Engineering Expert Reports or Testimony for Impact Claims that are Defensible, Reliable and Compliant

Gregory M. Bergman, Shareholder | BDG Law Group

Gregory M. Bergman entered the practice of law in 1975 and is a senior shareholder of BDG Law Group. He engages in complex trials and appeals across the areas of construction, employment discrimination, environmental, business, real property, commercial, professional liability, securities, and insurance litigation. His extensive eminent domain practice includes direct and inverse condemnation matters for public entity clients throughout California, including service as outside counsel for Los Angeles County’s largest transportation agency in connection with its multi-billion-dollar transportation infrastructure improvement plan.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Bergman received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law. He is admitted to practice before all California State Courts, all Federal Courts in California, the United States Supreme Court, and the Court of Claims.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Bergman has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer. He has served as a Judge Pro Tem and as an Arbitrator for the Los Angeles Superior Court.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Bergman is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, and the American Inns of Court. He is a charter Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a Benefactor Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, where he serves as a co-chair of the California Fellows.

• Experience

With more than four decades of practice, Mr. Bergman has handled hundreds of complex trials in both state and federal courts in California, as well as numerous appeals. He writes and lectures frequently on trial preparation, the use of experts, electronic media, insurance, risk management, professional liability, and related topics

Charlene L. Podlipna, CPA | Freeman & Mills, Inc

Charlene L. Podlipna is a Certified Public Accountant who has provided litigation support services for over seventeen years, working with counsel in civil litigation, arbitration, and mediation. She has experience with damages associated with breach of contract, business interruption, and breach of fiduciary duty claims; damages related to the misappropriation of trade secrets and trademark and copyright infringement; lost earnings; securities litigation; professional malpractice claims; fraud investigations; false advertising litigation; and the application of generally accepted accounting principles.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Podlipna earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Southern California and is a Certified Public Accountant.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Podlipna has testified at trial and in deposition on accounting and financial damages matters across multiple industries.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Podlipna works closely with trial counsel on civil litigation, arbitration, and mediation engagements, providing financial analysis and expert support throughout the dispute resolution process.

• Experience

Prior to joining Freeman & Mills, Ms. Podlipna was a consultant at Resources Global Professionals, where she worked on accounting engagements including financial statement audits and reviews of internal controls. She was previously a senior consultant at CCH Incorporated, where she assisted CPA firms with the implementation of auditing software, and provided litigation consulting services at Gursey, Schneider & Co., LLP. She began her career performing financial statement audits at Arthur Andersen LLP, generally for clients in the healthcare and manufacturing industries.

Eugene G. Ashley, Shareholder | Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel

Eugene (Geno) Ashley is a member of the Business Litigation, Real Estate, and Construction practice groups at Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel. He has built his career counseling and advocating on behalf of business clients in significant matters, handling “bet the company” lawsuits with multi-million-dollar outcomes, as well as actions arising from contracts and business torts, unfair business practices and trade secrets claims, construction and real estate disputes, and employment law litigation. He represents public and privately held corporations, businesses, and individuals with intellectual property litigation and counseling, as well as general business and real estate litigation.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Ashley earned his Juris Doctor, with distinction, from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Richmond American University London. He is admitted to practice in California, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Ashley has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America from 2022 through 2026.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Ashley is a member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association and a board member of both the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Pleasanton and has served on numerous community boards over the past two decades.

• Experience

Mr. Ashley has chaired numerous bench and jury trials and guided clients through arbitration and settlements, including a multi-million-dollar jury verdict in a breach of contract action and a multi-million-dollar bench trial verdict in a real estate matter. Before joining Hoge Fenton, he was a shareholder at Hopkins & Carley, where he served as the firm’s General Counsel and was a member of the Litigation practice group.

Pete Patterson, Construction Expert | Pete Fowler Construction Services, Inc

Pete Patterson has over 50 years of building experience as a carpenter, superintendent, construction manager, building designer, general contractor, custom homebuilder, and expert building consultant. He has worked in or managed all aspects of construction, from land selection and architectural design to general contracting of highly complex, super-custom residential and commercial projects, and is a respected expert in design and construction.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Patterson is proficient in building codes, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trades, cost estimating, and building inspection, with experience spanning detailed design projects, hands-on building, and high-level consulting.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Patterson is recognized for his work designing, consulting on, and general contracting of super-custom homes from California to Maine, and penthouses from Las Vegas to Honolulu, satisfying discerning clients on high-stakes projects.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Patterson serves clients of Pete Fowler Construction Services, Inc., providing expert witness, mediation, and testimony services in addition to consulting on design and construction matters nationwide.

