Michele Avery is a forensic accounting and valuation director at LaPorte CPAs & Business Advisors. Her experience includes business valuations for sales transactions, management buy-ins and buyouts, marital dissolution proceedings, shareholder disputes, buy/sell agreements, and estate and gift matters. In addition to her valuation practice, Ms. Avery also provides expert reports for litigation proceedings that are concerned with lost profits, shareholder disputes, marital dissolution proceedings and insurance claims. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, Business Valuation and Litigation Services Committee of Louisiana CPA Society, Estate and Financial Planning Committee of Louisiana CPA Society, North Shore Estate and Financial Planning Society, and North Shore Chapter of the Louisiana CPA Society. Ms. Avery has written and lectured extensively on the topic of business valuation. She earned her B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin and her M.B.A. degree from Louisiana State University. Ms. Avery has more than 14 years of business valuation and forensic accounting experience.
Christopher J. Bonner is special counsel with Barclay Damon, LLP, where he practices in the areas of corporate law, corporate and municipal securities, and banking regulation. His clients include large and small businesses, banks, startup enterprises, buyers and sellers of businesses, and securities investors. Mr. Bonner organizes corporations, LLCs and other alternative entities, and represents them on a continuing basis with various kinds of business contracts. He represents buyers and sellers of businesses, from the initial planning stage through to the final closing. Mr. Bonner is a member of the New York State Bar Association (Business Law and Tax Law sections) and American Bar Association (Business Law and Taxation sections). He earned his B.A. degree from Williams College, his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School, and his LL.M. degree in taxation from New York University.
Christine M. Meador has focused her professional career on advising nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She has over 20 years of experience in financial accounting, budget development, grant work, cash management, financial reporting, internal controls, and analysis of business strategies for a variety of organizations. With her extensive experience, Ms. Meador focuses on assisting nonprofit and other organizations with fraud prevention, detection and investigations. She also assists attorneys, executive directors, and business owners with financial analysis in complex business disputes. Ms. Meador has extensive experience with accounting systems and accounting department development. She has been brought into many situations to correct and rebuild accounting records, policies, and procedures. Ms. Meador has also provided client training on internal audit techniques. As a nonprofit consultant, she has served in a variety of roles such as finance manager, director, director of development and finance, treasurer, and business management consultant. Ms. Meador continues to work directly with boards and their members. She holds a strong interest in corporate governance and the nonprofit sector. Ms. Meador's devotion to nonprofit organizations led her to serve as treasurer for a large nonprofit organization. She provides clients knowledge and insight from the ground up, which allows a broad range of strategies for organizational problem-solving techniques and solutions. Ms. Meador earned her Master of Accountancy in financial auditing and Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Cleveland State University. Her passion for fraud prevention led her to Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she earned a Master of Legal Studies degree, focusing on white collar crime and corporate compliance. Ms. Meador also holds a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. She is a certified fraud examiner (CFE) and a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Ms. Meador is also a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA) and the Women in Law Section of the CMBA. She is an affiliate member of Medica, LLC and a director on the Board of the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Dennis S. Medica has over 25 years of experience assisting senior executives, board of directors, and legal counsel with complex financial issues requiring forensic accounting expertise. Mr. Medica has extensive experience in financial analysis of complex commercial disputes involving intellectual property, business interruption, professional negligence, business valuation, acquisition and divestiture, employment, and various other breach of contract matters. He has served as financial expert for Dana Limited, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. and many other well-known companies. Mr. Medica has testified in criminal and civil matters pending in federal and state courts. He also has experience in forensic accounting investigations, including SEC and other matters addressing issues of fraud and corruption. Mr. Medica also serves as an arbitrator for FINRA in disputes involving securities brokers and dealers. In addition, he has assisted clients with business valuations, turnarounds, complex tax structures and compliance, and financial statement and compliance audits. Mr. Medica is an adjunct professor in the accounting department of Cleveland State University where he teaches fraud examination. He frequently speaks on fraud investigations, damage quantification, and use of financial experts. In addition, he has been interviewed on talk radio in Cleveland on a major fraud investigation performed by the FBI and IRS. He also has been quoted in
Crain’s Cleveland Business. He has authored various articles on the effective use of financial experts, international financial reporting standards, and insurance claims. Mr. Medica was formerly director of the Investigations and Forensic Services practice in Cleveland for PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. His earlier experience also includes working for Cleveland-based accounting firms in audit and tax roles and serving as interim controller for a manufacturing company. Mr. Medica received his masters degree in business administration from Cleveland State University, where he also received The John Baker EMBA Alumni Award in recognition for his commitment to excellence and ethics in business and career development. He earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration in accountancy from John Carroll University. He is a member of the Technical Advisory Board of the Forensic and Valuation Services Section of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and also the Advisory Council of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Mr. Medica is a Board of Directors member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. He is a certified public accountant (CPA), certified fraud examiner (CFE), certified in financial forensics (CFF), certified valuation analyst (CVA), and Charted Global Management accountant (CGMA).
Michael G. Polis is of counsel with Wilke Fleury. His practice focuses on Knox-Keene Act licensed health care service plans and insurance regulatory matters. In addition, Mr. Polis provides legal counsel to individuals and business entities on tax, bankruptcy and general corporate-related legal issues. He also teaches contract law and legal writing at U.C. Davis. Mr. Polis was an instructor at California State University, Sacramento, where he taught business ethics. He is a licensed CPA and a member of the State Bar of California, Sacramento County Bar Association, and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Polis earned his B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles; and his J.D. degree from the University of the Pacific-McGeorge School of Law.
Clayton White is a partner with Sternberg, Naccari & White, LLC, where he has over 25 years of experience working with start-up and early-stage companies. His background includes organizational structure, mergers and acquisitions, financial management and controls, capital structure, and corporate governance. Mr. White has been to the closing table from all sides, buying, selling, and closing transactions as counsel to buyers and sellers. He is a member of the Louisiana and Alabama State bars. Mr. White earned his B.S. degree in physics, his M.B.A. degree, and his J.D. degree from Loyola University, New Orleans.