This webinar is part of BVR’s Special Series on Economic Damages and serves as a complement to the recently published Comprehensive Guide to Economic Damages, 7th Edition.

Financial forensics experts are often called upon to measure the lost profits a business suffered as a result of the actions of another party. The measurement typically compares the profits of the company had the defendant not acted inappropriately to the profits that the company actually realized. Because lost profits measurement involves the calculation of the value of something that should have happened but did not, the process must incorporate assumptions and significant reliance upon internal and external data to measure (estimate) what the profits would have been had the defendant not harmed the plaintiff. For the damages expert to offer credible opinions, it is critical that the input variables and the assumptions be based upon credible underlying evidence. Absent this forensic evidence, the expert’s opinions may be deemed to be not much more than hypothetical. In this session, we will explore the types of forensic evidence that are customarily available and how it is effectively incorporated into a credible lost profits calculation.

• Overview of lost profits models;
• Common points of weakness in lost profits models—and how to overcome them;
•  Filling in the gaps when counsel and the litigant are not particularly helpful;
• Challenging your own work—replacing assumptions with evidence; and
• Case studies.
  

1. Identify and list the types of forensic evidence that should be considered in a lost profits engagement;
   
2. Describe the bias that is inherent in the representations of counsel and the litigants;
   
3. Explain common mistakes damages experts made in the measurement of lost profits;
   
4. Build a credible model when there are obstacles to getting the ideal deck of evidence; and
   
5. Prepare for the customary challenges by opposing counsel.