Our external and internal experts are equipped with academic expertise and practical experience across a range of markets and large datasets. This, together with our staff’s deep knowledge of economics and finance, enables us to support experts and clients with a robust, multidisciplinary approach. We work with clients to compile relevant data and determine the appropriate analyses for each matter, applying market microstructure theories, advanced modeling techniques, and econometric methods. We bring substantial experience handling big data, complex source code, and forensic analysis of data and documents. Using large public datasets and proprietary company information, we offer insightful and effective analyses. We combine technical expertise with a deep knowledge of litigation and regulatory issues.

Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.

Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.

Terrence Hendershott

Professor and Willis H. Booth Chair in Banking and Finance,
Haas School of Business,
University of California, Berkeley

Terrence “Terry” Hendershott is a recognized authority on market microstructure, market manipulation, and the structure of financial markets. Professor Hendershott’s academic research focuses on financial market design, structure, and competition; and how the activities of market participants affect price discovery and liquidity. He is an expert on a range of financial instruments, trading both on exchanges and over the counter. Professor Hendershott’s research has been published in leading academic journals and has received numerous awards.

Professor Hendershott has extensive testifying experience, including in depositions, arbitrations, and trials. He has provided testimony in cases involving a wide range of market microstructure issues. He has analyzed claims related to market manipulation and disruptive trading, high-frequency and algorithmic trading, trading execution, financial market design, as well as market efficiency and price discovery.

In the context of antitrust litigation, securities litigation, regulatory enforcement actions, and commercial disputes, Professor Hendershott has addressed class certification, loss causation, and damages issues. His consulting and testifying experience encompasses U.S. and international financial markets, including equities, exchange-traded funds, corporate and government debt, commodities, foreign exchanges, futures, and other products.

In his academic research, Professor Hendershott examines the design, regulation, and structure of stock exchanges, electronic communications networks, and over-the-counter markets. He has analyzed how different market participants, such as market makers, high-frequency traders, and institutional investors, affect price discovery and liquidity. In that context, he has also analyzed the interplay of and competition between electronic and traditional markets, as well as the role of information technology.

Professor Hendershott has received numerous honors for his research. These include the Michael J. Brennan Award for the best paper published in the Review of Financial Studies; the New York Stock Exchange best paper on equity trading, awarded by the Western Finance Association; the Outstanding Publication Award from the Financial Review; and the NASDAQ Award for the best paper on market microstructure, awarded by the Financial Management Association International. He has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Financial EconomicsManagement Science, the Journal of Financial Markets, and Information Systems Research.

Professor Hendershott chaired the NASDAQ Economic Advisory Board and served as a visiting economist at the NYSE.

Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.

Paul Zurek

Vice President,
Cornerstone Research

Paul Zurek is a financial economist specializing in securities, valuation, financial markets, risk management, and statistical analysis. Dr. Zurek consults to clients at all stages of litigation across a range of industries. He is also an experienced expert witness and provides expert testimony in large, complex matters.

As a consultant, Dr. Zurek leads teams and supports clients and experts in civil litigation, government and regulatory investigations, and international arbitration. He has significant trial experience, in the U.S. (including in state and federal courts and the Delaware Court of Chancery) and internationally (including the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands and the U.K. High Court of Justice). Dr. Zurek also has substantial expertise with shareholder litigation matters involving billions of dollars of claimed damages, including in shareholder matters outside the U.S.

As an expert witness, Dr. Zurek provides testimony on Rule 10b-5, Section 11/12, and Section 14 claims at the class certification and merits stages. He has also opined on security and business valuation. Dr. Zurek has submitted expert reports and declarations that address trading and trade execution, market efficiency, price impact, loss causation, valuation, and damages. He has testified in numerous depositions, and in arbitration and trial, and presented in mediations and regulatory proceedings.

Dr. Zurek has taught corporate finance and valuation courses at Stanford Law School, and taught finance and economics to undergraduates, M.B.A. students, and executives at The Wharton School. He researches, publishes, and presents on securities, investments, and valuation topics. Dr. Zurek coauthored “Market Approach or Comparables”, which appears in multiple editions of the Guide to Damages in International Arbitration, published by the Global Arbitration Review. He contributed a chapter on mutual fund returns and strategies to Commodities: Markets, Performance, and Strategies (Oxford University Press).

