Cornerstone Research Overview

Clients consult with Cornerstone Research on a range of projects involving numerous industries. Cornerstone Research works on high-profile cases reported on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Our clients include nearly all major securities firms, financial institutions such as hedge funds and private equity firms, top consulting and other professional services firms, leading pharmaceutical companies, major participants in energy markets, Internet and other high-technology firms, large telecommunications providers, and others. A sample of the issues on which we work includes:

• Securities valuation involving stocks, debt instruments, and derivatives.
• Competition issues related to mergers, joint ventures and cartels, and the behavior of market-leading firms.
• Intellectual property and the commercial value of innovation and technology.
• High-profile financial institution failures, including the role of risk management and the credit crisis.
• Healthcare and pharmaceutical disputes involving topics such as reimbursement issues and the dynamics of generic drug competition.
• The impact of cost and financial accounting practices.

Cornerstone Research values the professional growth of consultants and recognizes their contributions. We believe that strong skills develop best through practical experience. To support consultants in building their skill set, our orientation training program introduces them to sophisticated analytical and statistical techniques used in our casework. Following orientation and training, consultants join case teams while continuing to learn new skills. They immediately interact with senior consultants, experts, and clients for tremendous learning and development opportunities.

Cornerstone Research also invests in professional development through focused and ongoing training programs, including:

• Annual, tenure-based training.
• Cornerstone College, which offers self-directed courses on functional and practice area skills.
• Informal “Brown Bag Lunch” sessions on topics such as computer skills, practice areas, cases, and experience sharing.
• Mentoring by experienced analysts and senior consultants.

The analyst position at Cornerstone Research typically spans three to five years and provides a strong foundation for building careers in finance, industry, consulting, or academia. From the start analysts play a central role on client engagements and on important firmwide initiatives. Analysts work on case teams that vary in size but typically include an academic or industry expert, senior consultants, and other analysts. Within case teams analysts make important contributions during all phases of a project, from developing case strategy, to conducting analyses submitted to the court, to preparing experts for testimony.

The analytical depth of our assignments, the breadth of industry exposure, and the experience working on case teams offer outstanding preparation for analysts applying to top graduate programs in business, economics, and law. Cornerstone Research analyst alumni have gone on to attend the Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, to name a few. Alumni also have pursued doctoral studies and law degrees at Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and Yale University, among others. Additionally Cornerstone Research offers programs to help prepare and assist analysts in applying to graduate school.

CANDIDATE PROFILES

Analyst
Cornerstone Research seeks well-rounded, enthusiastic individuals who have demonstrated excellent academic performance in challenging undergraduate programs. We encourage candidates with strong analytical backgrounds, computer skills, communication skills, and an interest in business and economics to apply.

Summer Analyst
As an introduction to the analyst position, Cornerstone Research hires a small number of summer analysts for ten to twelve weeks, generally during the year prior to graduation. The summer analyst role and qualifications closely mirror those of the analyst position. Many summer analysts choose to join Cornerstone Research after graduation.

 

Cornerstone Research provides a dynamic work environment that offers an array of opportunities for associates to develop professionally. Case teams include consultants at all levels of experience, including those who have just completed their graduate education, recent graduates from top undergraduate programs, and senior staff with many years of consulting experience. Projects involve close collaboration with clients and academic and industry experts to research cutting-edge issues in industry and academia, develop case strategy, and determine how best to communicate findings. Associates participate actively in shaping the firm’s recruiting, training, and practice development strategies, as well as organizing social and community outreach events. Over time associates take on increasing levels of responsibility for the leadership and management of case teams, client and expert relationships, and firm development efforts.

CANDIDATE PROFILES

Overview
Associates at Cornerstone Research must have the ability to apply academic research to real-world issues and present concise explanations of complex analyses. The ideal candidate will possess a strong empirical background and excellent interpersonal skills. Cornerstone Research attracts individuals who are intellectually curious and want to work on a broad range of issues at the nexus of the academic and business worlds. 

Doctoral Candidates
We seek candidates who have pursued doctoral studies in finance, economics, accounting, or marketing, and who will be graduating in the upcoming year. We also seek candidates who have graduated and have academic or relevant industry experience. Several members of our consulting team have come to the firm with prior academic experience, from junior faculty to emeritus tenured faculty, and have transitioned successfully into our business.

M.B.A. Candidates
The ideal candidate will possess a strong academic background, an analytical orientation, excellent communication skills, and an interest in thinking creatively about complex economic and financial problems. Candidates also must have the ability and desire to take on increasing levels of managerial responsibility. Industry experience in finance, accounting, consulting, and other fields requiring sophisticated data analysis is also an asset.

Summer Associate
Summer associates join us for ten to twelve weeks during the year prior to graduation from their doctoral or M.B.A. programs. Cornerstone Research designed the summer associate program to mirror the experience of a first-year associate, including case assignments as well as formal training. As we do for all associates, we try our best to match summer associates with cases of interest to them. Many summer associates become associates at Cornerstone Research upon completing their graduate studies.

Finance

Cases involving corporate finance, asset pricing, market microstructure, and other finance issues arise in a variety of contexts. We apply sophisticated, state-of-the-art financial models developed in academia to complex business problems.

For example, cases involving business valuation often require developing sophisticated discounted cash flow models. Other cases may require an extensive analysis of market efficiency, complex derivative valuation, or bond default probabilities. Market manipulation cases may require an analysis and understanding of market microstructure. Accounting restatement cases may involve an analysis of how stock prices would have responded to alternative financial statements.

Our consultants apply and refine the latest academic models using the most detailed data available. We have access to many public and proprietary data sources.

Economics

Economic analysis and analytic tools are used in many of our assignments. For example, antitrust cases require theoretical and empirical analyses of the behavior of firms and the extent to which a firm’s strategies (e.g., contracting, pricing, tying, bundling, or mergers and acquisitions) enhance or harm consumer welfare. Antitrust analyses can include analyzing firm incentives within a particular market context and devising empirical and statistical models to test and predict firm behavior. Intellectual property cases often feature an analysis of the effect of innovation and property protection on competition and profitability.

The intellectual opportunities in our research are especially rich because most cases require analysis that embodies a clear theoretical framework and properly applies econometric models, as well as a broad institutional inquiry into the structure of the industry, the relevant production processes, and the nature of competition. As a result we work with data (e.g., customer and transaction data from the client) and qualitative information from internal marketing or strategy documents, written communications, and testimony by industry participants.

Accounting

Cornerstone Research has developed a deep expertise in addressing complex accounting issues, such as analyzing capital market responses to financial information, evaluating financial reporting in the context of the relevant authoritative guidance, and providing rigorous analysis of company economics to assess executive compensation and managerial accounting issues.

Our staff includes CPAs as well as individuals with advanced degrees in accounting. Our extensive experience supporting multiple experts on a range of issues enables us to provide effective analyses in accounting-related litigation.

Marketing

Cases at Cornerstone Research often involve complex issues in marketing. For example, in cases involving claims of false advertising for consumer products, we may estimate econometric models using scanner panel data. Marketing cases can also provide an opportunity to conduct original survey work, using conjoint analysis and other statistical methods to examine consumer preferences and choices. The nature of our work requires an excellent understanding of the consumer behavior literature and solid expertise in various quantitative and econometric methods used in marketing.