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Brookshire Barrett LLC
Meet The Team
Michael Brookshire,PH.D.
Retiring from forensic practice in 2019, Dr. Michael Brookshire remains Economist Emeritus with Brookshire Barrett LLC. Dr. Michael L. Brookshire is a Professor Emeritus of Economics at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. He first testified as a forensics expert in 1975 and eventually testified in thousands of cases involving the calculation of economic damages across the United States. His 1987 book, Economic Damages: The Handbook for Plaintiff and Defense Attorneys, prompted the publication of two more books and approximately 50 book chapters and national, refereed articles on the calculation of economic damages. His most recent (2007) book was tri-edited with Drs. Slesnick and Ward, two other former presidents of the National Associates of Forensic Economics (NAFE). He and Dr. Slesnick previously published triennial surveys of NAFE members between 1989 and 2015 which established consensus practice in the methods, data sources, and issues in forensic economics.
Dr. Brookshire graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1971, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. He then earned a Ph.D. in Economics in 1975 from the University of Tennessee.
Dr. Brookshire is a charter member and Past President (1993-1994) of the National Association of Forensic Economics, and he was the second Executive Director of the Association from 1999-2001; this association publishes the Journal of Forensic Economics. Dr. Brookshire received the NAFE "Outstanding Service" award in 1999, and he was the national co-chair of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Association in 2006.
Dr. Brookshire and staff worked in notable cases over the past four decades, such as the Louisville sewer explosion case, the Arrow Air (Newfoundland) crash case, Lockerbie (Scotland) crash case, the 2006 ComAir crash case, the West Virginia "Mountain Top Removal" coal mining cases, the E. I. du Pont C8 case, the Spelter medical monitoring case, the Baltimore lead paint cases, the Sago and Big Branch mine disasters and such class action cases as the Bendectin, Fen-Phen, and Tobacco cases. At the January 2002 meetings of the American Economic Association, Dr. Brookshire was one of four invited panelists discussing the proposed rules of the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund. In 2008 and again in 2017, he was a speaker for the International Academy of Mediators.
George Barrett
MBA,MSRC,CRC,CVE
Since 1998, George A. Barrett has practiced as a forensic economist and vocational evaluator. In his forensic practice, Mr. Barrett calculates economic damages and provides expert testimony in a wide variety of civil litigation cases in numerous jurisdictions across the nation. Primarily, these cases include lost earning capacity, lost household services, and cost of future medical care valuation appraisals in personal injury and wrongful death cases. As a forensic vocational evaluator, Mr. Barrett is qualified to conduct client interviews and vocational testing related to the assessment of post-injury earning capacity in personal injury litigation. Mr. Barrett’s research on work-life expectancy, incremental cost issues of life care planning, medical monitoring, punitive damages, and other aspects of forensic economics have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and textbooks. Mr. Barrett has served as an adjunct professor of Rehabilitation Counseling at Minnesota State University, Mankato and has previously served as an adjunct instructor of economics at West Virginia State University. Mr. Barrett has also served as a vocational expert with the Social Security Administration.
Mr. Barrett graduated magna cum laude from West Virginia State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics in 1995. He then went on to earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Marshall University in 1998. Mr. Barrett completed the Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling (MSRC) degree from West Virginia University in 2002 and subsequently achieved the professional designation as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and Certified Vocational Evaluation Specialist (CVE). Mr. Barrett also completed the prestigious graduate certificate program in Forensic Rehabilitation Counseling (FRC) at The George Washington University in 2011.
Mr. Barrett serves on the board of referees for the Journal of Forensic Economics; the Journal of Legal Economics; and The Earnings Analyst. Mr. Barrett served on the board of directors of the American Rehabilitation Economics Association (AREA) for a period of six years between 2007-2012. In 2011, he was elected President of that organization. Mr. Barrett served as editor of AREA's peer reviewed journal, The Earnings Analyst, between 2008 and 2011 and remains on the board of referees. Mr. Barrett was appointed as a member of the Advisory Council for the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia State University in 2011.
Lori Halstead, mba
Lori Halstead joined our firm in 2007 as a forensic case analyst. Previously, she worked in the banking industry for three years. Her duties at Brookshire Barrett include calculating lost earning capacity, lost household services, and future medical and care costs for personal injury, wrongful termination, and wrongful death cases. Lori graduated with honors from Marshall University in 2004, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance. She completed a Master of Business Administration Degree (MBA) from Marshall University in 2006. During her academic career at Marshall University, she was a member of the Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, the National Dean's List, and Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.
MENDY S. BARRETT
mendy@forensiceconomics.org
Since joining Brookshire Barrett in 2012, Mendy's role has greatly increased our efficiency. We rely on her high level of organization for invoicing, payroll, accounts payable and updating databases. This past year, Mendy has added to her responsibilities as an Office Manager. She maintains our office building and also performs website maintenance. Prior to joining us, Mendy was a stay-at-home mom but previously was employed as a bridge designer with her B.S. in Civil Engineering from WVU Tech.