Annual Conference October 9-11, 2025 – Denver

Featured Conference Sessions as of August 6:

2 BOOT CAMPS from which to choose . . .

Intermediate Boot Camp (concurrent with Advanced Boot Camp)
Assessing Personal Damages: Facts, Resources, and How to Use Them
(Dr. Allyn Needham, Shipp Needham Economic Analysis, LLC) . . . This workshop will discuss how to calculate the lost earnings and lost earning capacity or lost economic support for injured or deceased individuals. Its primary focus will be on reviewing the facts of a case and considering the data sources to be used in completing a personal damages report. The session will review methodologies and approaches used for assessing the losses incurred by traditional wage or salary workers and self-employed individuals. We will discuss analyzing W-2s, K-1s, and 1099-NECs along with paystubs and employer provided income projections.

Advanced Boot Camp (concurrent with Intermediate Boot Camp)
Valuing the Unknown: Strategies for Complex Cases with Limited Data
(Dr. Charlotte Otabor, Otas Economic Consulting, LLC) . . . In high-stakes litigation, not every case comes with clean spreadsheets and comprehensive disclosures. This advanced session tackles the real-world challenges forensic economists face when working with incomplete, unreliable, or foreign-sourced data—especially in business valuation, wrongful death, or lost earnings cases involving international claimants or undocumented financial histories.

Main Conference . . .

Main Conference sessions are still a work in progress. Next we will be scheduling session order of appearance (day and time). Thank you for your patience.

AI: Tricks, Treats, and Tech – Don’t Be Scared, Be Prepared! Unmask the mysteries of AI and discover how to make it work for you. (Kristen Baginski, LexisNexis) . . . Join us for a fun and informative session where we’ll demystify artificial intelligence and explore the tools and technologies that are transforming the way we live and work. Whether you’re curiou+, cautious, or completely new to AI, this session will help you:

• Understand what AI really is (no spooky jargon!) — Learn what an LLM is and how they work.  
• Discover popular AI tools and how they’re being used today — A look at tools like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, Lexis Protege and more. 
• Learn practical tips to integrate AI into your daily life and work — How can and should you be using AI to complete tasks and leave more time for important work. 
• Feel confident and prepared to embrace AI with curiosity—not fear

Boo! What Makes YOU an Expert?!!! (Dr. William Houston Reed, Vocational Expert Witnesses) . . . Ever since lawyers have been calling witnesses in court to give opinion testimony on scientific, technical, or in some other specialized field, the legitimate question on the minds of opposing counsel, the judge and the jury is … “what makes this person an expert?” But don’t be scared, be prepared. Because once you realize what state and federal laws actually require (and don’t require) for one to be considered an expert, you’ll be prepared to confidently say that your education, training, and experience give you the appropriate knowledge and skills required by law to give expert opinion testimony. 

The Relationship Between Unemployment and Demographic Characteristics: Implications for Estimates of Earning Capacity (Lane Hudgins, Lane Hudgins Analysis) . . . This presentation reviews key findings from the literature on how unemployment rates in the United States vary by demographic characteristics, including sex, age, education, race, marital status, and wage levels. Drawing from national data sources and peer-reviewed studies, the presentation explores both structural and cyclical factors that contribute to employment disparities. Additional focus is given to occupational differences, labor force participation, and re-employment prospects, with particular attention to how unemployment data can be practically incorporated into earning capacity assessments.

ORS Workscape Analytics™ Specifically Applied to Cases (John Yent, Workscape Analytics) . . . This presentation is for learning about the Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) and related data sets from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as an essential tool in your practice. The benefits of Workscape Analytics™ software will demonstrate ORS, understanding applications the applications to case management and forensic services. Using client’s Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) users can optimize and expedite vocational profiles for assessments that are bullet-proof.

Integrating Artificial Intelligence in Damages Reports (Christopher Skerritt, Kincaid Wolstein Educational & Rehabilitation Svcs) . . . This session examines how AI can enhance the precision, efficiency, and defensibility of economic and life-care planning reports. Participants will explore practical AI tools for automating data collection (e.g., wage databases, medical-cost indices), applying natural-language processing to extract treatment needs from medical records, and leveraging predictive modeling for future-cost projections. Through case studies, we’ll demonstrate best practices for validating AI outputs, ensuring transparency in assumptions, and addressing ethical considerations under Daubert standards.

Handling Sexual Assault-Special Damages (Jason Purinton, Purinton Analytics, LLC) . . . This presentation explores the vocational impact of sexual assault within the context of forensic evaluation and litigation support. It addresses how trauma may influence work capacity, career trajectory, and economic damages without crossing into mental health causation. Attendees will gain insight into structured methodologies for evaluating earning capacity in complex, sensitive cases.

Consumption Across Household Types (Dr. Christopher Mann, University of Nebraska – Lincoln and Rosenbaum Economic Consulting) . . . The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the estimation of many tables relied upon by forensic economists. We present the first estimates of personal consumption across different household types using post-pandemic, US micro data, their differences with past estimates, and how they should be used. Our estimation also includes household types that have historically been excluded, including single parents, same-sex couples, those with adult children, and those living with non-family adults.

Work-life Expectancy and the LPE Method (Dr. William Rogers, John Ward Economics, LLC) . . . Summarizing a person’s expected future work-life into a single statistic comes at a price, especially when estimating remaining lifetime earnings. Dr. Rogers will provide a conceptual framework, using a Markov process, illustrating various work-life expectancy techniques identified in economic literature and their trade-offs concerning ease of use and forecast accuracy. The presentation will outline the steps to convert annual probabilities of labor force participation to generate their own lifetime annual work probabilities. Examples are constructed using simulated and survey data.

Ethics When You Are Not Paying Attention (Jeroen Walstra, Walstra Expert Witness Company and Judith Parker, OSC Vocational Systems, Inc.) . . . This presentation explores nuanced and often overlooked ethical dilemmas. Anchored in the evolving standards of AREA, the session delves into topics such as emerging regulations around harassment, whistleblower protections, and AI integration. Attendees will examine the responsible use of AI in reporting, including the tension between algorithmic “efficiency” and human nuance. The session challenges practitioners to reexamine assumptions around lingering client relationships, expert shopping, anonymous online attacks, and personal bias in economic evaluations. Additional focus is placed on complex scenarios like handling confidential information from unrelated sources and interpreting missing data points. Designed to raise awareness of ethical blind spots, this presentation encourages greater professional accountability—especially when attention is fragmented or assumptions are unchecked.

The Perils of Paralysis; a Family Trauma (John Berg, Vocational Consulting, Inc.) . . . The 90-minute program PP presentation with Q&A is a personal testimony following John’s son from the hour of injury in La Paz, Baja Sur Mexico, to transitioning from San Diego hospital to Seattle Harborview medical and discharge to home. The time captures details of a parent’s experience, starting in Mexico ER followed by a Learjet medivac flight to San Diego along with the medic team. Details of handling insurance claims, appeals, SSI/SSA, finding Caregivers and medical specialists with SCI. The program will relate to both vocational and economic assessments and how the injured person’s damages transfer to the entire family, creating an indescribable difficult journey of survival , economic costs, and emotional challenges. Suggestions for adding services and expected additional costs/damages for family members is captured.

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