What is an economic damages expert witness?

An economic damages expert witness is a credentialed professional—typically a CPA with forensic and valuation credentials—retained by attorneys to quantify the financial losses at the center of litigation. Joey Friedman, CPA, ABV analyzes lost profits, business interruption, wage loss, diminution of value, and related categories, then prepares a defensible report and testifies at deposition or trial.

What types of cases require an economic damages expert?

Economic damages experts are commonly retained for commercial litigation (lost profits, breach of contract), business interruption insurance disputes, employment matters (wage and lost-earnings claims), intellectual property infringement, partnership disputes, personal injury, and business valuation disputes.

How does Joey Friedman calculate lost profits?

Lost profits are calculated by comparing the business's but-for financial performance against actual results during the damages period. Inputs include historical revenues, industry benchmarks, comparable periods, and causation analysis. All assumptions are documented, tested for reasonableness, and disclosed in the written report.

What deliverables does the firm provide?

Attorneys receive a written damages report with documented assumptions, a damages model or schedule, supporting exhibits, and a summary suitable for mediation or trial. We also prepare for deposition and trial testimony and can respond to opposing expert critiques.

Is your work Daubert-admissible?

Yes. The analysis is designed to satisfy Daubert and Federal Rule of Evidence 702 standards: methodology is reliable and generally accepted in the forensic accounting profession, assumptions are grounded in disclosed data, the approach is testable and subject to peer review, and opinions are held to a reasonable degree of professional certainty. Engagement documentation supports full review by opposing counsel.

Do you work for plaintiffs or defendants?

The firm is retained by both plaintiff and defense counsel. We analyze the claimed damages from both sides—whether that means quantifying a client's losses or critiquing opposing expert reports. Our opinions are objective and based on the available evidence, regardless of which side retains us.

Economic Damages & Lost Profits Expert Witness Services

Whether you are an attorney, business owner, claimant, or individual litigant evaluating lost profits or another damages model, a strong economic damages engagement begins with clear questions, usable records, and a defensible damages theory.

What to Gather Before an Economic Damages Engagement Begins

A stronger damages opinion starts with a clear liability theory, a defined damages period, usable records, and agreement on the questions the expert must answer.

Attorneys, claimants, business owners, and individual litigants evaluating the same claim benefit from organizing the same core materials early: financial statements, tax returns, monthly revenue records, payroll records, contracts, and contemporaneous projections. For a full overview of expert witness and financial-dispute resources, see our forensic accounting expert witness services and business valuation expert witness services.

What Litigants and Attorneys Should Clarify Before an Economic Damages Report Begins

Adamages report gets stronger when the liability theory, damages period, model inputs, and required work product are defined before the calculations begin. Early document preservation strengthens the damages case. The following financial and operational records are typically essential for a lost profits or economic damages analysis:

Three to five years of financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow)
Federal and state business tax returns for the same period
Monthly sales and revenue records, including invoices, contracts, and purchase orders
Bank statements (business and, in some cases, personal)
Payroll records and owner compensation documentation
Accounts receivable and accounts payable aging schedules
Business plans, projections, and budgets prepared before the harmful event
Industry benchmark data and comparable company financials
Contracts, license agreements, and insurance policies relevant to the claim
Damages-related communications (emails, board minutes, reports to investors)
Identify the assumptions and documents that opposing parties, experts, or decision-makers are likely to scrutinize.

Gaps in records can be addressed through forensic reconstruction techniques. See our overview of expert witness and litigation support services for how we handle incomplete documentation.

What Happens After the Damages Theory Is Scoped

Once the damages theory is scoped, the analysis should identify the records needed, test assumptions, evaluate alternative explanations, and prepare the model for negotiation, mediation, deposition, arbitration, hearing, trial, or settlement evaluation.

Economic Damages Testimony and Rebuttal Support

Every economic damages engagement is built around records, methodology, assumptions, and work product that can be explained to attorneys, business owners, claimants, individual litigants, mediators, arbitrators, courts, or other decision-makers.

Economic Damages FAQ

What is the difference between economic damages and non-economic damages?

Economic damages are objectively measurable financial losses — lost profits, lost wages, medical expenses, and repair costs. Non-economic damages compensate for subjective harm such as pain, suffering, and loss of consortium. A CPA expert witness quantifies measurable financial losses; non-economic damages are usually evaluated separately by the parties, counsel, and applicable decision-makers because they are not calculated from accounting records.

How are lost profits calculated in a business interruption claim?

The most common approach is the before-and-after method: comparing the business’s pre-event revenue trend to its post-event actual performance, with adjustments for variable costs avoided, mitigation, and intervening causes. The yardstick method may supplement or replace this when comparable industry data is more reliable than internal history.

What financial records are needed for a lost profits analysis?

Typically three to five years of financial statements, tax returns, monthly revenue records, bank statements, payroll records, and any projections or budgets prepared before the harmful event. The more complete the records, the stronger the damages model. We can work with incomplete records using forensic reconstruction techniques.

Can Joey Friedman serve as a rebuttal expert against an opposing damages expert?

Rebuttal engagements review the opposing expert’s report, identify methodological weaknesses, unsupported assumptions, or calculation errors, and prepare a written rebuttal opinion for use in negotiation, deposition, motion practice, mediation, arbitration, or trial.

What does “Daubert-ready” mean for an economic damages report?

A defensible economic damages report explains the methodology, assumptions, data sources, and calculations clearly enough to be evaluated by parties, opposing experts, mediators, arbitrators, courts, or other decision-makers.

What is the difference between lost profits and lost business value?

Lost profits measures the recurring income stream the business would have earned for a defined period. Lost business value (diminution in value) measures the permanent reduction in the going-concern worth of the enterprise attributable to the defendant’s conduct. The applicable measure depends on whether the harm was temporary or permanent and on the controlling legal standard. We analyze which model fits the facts at the outset of engagement.

How long does an economic damages engagement take?

Simple wage-loss or single-year lost profits analyses can often be completed in two to three weeks. Multi-year business interruption or lost business value engagements typically require six to ten weeks, depending on document availability, complexity, and the deadlines set by the matter.

What industries do you handle?

The firm has analyzed economic damages across professional services, healthcare, construction, real estate, retail, technology, financial services, and food & beverage. Case types include commercial litigation, business interruption, intellectual property infringement, employment disputes, partnership dissolution, personal injury, and insurance subrogation matters.

Are your fees contingent on the outcome of the case?

No. Expert witness fees are strictly time-based, never contingent on case outcome. Contingency-fee arrangements for expert witnesses are prohibited by professional standards and would impair the independence of the opinion. A retainer is collected at engagement; billing continues on a time-and-materials basis as work progresses.

How do I retain Joey Friedman as an economic damages expert witness?

Contact the firm using the online contact form. A brief conflict check is completed before any formal engagement begins.

Related Economic Damages Resources

Attorneys, business owners, claimants, and individual litigants researching economic damages, lost profits, and business valuation methods may find the following resources useful:

Whether you are an attorney, business owner, claimant, or individual litigant evaluating lost profits or another damages model, contact the firm for a confidential consultation about the records, timeline, and damages theory in your matter.