According to the Association of Fraud Examiners (ACFE) “2020 Report to the Nations,” a growing number of businesses that fell victim to occupational fraud between 2018 and 2019 disciplined perpetrators privately rather than referring them to public law enforcement for criminal prosecution. Yet, while there has been a steady increase in civil suits and private […]
COVID-19 social distancing has upended the logistical functions of nearly all aspects of American governance, including court systems. With courthouses completely or partially shuttered, the courts are rapidly expanding their reliance on remote teleconferencing capabilities and stepping-up their use of technology to keep dockets moving. Members of our firm recently attended a three-day hearing in […]
Posted on April 29, 2020
by
Sandi Perez
Couples who were in the midst of a divorce or who were preparing to start the process are finding the COVID-19 pandemic has turned their planning upside-down and added more stress to an already difficult situation. While many individuals are continuing to follow through on their divorce plans, their financial pictures may have changed substantially […]
Posted on April 15, 2020
by
Daniel Hughes
Relief may be coming to the millions of business owners who now realize that the insurance policies they have been paying into for many years will not reimburse them for any of the catastrophic business-interruption losses they sustained due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Already, several states have introduced bills requiring insurers to retroactively cover and […]
A recent decision by the U.S District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin to exclude testimony from expert witnesses in a class-action suit represents an important point that legal counsel may forget when engaging damages experts and forensic accountants: do not rely blindly on the qualifications, work product or assumptions of knowledge specialists with whom they […]
This article originally appeared in Daily Business Review. Many disputes have been decided based on digital data collected and recovered from computers and cellular phones. In today’s always-on, always-connected environment, there is very little business or personal information that cannot be traced back to an electronic device, an application or a cloud-storage platform. In this […]
The Florida Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion on May 23, 2019, reversing its decision seven months earlier in Delisle v. Crane, (Case No. SC16-2182) concerning Florida Statute Section 90.702 and the admissibility of expert witness testimony in the state. The court made a complete about face, rejecting the less rigorous Frye standard established […]
Forensic accounting services can play a pivotal role in cases involving financial fraud, breach of contract, hidden assets, lost profits and economic damages. As demand for these services continues to increase, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has released new professional standards that CPA’s performing forensic services must adopt for new investigation and/or litigation engagements […]
Posted on December 05, 2018
by
Richard Fechter
In a crucial 4-3 decision, the Florida Supreme Court in Delisle v. Crane, Case (No. SC16-2182) (Oct 15. 2018), clarified the law governing the admissibility of expert witness testimony in Florida, moving away from the strict Daubert standard used in federal courts to the less rigorous Frye standard. Previously, Florida trial courts that were unsure […]
Entertaining clients, referral sources and employees with tickets to sporting events, country club outings, fishing trips or other forms of business promotion are common business practices. No matter how significant these costs, businesses have had the reassurance that the IRS would permit them to deduct all or a portion of these meals and entertainment (M&E) […]
