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 arbitrations and presented in mediations and regulatory proceedings.
Dr. Zurek teaches corporate finance and valuation courses at Stanford Law School, and previously 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
- 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
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 focus area 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.
