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| CEO Jim Riordan |
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We provide expert witness services for the design, functionality and safety of
mechanical and electromechanical consumer, industrial and aviation products.
We provide detailed investigative reports and testimony which in
many cases can result in favorable settlements being reached before the
cases ever go to trial.
Please see our Fees for Services page
Consumer and Industrial Products
Jim Riordan is capable of picturing designs in 3D in his head and
taking those designs from concept through production. He knows product
design inside and out and can offer expert opinions on the design, functionality,
integrity and safety of most mechanical and electro-mechanical products. Perhaps most importantly, Jim is able to deliver testimony in a professional
manner yet with language, descriptions and analogies that are easily
understood by the average lay person.
What makes Jim unique is that his knowledge of products is four fold.
He can design from scratch, understands and can operate most production
machinery & inspection equipment and he teaches product marketing. He
understands all aspects of product design, production, inspection and
marketing and the effects each of those aspects have on each other.
| Product design and manufacturing experience |
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Former manufacturing engineering manager for Atari Corp responsible
for taking engineering designs and getting them into full scale
production with low rejection rates. |
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Experienced in both destructive and non-destructive
product testing. Twenty years of experience testing products
and components for failure modes and likely cause of failure. |
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Experienced in polyurethane molded parts, plastic
injection molded parts and plastic thermo formed parts. Has designed and fabricated molds and machinery for
production of plastic parts and provided consulting services
to manufacturers regarding design of plastic parts, components
and subassemblies. |
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Former machine shop owner and machinist capable of
performing layouts, true position dimensioning and inspections
of all types of fabricated parts. |
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30 years of experience in setup and running of mills,
lathes, screw machines, precision grinders and cutting
equipment for all types of materials. |
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Experienced in fixture and production tooling design
and fabrication. |
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Experienced gas, arc and MIG welder |
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Former sheet metal shop owner capable of setting up
and operating brakes, shears, punches and sheet metal
finishing equipment. |
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Five years of experience running a production wood shop
for Viking Sauna. |
Please be sure to see our "About Us"
pages including "Bio of CEO" and
"Our Projects and Success Stories"
for a few examples of products we have designed, produced or worked on.
Light Aircraft
Jim has flown, built and maintained light aircraft for most of his
adult life. His FAA license has never been suspended nor has he experienced
accidents or incidents caused by his own negligence.
He is capable of expert testimony with respect to the design, manufacturing
and flight characteristics of most light sport aircraft. He served as Chairman
of the Watsonville Antique Aircraft Fly-in and Air show, the second largest
antique airplane gathering in the U.S.
| Aviation Experience |
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Over forty five years of experience flying light aircraft since
he could sit on his dad's knee and hold the controls. |
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FAA licensed pilot, Single Engine Land (SEL) and Gliders (aero
tow). |
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Tail wheel qualified and experienced. |
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Over a thousand hours pilot in command (PIC) in certificated
aircraft and over five hundred additional hours giving general
flight instruction and aerobatic flight instruction in light sport
aircraft. |
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High performance rating for certificated SEL aircraft. |
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Holder of Low Altitude Aerobatic Competency Waiver certificate
for performing air shows in public. |
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Holder of USUA (United States Ultralight Association) Basic
Flight Instructor (BFI) certificate |
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Holder of USUA Advanced Flight Instructor (AFI) certificate. |
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Holder of EAA (experimental Aircraft Association) Ultralight
Flight Instructor Examiner (UFIE) certificate. (gives Flight
Instructor's their exams). First UFIE in EAA history to get a
perfect score on the UFIE written test. |
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Survivor of two near fatal aircraft crashes due to control
surface failures. The first crash in 1996 occurred during
flight testing of a twin engine aircraft and was due to an aileron
which seized in a left turn configuration. Subsequent impact
with terrain resulted in a broken back and two back surgeries.
