Key Takeaways

Tim co-founded Vista Consulting in 2009. Vista’s aim was to help plaintiff law firms reach their full potential. Tim has decades of CPA experience with local, regional, and national CPA firms. However, it is through Tim’s prior consulting practice that he found his passion. He has worked with many business owners, assisting them with defining and attaining success in their business and personal lives. Developing a management philosophy with business owners along with the associated systems and processes that assist in delivering outstanding management to Vista’s client teams is Tim’s forté.

Tim’s experience and interest allow him to assist Vista clients with developing a realistic vision of their firm into the future, creating a strategic plan to achieve that vision while working with firm owners in designing their desired lifestyle. From a technical standpoint, Tim assists Vista clients in reviewing firm tax entity structure, accounting systems analysis, and financial reporting.

Additionally, Tim is the managing partner of The McKey Business Group (MBG) CPAs. MBG is a small consulting CPA firm located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The firm only works for select businesses, providing consulting services (building the roadmap for the future), as well as traditional CPA products and services. When working with Tim, there usually are “light bulb” moments…he calls them BFOs (a Blinding Flash of the Obvious). Sometimes, he says, business is just not that complicated. Tim’s ability to mentor successful businesspersons, and gently push them to new levels of thinking, while providing creative perspectives, contributes to Vista clients’ success, as well as Vista’s success.

Tim’s strategic vision for Vista has made a great contribution toward developing a team of consultants who take a comprehensive approach to working with their clients. Identifying and solving operational issues is not the only goal…enhanced profitability and having fun doing it is real success.

Tim lives in Baton Rouge. He has two daughters, four granddaughters, one grandson, and one wife. He enjoys spending time with his crew poolside. A self-proclaimed business nerd, Tim enjoys reading, pondering, and discussing future business trends, models, and disruptive change, tennis, exercise, and the pursuit of the “abundant life.”

Chad Dudley was born in Southern California and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He grew up playing competitive tennis at a national and international level. At the age of 15, Chad was awarded a scholarship to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy (now IMG Academy) in Bradenton, Florida. He finished high school in Florida and moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to accept a tennis scholarship at Louisiana State University. Chad played for the LSU Men’s Tennis Team for four years and obtained his undergraduate degree in Marketing.

After obtaining his undergraduate degree at LSU, Chad attended the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center where he received his law degree.

From his very first job out of law school, Chad has always represented those who have been injured by others, helping them get the justice they deserve.

Chad Dudley started Dudley DeBosier Injury Lawyers with his partners, Steven DeBosier and James Peltier, in 2009. They have since recovered over a billion dollars for tens of thousands of individuals throughout the state of Louisiana. The firm now has over 50 attorneys with offices across the state. Chad has also been a consultant to personal injury firms for over 15 years. He has worked with over 200 firms across the country, helping them grow their practice. He is considered an industry expert in the field of law firm management and building firms that get great results for their clients. Additionally, Chad is the CEO of cj Advertising, an advertising company that represents personal injury firms. He is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of law firm management, marketing, and technology.

In his free time, Chad still plays lots of tennis and pickleball.

Andrew C. Sagliocca has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. and Esquire Bank, N.A. (collectively “Esquire”) since 2009. In 2023, Andrew was promoted to Vice Chairman while maintaining his current roles. Andrew has led numerous capital raises for Esquire and other institutions including Esquire’s initial public offering in 2017. Prior to this, Andrew served as Esquire’s Chief Financial Officer when joining Esquire 2007. Prior to joining Esquire, Andrew was a senior financial officer for 13 years at North Fork Bank, one of the top-performing financial institutions in the country. At North Fork Bank, Andrew was an integral part of growing this $1.5 billion community bank into a $60 billion regional commercial bank with over 300 branches in the New York metro area. Andrew was formerly a manager in KPMG LLP’s Financial Services Group, specializing in financial institutions. Andrew has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Fairfield University’s Dolan School of Business, and in addition to being a Certified Public Accountant, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

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Anuj Astir is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal‘s Transaction Advisory Group in New York. He brings with him 25 years of professional experience of which more than 20 years are transactions advisory specific. He has provided both buy and sell side financial due diligence services to private equity and corporate clients on transactions valued from $20 million to $9 billion. His experience ranges from transactions involving lower and middle-market acquisition targets to multibillion-dollar complex cross-border projects.

