Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

9. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The changes in the carrying amounts of goodwill by operating segment for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, are as follows:


	Corporate Finance/ Restructuring		Forensic and Litigation Consulting		Economic Consulting		Technology		Strategic Communications		Total
Balances at December 31, 2011	$	436,043	$	198,047	$	229,487	$	117,958	$	327,823	$	1,309,358
Goodwill acquired during the period		2,195		—		—		—		—		2,195
Contingent Consideration^(a)		—		23		4,852		—		—		4,875
Foreign currency translation adjustment and other		348		945		456		79		8,785		10,613

Balances at September 30, 2012	$	438,586	$	199,015	$	234,795	$	118,037	$	336,608	$	1,327,041

^(a)	Contingent consideration related to business combinations consummated prior to January 1, 2009.

Other intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives. For intangible assets with finite lives, we recorded amortization expense of $5.8 million and $16.9 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively, and $5.8 million and $16.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively. Based solely on the amortizable intangible assets recorded as of September 30, 2012, we estimate amortization expense to be $5.6 million during the remainder of 2012, $20.4 million in 2013, $11.9 million in 2014, $10.9 million in 2015, $9.3 million in 2016, $8.6 million in 2017, and $31.8 million in years after 2017. Actual amortization expense to be reported in future periods could differ from these estimates as a result of new intangible asset acquisitions, finalization of asset valuations for newly acquired assets, changes in useful lives, change in value due to foreign currency translation, or other factors.


	Useful Life in Years	September 30, 2012				December 31, 2011
	Useful Life in Years	Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Gross Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization
Finite lived intangible assets
Customer relationships	1 to 15	$	146,872	$	60,494	$	144,696	$	49,381
Non-competition agreements	1 to 10		14,470		10,619		14,601		8,965
Software	2 to 6		33,979		25,867		33,549		21,211
Tradenames	2		180		53		—		—

			195,501		97,033		192,846		79,557
Indefinite-lived intangible assets
Tradenames	Indefinite		5,600		—		5,600		—

		$	201,101	$	97,033	$	198,446	$	79,557

We test our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually as of the first day of the fourth quarter. We also consider factors that could trigger an interim impairment review. Through our assessment, we determined that there were no events or circumstances that more likely than not would reduce the fair value of any of our reporting units below their carrying value. Accordingly, we did not perform an interim impairment test.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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