No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Michael J. Ramer: Seeing the Whole Picture

When attorneys turn to Mike Ramer, they’re not just looking for numbers, charts or vocational and economic projections; they’re looking for insight—clear, confident, courtroom-ready insight rooted in real-world experience. And that’s exactly what Ramer brings to every case.

As the founder and president of the Ramer Group, a boutique search and consulting firm in the New York metropolitan area, Ramer has built a multifaceted career in executive recruitment, compensation analysis and training. But over the past two decades, his work as an expert witness has emerged as one of his most impactful and rewarding roles.

It’s a field where his diverse skill set converges in compelling ways. Whether he’s retained in a personal injury matter, an employment dispute, a high-stakes whistleblower case, or something as personal and emotional as a divorce, Ramer’s unique combination of educational training, practical experience and analytical depth allows him to assess employability, quantify economic loss and explain compensation structures in ways that resonate with both juries and judges.

“I bring not just theory, but 25-plus years of real-world staffing, industry knowledge and management experience to the table,” he says. “I’ve worked directly with employers. I know how they make decisions, what they look for, and how compensation is structured across a wide range of industries and roles.”

Credibility is everything when you take the stand. I take pride in producing reports that are clear, realistic and defensible.”

Real World Lens

That real-world perspective is especially crucial in litigation. Ramer’s expertise is often called upon to evaluate a person’s transferable skills, earning capacity, or the impact of an injury or termination on economic loss. He’s worked with both plaintiffs and defendants, and understands the need for assessments that are grounded, thorough and, ultimately, credible under scrutiny.

“Credibility is everything when you take the stand,” he says. “I take pride in producing reports that are clear, realistic and defensible.”

His journey to the expert witness stand wasn’t a straight line, but rather an evolution that grew naturally from his education in economics and primary work in staffing and recruitment. Early in his career, Ramer worked with industry giants like Chase Manhattan Bank and Ogilvy & Mather before founding his own firm.

As he built a reputation for helping companies attract and evaluate high-level talent, he also began offering training to other professionals in the field. That training background—combined with his recruiting credentials and hands-on leadership—laid the foundation for his expert witness work.

Ramer’s reputation soon elicited numerous invitations to speak at local, regional and even national events. In fact, it was at one such event that he was first approached to serve as an expert witness.

“In 2002, I was training at a conference in San Diego for the National Association of Personnel Services,” he says. “A gentleman from Texas came up to me afterwards and asked, ‘Have you ever been an expert witness?’ It turned out that he had just received a call from an attorney in New York who was looking for someone with my background.”

A New Career

Attorneys began reaching out for help assessing the employability of a client who had been wrongfully terminated or for insight into what a mid-level manager might reasonably earn over the course of a career. What started as informal consultation quickly turned into formal engagements. Over time, Ramer expanded his work to include expert reports, deposition and trial testimony, and engagements across the country.

Ramer’s family background can be credited for much of his aptitude for this newfound career avenue. His mother, a former school-teacher, owned her own staffing firm, and called upon her son to join her and help build the business. His legal acumen comes from his paternal side. His father was a successful, well-respected attorney and a partner in his own law firm. Ramer believes he’s effectively merged these two inherited interests, helping him succeed as an expert witness.

“I really enjoyed the staffing firm,” he says. “It allowed me to work with people and explore my creative side. We built that company into a multimillion-dollar success.” And when asked about becoming an attorney, he said, “I thought about it, but I think you really have to be dedicated to that calling.”

Today, he’s been retained on over 150 matters throughout the United States and has testified in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida and other states. In each instance, he brings a calm, methodical approach to fact-finding and a laser focus to articulating the economic realities at stake.

When asked what differentiates him from other experts, Ramer points first to his dual qualifications in employment and economics. He has a master’s degree in international economics and finance and is a certified personnel consultant and a certified staffing professional—in addition to his 30 years of practical experience.

As someone with deep knowledge in both vocational assessment and calculating economic loss, Ramer is able to evaluate a person’s employability while also offering detailed projections of past and future income loss. It’s a rare combination.

“I’m often brought in because I can see the whole picture,” he says. “I understand the human side—what someone’s education, skills and experience say about their job prospects—but I also understand how to translate that into economic terms that are meaningful to a court.”

I’m often brought in because I can see the whole picture. I understand the human side ... but I also understand how to translate that into economic terms that are meaningful to a court.”

Whole Picture

That “whole picture” approach is particularly useful in economic loss cases, in which compensation often includes a mix of base salary, bonuses, benefits and equity value. Attorneys trying to make sense of such packages frequently rely on Ramer to explain what’s typical in a given industry, what’s likely to continue in the future, and what an individual may have lost as a result of a termination or injury.

He remembers one case where an executive had been abruptly dismissed from a mid-tier, high-growth company. The compensation plan was layered and nontraditional, involving restricted stock units and performance-based equity.