Mr. Astir’s areas of expertise include identification and assessment of financial risk areas, quantification of items directly impacting transaction valuation (e.g., understanding normalized EBITDA, adequacy of working capital levels, debt items), analysis of key performance indicators, purchase agreement reviews and carve-out transaction implications.

Mr. Astir has served clients across a range of industries, including business services, manufacturing, industrial products, consumer products, retail, information services, technology and media & entertainment. He has also led international and cross border due diligence transactions for both private equity and strategic buyers.

Before joining A&M, Mr. Astir was with the transaction advisory services group of Ernst & Young (EY) in New York. He also worked for a year and a half at EY Mumbai advising Indian and global private equity and strategic clients primarily focusing on technology, communications and entertainment sectors. Prior to joining EY, Mr. Astir spent five years with KPMG’s audit practice in Mumbai, India.

Mr. Astir earned a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics (University of Mumbai) and is a Chartered Accountant in India.

Dane S. Ciolino serves as the Alvin R. Christovich Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. His current scholarly and teaching interests at Loyola include Professional Responsibility, Evidence, Advocacy, and Criminal Law.

Professor Ciolino graduated cum laude from Rhodes College in 1985, and magna cum laude from Tulane Law School in 1988, where he was inducted into Order of the Coif and selected as Editor in Chief of the Tulane Law Review. After graduation, he clerked for the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, and practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City, and Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC, in New Orleans.

He has served as reporter to the Louisiana State Bar Association Ethics 2000 Committee, as chairperson of a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board Hearing Committee, as Chair of the Lawyer Disciplinary Committee of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and as a member of various Louisiana State Bar Association committees including the Professionalism Committee, the Lawyer & Judicial Codes of Conduct Committee, and the Ethics Advisory Service Committee. He also serves as the Executive Administrator and General Counsel to the City of New Orleans Ethics Review Board. His weblog, Louisiana Legal Ethics, is located at lalegalethics.org

Professor Ciolino engages in a limited law practice and in law-related consulting, principally in the areas of legal ethics, lawyer discipline, judicial discipline, and federal criminal law. He represents clients in disciplinary matters before the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, and the Louisiana Judiciary Commission. He also handles legal malpractice cases, lawyer disqualification motions and lawyer fee disputes. Finally, he consults and serves as an expert witness in the fields of legal ethics, legal fees and the standards of care and conduct governing lawyers.

Sudip Dhingra is a Managing Director in the Professional Services Investment Banking group at Citizens Capital Markets & Advisory, where he brings more than 20 years of experience advising founders, management teams, and institutional investors on strategic and financial transactions. He works across the legal, accounting, and other specialized professional services verticals, with deep expertise in M&A strategy, valuation, partnership and ownership structures, and industry consolidation.

Sudip has extensive experience supporting founder-led and partner-owned firms with succession planning, capital introduction, institutional investment strategies, and long-term strategic positioning amid evolving market dynamics in the professional services landscape. Prior to joining Citizens, Sudip worked at Bank of America Securities. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University and is a CFA charterholder.

Mark R. Perry is a Director in the Professional Services Investment Banking group at Citizens Capital Markets & Advisory, with more than 10 years of experience advising founders, partners, and private equity firms on complex transactions within the legal, accounting, and other specialized professional services verticals. His experience includes sell-side and buy-side M&A, strategic alternatives analysis, market positioning, performance benchmarking, and partnership structure evaluation.

Mark specializes in providing data-driven insight related to consolidation, succession planning, and long-term growth strategies, with a particular focus on emerging industry trends and institutional capital participation in professional services. Prior to joining Citizens, Mark worked at Janney Montgomery Scott. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia.

