Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.
Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.
Mark J. Garmaise
Professor of Finance,
UCLA Anderson School of Management,
University of California, Los Angeles
Mark Garmaise is a corporate finance expert who specializes in topics related to banking, entrepreneurship, financial contracting, real estate, and securities. Professor Garmaise has testified in high-profile cases involving breach of contract, valuation, and damages. In Rule 10b-5 securities class actions and related opt-out matters, he has provided expert testimony on class certification and merits issues, including market efficiency, price impact, loss causation, and damages.
His industry experience includes FinTech, cryptocurrency, entertainment, financial services, investment banking, automotive, and microfinance. Professor Garmaise has also consulted with a U.S. bank on refining its residential mortgage delinquency model.
Professor Garmaise analyzes a range of complex issues affecting real estate markets, entrepreneurial firms, venture capital, and private equity. He has published papers on mortgage terms, the performance of small business lenders, and the effects of financial constraints on entrepreneurs. His research has appeared in peer-reviewed publications such as the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Finance, and the Quarterly Journal of Economics.
An award-winning instructor with more than two decades of experience, Professor Garmaise teaches MBA and executive courses on corporate finance, venture capital, and private equity (including investment strategies such as the use of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs). He is a former senior associate dean of the MBA program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Previously, Professor Garmaise served on the faculty of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.
Steven R. Grenadier
William F. Sharpe Professor of Financial Economics,
Stanford Graduate School of Business;
Senior Advisor, Cornerstone Research
Steven Grenadier has testified as an expert in investments and derivatives cases in which he has addressed disclosure, suitability, and valuation issues. He has also testified in numerous ERISA matters involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, excessive fees, and inappropriate investments. Professor Grenadier has experience in analyzing market efficiency, price impact, Comcast issues, and loss causation and damages in Section 10b-5 and 11 securities class actions in federal and state courts.
Professor Grenadier specializes in complex financial asset analysis, and teaches courses on investments, portfolio management, and finance theory. His research focuses on applying option pricing theory to real investment analysis. Topics have included industry boom and bust cycles, real option signaling games, continuous-time stochastic games, valuing complex lease contracts, and commercial real estate equilibrium models.
He is also a senior financial economist with Financial Engines, and a former director of Nicholas-Applegate Institutional Funds, AQR Funds, and E*Trade.
Professor Grenadier is an editor of the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, and a former associate editor of the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control. He has also published articles in the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Empirical Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Review of Financial Studies.
Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.
Eric H. Sussman
Adjunct Professor of Accounting,
UCLA Anderson School of Management,
University of California, Los Angeles;
Founding Partner, Clear Capital LLC
Eric Sussman is an accounting and real estate expert who focuses on financial reporting and accounting, real estate investment, finance, and management. Professor Sussman has extensive experience as an expert witness and consultant for commercial litigation. He has testified in numerous matters involving corporate financial reporting and disclosure, audit effectiveness, valuation, real estate due diligence, real estate investment trusts (REITs), fiduciary duties, and economic damages analyses.
At UCLA Anderson, Professor Sussman has more than two decades of experience teaching courses on cost/managerial accounting, financial accounting, financial statement analysis, equity valuation, corporate financial reporting, and real estate investment and finance. He is a ten-time winner of the M.B.A. Teaching Excellence Award, a seven-time winner of the FEMBA Teaching Excellence Award, as voted by M.B.A. graduates, and a recipient of numerous other teaching awards and national recognitions.
Professor Sussman has been retained by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service to analyze investment and tax issues related to real estate.
Throughout his teaching career, Professor Sussman has remained active in the real estate industry. As a founding partner of Clear Capital, LLC, a real estate investment firm, he oversees capital, equity, and debt functions, as well as private equity, joint venture, and fund formation activities. Earlier in his career, Professor Sussman worked as an audit manager for PriceWaterhouse. He is the creator of an analytical software tool that measures, evaluates, and reports on the financial accounting and corporate reporting risk for public companies via EDGAR Online.
Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.
