Nickerson & Associates is often asked to apply economic reasoning and theory to analyze real-world events. We have, for example, forecasted timber harvests in light of environmental laws, studied the effect of an oil spill on fishery permit prices in Alaska, and analyzed corporate restructuring plans and the effect of such plans on the age and gender distribution of employees. In the public policy arena, we have carefully analyzed and constructed simulations of the effect of agency rules on the distribution of state contracts across contractors and the effect of such policy on individual firms.

Often we are asked to perform econometric and statistical analyses to test for the inference of causality or relatedness. Employment decisions, environmental damage and forecasting typically lend themselves to this sort of analyses. We often discuss with clients our opinion regarding the appropriateness of using statistical analyses in certain circumstances and have been asked on numerous occasions to assess others’ statistical work and the integrity of data.

Much of the litigation work performed by Nickerson & Associates involves economic damage assessment. Examples include economic loss in individual employment cases, development of structured settlement methodologies in class action consumer and wage and hour cases, class loss estimates for corporate restructuring employment cases, and estimates of losses in contract disputes. On a number of occasions, we have been asked to develop computerized loss estimate systems to be used in settlement discussions.

A particular area of expertise for Nickerson & Associates is the area of database development. By developing databases with high levels of integrity we provide more accurate analyses, are able to more carefully review and critique the work done by other experts, and can also provide our clients more complete and more quickly accessible information. Using existing electronic data, we have constructed databases as large as seven million records with 160 variables in each record. We have also constructed computerized databases using non-electronic information as the primary source. In one age discrimination case against a federal agency, we constructed a sound, analytical database from 80 boxes of job applications, personnel files, and employment decision records.

Nickerson & Associates has both worked with court-appointed Settlement Administrators and been appointed the Settlement Administrator for a number of class action settlements. We have performed this work for classes as small as one hundred and as large as 35,000 individuals. We have been responsible for locating and notifying class members, responding to class members’ inquiries, calculating individual awards, disbursing both the class awards and attorney’s fees and managing the settlement accounts.