Risk and Liability Management

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai Were Appointed to Leadership Positions of American Bar Association SciTech Section Committees

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai Appointed to Leadership Positions of American Bar Association SciTech Section Committees

Risk Economics is pleased to announce that Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai have been appointed to leadership positions of the American Bar Association (ABA) SciTech Section Committees.

Samantha Kappagoda has been newly appointed as Vice-Chair of the Big Data Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Internet of Things Committee. She was reappointed, and continues to serve as Vice-Chair of the Insurance Technology and Risk Committee since 2019.

David K.A. Mordecai has been reappointed as Chair of the Space Law Committee, and Co-Chair of the Nanotechnology Committee, and previously also served as Vice-Chair of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics Committee from 2018 to 2022.

Kappagoda and Mordecai are active members of the ABA. Dr. Mordecai has been an invited speaker at the AI & Robotics Institute in both 2021 and 2020. Both Kappagoda and Mordecai were invited speakers at the 2019 American Bar Association Annual Meeting and 34^th Intellectual Property Law Conference (ABA-IPL) in Crystal City, Virginia. In addition, Dr. Mordecai authored the article Automated Personal Assistants with Multiple Principals: Whose Agent Is It? in the Winter 2020 edition of ABA SciTech Lawyer.

About Risk Economics, Inc.

Risk Economics specializes in economic analysis of risk and liability. It provides advisory services at the intersection of commercial business-process engineering and risk engineering with a particular focus on coupling commercial reinsurance and financial technology, through the rigorous application of agent-based, demographic, and statistical methodologies to microeconomic and macroeconomic analytics.The Risk Economics^® client roster is diverse and includes governmental and quasi-governmental agencies, global insurance and reinsurance firms, leading law firms, technology firms, global banking institutions, asset management firms, multinational corporations with interests in natural resources, commodities, and energy, as well as government agencies and regulators.

David K.A. Mordecai and Samantha Kappagoda were Invited to Present at the Colorado Bar Association Winning at Trial Seminar

Dr. David K.A. Mordecai and Samantha Kappagoda were invited to present at the Colorado Bar Association (CBA) Winning at Trial Seminar hosted by the Trial Skills Section on November 18, 2021. Their panel was entitled Perspectives from an Expert Witness and was moderated by Eric Olson, Solicitor General, Office of the Colorado Attorney General. This annual seminar addressed winning trial skills and techniques, how to handle an expert witness, perspectives from the trial court bench, and what a younger lawyer should do (and not do) in trial. Other notable speakers included Hon. Sangeetha Mallavarapu, 20th Judicial District and Abigail M. Hinchcliff, First Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Colorado Attorney General.

David Mordecai is President and Co-Founder of Risk Economics and Visiting Scholar at Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences NYU, advising research activities at RiskEcon^® Lab for Decision Metrics @ Courant Institute. Samantha Kappagoda is Chief Economist and Co-Founder of Risk Economics and Visiting Scholar at Courant Institute, co-advising research activities at RiskEcon^® Lab.

About Risk Economics
Risk Economics provides advisory services at the intersection of commercial business-process engineering and risk engineering with a particular focus on coupling commercial reinsurance and financial technology, through the rigorous application of agent-based, demographic, and statistical methodologies to microeconomic and macroeconomic analytics. The Risk Economics^® client roster is diverse and includes governmental and quasi-governmental agencies, global insurance and reinsurance firms, leading law firms, technology firms, global banking institutions, asset management firms, multinational corporations with interests in natural resources, commodities and energy, as well as government agencies and regulators.

David K.A. Mordecai was Invited to Participate in Institute of International Bankers Climate Change Scenario Analyses Webinar

Dr. David K.A. Mordecai, President of Risk Economics, was invited to participate in the Institute of International Bankers (IIB) Climate Change Scenario Analyses webinar. The webinar was held on November 8, 2021, and was co-hosted by Cushman & Wakefield and CoreLogic.

