported the Italian incumbent railway operator on several strategic matters related to regulation. In South America, she has conducted research and estimated damages resulting from contract breaches and lost profits related to delays in the completion of a power plant in Chile.
Dr. Bazzucchi has extensive experience consulting on economic and regulatory issues related to the infrastructure and transportation sectors, including toll roads, airports, and railways.
Lucia.Bazzucchi@brattle.com
Rome
Lucia Bazzucchi
Matthew Aharonian
Mr. Dave has expertise on issues related to market structure for both exchange-traded and over-the-counter products, including derivatives, FX, equities, and bonds. Recent experience includes assisting clients on the economic and regulatory issues involved with cryptocurrency exchanges, digital assets, and initial coin offerings (ICOs). He regularly works with large, complex transactional datasets from financial institutions.
In addition to his finance work, Mr. Dave has extensive experience with M&A disputes, private equity, corporate governance, due diligence, appraisal actions, and other disputes involving the valuation of companies, employee stock options, and minority interest. His ERISA litigation experience includes company stock drop, excessive fee, and investment selection cases.
Mr. Dave has assisted attorneys in all phases of litigation. This includes review of pretrial discovery; development of economic and financial models to analyze damages; critique of analyses by opposing experts; and preparation of testimony at depositions, trials, mediations, and arbitrations.
Mr. Dave provides financial and economic analysis in complex commercial litigation and regulatory proceedings. He works with clients and industry experts on securities cases and valuation matters related to capital markets and financial institutions.
Sujay.Dave@brattle.com
Washington, DC
Sujay Dave
Laurence Freed
Lucia Bazzucchi
His 20-year career in financial services gives him deep industry expertise in structured finance, credit risk analysis, trading and portfolio management, risk management, and securities valuation. He is experienced in the valuation, structuring, and trading of many asset classes.
Since 2008, Mr. Freed has drawn on this experience to testify as an expert and consult on a number of financial subjects. These include equities, equity options, and equity-linked notes; fixed income portfolios and derivatives; cash and synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs); mortgage-backed securities; securities lending; and credit default swaps. For most of these asset classes, Mr. Freed has designed and built trading systems, portfolio management systems, and risk/valuation systems. He also reviews business operations and process controls in financial institutions, and financial technology and infrastructure management.
Mr. Freed also has nearly a decade of experience as a consultant in media finance. He has assisted producers and investors with designing the capital structure of film and TV projects, as well as securing debt and equity capital for their companies. He has managed the financial operations of a film finance company; negotiated film slate financings; and consulted on the valuation and operating models of film distribution companies, international sales agents, and commercial and TV production companies.
Mr. Freed is a finance and media industry expert with graduate training in financial economics, stochastic methods, statistics, and security analysis.
Laurence.Freed@brattle.com
New York
Laurence Freed
David Hutchings
Sujay Dave
Having assisted both taxpayers and taxing authorities, Mr. Hutchings has extensive experience in tax disputes and transfer pricing matters. He has worked on cases such as Cross Refined Coal LLC, Eaton, and Salem. Mr. Hutchings focuses on developing innovative economic analyses to assess the best method, economic substance, substance over form, and the business purpose doctrine for use in all stages of tax controversy and tax planning. Clients have retained him to serve as an expert and to author expert reports on tax issues.
Mr. Hutchings is also experienced in securities matters, having both offered expert evidence and supported leading academic experts. He has been involved in several disputes arising out of the global financial crisis related to residential mortgage-backed securities, credit ratings, and financial guaranty insurance. These matters often involve managing large amounts of data and conducting detailed statistical analyses.
In antitrust and competition matters, including mergers and single-firm conduct, Mr. Hutchings consults to attorneys and industry and academic experts. His writing on these topics draws on insights from competition economics in tax disputes and other economic analyses. Additionally, Mr. Hutchings is experienced in valuation and commercial damages. He has estimated damages arising from tortious interference, breach of contract, and other contractual and extra-contractual remedies.
Mr. Hutchings specializes in conducting economic analysis in complex tax, securities, and antitrust matters. He testifies, supports experts, and leads case teams in analyzing and developing economic and financial evidence to support attorneys.
