Talk:Cornerstone Research

I created the Cornerstone Research page and did not intend it to be an advertisement for the firm. I noticed that many of the company's competitors had brief but informative articles and attepted to add something similar for Cornerstone. I did my best to avoid making normative statements about the firm, and feel I did a reasonably good job of doing so (for the most part, anyway).

I would be happy to alter the page so that it more closely conforms to Wikipedia's standards, although I must ask for additional guidance before attempting that -- are there particular aspects of the article which make it seem like an advertisement? I'd like to expand the article, but doubt that I will have the time to do so for several days; would the addition of more detail make it seem less like an advertisement? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Benski (talk • contribs) 2007-01-11T23:53:28 (UTC)

Please read WP:COMPANY for the relevant guidelines. I don't think this company meets it, but if you disagree, provide verifiable sources to back up the relevant notability claims per WP:COMPANY. — Kaustuv Chaudhuri 23:00, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I think it has potential. It seems to be a pretty big firm, even ranked by vault.com. If some third-party references were listed, I think this article could work. Benski, which competitors do you mean? -Taco325i 23:05, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

All right, I'll remove the db tags for now, pending expansion of the article with sources. — Kaustuv Chaudhuri 23:09, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Great -- thanks! I will take a little time and try to provide better citations for the information in the article. Taco325i, I was thinking of Analysis Group, LECG, and NERA, all three of which compete in the same industry. NERA and LECG are larger (and LECG is public, I think), but Analysis Group is comparable in most ways. The Cornerstone article is similar, although I tried to add a bit more information. Benski 23:12, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

I am employed by Cornerstone Research as a website operations manager. In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use and Wikipedia's conflict of interest guideline, I am disclosing this affiliation.

I will not edit the article directly. I will post proposed changes here as edit requests, with sources, for review by uninvolved editors.

I made a small number of minor edits to this article before I understood that employment-related editing requires disclosure. These are described on my user page.

Several factual items in the article are out of date, including the leadership listed in the infobox. I will post those as separate requests below.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 18:22, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Edit request: infobox key_people and services fields

key_people

Replace:

| key_people    = Rahul Guha, Chief Executive Officer <br> Yesim C. Richardson, President <br> Cynthia L. Zollinger, Managing Director and Chair

With:

| key_people    = Bryan Ricchetti, Chief Executive Officer <br> Kristin Feitzinger, Chair of the Board <br> Phil Leslie, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer

Rahul Guha stepped down as chief executive officer in August 2026 and was succeeded by Bryan Ricchetti. The same report identifies Kristin Feitzinger as chair of the board of directors. Source: "Cornerstone Research announces Bryan Ricchetti as new CEO," Consultancy.uk, 12 August 2026, https://www.consultancy.uk/news/45311/cornerstone-research-announces-bryan-ricchetti-as-new-ceo

Phil Leslie's role as chief technology and innovation officer is reported in "Anthropic overtakes OpenAI, but these CIOs aren't chasing the leaderboard," InformationWeek, 8 July 2026, https://www.informationweek.com/machine-learning-ai/anthropic-overtakes-openai-but-these-cios-aren-t-chasing-the-leaderboard

The President position has been eliminated. Cynthia L. Zollinger is a founder of the firm rather than a current officer; I intend to propose a founding or origins section covering her in a later request, so that she is relocated within the article rather than removed from it.

The current field is entirely uncited.

products → services

Replace:

| products      = Economic Research, Expert Witness Services

With:

| services      = Economic and financial consulting, expert testimony

Cornerstone Research

provides a services parameter, which is the appropriate field for a professional services firm.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 18:36, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

 Done. I left Zollinger in the infobox as a founder for now, but it would be great if you could provide a source for that. Thanks for the clear requests, and please let me know if I missed anything. GentleHillRacer (talk) 22:21, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Thank you — much appreciated, and faster than I expected.

Three small things:

Bryan Ricchetti is spelled with a "y" rather than "Brian". Consultancy.uk uses the correct spelling throughout.

Phil Leslie's title is Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, not Information Officer. The InformationWeek piece has it as Innovation.

