Christopher Laursen
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outside expert
To contact Christopher Laursen, please email Michelle Syen at Michelle.Syen@brattle.com or call +1.415.217.1000
Mr. Laursen is an expert in financial products and institutions, markets, regulation, and risk management.
He has more than 25 years of financial industry experience, which includes over 17 years as a federal regulator, where he served as a policy-maker, supervisor, and senior examiner.
Mr. Laursen has provided expert testimony and analysis as well as consulting services for numerous public and private clients. He has testified in disputes involving investment and trading strategies, mortgage-backed securities, municipal finance, structured notes, financial institution accounting, and insider trading. He has consulted for the Department of Justice, the State Insurance Commissioner of Connecticut, and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
Mr. Laursen previously served as the Federal Reserve Board’s Manager of Risk Policy and Guidance, where he wrote and interpreted financial regulations and guidance. In 2009, he authored new Federal Reserve guidance requiring large financial institutions to enhance trading book stress testing and value-at-risk modeling. He also worked closely with other US and international financial regulators to craft new rules, including as a member of the Basel Committee’s Trading Book Group.
During the financial crisis, Mr. Laursen reported directly to Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as other Governors and Reserve Bank Presidents on various risk, valuation, and regulatory issues. He led reviews of problem institutions and assisted in the development of special FRB actions to reduce market turmoil and economic damage.
Mr. Laursen has an MBA with a concentration in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and holds the Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional designation from FINRA.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, MBA
University of Miami, Bachelor of Business Administration
Testimony
Expert on behalf of the defendant in criminal case where U.S. DOJ alleged front-running, market manipulation, and other illegal activity related to foreign exchange options trading. U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Criminal Case No 3:18-cr-00021.
Testifying expert for defendant’s counsel, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, in a securities class action lawsuit in connection with closed-end funds, including issues of class certification, investment suitability, and damages. United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Civil Action No 1:15-cv-02859.
Testifying expert for defendants’ counsel, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, in connection with securities impairment determinations made by Thornburg Mortgage, Inc. executives in the company’s 2007 10-K financial report. United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, Case No. 1:12-cv-00257-JB-LFG.
Testifying expert for defendants’ counsel, Vinson and Elkins, in connection with a municipal bond issuance and associated interest rate swap, remarketing agreement, bond insurance, and surety bond. United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana Case No. 2:08-cv-03949-KDE-SS.