The agenda for the webinar posed the following questions:

For large US-based international and national banks, what climate-related data will be required under regulatory reporting?
How will climate risk be scored?
Will climate risk scoring influence credit availability to certain borrowers?
How will Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, physical risks and transition risks be measured and managed?

David Mordecai primarily discussed the role of transition risk and contingent liability analysis in stress-testing corporate and municipal cost structures via transmission channels (e.g., credit spread volatility, funding illiquidity, commodity supply/demand shocks, and telecommunications, electricity and transportation network traffic) corresponding to climate-related regional weather volatility. He further highlighted the need to broaden the definition and scope of climate risks and stranded assets, as well as the necessity for rigorous scientific measurement of pertinent weather volatility statistics, and corresponding economic exposure to damage (particularly at the relevant temporal and spatial scales, i.e., mesoscale conditions and events).

The panel was moderated by David L. Risdon, Senior Managing Director and Head of Banking & Regulatory Solutions, Cushman & Wakefield. The panelists were the following:

Chris Bennett: Global Head of ESG Strategy and M&A, S&P Global Sustainable
Peter Carroll: Executive, Public Policy and Industry Relations, CoreLogic
Hugh Conroy: Partner, Financial Institutions Regulation, Cleary Gottlieb
Robert Engle, PhD: Nobel Laureate in Economics, Professor Emeritus of Finance, NYU Stern School of Business, Co-Director, The Volatility and Risk Institute and Co-Author, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Report on Climate Stress Testing
David K.A. Mordecai, PhD: RiskEcon^® Lab @ Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences NYU, and President, Risk Economics^®

The webinar can be viewed here.

About Risk Economics
Risk Economics provides advisory services at the intersection of commercial business-process engineering and risk engineering with a particular focus on coupling commercial reinsurance and financial technology, through the rigorous application of agent-based, demographic, and statistical methodologies to microeconomic and macroeconomic analytics. The Risk Economics^® client roster is diverse and includes governmental and quasi-governmental agencies, global insurance and reinsurance firms, leading law firms, technology firms, global banking institutions, asset management firms, multinational corporations with interests in natural resources, commodities, and energy, as well as government agencies and regulators.

California Superior Court Relies upon Testimony of Dr. Mordecai in Denying Motion for Summary Judgment in Millennium Tower Related Successor Liability Matter

Judge Kiesselbach of the California Superior Court extensively cited and relied upon testimony by Dr. Mordecai in denying motion for summary judgment filed by a leading engineering firm in the successor liability dispute filed in the matter Lehman v Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA). TJPA was joined by Millennium Tower Association (MTA) in opposing the summary judgment motion filed by the engineering related to successor liability from its 2010 acquisition via an asset purchase agreement (APA) of the geotechnical engineering firm for the Millennium Tower.

Dr. Mordecai, President of Risk Economics, filed a declaration and offered testimony at deposition, as an expert in forensic financial and economic analysis, with support from Samantha Kappagoda of Risk Economics^®. In overruling objections to Dr. Mordecai’s testimony, the decision by Judge Kiesselbach acknowledges Dr. Mordecai to be a “qualified economist[] with relevant experience” who employs “factors and methodology economists employ to arrive at their conclusions.” The Judge further relied upon opinions of Dr. Mordecai in determining there to be “multiple triable issues of material fact as to whether the APA was truly an “asset only” purchase.” Among Dr. Mordecai’s primary opinions cited in the discussion and analysis of the decision by Judge Kiesselbach pertained to the actual amount, adequacy and terms of cash equivalent consideration paid by and available to creditors at the time of sale, relative to the fair market value of the acquired assets.

Dr. Mordecai and Samantha Kappagoda worked extensively with Michael S. McCauley of Jones Day who, with Matthew A. Dekovich of Norton Rose Fulbright, represented TJPA.

About Risk Economics, Inc.
Risk Economics specializes in economic analysis of risk and liability. It provides advisory services at the intersection of commercial business-process engineering and risk engineering with a particular focus on coupling commercial reinsurance and financial technology, through the rigorous application of agent-based, demographic, and statistical methodologies to microeconomic and macroeconomic analytics. The Risk Economics^® client roster is diverse and includes governmental and quasi-governmental agencies, global insurance and reinsurance firms, leading law firms, technology firms, global banking institutions, asset management firms, multinational corporations with interests in natural resources, commodities, and energy, as well as government agencies and regulators.