On Zollinger as founder: [SOURCE]. If that isn't sufficient I'd suggest removing the entry rather than leaving it unsourced — I'd rather propose a founding section later with proper sourcing than have an uncited entry stand.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 22:36, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing out those typos—I've fixed them now. I think there was an error with the source's formatting in your reply, but I'll check back later to see if that's changed. Cheers, GentleHillRacer (talk) 22:44, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

On Zollinger as founder: https://www.cornerstone.com/about/core-values/ names all three founders — Cindy Zollinger, Jim Malernee, and Chris Nelson. Sorry for not sending the source before. The current infobox lists only Zollinger; I'd suggest updating the Founder field to include all three. This is a primary source but appropriate for an uncontroversial founding claim. If that isn't sufficient I'd suggest removing the entry rather than leaving it incomplete — I'd rather propose a founding section later with proper sourcing than have a partial entry stand." MadisonClarkM (talk) 16:33, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Done—the other founders are included in the infobox now, with the source you provided. Cheers, GentleHillRacer (talk) 01:29, 10 September 2026 (UTC)

Edit request: practice areas section

The practice areas paragraph is uncited (tagged {{cn}} since August 2024) and does not match the firm's published practice areas. It also conflates two distinct categories: services offered and industries served.

Replace:

The company's practice areas include: [[accounting]]; [[Antitrust|antitrust and competition]]; [[bankruptcy]] and financial distress litigation; [[consumer fraud]] and [[product liability]]; corporate and government investigations; [[corporate governance]]; corporate transaction litigation; [[data analytics]]; Employee Retirement Income Security Act ([[ERISA]]); energy and commodities; [[financial institutions]]; [[intellectual property]]; [[international arbitration]] and litigation; labor and employment; [[pharmaceuticals]] and [[healthcare]];  [[real estate]]; [[securities]]; and [[valuation (finance)|valuation]].{{cn|date=August 2024}}

With:

The firm's services include [[accounting]]; [[Antitrust|antitrust and competition]]; [[bankruptcy]] and financial distress; commercial disputes and general damages; [[consumer fraud]] and [[product liability]]; corporate and government investigations; [[corporate governance]]; data privacy and [[data breach]]; [[defamation]], reputational harm, and brand valuation; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ([[ERISA]]); [[Environmental, social, and corporate governance|environmental, social, and governance]]; [[intellectual property]]; [[international arbitration]] and litigation; [[international trade]]; labor and discrimination; [[Mergers and acquisitions|M&A]] and corporate transaction litigation; [[market manipulation]] and microstructure; merger investigations; securities litigation; statistics and sampling; tax controversy; and [[Valuation (finance)|valuation]].<ref name="Cornerstone practices">{{Cite web |title=Practices |url=https://www.cornerstone.com/ |access-date=2026-09-08 |website=Cornerstone Research}}</ref>

Industries and sectors served include automotive; consumer finance; energy and commodities; [[financial institution]]s; [[fintech]], [[blockchain]], and [[cryptocurrency]]; [[Health care|healthcare]]; hospitality, travel, and tourism; insurance and pension plans; investments; [[life sciences]]; [[private equity]] and [[venture capital]]; [[real estate]]; technology, digital economy, and [[artificial intelligence]]; and [[telecommunications]], media, and entertainment.<ref name="Cornerstone practices" />

Sourced to the firm's own website, which is acceptable under WP:ABOUTSELF for a factual description of the services a company offers.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 22:24, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

Edit request: replace broken reference in Publications section

The reference named "Business Journal Clearinghouse Article" in the Publications section is described as a Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal article about the Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. Both the URL and its Wayback archive link resolve to a Verizon Business page about workplace attire, unrelated to the article's subject.

Requesting replacement with:

<ref>{{Cite web |title=Clearinghouse Research |url=https://securities.stanford.edu/clearinghouse-research.html |access-date=2026-09-08 |website=Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse}}</ref>

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 22:33, 8 September 2026 (UTC)

I'll implement; replacing a usurped URL is uncontroversial. Ifly6 (talk) 01:46, 9 September 2026 (UTC)

Add history section (new section, place before Offices)

Requesting addition of a new History section, placed immediately before the Offices section:

History

Cornerstone Research was founded in 1989 by Cynthia Zollinger, Jim Malernee, and Chris Nelson. Zollinger led the firm from 2007 until 2014, when Michael Burton became president and chief executive officer and Zollinger succeeded Malernee as chair. Rahul Guha became chief executive officer in 2020, and Bryan Ricchetti succeeded him in 2026.

