Quantifying Financial Loss: Strategies and Techniques for Attorneys

Chaka M. Patterson
Chaka M. Patterson | Alston & Bird LLP

He served as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at a global education corporation where he led a team of 30 and guided the business development, M&A transactions, investor relations, corporate governance, risk and compliance, and litigation functions.

On-Demand: December 11, 2024

2 hour CLE

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Program Summary

Quantifying financial loss is crucial for accurately representing a plaintiff’s damages and ensuring fair compensation in legal disputes. This presentation will explore methods to quantify financial loss systematically, discuss the role of expert insights, and consider how legal standards and precedents shape our approach. When a financial loss occurs, accurately calculating that loss is essential for justice. Whether the case involves lost wages, business interruption, or fraudulent behavior, our goal is to create a wellsupported quantification that the court can trust. This program covers the types of losses we might encounter, various methods for gathering and analyzing data, key models for loss quantification, the importance of expert contributions, and the significance of aligning our methods with legal precedents and standards. This foundation enables lawyers to approach financial losses in a structured, defensible manner.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • Learn about the most common types of financial losses in legal cases
  • Discover data collection and analysis techniques
  • Apply loss quantification models to determine the damages your client has suffered
  • Identify and collaborate with damages experts more effectively

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Chaka M. Patterson_myLawCLEChaka M. Patterson | Alston & Bird LLP

Chaka Patterson has over three decades of experience in corporate government and private practice. He served as senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at a global education corporation where he led a team of 30 and guided the business development, M&A transactions, investor relations, corporate governance, risk and compliance, and litigation functions.

He was the chief of the Civil Actions Bureau for Cook County’s State’s Attorney in Illinois where he managed a team of 100 lawyers defending the county and its officeholders and employees in civil suits. Chaka also served as an assistant attorney general and chief of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office Special Litigation Bureau, where he prosecuted civil and criminal fraud cases, including health care fraud, securities fraud, complex consumer fraud, charitable trust fraud, and False Claims Act cases.

Chaka’s private practice experience as a partner in two Am Law 100 law firms includes representing clients in complex business and commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense involving state attorneys general investigations, and internal investigations.

Chaka’s background includes:

  • Partner at Alston & Bird
  • Former General Counsel of a Fortune 1000 Global Education Company
  • Former Treasurer & VP for Investor Relations of a Fortune 100 Energy Company
  • JD from Harvard Law School and MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Agenda

I. Learn about the most common types of financial losses in legal cases | 2:00pm – 2:30pm

  • Actual damages
  • Consequential (special) damages
  •  Punitive damages
  • Restitution

II. Discover data collection and analysis techniques | 2:30pm – 3:00pm

  • Gathering and analyzing data to quantify financial losses accurately
  • Techniques include, forensic accounting, business valuation, market analysis, and income/employment records

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

III. Apply loss quantification models to determine the damages your client has suffered | 3:10pm – 3:40pm

  • Models used to calculate financial loss by projecting income or cash flow and adjusting for economic factors
  • Net Present Value (NPV), Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), But-For Analysis, Benchmarking against similar businesses

IV. Identify and collaborate with damages experts more effectively | 3:40pm – 4:10pm

  • Financial experts & economists
  • Vocational experts
  • Actuaries
Preview
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