John Connolly provides economic, financial, and statistical analyses in commercial litigation and regulatory proceedings. Mr. Connolly’s experience focuses on securities, financial derivatives, trading activity, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), valuation, consumer finance, and corporate governance. He supports clients and experts in all phases of litigation across U.S. federal and state courts, the Delaware Court of Chancery, and U.S. and international arbitration associations.
Mr. Connolly’s selected experience includes:
Securities, financial derivatives, and trading activity
- Evaluating credit default swap auction processes and market manipulation claims
- Analyzing hedge fund trading of municipal bonds for an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Reviewing hedge fund trading in private placements for potential concerns
- Analyzing sampling claims in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) litigation
Valuation and M&A
- Creating discounted cash flow (DCF) analyses for litigation involving distressed asset sales
- Evaluating the solvency of a major manufacturer in an international arbitration
- Calculating damages based on reputational harm affecting early-stage valuation
- Valuing commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and real estate assets
- Addressing M&A processes in an asset divestiture
Corporate governance and consumer finance
- Addressing compensation and board structures in an M&A context
- Analyzing transaction clauses, including ordinary course, material adverse effect (MAC), and contractual consent language
- Evaluating procedures in the establishment of banking subsidiaries
- Reviewing compliance practices with respect to home loan data
Before joining Cornerstone Research, Mr. Connolly worked in the real estate and structured finance divisions at PricewaterhouseCoopers.