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai were Appointed as American Bar Association Advisors to Uniform Law Commission Study Committees

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai Were Appointed as American Bar Association Technical Advisors to Uniform Law Commission Study Committees

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai were each appointed as American Bar Association (ABA) Advisors to Uniform Law Commission (ULC) Study Committees.

Samantha Kappagoda was appointed as an ABA technical advisor to the newly-formed ULC Committee on Public Health Emergency Authorities. This committee studies and reports on the need for and feasibility of one or more uniform state laws addressing the authority of state governments to respond to epidemics, pandemics and other public health emergencies.

David K.A. Mordecai was also appointed as an ABA technical advisor to the ULC Committee on Mitigation of Public Health Emergency Business Disruptions, which studies the need for and feasibility of one or more uniform state laws providing special rules and procedures to mitigate the impact of an epidemic, a pandemic or other public health emergency on the operation of businesses. He also serves as an ABA technical advisor on the ULC Study Committee on Event Data Recorders in Cars which is studying the need for and feasibility of uniform or model state legislation concerning event data recorders and generated vehicle data.

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai are both active ABA members. Samantha Kappagoda is Vice-Chair of the Science & Technology Law Section’s Insurance Technology and Risk Committee and David Mordecai serves as Vice-Chair of the Science & Technology Law Section Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Committee, and the Nanotechnology Committee.

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai were Invited to Speak at the NECPUC 71st Annual Symposium

Samantha Kappagoda and David K.A. Mordecai were invited to speak at the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners (NECPUC) 71st Annual Symposium, which took place from May 20-23, 2018 at Cliff House in Cape Neddick, Maine.

David K.A. Mordecai spoke on the Plenary Panel on May 22, 2018 and gave a presentation entitled Hair-Raising Hazards: Analytical Frameworks for Risk & Catastrophic Events. He spoke on Hair Raising Hazards from AI, ML & IoT: Adaptive Response to Cyberphysical Risks.

The panel was moderated by Hon. Bruce Williamson, Commissioner, Maine Public Utilities Commission, and the other panelists were the following:

Andrew Bochman, Senior Cyber & Energy Security Strategist, Idaho National Laboratory
Susan Ginsburg, Co-Founder and President, Criticality Sciences
Richard B. Jones, SVP Research & Engineering, Hartford Steam Boiler

Samantha Kappagoda spoke on Mitigating and Managing the Risk of a Cyberphysical Cat (Event) on the panel entitled Regulation and Risk Management in the Face of High Impact, Low Frequency Events. It was moderated by Hon. Michael Giaimo, Commissioner, New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. Other participants were the following:

Thorn Dickinson, Vice President-Business Development, Avangrid
Dalia Patino Echeverri, Gendell Associate Professor of Energy Systems and Public Policy, Duke University
Richard B. Jones, SVP Research & Engineering, Hartford Steam Boiler

David Mordecai and Samantha Kappagoda co-advise research at RiskEcon^® Lab for Decision Metrics @ Courant Institute of Mathematic Sciences.

About RiskEcon^® Lab @ Courant Institute
The mission of RiskEcon^® Lab for Decision Metrics @ Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences NYU is to enable, facilitate and coordinate academic research focusing on these patterns and trends, via the development of commercially-viable, analytic applications employing computational statistical tools in conjunction with innovative and non-traditional data structures. In addition, the lab’s activities involve the advancement of applied mathematical statistics and computational economics, through interdisciplinary post-doctoral, postgraduate, graduate research and education in data science and social computing.

RiskEcon^® Lab for Decision Metrics was established in 2011 at Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, an independent division of New York University (NYU). Courant is considered to be one of the world’s leading mathematics educational and scientific research centers, and has been ranked first in research in applied mathematics.