Insights are shorter articles on the questions that recur in economic damages work: what a damages report contains, how expert testimony on damages is admitted, and how valuation and forensic accounting evidence is built and tested. They are written by the economists at KW Economics for attorneys on both sides of a damages claim.
Articles
Daubert vs. Frye: Admissibility Frameworks for Economic Damages Testimony - Legal, . Daubert and Frye are the two framework families that govern expert testimony in U.S. courts: Daubert asks whether a method is reliable and reliably applied, and Frye asks whether it is generally accepted in the field. Neither framework routinely excludes forensic economic testimony; challenges target inputs the record does not support.
Components of an Economic Damages Report - Economics, . An economic damages report is a set of schedules connected by stated assumptions. This post walks through the components in the order they appear in a well-organized report, what each one rests on, and where opposing economists usually disagree, so counsel can read a report critically in an hour.
What a W-2 Adds to a Lost Earnings Claim - Records, . The W-2 is the first record an economist asks for in a lost earnings claim, because it fixes what an employer actually paid a person in a year, and it says more than the wage figure most readers stop at. This post explains what each box adds to the earnings base, what the form cannot tell you, and which records fill the gaps.
What Tax Returns Add to a Lost Earnings Claim - Records, . The tax return is the one record that shows all of a person's income in a year, from every employer and every business, alongside the income of a spouse and the deductions that reveal how a business was run. This post explains what each part of the return adds to the earnings base, where it misleads, and which records it points to next.