Andrea L. Eisfeldt
Laurence D. and Lori W. Fink Endowed Chair in Finance,
Professor of Finance,
UCLA Anderson School of Management,
University of California, Los Angeles
Andrea Eisfeldt is an expert on financial markets. Professor Eisfeldt’s research has focused on macroeconomics and finance, including research on market liquidity, the role of intangibles in asset pricing, bank valuation, and over-the-counter markets.
Professor Eisfeldt has been retained as an expert witness in numerous finance matters, analyzing a range of issues that include portfolio analysis, valuation, economic damages, asset pricing, investment strategies, fixed income and derivatives, mortgage finance and mortgage-backed securities (MBS), hedge funds, and LIBOR. On Section 10b and Section 14a securities class actions, she has addressed issues at the class certification and merits stages, including loss causation and damages.
In her recent academic work, Professor Eisfeldt has researched a range of topics, including the effects of Generative AI on the value of firms, the return on complex trading strategies, over-the-counter derivatives prices and trading, bank valuation, and credit risk. She has published articles in the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Monetary Economics, Econometrica, and the Review of Financial Studies. Her research has twice been awarded the Amundi Smith Breeden Prize by the Journal of Finance. Professor Eisfeldt was a finalist for the Jensen Prize in the Journal of Financial Economics.
Professor Eisfeldt holds editorial roles at leading academic journals. At the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), she is a research associate in the programs for asset pricing, corporate finance, and economic fluctuations and growth. Professor Eisfeldt is a member of the board of directors of the UCLA Investment Company, which manages part of the University’s endowment. She has also served on the board of the American Finance Association, as a member of the investments, ethics, and strategic planning committees.
Professor Eisfeldt teaches courses on derivatives, international finance, corporate finance, FinTech and cryptocurrency, and macro finance. Previously, she served for a decade as a tenured professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Real Estate Capabilities
Cornerstone Research works with industry experts who have practical experience in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate development, including land acquisition, financing, entitlements, zoning issues, marketing, and working with architects and other professionals. These matters often involve assessing the typicality or reasonableness of development related activities. In addition, we have worked on many cases involving sales of land and properties, leases, and more complex transactions.
Cornerstone Research provides consulting services and economic analysis for complex litigation matters related to commercial real estate. We leverage our deep experience of commercial real estate markets, structured finance, and valuation to support clients and testifying experts in commercial real estate matters. We work on matters spanning the spectrum of commercial real estate contract disputes, analyses of lending markets, commercial real estate valuation, and commercial mortgage-backed securities matters.
Cornerstone Research works on cases related to a wide range of internet-enabled real estate companies and services, such as listings, market information, rentals, and other areas.
Experts who can opine on appraisals or provide well-supported asset valuations are critical—especially in cases where property values must be calculated at a specific point in time. We have worked with clients and appraisal and AVM experts to prepare for deposition and trial in cases arising out of the credit crisis, as well as many other contexts.
We address issues related to disclosure; equity and debt financing; and investment decisions. For example, in credit-crisis litigation, we have assessed the valuation and performance of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), collateralized debt obligations (CDO), and other securitized instruments.
We have consulted on numerous cases involving real estate investment trusts (REITs), including putative class actions and merger-related matters. In these cases, we have supported experts who analyze valuations, REIT financial statements and performance, and industry trends. We have also analyzed corporate governance issues specific to REITs.
We perform a wide range of complex economic damages analyses in real estate litigation. For example, we provide rent and asset valuations using discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis and option theory. In cases alleging construction defects, we build economic models of but-for scenarios in which the alleged breach did not take place. We also have significant experience analyzing the impact of macroeconomic and other factors on hotel occupancy rates, expenses, and profitability.
Real estate transactions frequently involve multiple entities that may or may not be related. In these instances, it can be necessary to analyze corporate structures and the movements of funds between these entities. Our expertise allows us to sift through large amounts of financial data and corporate communications to identify trends, anomalies, and fraudulent transactions.
Featured Cases
Selected Professionals
Our staff consultants contribute expertise in economics, finance, accounting, and marketing, as well as business acumen, familiarity with the litigation process, and a commitment to provide outstanding support.
How can we help you?
For more information or assistance with a specific matter, please contact us.