About Us
About EWF Legal Consulting Group
EWF Legal Consulting Group provides expert witness testimony and litigation consulting services in matters involving finance, lending, and real estate. The firm works with major law firms to deliver objective, experience-based financial analysis that supports counsel and courts in complex disputes.
EWF’s work is grounded in real-world financial practice. Opinions are developed through detailed review of transaction records, industry standards, and applicable customs and practices, and are prepared to withstand scrutiny in deposition, trial, and arbitration.
Who We Are
EWF Legal Consulting Group is led by its principal, Sherwood D. Kelley. Mr. Kelley brings more than four decades of domestic and international finance experience to his expert witness work, with a professional background spanning institutional lending, private investor finance, and real estate development.
EWF is owned by Calinvest OmniCapital, LLC, an investment banking firm that has completed 76 debt and equity transactions totaling more than $950 million. This transactional background informs EWF’s expert opinions and distinguishes its work from purely academic or theoretical analysis.
Professional Background
Mr. Kelley is a highly experienced real estate lender, banker, and mortgage broker with extensive experience in loan placement, underwriting, processing, and closings. His work spans both institutional lending environments and private investor, or hard money, markets.
Since 1994, Mr. Kelley has served as Managing Principal of Calinvest OmniCapital, LLC, where he has facilitated transactions ranging from $2 million to $38 million across commercial finance, construction finance, and private equity and debt. Concurrently, he has served as a forensic consultant and expert witness through EWF Legal Consulting Group.
Why Choose EWF As Your Expert Witness
EWF Legal Consulting Group provides independent expert witness analysis in financial matters involving lending, banking, and real estate finance. Our opinions are based on decades of hands-on mortgage industry experience and a detailed understanding of credit customs, underwriting standards, and financial practices as they are applied in real-world transactions and litigation.
EWF’s work focuses on clear issue identification, fact-based analysis, valuations and expert opinions prepared to withstand deposition and trial scrutiny.
EWF is led by Sherwood D. Kelley, a seasoned finance professional with 40 years of experience in domestic and international lending, investment banking, and real estate finance. Mr. Kelley has participated in 76 completed transactions totaling more than $950 million, bringing practical industry insight to every expert engagement.
Our expert witness work is grounded in real transactional experience, not academic theory.
Key Qualifications
- Extensive experience in banking, lending, acquisition and real estate finance litigation matters
- Qualified and testified as an expert witness in California Superior Courts, including Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties
- Experienced in trials, depositions, motions for summary judgment, and arbitrations
- Trusted by law firms across California, Washington, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada
EWF provides objective financial opinions prepared in accordance with applicable litigation standards and court requirements, including expert reports compliant with FRCP 26 and California Code of Civil Procedure 2034 where applicable.
Expert Witness Experience
Since its inception in 1996, EWF Legal Consulting Group has completed 38 expert witness engagements. Mr. Kelley has qualified and testified as an expert witness in the Superior Courts of California, including Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties. His experience includes trials, depositions, motions for summary judgment, arbitrations, and mediation proceedings.
EWF has worked with law firms based in California, Washington, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada. Engagements typically involve complex financial disputes requiring detailed analysis of lending practices, underwriting standards, fiduciary duties, and financial damages.
Areas of Expertise
EWF Legal Consulting Group has been engaged as an expert witness in matters involving:
- Hard money and private investor lending
- Commercial and single-family residential underwriting
- Credit customs and industry standards
- Real estate construction financing, including funds control and disbursement practices
- Capital adequacy and collateral evaluation
- Foreclosure, bankruptcy, and loan workout strategies
- Duty of care and standard of care analysis
- Misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty
- Title insurance roles and responsibilities
- SBA, FNMA, and FHLM agency-related issues
- Expert reports prepared in compliance with FRCP 26 and California Code of Civil Procedure 2034
- Comprehensive damages analysis based on net cash flow erosion
Pre-Litigation Consulting
EWF provides early-stage, pre-litigation consulting services on an ad hoc basis. This work often involves assisting counsel with issue identification, evaluation of financial claims, and assessment of potential exposure prior to expert designation.
Early involvement can help shape litigation strategy and inform decisions regarding case development, settlement considerations, and expert needs.
Education and Licensure
Mr. Kelley holds an AB degree in Biology and Chemistry from Lafayette College and an MBA in Finance from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. He has completed postgraduate coursework in advanced appraisal, SBA lending, and California real estate law.
He has been licensed as a California Department of Real Estate Broker since 1997 and is fluent in Spanish.
Disclaimer
Written communications with EWF Legal Consulting Group are not privileged under the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product doctrine. All written communications to EWF are subject to discovery in litigation matters in which EWF or its principals are designated as an expert witness.