Senior Partner
Barbara C. Luna is a Senior Partner in the accounting and litigation services firm of White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna & Hunt, LLP. She has served as an expert witness for forty years in business and personal injury litigation and bankruptcy matters. Dr. Luna analyzes financial, accounting, economic, business, real estate and valuation issues relating to liability and damages in litigation matters and reorganization of businesses. The matters she has been involved in include breach of contract, intellectual property, unfair competition, construction and real estate, business interruption, business dissolutions, bankruptcy, partnership disputes, professional malpractice, fraud and misrepresentations, securities, white collar crime, trusts and estates, bad faith, alter ego, wrongful termination, personal injury, products liability and marital dissolution. She has testified on numerous occasions in U.S. District Court, Superior Court, Bankruptcy Court, arbitrations and depositions.
Prior to joining White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna & Hunt, LLP, Dr. Luna was a Partner with Coopers & Lybrand specializing in litigation and financial advisory services. Prior thereto, she was the National Director of Litigation Consulting for Kenneth Leventhal & Company, where she was responsible for directing the litigation services practice nationwide. Previously, Dr. Luna was a Partner with Pannell Kerr Forster, where she was responsible for providing litigation and reorganization services, and she was a Senior Manager with Price Waterhouse specializing in litigation services. Before focusing on litigation services, she was an investment banker specializing in corporate finance.
Dr. Luna has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in working capital management, business finance, forensic accounting and intermediate accounting at the UCLA Graduate School of Management, California State University at Northridge and Pepperdine University. She has addressed numerous audiences and has appeared on several professional panels. She obtained her MS and PhD degrees in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University and her BA degree from Wellesley College.
Dr. Luna is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified in Financial Forensics, a Master Analyst in Financial Forensics, an Accredited Senior Appraiser in Business Valuation, Accredited in Business Valuation, a Certified Valuation Analyst, a Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, a Certified Commercial Real Estate Appraiser, a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, and a Certified Management Consultant. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (and holds the AICPA’s CFF and ABV designations), the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (and the Society’s Economic Damages, Fraud and Business Valuation Common Interest Member Services Committees), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers, the American Society of Appraisers, the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, the National Association of Real Estate Appraisers, and the Institute of Management Consultants.
Forensic accounting, damages, valuation and fraud expert witness with 45 years of experience and over 500 times testifying at trials and arbitrations. Areas of specialty include lost profits, lost income, lost value of businesses and real estate, forensic accounting, analysis of liability issues, and investigation of indicia of fraud and fraudulent activity. Experience includes breach of contract, intellectual property, unfair competition, construction and real estate, business interruption, business dissolution, bankruptcy, partnership disputes, professional malpractice, fraud and misrepresentations, securities, white collar crime, trusts and estates, bad faith, alter ego, wrongful termination, personal injury, products liability and marital dissolution. Non-litigation experience includes business valuation and financial advisory services.
EDUCATION
- B.A. in Physics, Wellesley College, 1971 (Wellesley Scholar)
- M.S. in Applied Math, Harvard University 1973
- Ph.D. in Applied Math, Harvard University 1975
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
- Senior Partner, White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna & Hunt, 1993 – Present (in charge of Commercial Litigation Practice)
- Partner, Coopers & Lybrand, 1988 – 1993 (Financial Advisory Services)
- National Director of Litigation Consulting, Kenneth Leventhal & Co. 1986 – 1988
- Manager and Partner, Pannell Kerr Forster, 1983 – 1986 (in charge of Litigation Practice in Los Angeles)
- Senior Consultant to Senior Manager, Price Waterhouse, 1977 – 1983 (Litigation Consulting, Financial Advisory Services, Auditing)
- Associate, Warburg Paribas Becker, 1975 – 1977 (Investment Banking – Corporate Finance)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- UCLA Graduate School of Management, 1980 – 1987 (Taught Working Capital Management and Business Finance)
- California State University at Northridge, 1979 – 1980, 2013 (Taught Business Finance and Forensic Accounting)
- Pepperdine University MBA Program, 1987 – 1988 (Taught Intermediate Accounting)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- AICPA, 1983 – Present
- California Society of CPAs, 1983 – Present (also Society’s Economic Damages, Fraud and Business Valuation Common Interest Member Services Committees)
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 1995 – Present
- American Society of Appraisers, 1990 – Present
- National Association of Valuation Analysts, 1995 – Present
- National Association of Real Estate Appraisers, 1995 – Present
- Institute of Management Consultants, 1981 – Present
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers, 1986 – Present
CERTIFICATIONS
- Certified Public Accountant, California, 1983 – Present
- Certified Public Accountant, Arizona, 1990 – Present
- Certified Fraud Examiner, 1995 – Present
- Certified in Financial Forensics, 1990 – Present
- Master Analyst in Financial Forensics, 2000 – Present
- Accredited in Business Valuation, 1990 – Present
- Accredited Senior Appraiser in Business Valuation, 1990 – Present
- Certified Valuation Analyst, 1995 – Present
- Certified Management Consultant, 1981 – Present
- Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, California, 1995 – Present
- Certified Commercial Real Estate Appraiser, 1995 – Present
- Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, 1995 – Present
PUBLICATIONS
- “Analyzing Damages – Perspectives of Plaintiffs and Defendants”, ABTL Report, November 1989
- “Proposition 103 – Determining the Appropriate Responses”, Coopers & Lybrand Insurance Newsletter, December 1989
- “Generators of Hazardous Waste”, Chapter 12, Environmental Dispute Handbook – Liability and Claims, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1992
- “Determining Damages In Medical Malpractice Cases”, Coopers & Lybrand Briefs, 1991
- “Analyzing Fraudulent Conveyances and Solvency”, Coopers & Lybrand Briefs, 1993
- “Valuing Businesses”, Coopers & Lybrand Briefs, 1993
- “Using Accountants as Expert Witnesses In Personal Injury Matters”, 1996 Expert Witness Update, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996
- “Unjust Enrichment – An Alternative to Lost Profits”, Witness Chair, December 1997
- “Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Termination”, Measuring Damages Involving Individuals – A CPA’s Service Guide with Case Studies, AICPA, 1998
- “What is a Reasonable Time for Future Damages? Should Lost Profits or Lost Value of the Business Be Claimed?”, White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna, Wolf & Hunt Newsletter, November 2004
- “Valuing and Selling a Law Practice”, Guide for Senior Lawyers, Los Angeles County Bar Association, September 2008
Email Address: bluna@wzwlh.com
Department: Commercial
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