Agenda updated for BVR 3rd Annual Summit on Business Valuation in Divorce
The latest agenda is as follows--and you can register now here.
Monday, September 13, 2010
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Divorce Testimony: Judges, Lawyers and Appraisers on the State of the Art
Featuring: Jay Fishman (Financial Research Associates), William Morrison (Morrison & Company), Hon. Thomas Zampino (New Jersey Superior Court), Hon. Stephanie Domitrovich* (Erie County Court), Allan E. Mayefsky (Sheresky Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan, LLP), Mark Sobel (Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis)
While many appraisers have their own opinions of how to excel as an expert witness, success in this role is ultimately gauged by the judge and attorneys. This panel discussion features top family law judges and lawyers discussing what they look for from experts, their testimony, and their reports. Can appraisers help the courts by working out differences beforehand? What sort of guidance can you give to your lawyer? How can appraisers best prepare for both?
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Professional Goodwill and Rights of Publicity
Featuring: Jay Fishman (Financial Research Associates) and Mark Roesler (CMG Worldwide)
States recognize the precense of personal goodwill differently, and the impact on value can be more important than any other factor. Fishman and Roesler will discuss the identification and valuation of personal goodwill – the goodwill associated primarily with an individual – as opposed to enterprise goodwill – the goodwill associated primarily with an enterprise or institution. Included will be a discussion of common approaches used to distinguish personal and enterprise goodwill – providing suggestions for identifying elements of both, the valuation of celebrities’ “rights of publicity” (often a celebrity’s most valuable asset), and how the process used to value these rights is applicable to goodwill valuations.
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Rules of Evidence in Divorce Matters: New Issues
Featuring: William Morrison (Morrison & Company), Mark Sobel (Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis)
The already difficult appraisal process can be complicated by what is and is not admissible as evidence in court. In this session, conference chair William Morrison and attorney Mark Sobel discuss emerging issues in the admissibility and use of evidence in court. Learn how evolution in this topic has – and will – come to affect your valuation work, and how a talented trial lawyer can use this against even the best appraisers.
12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Expert Comparison Checklist
Featuring: Jay Fishman (Financial Research Associates), Stacy Collins (Financial Research Associates)
Seemingly small differences in judgment and methodology regularly lead to large differences in conclusions of business value. These elements of these differences may not be clear to judges, lawyers, or competing appraisers. To help every one involved in the better understand where each stands, what each is looking for, and how best to accomplish similar goals through differing specialized skills, Jay Fishman has developed an expert comparison checklist, a simple and effective tool to judge opposing experts. He and Stacy Collins will present this checklist along with its best practices in application.
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Current Trends in Divorce Valuation Law
Featuring: Mark Harrison (Meyers Harrison & Pia, LLC), Mark Luttrell (Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C.)
State divorce law standards in valuation are changing rapidly. From the valuation report to expert testimony to discovery to the admissibility of evidence, Mark Harrison and Mark Luttrell will present where recent changes in case law are taking us and what they mean for the expert appraiser as witness, report preparer, and adherent to court rules. Harrison and Luttrell will take particular note of some of the states that are most influencing family law practice.
3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Break
3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Reasonable Compensation: Valuing Complex RSUs and Stock Options
Featuring: Kevin Yeanoplos (Brueggeman and Johnson Yeanoplos, P.C.), Ed Rataj (CBIZ Human Capital Services)
A simple but unfortunate fact is that professionals are more likely to divorce than non-professionals. Yet in this fact lies an obvious challenge to appraisers: judging the appropriateness of complicated and, at times, obtuse compensation schemes. In this session, Kevin Yeanoplos and Ed Rataj will discuss reasonable compensation issues, in general, with a special focus on stock options and other incentive plans.
4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Adventures in Wonderland: The Use (and Abuse) of Private Transaction Databases in Family Law Matters
Featuring: William Morrison (Morrison & Company), Stacy Collins (Financial Research Associates), Kevin Yeanoplos (Brueggeman and Johnson Yeanoplos, P.C.)
Using the market approach has always been fraught with challenges, and it’s become even more complicated in today’s economic climate. What are some potential weaknesses of the market approach overall? Are private company transaction databases less relevant than they used to be? How do we deal with the changes in market multiples in the guideline public company method? What are some of the most common issues with using private and public company transaction databases? Learn ways to use these data sources more effectively.
5:15 p.m. – 6:10 p.m. Reception
Tuesday, September 14
8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. Avoiding the Double-Cross: Pitfalls for the Joint Expert
Featuring: Jay Fishman (Financial Research Associates), William Morrison (Morrison & Company), John Johnson (BST Valuation & Litigation Advisors, LLC), Brian Brinig (Brinig & Company, Inc.)
This session will cover the complications involved in accepting the position of the neutral, or jointly retained expert. The panel will discuss engagement letters and scope of work, procedures for successfully performing joint retentions, and the use of the draft report to attempt to bring the matter to resolution. Frequent problems and some solutions will also be discussed—how to react when one side wants to spend more on forensic investigations and the other says “no,” for example.
8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Premarital Business Appreciation: Apportioning Active vs. Passive Appreciation
Featuring: Mark Sobel (Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis), Stacy Collins (Financial Research Associates), Mark Harrison (Meyers Harrison & Pia, LLC)
Measuring active and passive appreciation in separate property remains a complicated issue in divorce matters. In this session, Stacy Collins, Mark Sobel, and Mark Harrison will explore how different states have looked at quantifying appreciation due to passive or external forces. Various techniques used to provide a breakdown will be covered, with legal commentary as to how these issues may be presented in a litigation setting.
9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Electronic Discovery: Drafts, Notes, Emails, Texts and How to Do it Right
Featuring: Mark Harrison (Meyers Harrison & Pia, LLC), John Kornfeld (Sheresky Aronson Mayefsky & Sloan, LLP)
Do you email? Do you text? Do you know how these communications can be used in court? As electronic communications become more common the rules admissibility are evolving in ways that can greatly benefit – or impair – the work of an appraiser or expert witness. In this session, Mark Harrison and John Kornfeld will discuss new federal rules that protect expert witness communication, and howhow to protect yourself while working on divorce engagements.
11:00 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. The Impact of Healthcare Reform on Medical Valuations
Featuring: Mark Dietrich
The Obama reform of healthcare has dramatically changed the values of many types of medical practices, and these issues are already appearing in family law matters. Reimbursement policies, the use of specialists, and policies on doctor-owned services have all changed—and with them the assumptions matrimonial lawyers and their expert witnesses take to court.
11:55 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. SSVS-1 and USPAP: Do the Courts Really Care?
Featuring: Jay Fishman (Financial Research Associates), William Morrison (Morrison & Company)
SSVS-1 and USPAP are the professional standards to which many appraisers adhere, yet their application in court is neither universal nor always well understood. What does this disparity mean for the expert witness, the attorney, or the judge? In this conference summary conference co-chairs Jay Fishman and William Morrison discuss the gap between professional standards and court room realities.