News | October 17, 2025
Secretariat Experts Receive Recognition in Lexology Index Thought Leaders – USA 2026
Secretariat is proud to share that 11 of our experts have been named as USA Thought Leaders in Lexology Index’s 2026 listing.
December 11, 2024
Eric Poer, CPA, a globally recognized securities, accounting, valuation, and regulatory enforcement expert, was retained by Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe LLP to provide expert reports in defense of Apple Inc., CEO Timothy Cook, and CFO Luca Maestri in a high-stakes securities class action dispute.
Mr. Poer, now a leader in Secretariat’s Global Investigations & Dispute’s practice1, led and collaborated with other top experts, including teams of highly-regarded academic and industry specialists from UCLA and the Virginia Darden School of Business. Mr. Poer, who served as both a summary and expert witness, had his expert qualifications upheld by the court as an expert capable of opining on accounting and financial matters.
The class action securities lawsuit filed by Apple investors in the Northern District of California in April 2019, alleged that Cook and Maestri provided materially false and misleading statements in their November 2018 call with stock analysts and institutional investors concerning demand for the iPhone X in China, the company’s third-largest market. Subsequently, on January 2, 2019, Apple revised the company’s revenue forecast, largely due to weak demand in China, marking the first time that Apple reduced its guidance since the iPhone’s initial release in 2007.2 This led the company’s stock price to drop more than 10% the next day.3 The plaintiffs originally alleged more than $70 billion in damages.4
In September 2024, the Honorable Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved Apple’s all-cash $490 million settlement, ending the five-year dispute. The historic settlement is the third-largest settlement in the Northern District of California and one of the 40 largest securities-related settlements ever.5
Per the September 2024 order granting the final approval of the class action settlement, the “plaintiffs faced significant hurdles” including “overcoming expert economic testimony from defendants’ experts.”6
While a substantial sum, the $490 million settlement constitutes less than 1% of Apple’s $93.74 billion profit during the 2024 fiscal year. Apple’s stock price has more than quadrupled since the revised revenue guidance in January 2019, creating an additional $2 trillion in shareholder wealth.7
Secretariat Experts Receive Recognition in Lexology Index Thought Leaders – USA 2026
Secretariat is proud to share that 11 of our experts have been named as USA Thought Leaders in Lexology Index’s 2026 listing.
Tamika Tremaglio Named as One of the Most Powerful Women in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine
Secretariat Managing Director Tamika Tremaglio has been named as one of the Most Powerful Women in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine.
87 Secretariat Professionals Named in Lexology Index 2025 Consulting Expert Reports
Secretariat is pleased to share that 87 of our experts have been named in the Lexology Index 2025 Consulting Expert Reports series, achieving recognition as global industry leaders across several key categories.