Dr. Zurek’s representative experience includes:

Securities
  • Addressing issues involving both S. and international securities, including control person and insider trading (Section 20A) claims, and federal Rule 10b-5, Section 11/12, and Section 14 matters
  • Analyzing market efficiency, price impact, loss causation, and damages to class members
  • Supporting multiple experts in In re BP p.l.c. Securities Litigation, in which the court twice denied class certification on Comcast grounds
  • Providing expert testimony in Indiana Public Retirement System v. AAC Holdings, in which class certification was denied for one claim in the securities class action
Valuation, M&A, and bankruptcy
  • Valuing companies and financial institutions (including hedge funds and private equity managers, FinTech, medical and pharmaceutical, and other businesses) in commercial disputes, appraisal and bankruptcy proceedings, and arbitrations; experience spans federal and state courts, including the Delaware Court of Chancery, and appraisal matters in the Cayman Islands
  • Valuing securities, such as a large portfolio of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives in an International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) close-out
  • Providing expert testimony at trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery
Financial markets
  • Analyzing equity, fixed income, and foreign exchange (FX) markets, both exchanges and OTC markets
  • Evaluating alleged fraudulent trading, including developing algorithms to identify unauthorized trading and computing damages
  • Assessing high-frequency trading models and examining trading patterns related to alleged market manipulation and short squeezes
  • Analyzing transaction execution and issues related to best execution in various instruments
  • Analyzing transactions in antitrust matters alleging collusive and manipulative behavior
Risk management and derivatives
  • Evaluating market, operational, and compliance risk management procedures at financial institutions
  • Quantitatively analyzing risks embedded in financial portfolios using Value-at-Risk (VAR) and simulation methods
  • Evaluating risks and returns of hedge fund, private equity, and mutual fund investment strategies
  • Assessing rating agency models of default in collateralized debt obligation (CDO) portfolios

Dr. Zurek coheads Cornerstone Research’s M&A, valuation, and bankruptcy practice and has led the firm’s fixed income and derivatives initiatives. He serves on the firm’s risk management and capital funding committees.

Before joining Cornerstone Research, Dr. Zurek worked in M&A at a global investment bank and a consulting company offering business and banking simulations. He also served as a director and on the asset and liability committee of a credit union.

Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.

Christine A. Parlour

Sylvan C. Coleman Chair in Finance and Accounting,
Haas School of Business,
University of California, Berkeley

Christine A. Parlour is a finance expert who focuses on market microstructure, limit order markets, cryptocurrencies, FinTech, and payment systems. Professor Parlour provides expert testimony on a range of institutionally complex topics involving financial markets, institutions, market manipulation, cryptocurrency, and regulation. She is the former president of the Western Finance Association and a former member of the Nasdaq Economic Advisory Board. She has also served as visiting economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

For more than twenty years, Professor Parlour has researched issues related to the economics of financial exchanges. She specializes in financial markets, including equity markets, debt markets, and cryptocurrencies. In equity markets, she has examined price dynamics, competition for order flow, payment for order flow, and informed trading. Her research on cryptocurrencies addresses the effect of Central Bank Digital Currency on banking system stability, the costs of settlement on the Bitcoin Ledger, and how initial coin offerings (ICOs) differ from traditional funding.

Widely published, Professor Parlour’s award-winning research has appeared in leading finance and economics journals, including the American Economic Review, the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Finance, and the Journal of Financial Economics. She is an editor at the Review of Finance; associate editor of the Journal of Financial Markets, the Journal of Financial Intermediation, and the Journal of Financial Services Research; and a former associate editor of Management Science and the Journal of Finance.

Professor Parlour has taught courses in investment analysis, FinTech, auctions and microstructure, and capital markets. She is a winner of the Haas School’s Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching.

She has held visiting academic appointments at INSEAD, the London School of Economics and Politics, and Paris Dauphine University. Professor Parlour is a past president of the Finance Theory Group.

Our extensive network includes top experts from academia and industry.

Erik R. Sirri

Professor of Finance (Emeritus),
Babson College;
Former Director, SEC Division of Trading and Markets;
Senior Advisor, Cornerstone Research

Erik Sirri consults with clients on matters related to asset management, including robo-advising, mutual funds, and exchange-traded products; securities trading, including high-frequency trading; and financial institutions, with a special emphasis on broker-dealer issues. Professor Sirri has extensive experience with regulatory enforcement matters.

