equipment or components, testing of components or systems, trending of system performance over time with varying stressors, or destructive and non-destructive testing of components or materials, among other evaluative procedures. Depending on the results of our qualitative and quantitative evaluations, we advise our clients on a path of further discovery, develop authoritative and coherent affirmative reports, or prepare well-documented rebuttal reports. Along the way, we communicate with our clients to ensure the services we provide are thorough, unimpeachable, responsive to their needs, and as cost-effective as feasible. How does your role differ when advising plaintiffs compared to advising defendants? ACS accepts retentions in both plaintiff and defense matters, with the only caveat that we will not compromise our integrity to provide opinions that we cannot support with sound engineering or scientific principles. We have and will advise clients when we believe they should consider settling a matter in lieu of pressing litigation where the facts and evidence do not support their position. Plaintiff matters require a high level of certainty in support of affirmative expert positions and opinions. ACS seeks to understand plaintiffs’ counsel’s legal theories and the facts and evidence that support those theories. We strive to objectively evaluate the facts and evidence and occasionally identify additional potential defendants that may have had a role in the adverse outcome that is at issue. Defendant matters are often driven by the reports or affidavits of experts retained by plaintiffs’ counsel. In such cases, ACS strives to understand the positions and opinions set forth by plaintiffs’ expert(s) and to compare those positions and opinions with our 78 LAWYERMONTHLYMARCH 2023 own understanding of the issues in the matter. We utilise our education, training, and years of relevant experience to evaluate those opposing positions and opinions, acknowledging those that are sound and based on relevant science and engineering. In the alternative, we use calculations, diagrams, test results, and myriad other methods to explain our rebuttal of incorrect positions in a manner aimed at being understandable to our client, opposing counsel, and the ultimate trier of fact. Engineering issues are often complex and esoteric. Accordingly, our ability to explain such matters with real-world analogies or other methods is a key to our litigation consulting success in support of the efforts of our clients. On what sorts of cases are you often called upon to provide support? ACS provides expert forensic and litigation consulting services related to the built environment. ACS areas of expertise span a wide range of mechanical engineering and related subjects, including the analysis and evaluation of issues related to performance of HVAC systems; temperature and humidity control in cleanrooms and critically controlled environments; failures in power and process piping systems; plumbing systems; energy management systems; allegations of chemical exposures; fires and explosions; compliance with codes and standards; and the standard of care in design, construction, operation, and maintenance of building infrastructure systems. The types of facilities we evaluate include commercial and institutional buildings, advanced manufacturing facilities such as semiconductor or pharmaceutical facilities, data centres, and hospitals, among others. Intellectual property disputes, including allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets or allegations of patent
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