Yesim Richardson heads the firm’s financial institutions practice. She specializes in applying economic and financial analysis to complex litigation involving securities, financial institutions, valuation, and real estate. Dr. Richardson has worked with clients in a variety of financial sectors as well as other industries, such as energy, telecommunications, high technology, and pharmaceuticals.
Securities—Dr. Richardson has addressed market efficiency, loss causation, liability, and damages in Section 10b-5, Section 11, and ERISA cases. Her analysis has involved equity, debt, and derivative instruments; allegations of accounting misstatements, fraudulent earnings guidance, fraudulent business practices, and options backdating; and companies with multiple business segments and/or international operations, including those with securities traded on multiple exchanges.
Financial institutions—Dr. Richardson has addressed numerous issues involving financial institutions:
- Analyzed the relationship between economic developments, regulatory environment, and company performance, as well as the foreseeability of economic developments
- Evaluated due diligence responsibilities and the security issuance process for public offerings and private placements
- Determined the impact of “but-for” financial restatements on debt ratings, borrowing costs, and security issuance
- Estimated damages to investors from the alleged nondisclosure of practices with respect to leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds, investments in subprime-related securities, rebalancing of client portfolios, mutual fund market timing, and bid rigging
- Investigated fund investment strategies, portfolio performance and fees, as well as shareholder investment and redemption behavior
Valuation—Dr. Richardson has conducted valuation analyses of hedge funds, high-technology companies (including start-up ventures), international companies, and real estate ventures in a range of contexts, including breach of contract, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, technology licensing, and employee compensation.
Real estate—Dr. Richardson has analyzed complex securitized real estate instruments, such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations; assessed the financial and economic effects of changes in real estate markets; evaluated the financing options available to a real estate partnership for developing a shopping center; and analyzed the duties and actions of general and limited partners under real estate partnership agreements.
Prior to joining Cornerstone Research, Dr. Richardson taught economics at Boston University and at Bilkent University in Turkey.