Litigation Support
Financial disputes are won or lost on the quality of the analysis behind the legal arguments. MSG provides litigation support to attorneys handling complex commercial, matrimonial, and fiduciary disputes in New York and nationwide, working as an integrated member of the legal team from early case assessment through trial.
Our litigation support practice is distinct from our testifying expert role. When MSG serves in a litigation support or consulting capacity, we work behind the scenes with counsel to build the financial foundation of the case. We analyze the numbers, identify the issues, and help shape the strategy without the constraints that come with a testifying designation.
The most effective litigation support starts before discovery is complete. When counsel retains MSG early in a dispute, we help frame the financial issues that will drive the case. This begins with an initial review of available financial records, pleadings, and background materials to identify the financial questions at stake and develop a preliminary analytical framework.
How We Work
Early case assessment allows us to advise counsel on the likely range of financial exposure or recovery, identify the financial records and data that will be needed to support or defend against the claims, spot potential weaknesses in the financial positions of both sides, and help prioritize the issues that will have the greatest impact on the outcome. This work informs settlement discussions, discovery strategy, and the overall litigation plan. The earlier MSG is involved, the more efficiently the financial aspects of the case are developed.
Financial discovery is where many cases are won. The documents produced during discovery often contain the evidence that will ultimately determine whether a financial claim succeeds or fails. MSG assists counsel with every phase of the financial discovery process.
We prepare targeted document requests and interrogatories focused on the financial records, accounting data, tax returns, and transactional documents relevant to the claims. When opposing parties produce financial records, we review and analyze them systematically, organizing large volumes of financial data into a coherent picture of what the numbers show, what they do not show, and where the gaps and inconsistencies lie.
In disputes involving closely held businesses, this work often requires analyzing accounting records that are incomplete, inconsistent, or maintained in ways that obscure the true financial picture. Our forensic training equips us to identify irregularities in the financial record that may not be apparent to attorneys reviewing the same documents. When we find issues, we bring them to counsel’s attention with specific recommendations for follow-up discovery or further investigation.
Consulting Expert vs. Testifying Expert: Understanding the Distinction
When MSG serves in a non-testifying consulting capacity, our work product is generally protected from disclosure under attorney work-product doctrine. When we are designated as a testifying expert, our files, communications, and draft reports become subject to discovery. We discuss this distinction at the outset of every engagement so counsel can make an informed designation decision.
MSG assists counsel in preparing for depositions of opposing financial experts and fact witnesses. We develop question outlines that target the specific vulnerabilities in the opposing expert’s analysis, identify the documents that should be used as exhibits during the deposition, and anticipate the expert’s likely responses so counsel can prepare effective follow-up questions. We also assist counsel in preparing MSG’s own experts for deposition, ensuring consistency between the expert report and deposition testimony.
For direct examination of MSG’s testifying experts, we work with counsel to develop examination outlines that present the financial analysis in a logical sequence, build toward the key conclusions, and anticipate areas where cross-examination is likely to probe.
When a case turns on the financial evidence, the credibility of the expert presenting it can determine the outcome. MSG provides financial expert witness testimony in business valuation, forensic accounting, and economic damages matters in state and federal courts throughout New York and across the country.
Our experts have been qualified as financial expert witnesses in the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, New York State Supreme Court (Commercial Division and Matrimonial Term), U.S. Tax Court, and in AAA, JAMS arbitration proceedings, as well as state and federal courts throughout the country.
Every opinion we offer is developed with one expectation: that it will be tested under cross-examination. Our analyses are grounded in the evidentiary record, built on accepted professional standards, and presented in language that judges and juries can follow.