Carlyn Irwin

Senior Advisor

Contact

  • Los Angeles

Education

Carlyn Irwin is an economic damages and forensic accounting expert. Ms. Irwin has thirty years of experience in expert witness testimony and litigation consulting. She specializes in matters related to intellectual property, breach of contract/tort claims, financial forensic analyses, and investigations.

In addition to her expertise in calculating damages, Ms. Irwin has extensive forensic accounting experience. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has retained her in multiple matters to analyze financial records, including issues related to flow of funds, potential misappropriation of assets, and irregularities indicative of Ponzi schemes. She has provided expert testimony in federal and state courts, and in domestic and international arbitration settings.

Who’s Who Legal recognizes Ms. Irwin as a leading forensic accountant in the legal investigations space, describing her as “extremely thoughtful” and citing her “detail-oriented approach” and “meticulous analysis.” She is a certified public accountant, certified in financial forensics, accredited in business valuation, certified in entity and intangible valuations, and is a certified fraud examiner.

Intellectual property disputes

Ms. Irwin testifies on damages claims in patent, trademark, and copyright infringement matters, as well as trade secret misappropriation disputes. She has estimated lost profits, unjust enrichment, and reasonable royalty damages, and analyzed loss causation, apportionment issues, and the implications of “Most Favored Licensee” clauses. Her experience includes:

  • Testifying in multiple federal trials on damages issues related to alleged trade secret misappropriation
  • Analyzing patent and trade secret damages under Georgia-Pacific, Panduit, and University Computing
  • Conducting valuations of intangible assets such as patents, trade secrets, trademarks, and other forms of intangible assets, including assembled workforces, non-competition provisions, and client relationships
  • Consulting on licensing programs and pre-litigation patent matters
Contract and tort claims

Ms. Irwin analyzes and testifies on loss causation and damages issues in breach of contract and tort causes of action, including those alleging breach of fiduciary duty, product liability, alter ego, Lanham Act violations, false advertising, unfair business competition, and defamation. She has also evaluated compensatory damages and claims for statutory and restitution or disgorgement damages. Ms. Irwin has:

  • Served as an expert in high-profile matters involving discrimination claims, as well as allegations of aiding and abetting illegal conduct and violations of federal law
  • Provided affirmative and rebuttal trial testimony in calculating damages, including analysis of loss causation issues, and opining on definitions of the but-for world
  • Testified in class action matters regarding damages at the pre-certification stage
  • Analyzed liability issues in matters alleging breach of fiduciary duty and discrimination
Financial forensic analysis

As a certified financial forensic accountant, Ms. Irwin has extensive experience with reconstructing and confirming financial records, tracing transactions through corporate reporting systems, and reviewing financial records (including tax returns) to assess consistency and reliability. She has consulted on civil and criminal white collar litigation, as well as matters alleging fraudulent conveyances, breach of contract, money laundering and racketeering (RICO), pyramid schemes, and fraud.

In her forensic accounting testimony, Ms. Irwin has addressed allegations related to solvency, financial misstatements, fraudulent/preferential transfers and schemes, and misappropriation of assets. Her experience includes:

  • Testifying at deposition and trial regarding affirmative defenses that plaintiffs had falsely reported their financial condition or had engaged in other questionable conduct
  • Retentions by multiple financial institutions to analyze financial transactions allegedly used to launder money and/or facilitate fraudulent customer schemes
  • Analyses of companies’ solvency and the “reasonable equivalent value” of allegedly fraudulent transfers/conveyances pre-bankruptcy
  • Analyzing legal fees and costs for post-judgment reimbursement by the prevailing party

Ms. Irwin’s industry experience includes consumer products, e-commerce, entertainment, financial and professional services, healthcare, life sciences, medical devices, medical services, real estate, retail, software, software as a service (SaaS), sports, and technology. She works with clients and counsel in all phases of the litigation process.

Community engagement

Ms. Irwin serves as treasurer, compliance officer, and as a member of the board of directors for her local chapter of the National Charity League Inc.

Professional Affiliations
Press Release

WWL: Investigations Forensic Accountants 2024

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WWL: Investigations Forensic Accountants 2023

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WWL: Investigations Forensic Accountants 2022

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2020 Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders–GIR–Investigations Forensic Accountants

Case

Morgan et al. v. U.S. Soccer Federation Inc.

Press Release

2020 Who’s Who Legal: Investigations Forensic Accountants

Press Release

2019 Who’s Who Legal: Consulting Experts

Press Release

2019 Who’s Who Legal: Forensic Accountants