Leading Statistician and Expert Witness Dr. M. Laurentius Marais Joins Compass Lexecon

Compass Lexecon is pleased to announce that Dr. M. Laurentius Marais has joined the firm as an Executive Vice President. Dr. Marais is one of the most respected statisticians in the entire field of statistical and data-analytic consulting. He brings to us broad-ranging experience in conducting and directing statistical and other quantitative data analyses in some of the most complex and consequential cases in the United States in the past 25 years, often serving as an expert witness in such matters. His base at Compass Lexecon will be in our Chicago and Washington, DC offices, working with and complementing our already robust data-analytic and econometric practice.

Prior to joining Compass Lexecon, Dr. Marais was a Vice President and Principal Consultant at William E. Wecker Associates, Inc. While at Wecker Associates, Dr. Marais was retained to apply statistical and mathematical methods to the analysis of such matters as: the transmission of HIV through the U.S. blood supply; ballot counting in a U.S. presidential election; the attribution and measurement of damages in the largest fraud in history; environmental and economic effects of carbon dioxide emissions and “global warming;” the causes and consequences of the U.S. opioid epidemic; the quantification of insurance liabilities arising, for example, from asbestos-related disease in the U.S.; determinations of the causation and the quantification of health and economic effects of cigarette smoking; measuring damages in a broad-ranging variety of commercial disputes; assessing claims in IP and patent-related disputes ranging from nuclear reactor containment vessels to medical devices and pharmaceutical drugs; class certification, merits, and damages issues in dozens of potential major class actions spanning a broad range of products; event studies and other quantitative methods for measuring the effects of disclosures on security prices; claims of race and sex discrimination involving pay, access to credit, and housing; accident and incident data relating to the field performance of alternative designs for products including automobiles, automotive safety devices, industrial equipment, and domestic devices; the analysis of warranty data and forecasting of future warranty claims; the effects of fuel-economy enhancing modifications to commercial aircraft; the effects of fuel economy regulations on automobile safety; the transmission of manufacturing anomalies through the supply chain for medications; the potential association of product ingredients and contaminants with cancer and other health effects; the identification and assessment of cancer clusters; direct health effects and indirect stigma effects (on property values) of proximity to installations that employ potentially harmful materials including radioisotopes; manufacturing, laboratory testing, and clinical trials data involved in IP disputes, personal injury claims, and drug efficacy determinations; and postmarketing surveillance data on the incidence of adverse reactions to drugs and medical devices. 

The broad range of statistical and mathematical tools Dr. Marais has employed or assessed (and explained in various forums) in the course of conducting these and other engagements include many varieties of statistical inference and regression analysis, specialized biostatistical and epidemiological methods such as survival and time-to-event analysis (and their engineering counterparts), decision analysis and probability modeling, and sampling and survey methods.

Dr. Marais previously served on the faculty of The University of Chicago and also as a Consulting Professor at Stanford University where he received his Ph.D. in 1985.

Daniel R. Fischel, Compass Lexecon Chairman and President stated, "We are thrilled and proud to welcome Laurentius to Compass Lexecon. He is without question one of the most accomplished and successful experts in the field of statistical analysis and economic consulting and will add immensely to the firm’s expertise and value."

Dr. Marais added, "I am honored and excited to join one of the world’s leading economic and quantitative consulting firms and to complement their already formidable portfolio of expertise. I look forward to working with Compass Lexecon’s deep bench of world-renowned experts to assist clients with high profile matters."

Contact
Dr. Laurentius Marais
lmarais@compasslexecon.com
Chicago: +1 312 322 0283
Washington, DC: +1 202 753 5294