Forensic Economists on Staff

 Robert "Matt" Hanak joined Forensic Human Resources in the latter part of 2015, and in January 2019 became the Managing Partner of the firm.  Prior to becoming a forensic economist, Mr. Hanak co-founded Precise, Inc., an e-discovery and trial consulting firm with offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.  At Precise, Inc., he served as a member of the Board of Directors, the Chief Financial Officer, and as a Senior Trial Consultant for over 15 years.  Mr. Hanak also worked at Ocwen Financial Corporation, in West Palm Beach, Florida, as a Financial Analyst.
Mr. Hanak earned a Bachelor of Economics from Allegheny College (Meadville, PA) and later went on to earn a Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, and a Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He has attained accreditation status to teach Continuing Legal Education classes by the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Insurance Society. He has been admitted on multiple occasions as an expert in the field of Forensic Economics in Pennsylvania State Courts and Federal Courts.
 

 Donal Kirwan served as the Managing Partner of FHR for 14 years from 2005 to 2019.  He earned a Bachelor of Economics from Xavier University and later a Masters of Industrial Relations from St. Francis University (Loretto, PA). He also holds the Senior Professional Human Resources certification.
Mr. Kirwan has provided numerous written reports to clients in matters of lost wages and fringe benefits, valuations of life care plans, loss of household services, and earning capacity evaluations. He has testified over 200 times in courts, including Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas, State courts in Ohio and West Virginia, as well as in Federal Court.  After graduating from Xavier, Mr. Kirwan spent 6 years on active duty with the U.S. Army.  From 1976 to 2003, Don was actively involved in the recruiting industry working with companies on staffing issues. That work experience provided the background he relies upon when evaluating wage and fringe benefits matters as well as employment capacity evaluations. 

Jay Jarrell, the founding member of FHR, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Duquesne University and a Master of Arts in Industrial Relations from the University of Pittsburgh. Mr. Jarrell has worked as a forensic economist for over 25 years and has testified over 300 times in courts in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, Maryland, and North Carolina.  He began his career with Strauss Personnel Services, a recruiting firm in the Pittsburgh area.  While there, Mr. Jarrell became the owner and was also actively involved in the National Personnel Association, a network of recruiting firms in the U.S. and Canada.  Mr. Jarrell served as the organization’s president for a time.  He also worked for Drake Beam Morin, Inc., an international provider of outplacement services.  Mr. Jarrell’s extensive experience in recruiting and outplacement gives him a firm basis to develop his expert opinions in the areas of employability, lost earnings, or diminished earning capacity.