Leadership transitions are sourced to a 2014 press release, a 2019 Competition Policy International report, and a 2026 Consulting Magazine article. The Consultancy.uk report already cited in the infobox corroborates the 2026 transition.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 20:09, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Edit request: replace Offices paragraph

Requesting replacement of the current Offices paragraph, with section header added:

Offices

Cornerstone Research is headquartered in San Francisco. Other US offices are in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, New York City, and Washington, D.C. To support European clients, the firm opened its first international office in London in 2014 and its second in Brussels in 2023.

The existing citations for the London (Compliance Week, 2014) and Brussels (cornerstone.com, 2023) office openings should be retained unchanged at the end of the final sentence. The only content changes are: adding the section header, correcting "New York" to "New York City" for consistency with the Wikilink target, and minor reordering of the US office list into alphabetical order.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 20:14, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Services

Cornerstone Research staffs individual matters with affiliated academic and industry experts and with its own economists. Both conduct analysis and provide testimony.

This sentence describes the firm's staffing model neutrally and is sourced to the Chambers and Partners Litigation Support Guide, an independent legal directory. The existing uncited expert witness sentence ("Cornerstone Research utilizes both internal and external expert witnesses...") should be removed, as this sentence replaces it with a sourced equivalent.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 20:15, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Edit request: Revise Publications to Research and publications

Requesting two changes to the current Publications section: renaming the section header to "Research and publications" (sentence case per MOS:HEADINGS), and appending a second paragraph on the NYU SEED collaboration. The existing Stanford paragraph and its two citations remain unchanged.

Research and publications

[existing Stanford paragraph and citations retained as-is]

The firm also collaborates with the New York University Pollack Center for Law & Business on the Securities Enforcement Empirical Database (SEED), which tracks enforcement actions filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against public companies and their subsidiaries, together with individuals named as defendants in those actions. SEED covers actions filed from October 2009 onward.

The header change reflects that the section describes research database collaborations rather than publications in the conventional sense. The SEED collaboration is sourced to NYU School of Law's own page, which names Cornerstone Research as co-creator.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 20:47, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Replacement: request replacement of lead paragraph

Requesting replacement of the current lead paragraph with the following:

Cornerstone Research is an economic consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, and Belgium. Founded in 1989 by Cynthia Zollinger, Jim Malernee, and Chris Nelson, the firm provides economic and financial analysis and expert testimony to attorneys, corporations, and government agencies involved in complex litigation and regulatory proceedings.

The founding date and founders are sourced to the firm's own website, acceptable under WP:ABOUTSELF for an uncontroversial founding claim.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 20:50, 15 September 2026 (UTC) MadisonClarkM (talk) 20:53, 15 September 2026 (UTC)

Edit request: add Recognition section

Requesting addition of a new Recognition section, placed after the Research and publications section:

Recognition

Chambers and Partners has ranked Cornerstone Research in Band 2 for Economic Analysts for eight consecutive years. In Vault's 2026 rankings, the firm placed second among economic consulting firms and sixth in the Vault Consulting 50.

The firm's professionals and experts have been recognized by the Lexology Index across various sectors and capabilities, as well as by Global Competition Review, the American Antitrust Institute, the Industrial Organization Society, and the Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Patent 1000, among others. Multiple professionals and experts have also been shortlisted for and have won Antitrust Writing Awards, organized annually by Concurrences and the George Washington University Law School Competition Law Center.

Firmwide, the firm has been recognized five times as an Inc. Best Workplace and has been named to Forbes magazine's list of America's Best Management Consulting Firms every year since the list began.

This section adds firm-level and individual-level recognition from independent third-party sources. Each organization named is cited directly to its own website or a direct award announcement, not to Cornerstone Research's own press releases about these recognitions.

Disclosure: I am employed by Cornerstone Research. See User:MadisonClarkM.

MadisonClarkM (talk) 21:57, 15 September 2026 (UTC) MadisonClarkM (talk) 21:57, 15 September 2026 (UTC)