It is a true pleasure to recommend Ty Sagalow, who I have known professionally for more than a decade. Ty is an exceptional person and worker. Rarely in my 3 decades of business life have I found someone who combines his in depth knowledge of his subject area with his personal skills, his creative problem solving and his energy as completely as Ty does. An exceptional person and professional.
I have known Ty Sagalow for 25 years both professionally and personally. He is, by far, the most knowledgeable and creative individual in the insurance industry on reputation risk and reputation insurance. He truly understands brand risk and crisis management and can, and has, taken that understanding to develop extraordinary brand and reputation insurance policies. He is one of a kind.
Hi, Ty.
First, I wanted to say thank you again for your help with this case and for your deposition this week. It’s been a while since I have seen an expert reduce the other side literally to tears, and to do so while being charming and friendly!
Second, we finally were able to wrap the case up via settlement, thanks in large part to your testimony!
Again, thank you!
Partner, Mid-Atlantic Regional Law Firm
I have had the good fortune to know Ty for over 30 years, first as an insurance carrier executive with whom I have done business and now as a trusted consultant to the Newman Team at Aon plc. He is, in my opinion, the top product development person in the industry. He has the unique ability to take new ideas, whether from a carrier, a broker or a client, and turn them into actual insurance products and solutions in a very quick, efficient and cost effective manner.
One of Ty’s greatest attributes is his ability to listen to a client, understand their needs and address that need with an innovative solution.
I can strongly recommend Ty to any person or company, of whatever size or industry, who is looking for unique insurance solutions to their needs or for the needs of their customers.
Ty, your CLE session today for our Jones, Day attorneys was extremely well received. Among the comments we got were:
- Great CLE- Immediately applicable information for any attorney (all 5s)
- Very knowledgeable presenter! (all 5s)
- Great Presentation! (all 5s)
IMS Expert Services
Note: Presentation available upon request.
The Federal District Court was asked to rule on reasonableness of the Mr. Sagalow’s fees. In a decision taking into consideration 5 factors (the witness’s area of expertise, education and training, prevailing rates for other comparable experts, nature and complexity of the responses, fees traditional charged by the expert on related matters and cost of living in particular geographic area), the Court held in favor of Mr. Sagalow’s fees ($700/hr), reasoning as follows:
[In this case, counsel representing the party seeking Mr. Sagalow’s expert deposition has argued] that Sagalow’s fees are “unreasonable” and that “Sagalow’s unreasonable fee schedule should be reduced to an amount consistent with the hourly rates charged by other expert witnesses designated in this case… and that his preparation time be limited to ½ of his deposition time”. For a fee to be reasonable, ‘there must be some reasonable relationship between the services rendered and the remuneration to which the expert is entitled.” (Decision at pages 1,2)
Applying the [5] factors in this case, the court notes that Mr. Sagalow is a graduate of Georgetown University and subsequently received an L.L.M from New York University School of Law. He also practices law and held numerous positions in the insurance industry, such as chief underwriter for two large insurance companies, as well as serving as general counsel for AIG Insurance and National Union Insurance Company.’ (Decision at page 3)
Having applied the factors to this matter, the court holds that Sagalow’s hourly rate is not unreasonable and [opposing party] shall compensate Sagalow at this rate, $700/hr, for the time he actually spends attending the deposition. Furthermore, the courts holds that [opposing party] shall also be liable for Sagalow’s preparation time, if any, provided that such time is reasonable.” (Decision at page 4)
Though Sagalow’s hourly rate was found reasonable under the factors discussed, the court would point out that this is not a case where one party’s expert was billing the opposing part at an inflated rate. Rather [the party retaining Sagalow] has been paying Sagalow $700.00 hourly rate since he was first retained as an expert. Therefore, fairness dictates that [opposing party] should not be allowed to benefit from [retaining party’s] discovery at a discounted price.” (Decision at pages 4-5)
Note: Travel time was not an issue in this case.
For a copy of the full decision, click here.
David a. Sanders
United States District Court
Northern District of Mississippi
September 5, 2015
I wanted to let you know I retained Ty Sagalow to act as an expert on the broker malpractice case I am handling. He did a first class report and identified an issue that I had not thought of before. His opinion on that issue could be a game changer in favor of the Firm client. Thank you for recommending him.
Partner,
Boston, MA