The second crash in 2001 was due to a mechanical/aerodynamic lockup of
the rudder during intentional spin maneuvers in an aerobatic ultra
light sport aircraft. A Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) parachute
was deployed in deep spin conditions. The aircraft subsequently
landed in a tree, then, (not unlike a scene from Wiley Coyote)
fell approximately 50 feet out of the tree and impacted the ground
in a near vertical attitude resulting in a shattered tibia plateau
of the right leg. (Jim is "save # 141" for BRS and would not
be alive today were it not for the BRS ballistic parachute.) |
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Experienced on both two and four stroke engine operations,
engine building and maintenance. |
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Experienced ultralight and experimental aircraft builder. |
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Experienced in design and fabrication of composite parts |
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Experienced in aircraft construction techniques including
aluminum riveted monocoque, aluminum tube and welded chrome-moly
tube structures. |
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Experienced in the installation and maintenance of experimental
aircraft systems and components. |
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Experienced at performing in-flight testing of light sport
aircraft and their systems and components. |
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Skydiving experience includes eleven intentional parachute
jumps out of "perfectly good" airplanes including eight static
line jumps and three freefalls. Also has one unintentional
canopy ride under a BRS ballistic parachute. Jim is one of only
a handful of persons in the world known to survive a catastrophic
aircraft control failure by using a ballistic (rocket powered)
parachute system. |
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Air show management experience includes two years as
co-chair of the Watsonville Fly-in and one year as Chairman.
He also served on the board of directors for the Northern California
Antique Airplane Association the non profit organization responsible
for building and operating of the South County Antique Airplane
Museum in Morgan Hill, CA. |
Expert witness recommendations from attorneys
"Following the Judicial Arbitration in this matter a settlement was
negotiated. We are now in the process of concluding that settlement. Your efforts in evaluating and inspecting the motion video game involved
in this lawsuit were very helpful. I appreciate your enthusiasm and
promptness. Your testimony at the arbitration was excellent. I am certain
that your efforts contributed to our success. I will not hesitate to retain
you in the future should I have another case in which your expertise would
be relevant."
Law Offices of Adams, Mason & Corzine
Douglas P. Adams
"The gentleman of whom I speak is Jim Riordan, of Cameron Park, CA,
formerly of San Jose. Jim has a long and successful career starting as a
mechanical design engineer for Atari, and then working on his own as Overnight
Engineering, inventing and marketing his own products and trouble shooting the
products of others. Jim regularly appears on KGO talk shows as an invited guest
to explain to would be entrepreneurs pitfalls to avoid in the production and
marketing of their ideas. He is very knowledgeable, without being pompous, and
he is very capable of expressing complex design and function concepts to others
in language which the layman can understand."
David L. Hodghead, Esq.
Law Offices of David L. Hodghead
"We all know the value of a good expert witness. They fortify our case, they
make our job easier, and they make us look good. James Riordan is that kind
of expert witness. His forte is design and manufacturing. His twenty years
of hands-on experience and state-of-the-art training in design, prototype
creation, and manufacturing makes him a superior combatant against any of the
opposition's experts. He has the rare ability to explain the technical concepts
in terms the jury understands and remembers. He has turned cases for me and he
can turn them for you."
Robert W. Kraft
Law offices of Robert Kraft
"I have represented James F. Riordan for over 12 years in intellectual
property matters. During this time, I have worked with him in protecting
his numerous inventions in the mechanical and electro-mechanical arts. I
have found him to be a person dedicated to the solution of complex design
problems. I have also been impressed with his successes in assisting third
parties in reducing their inventions to practice and in commercializing their
inventions. Mr. Riordan is hard working, is intellectually honest and has a
mastery of his skills sufficient to qualify him as an expert witness in patent
infringement and products liability lawsuits. I strongly recommend him for tasks
which require mature judgment in the solution of problems of the type described above."
John L. McGannon
Law Offices Townsend and Townsend
Please see our Fees for Services page
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