Demand for Forensic Litigation Professionals Creates Shortages

Lately there has been chatter about the demand for experienced business valuation forensic litigation services (BVFLS) exceeding the supply of such people. Over 4 million Americans quit their jobs in August 2021. It appears that some of these people left to start their own businesses. COVID-19 quarantines helped people learn that they could work effectively from home and on their own. This is true for the BVFLS profession also. There is a shortage of people in BVFLS, but it is not all due to people starting their own businesses.

Of particular interest to attorneys and litigation practitioners is that it appears that fewer young people are drawn to becoming financial expert testifiers. Perhaps both attorneys and current financial expert testifiers can do things to help groom a new generation of financial experts. When I first started testifying, attorneys looked at “professional” financial experts as being a negative. The more you were practicing in “real life” versus being a professional testifier, the better. That changed as attorneys realized that the knowledge provided by professional testifiers who were also expert in financial matters pertinent to litigation and their expertise in knowing how to testify successfully was the best way for the attorneys to conduct a successful case.

To get a better view of what is going on to create this demand in BVFLS, check out the January 2022 Business Valuation Update for my article on the subject titled, "A Closer Look at the 'Perfect Storm' in BVFLS Staffing."