Chris Bakewell, ASA, CLP, is a managing director in the Houston office and the leader of the Intellectual Property Services practice for the Disputes and Investigations practice. Chris also serves as a City Leader. Chris’ client assignments have included the valuation and strategic management of businesses and intellectual property rights, the valuation of companies and intangible assets in connection with business transactions, licensing, transaction-related advice and due diligence, as well as audits and investigations. Chris has been nationally recognized as a top economic expert witness.

Chris has deep experience in matters involving patent infringement, breach of contract, theft of trade secrets, diminution of business value, trademark and copyright infringement, injunctive relief (including analyses of irreparable harm and ongoing royalties), international trade issues (including analyses of domestic industry and bonding) as well as other matters. In addition, Chris has experience in matters involving anti-trust and unfair competition.

Chris has been qualified and testified as an expert witness in various forums, including Federal Court, State Court, Domestic and International Arbitration, and the International Trade Commission.

Summary of Experience

• Damages and Economic Analysis. Broad range of experience in business disputes in a variety of litigation settings, including state court, federal court, International Trade Commission (“ITC”), bankruptcy court, arbitration and mediation. Performed various services, analyses and other activities in connection with dispute-related negotiations, both pre- and post-litigation. As an expert, performed analyses of reasonable royalties, ongoing royalties, lost profits damages, price erosion damages and other opinions regarding damages/remedies. Work has included the use of statistics, survey evidence, and other advanced analytical techniques. 

• Valuation and Finance. In the course of providing financial and valuation analyses, have focused on issues related to discounted cash flow, evaluation of market and competitive dynamics, determination of capital structure, transaction and market multiples, control premiums/minority discounts, discounts for lack of liquidity, and other transferability considerations. Prepared fairness opinions and solvency analyses. Performed valuations of various businesses including minority and control blocks of closely-held businesses and marketability discounts. These valuations of businesses and assets include manufacturing, distribution, retail and services sectors. In addition, performed purchase price allocations for financial reporting purposes. Performed valuations of software and IP assets, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.
• Market Assessments. Assisted clients in determination of new markets to be developed via licensing, evaluation of potential counterparties and structuring/negotiation of licensing arrangements, and ongoing business analysis. Assisted with the determination of the optimal structure for licensing of technology. Work has involved determination of licensing counterparties, structuring of the potential licensing arrangements, evaluation of royalty rates, evaluation of market opportunities, assessment of the economic implications of technical alternatives (e.g., design-arounds, design-outs, and non-infringing alternatives), identification and analysis of potential markets and market segments (including the analysis of injunctive relief), ongoing analysis of “IP rich” investments, surveys, advanced analytical tools (e.g., statistical and correlation analyses) as well as IP analytics and data mining.
• Investigations, Royalty Audits and Audits of Contractual Rights. Conducted royalty audits and other investigations related to contract compliance, including due diligence related to business transactions and fraud.
• Business Leadership and Contract Negotiation Assistance. Served as business unit financial leader for enterprises engaged in asset ownership, manufacturing, power generation, and construction. Structured, negotiated and evaluated investment opportunities and international trade issues throughout the world. Participated in the negotiation of licenses, joint venture agreements, partnership agreements, buy-sell arrangements, and other contracts.
• Royalty Analyses and Studies. Completed numerous in-depth royalty and licensing analyses to assist clients in the development of licensing programs, evaluation of terms in licensing and contract negotiations, determination of fair market value for asset transfers, as well as determination of investment value. Reviewed and analyzed the terms and conditions of thousands of license agreements, as well as numerous other contracts. Evaluated reasonable royalties under various technical standards; studied and analyzed royalty rates in FRAND and RAND licensing contexts. Evaluated “most favored licensee” and “most favored nations” (MFN) clauses. Evaluated royalty rates and other terms between multinational enterprises for tax and transfer pricing purposes

Certifications

• American Society of Appraisers (Accredited Senior Appraiser in Business Valuation; served on the Board of Directors of Houston Chapter)
• Licensing Executives Society (Certified Licensing Professional)
• Association for Corporate Growth (Member)American Intellectual Property Law Association (Member)

Education

• M.B.A.—Concentration: Finance, Graduate Fellow, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland at College Park, 1993. Internship: US Securities & Exchange Commission.
• B.S. magna cum laude—Business Management & Administration, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, 1990. Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies.