Cushman & Wakefield hires Michael Parsons to lead disputes and litigation
Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has hired Michael Parsons as SVP and leader of its newly launched dispute analysis and litigation support (DALS) practice in Canada.
Parsons joins Cushman & Wakefield from consulting firm Duff & Phelps (now Kroll), where he led the firm’s real estate advisory group in Canada.
In his new role, Parsons will oversee a practice that supports clients with real estate-related dispute analysis, trial support, and arbitration services. The DALS practice will advise on issues in bankruptcy and restructuring, breach of contract, construction defects and delays, damages calculation, fraud and forensics investigation, and post-acquisition disputes, among other areas.
“Establishing Cushman & Wakefield’s Canada DALS Practice is a tremendous opportunity to offer dispute and litigation support services at a national level and complement what is already one of the top V&A teams in North America,” said Parsons. “The scale and reach of the Cushman & Wakefield network offer a unique opportunity to provide unparalleled services to the legal community and stakeholders alike.”
Parsons brings 15 years of experience in litigation support and expert witness testimony for commercial litigation, rent arbitration, shareholder disputes, expropriation, professional liability, among other areas. He has provided real estate consulting, appraisals, and technical reviews for all property types to legal counsel, developers, investors, financial institutions, and government agency clients.
Prior to joining Duff & Phelps in 2018, Parsons was a senior consultant at Altus Expert Servuces and a commercial underwriter at GE Capital Real Estate. He began his career at Integris Real Estate Counsellors, where he spent more than seven years and was a senior real estate appraiser and consultant.
Parsons has an MBA from the University of Toronto, a bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Waterloo, and a diploma in urban land economics from the University of British Columbia. He is also an accredited appraiser and professional land economist.
“With Michael, we’ve found the ideal person to lead our DALS Practice and support V&A’s accelerated growth,” said Brian Kriter, executive managing director and leader for valuation and advisory (V&A) services in Canada. “He has close relationships with Canada’s leading law firms and is regularly called upon to lend strategic insight and independent expertise in the most complex matters.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s V&A practice in Canada has a team of more than 60 professionals delivering support in diligence advisory, portfolio valuation, valuation for financial tax and reporting, and now, disputes and litigation.
Cushman & Wakefield also has a strategic consulting practice that advises on real estate and location strategy, workplace strategy, change management, and labour analytics.
The firm’s core services are in property, facilities and project management, as well as leasing, and capital markets. The Chicago-headquartered public company has more than 50,000 people across 60 countries.
Commercial real estate services firms have been diversifying into consulting amid a weakened commercial real estate market. Rival firms Colliers and Avison Young both launched consulting practices in 2020.