• Experience

Mr. Patterson’s areas of expertise include architectural drawings, building and property investigation, building codes and standards, carpentry, construction contracts and contracting, cost estimating and budgeting, design-build projects, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, expert witness testimony and mediation, luxury home construction, property condition assessments, residential construction, resolution of property claims, and subcontractor dispute resolution.

Daniel E. Kass, CPA | Delve Underground

Daniel E. Kass has over 50 years of experience in construction, with more than 45 years dedicated to analyzing construction performance problems associated with contract disputes. His project experience spans transportation work including Boston’s Big Dig, multiple multi-million-dollar subway, transit, and tunnel projects, highway and bridge projects, airport facilities at five major U.S. airports, and people-mover systems; public and institutional projects including fifteen healthcare facilities, numerous educational facilities, three courthouse buildings, and five major convention centers; commercial entertainment, mixed-use, and retail facilities; and industrial work including hydroelectric tunnels, a cement plant, and the B-1 Bomber assembly plant.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Kass brings more than five decades of construction industry experience to his expert analysis and testimony engagements, with deep technical command of construction schedules, cost estimates, cost records, and construction means and methods.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Kass has provided expert testimony on numerous occasions and has served as a court-appointed referee, as well as a project neutral for disputed change orders.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Kass is a member of the Construction Management Association of America and the American Society of Civil Engineers, and serves as a Committee Member with The Beavers.

• Experience

Mr. Kass’s services on numerous projects have included preparing schedules and cost estimates, analyzing job costs, and analyzing changes, delays, disruptions, and extra work. He is also experienced in construction management services including budget estimates during design, reviewing documents for constructability, providing construction contract requirements, preparing construction schedules, prequalifying contractors, and analyzing change order requests. Prior to joining Delve Underground, Mr. Kass was a construction project manager for a national general contractor specializing in commercial and institutional building projects, where he was responsible for contract administration, scheduling, estimating, cost controls, quality assurance, safety, field supervision, and client relations

SESSION 1 – Bridging the Gap Between Data, Facts and Expert Conclusions, Opinions | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

Engineering experts must reliably apply methodology to the specific facts of each case, ensuring opinions are grounded in evidence rather than speculation. Attendees will learn how to close the analytical gap between raw project data and credible expert conclusions in delay, disruption, and damages claims.

SESSION 2 – Careful and Detailed Impact Analysis of the Facts | 1:20pm – 1:40pm

A thorough impact analysis identifies and excludes alternative causes, even when the facts get in the way of the desired narrative. Walk through how to directly link impact, liability, and damages through clear, evidence-driven analytical reasoning.

SESSION 3 – Industry Standards to Establish Methodological Transparency | 1:40pm – 2:00pm

Recognized industry standards play a critical role in establishing methodological transparency. Discover how to present analytical frameworks that withstand cross-examination and reinforce the reliability and defensibility of expert opinions in litigation, arbitration, and other dispute resolution forums.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 4 – Delay: Time-Related and Acceleration Costs | 2:10pm – 2:30pm

Critical Path Method analysis should be logical and factual, not “Magic.” Learn how to validate scheduling data with contemporaneous project records and follow the contract terms to support time-related and acceleration cost claims that survive judicial scrutiny.

SESSION 5 – Disruption: Labor and Equipment Inefficiency Costs | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

Quantifying disruption damages requires the Measured Mile, not estimated guesswork. Walk through how to find the right baseline period and account for paid extra work, estimating errors, remedial work, and self-induced productivity losses to avoid the “double-dip.”

SESSION 6 – Expert Qualification and Rule 702 Compliance | 2:50pm – 3:10pm

Engineering experts must establish the qualifications and evidentiary foundations needed to comply with Rule 702. Examine how to ensure opinions and analysis meet reliability and admissibility standards in federal and state courts following the December 2023 amendment.