David.Hutchings@brattle.com
Toronto
David Hutchings
Timothy McAnally
Laurence Freed
Mr. McAnally has consulted on valuation issues related to M&A, appraisal actions, and breaches of fiduciary duty in the Delaware Court of Chancery, various state courts, and the Cayman Islands. He has also assessed solvency likelihood in “ability to pay” claims.
Mr. McAnally’s case experience covers a wide range of sectors including financial services, education, consumer products, health care, and telecom. He has worked with numerous high-profile financial experts and is experienced in all phases of legal proceedings, including deposition, mediation, arbitration, trial, and appeal.
Recent cases have involved analyzing valuations of target companies in M&A transactions, determining whether the economic evidence supported a claim to terminate a merger agreement under the material adverse effect clause, and determining the amount of a fine that a company could afford to pay the US government for violating federal laws.
Prior to joining Brattle, Mr. McAnally was a senior vice president at an international economic consultancy.
Mr. McAnally specializes in the financial analysis of M&A disputes, firm valuation, and bankruptcy and solvency.
Timothy.McAnally@brattle.com
Chicago
Timothy McAnally
Marti Murray
David Hutchings
She has over 35 years of experience in financial services, including leadership roles at both alternative investment management firms and business restructuring financial advisory firms. She has served on numerous boards of directors and has acted as a court-appointed SEC receiver for an investment advisor accused of fraud.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Murray was the founder, president, and portfolio manager of Murray Capital Management, Inc., an SEC-registered distressed debt hedge fund firm that she ran from 1995 until the distressed debt business was acquired by Babson Capital in 2008. Additionally, she served as an adjunct professor at the NYU Stern School of Business from 2001–2013. There, she taught courses in bankruptcy, distressed debt investing, and equity analysis/valuation. Ms. Murray has written for numerous publications and was a contributing author to Managing Hedge Fund Risk: From the Practitioner’s Perspective.
Ms. Murray holds the Certified Valuation Analyst credential (CVA) and is a full member of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers (NAFER). She serves on the board of directors and as Audit Committee Vice Chair of the New York Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).
Ms. Murray is an expert on business and securities valuation, solvency, corporate financial distress and restructuring, securities trading, fraud (including Ponzi schemes), and industry custom and practice in the alternative investment management industry.
Marti.Murray@brattle.com
New York
Marti Murray
Jack Stirzaker
Timothy McAnally
On behalf of both claimants and respondents, Mr. Stirzaker conducts damages assessments in arbitration and litigation matters. He regularly develops sophisticated valuation models for projects across a number of different industries, including energy, regulation, telecom, real estate, and financial services.
Mr. Stirzaker has appeared as an expert witness at oral hearings and supported other expert witnesses in over 30 arbitration cases. He is experienced advising on matters and testifying before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), and Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC).
Mr. Stirzaker frequently presents to law firms and at conferences on the principles for estimating damages, regulatory independence, and investor protection. He regularly teaches a core corporate finance and valuation course in the Masters in Finance program at London Business School.
Mr. Stirzaker is an economics expert who focuses on corporate finance and valuation in international investor-state and commercial arbitrations. He has advised clients on cases and testified on damages before key arbitration venues around the world.
Jack.Stirzaker@brattle.com
London
Jack Stirzaker
Matthew Aharonian
Marti Murray
I am pleased to introduce the exceptional experts who became Brattle principals over the past year. These professionals support clients through their expertise in bankruptcy and restructuring, corporate transactions, merger disputes, international arbitration, regulated infrastructure, securities litigation, and other areas.
Sujay Dave
M. Alexis Maniatis
President & Principal
The Brattle Group answers complex economic, regulatory, and financial questions for corporations, law firms, and governments around the world. We aim for the highest level of client service and quality in our industry.
We are distinguished by our credibility and the clarity of our insights, which arise from the stature of our experts; affiliations with leading international academics and industry specialists; and thoughtful, timely, and transparent work. Our clients value our commitment to providing clear, independent results that withstand critical review.
Brattle has over 350 talented professionals across three continents. For additional information about Brattle’s experts and services, please visit brattle.com
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