“It looked like Monopoly money on the surface,” Ramer says. “But once I broke it down in terms of industry benchmarks and projected value, the court understood exactly what the executive stood to lose.”

Ramer’s ability to communicate complex compensation structures in simple, persuasive language is no accident. His years as a trainer have honed his skill at explaining concepts to diverse audiences—recruiters, hiring managers, corporate clients, and now jurors and judges.

“I always remember that not everyone in the room is a vocational economist,” he says with a smile. “It’s my job to make the numbers tell a story that makes sense.”

It’s a skill his legal clients appreciate. Attorneys who retain him describe his work as thorough, balanced, and courtroom ready. They trust that he’ll not only provide sound analysis but also hold up under tough cross-examination. Ramer attributes that resilience to careful preparation and an unwillingness to overreach.

“I stay in my lane,” he says. “I’m not there to advocate. I’m there to inform.”

That restraint, ironically, is one of the things that makes him so persuasive. He’s not there to argue the case; he’s there to provide a realistic, data-backed view of employability and economic outcomes. And because he doesn’t try to stretch the facts beyond what they can support, judges and juries are more likely to believe him.

Still, the work isn’t always easy. Some of the hardest cases, he says, involve people who’ve lost not just jobs but careers. Individuals with traumatic injuries, long-term illness, or mental health challenges can face steep barriers to reentering the workforce. In those situations, Ramer’s assessments rely on medical experts’ opinions and don’t just hinge on market data—they require compassion and nuance.

“I try to be respectful of what people are going through,” he says. “But I also have to be honest about what’s possible.”

In one such case, he evaluated a former construction worker who had suffered a spinal injury. The man was just shy of 50, with no college degree and no work experience outside of physically demanding labor. Ramer’s analysis showed that, even with retraining, the individual’s long-term earning potential would be significantly reduced. That assessment helped the plaintiff’s legal team secure a settlement that acknowledged the full scope of the loss—not just financially, but in terms of dignity and career identity.

It’s the kind of impact that stays with him.

“Sometimes I’ll get a call afterwards from a client or attorney just saying thank you,” he says. “That means a lot.”

His work is not without somewhat humorous moments. Ramer recalls one particularly contentious divorce where he was retained as an expert witness on behalf of the husband. The premise was to prove, despite her protests, that the soon-to-be ex-wife was more than capable of earning a living.

“It was an unusual situation,” he says. “And one that I’ll never forget. The wife opted to forgo an attorney and represent herself. She questioned me while I was on the stand, and it backfired on her. One of my responses to her questions was, ‘Well, you’re proving to me today that you have the skills to become an attorney or perhaps a paralegal. You’re obviously very smart, capable and present well. You could easily be earning six figures.’”

I try to be respectful of what people are going through. But I also have to be honest about what’s possible.”

Bright Future

Looking ahead, Ramer sees his role becoming even more important as the labor market grows more complex. The rise of remote work and artificial intelligence, shifts in job structures, and volatility in compensation models are all changing the way people work—and the way economic loss is evaluated for legal matters.

“What it means to have a career is different now,” he says. “And what it means to lose one is different, too.”

That evolving landscape makes expert guidance more valuable than ever. And it reinforces Ramer’s commitment to staying current—not only by closely following labor trends and the job market but with active communication with professionals across industry sectors.

Today, he is focused on his role as an expert witness. “My three decades of practical experience and understanding real-world changes gives me an edge when writing reports and testifying,” Ramer says.

For attorneys seeking an expert who can bring depth, clarity and credibility to a case, Mike Ramer stands out. He sees the whole picture. And he knows how to help others see it, too.

At a Glance

Ramer Group
Livingston, New Jersey
(973) 422-0020
www.RamerGroup.com
[email protected]

Education

  • Master of Arts in International Economics and Finance, Brandeis University, 1989
  • Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Brandeis University, 1988

Accreditations

  • Certified Personnel Consultant, 1997
  • Certified Staffing Professional, 2004

Affiliations

  • National Association of Personnel Services
  • American Staffing Association
  • National Association of Forensic Economics

Areas of Expertise

  • Vocational and Employability Assessment
  • Earning Capacity and Economic Loss Analysis
  • Executive Compensation and Job Mitigation Analysis

Types of Cases

  • Personal Injury
  • Wrongful Termination
  • Discrimination
  • Whistleblower
  • Harassment
  • Wrongful Death
  • Divorce/Matrimonial Disputes

Types of Services

  • Expert Reports
  • Deposition Testimony
  • Trial Testimony

Hobbies

  • Traveling with Family
  • Biking and Fitness
  • Investment Reading
  • Mentoring Professionals

Read More Stories

No Result
View All Result

© Copyright 2025 | Attorney at Law Magazine | Privacy Policy