Professor Sirri’s research focuses on the interaction of securities law and finance, investment management, securities market structure, and capital markets. From 2006 through 2009, Professor Sirri was director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he was responsible for matters related to the regulation of stock and options exchanges, national securities associations, brokers, dealers, clearing agencies, and credit ratings agencies. He served as chief economist of the SEC from 1996 through 1999, and was an assistant professor of finance at Harvard Business School from 1989 to 1995.

Professor Sirri’s writings have been published in the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Markets, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and other journals and books. He has served on the boards of securities exchanges, mutual funds, industry associations, and foundations. Professor Sirri has consulted for securities firms, stock exchanges, mutual fund companies, issuers, and information vendors on a variety of regulatory and business matters.

Market Manipulation Capabilities

We evaluate allegations of trading behavior allegedly impacting or attempting to impact prices of different products and contracts at market closing or fixing windows.

We evaluate trading data and positions to assess allegations of strategic misreporting of trade data to PRAs in order to benefit market positions.

Cornerstone Research conducts screening analysis of large proprietary financial datasets to identify potential problematic conduct, assess the scope of conduct in question, and analyze trading patterns.

Our staff and experts have utilized transaction-level data to analyze trading in derivatives and their respective underlying products.

Cornerstone Research conducts in-depth analysis of complex financial instruments, trading and hedging activities, and electronic communications and audio records to identify potential problematic conduct and assess market impact.

We analyze trading and order data to evaluate allegations of wash trading and prearranged trading in various financial markets.

Cornerstone Research has extensive experience in handling Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) disputes, enforcement, and commercial litigation. Our team delivers rigorous economic analysis and expert testimony to support clients in regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, and litigation. Through close collaboration with clients, including outside counsel, government agencies, and in-house counsel, we develop targeted economic arguments and strategies that address our clients’ unique needs, whether in regulatory proceedings, civil or criminal litigation, or internal investigations.

Market Microstructure Capabilities

We have experience working on various aspects of high-frequency and low-latency trading, including assessing trading strategies, trading algorithms, and the impact of HFT trading on market dynamics. We have also examined broker-dealers’ and trading platforms’ order handling algorithms in the HFT environment.

We have experience with order handling, rules involving price quoting, clearing and settlement, uncovered short sales, best execution, markups, and trade reporting.

Market Manipulation
Benchmarks
Spoofing and layering
Front running
Corners and squeezes
Wash trading

Market Microstructure
High-frequency trading
Order handling
Price quoting
Best execution
Clearing and settlement
Uncovered short sales
Trade reporting

Product Types
Agricultural commodities
Cryptocurrencies
Energy commodities
Equity investments and derivatives
Fixed income securities and derivatives
Foreign exchange
Interest rate products
Precious and base metals

Markets
Cash and derivatives
Domestic and international
Electronic Exchanges and Over-the-Counter (OTC)
Futures and exchanges
Primary offerings and syndication
Physical and financial
Wholesale, intermediary, and retail markets

Areas of Specialization
Class certification
Criminal matters
Joint defense groups
Litigation
Private and internal investigations
Regulatory and governmental enforcement actions

Featured Cases

Featured Publications

17 July 2024

Price Differences within Retail Gasoline Markets

The authors review pricing strategies for fueling stations and examine related price differentials within gasoline markets.

14 June 2024

Order and Trade Data Analysis in Recent Spoofing Investigations

The authors examine recent spoofing enforcement actions by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

6 January 2023

Alleged Market Manipulation and the Pre-hedging of Large Trades

The authors discuss the differences between pre-hedging and alleged market manipulation.

28 June 2022

Cross-Market Manipulation Allegations: Economic Implications

The authors discuss enforcement actions of cross-market manipulation from recent years and how they may shed light on the evaluation of future matt...

10 June 2022

From Zero to 100: Crude Oil Price Changes in 2020–2022

This article provides analysis of the market microstructure implications of oil futures and spot prices for market participants.

4 April 2021

Market Abuse 2021: Key Takeaways

At a February 2021 Cornerstone Research video conference, economists, attorneys and academics discussed recent enforcement actions and litigation i...

24 February 2021

The Legal and Economic Implications from Recent UK Spoofing Cases

The authors discuss the FCA’s increased enforcement focus on spoofing cases.

22 September 2020

Cross-Market Manipulation Under the Microscope

The authors discuss illustrative cross-market manipulation enforcement cases and their implications for market participants in the EU, UK and US.

15 June 2020

March Trading Halts and Other Trading Restrictions May Complicate Securities Class Actions

The authors document a high number of automatic trading halts and other trading restrictions triggered in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 p...

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