Josh Porte is an attorney in Holland & Knight’s Nashville office who advises clients on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other strategic business and fundamental transactions. He regularly counsels private equity firms, investors, and legal service providers on structuring and executing investments in law firms and other legal services businesses, with deep experience in ownership, regulatory, and compliance considerations unique to the legal industry. Mr. Porte helps clients develop transaction structures that align with evolving market dynamics and professional responsibility rules and is widely recognized for his work on law firm management services organization (MSO) transactions and related regulatory matters. His practice also includes advising on investments and acquisitions across healthcare sectors, including dental, medical, and physical therapy enterprises. Mr. Porte’s clients span the legal industry nationwide, and he is a frequent media commentator and author of thought leadership on legal services innovation.

Drew Johnson is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Tax in Washington, D.C. As part of the Private Capital Transaction Tax practice, he brings over 20 years of experience advising clients on complex transactions and providing a full range of tax services that encompasses transaction diligence, structuring, implementation, and preparation of related tax returns.

Mr. Johnson’s practice is focused on transaction diligence and structuring for private equity clients. He has also provided partnership technical support on a wide range of mergers and acquisitions activity across A&M’s transaction practice. Mr. Johnson has worked with companies regarding partnership tax issues, sports tax issues, real estate, health care, and infrastructure issues.

Outside of his private equity transaction practice, Mr. Johnson's notable assignments include advising a professional sports league on tax issues related to relinquishing its tax exempt status; preparing income tax returns for a professional sports league; helping to structure the sale of a minority interest in the Los Angeles Chargers; helping to structure the litigation settlement among the beneficiaries of a family trust that owned a minority interest in the Los Angeles Chargers; helping to develop the structure used to settle litigation among beneficiaries of a family trust that owned controlling interests in two Fortune 500 companies; helping an international energy company on tax issues connected to the division of one of the largest oil refining and distribution joint venture partnerships in the U.S.; serving in a tax-director-equivalent role for a private equity fund, including managing its tax compliance and audit defense functions; and advising a high-net-worth family on its real estate and hotel investments.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Johnson spent seven years with Covington & Burling as a member of its tax and insurance practice groups. Previously, he was a law clerk for the Honorable Emilio M. Garza of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Before law school, Mr. Johnson spent three years with the tax practice of Arthur Andersen, where he focused on private equity and real estate clients.

Mr. Johnson earned a BBA (summa cum laude) from the College of William & Mary and a J.D. from the University of Virginia, where he was an Articles Editor of the Virginia Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He earned an Executive LLM in taxation from NYU School of Law. Mr. Johnson is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Virginia and a member of the Virginia State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar.

Jake serves on the Board of Directors of Orion Legal MSO, Uplift Investors’ platform investment in the personal injury space. At Uplift, he is responsible for developing micro-sector investment theses and leading all aspects of the investment lifecycle, including sourcing, due diligence, underwriting, and portfolio management. He also plays a key role in advancing the firm’s internal strategic initiatives.

Prior to joining Uplift, Jake was a Principal at Odyssey Investment Partners and began his career at Goldman Sachs.

Lucian T. Pera is a partner with the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP. His practice includes legal ethics, media law, and commercial litigation. He represents lawyers, law firms, and others on issues of legal ethics and lawyer professional responsibility. The ABA Center for Professional Responsibility has bestowed on him the prestigious Michael Franck Award, their highest award for work in the field of ethics and professional responsibility over his career. He served for five years on the ABA “Ethics 2000” Commission, which rewrote the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. He has chaired the editorial board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct and served as president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers.

Baton Rouge native Steven DeBosier joined the litigation team at Dudley DeBosier in March 2000. He is a 1985 graduate of Catholic High School, and he obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Louisiana State University. Steven spent the first few years of his legal career representing insurance companies, where he learned firsthand how they operate. At Dudley DeBosier, Steven prosecutes plaintiffs’ personal injury claims against those same insurance companies in courts all across Louisiana, including state and federal courts. He focuses on personal injury claims and helping get his clients the money they deserve.