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Resolution Economics Opens Chicago Office, Adds National Healthcare Practice

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 18:00 CDT

Resolution Economics, one of the country's premier litigation and economic advisory firms, today announced the opening of its Chicago office at 1 S. Dearborn with the addition of three prominent experts in the healthcare industry. The three consultants establishing Resolution Economics' Chicago office are Kevin L. O'Brien, Partner and the leader of the firm's Healthcare Practice; Cherie M. Fieri, Principal; and R.C. (Bob) Cleland, Principal.

The company also announced the addition of its national healthcare practice with plans to grow the practice aggressively into one of the country's leading full-service providers of litigation support and consulting services to the healthcare industry. "Establishing a geographic presence in the Chicago market has been a strategic goal of our firm as we have been working with clients in the region for quite some time," said Dr. Ali Saad, CEO of Resolution Economics. "The addition of these three high-caliber and widely-regarded consultants to launch our national Healthcare Practice provides an excellent foundation from which to expand our presence in Chicago and nationally."

The announcement comes on the heels of Philip Y. Rowley being named President of the firm. Rowley brings over 20 years of experience in the expert services and litigation consulting industry.

Building a World-Class Health Care Practice

Already recognized as one of the country's premier litigation and economic advisory groups, particularly in labor and employment matters, the Los Angeles-based firm now has more than 75 professionals and - with the addition of O'Brien and other health care professionals - has established a marquee healthcare practice.

"Resolution Economics is a perfect fit for my practice," commented Kevin L. O'Brien. "The firm's extraordinary commitment to bringing intellectual rigor and clarity of analysis to its clients' issues is establishing a new standard in best practices for our industry. I am proud to be joining them and look very much forward to working together." O'Brien's practice covers a full range of specialized services, from public policy analysis, litigation support, strategic consulting and arbitration support to management advisory services and organizational development. The team has worked with hospitals, physicians groups, insurance companies, home health agencies, durable medical equipment companies, managed care organizations, government agencies, labs, pharmaceutical companies - including manufacturers, distributors and pharmaceutical benefit management (PBMs) - and various regulatory bodies.

Advancing the Strategic Plan

According to Dr. Saad, adding a Chicago office as well as launching a national healthcare practice is consistent with the firm's strategic vision. "Our goal is to become the recognized firm of choice for law firms and companies seeking highly specialized litigation support and advisory services to advance their business and other objectives," added Dr. Saad. "Expanding our platform and diversifying our practice base in a manner consistent with the excellence we've achieved in the labor and employment arena is our near-term focus."

About Kevin O'Brien, Cherie Fieri and Bob Cleland

-- Kevin L. O'Brien has over two decades of experience working with a broad array of clients involved in the healthcare industry, including managed care organizations, state-run healthcare programs, health insurance companies, hospitals, legal firms, skilled nursing facilities, multi-facility healthcare systems, pharmaceutical wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and PBMs. His areas of expertise span a wide variety of healthcare issues including litigation, financial analysis, development and maintenance of information systems, compliance, strategic planning and restructuring, financial operations issues, and disputes between payers and providers.

O'Brien received an M.S. in systems management from the University of Southern California, an M.H.S.A. from St. Joseph's College of Maine, and a B.A. in accounting from Michigan State University. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner and an Accredited Valuation Analyst.

-- Cherie M. Fieri provides accounting, economic and operational advice to a variety of clients including providers and payers of healthcare services. With more than 13 years of experience in the healthcare industry, she has deep expertise in assisting healthcare organizations in assessing the appropriateness of claims submission and payment practices. She is equally knowledgeable of the various regulatory requirements that exist in the healthcare industry. She has calculated lost profits as a result of a breach of contract between the manufacturers of brand and generic pharmaceuticals and performed numerous claims reviews for both providers and payers to assess the submission and payment of healthcare claims. Fieri received a B.S. in economics from Illinois State University and an M.H.S.A. from St. Joseph's College of Maine.

-- R.C. (Bob) Cleland has more than 10 years of health care experience and specializes in providing forensic accounting, financial, economic, and strategic and management consulting services to a variety of clients in the healthcare industry. He has a detailed understanding of healthcare compliance and the PBM industry. He has deep expertise in the various rules and regulations in the healthcare industry as they relate to the submission of claims to government paid programs. Cleland received a B.S. in accounting and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Note: Resolution Economics LLC is one of the nation's premier labor economics and statistical consulting firms. Since its founding in 1998, Resolution Economics has played an important role in numerous employment class actions alleging various discrimination and wage-and-hour claims. The company has worked with the nation's leading law firms on behalf of such clients as UPS, Costco, Wal-Mart, Staples and FedEx Ground, as well as plaintiff employee groups. For more information visit www.resecon.com.

Source: Business Wire

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