Disputes & investigations

We provide critical intelligence in contentious situations. Our expert team of analysts and investigators will unearth the information you need to strengthen your case. 

Disputes Investigations_Practice Card (1)

Managing disputes or internal investigations requires creative strategies and a robust, ethical, and granular approach to intelligence gathering. Our investigations team provides a specialised service.

 

S-RM provided a literal treasure trove of information that formed the core of our application. In addition, the team are extremely professional, accommodating, fast to react, and a pleasure to work with.

They literally blew me away.

Head of Investor-State Arbitration, UK Top 10 Law Firm

Why S-RM?

Industry recognition

Ranked by Chambers and Who’s Who Legal since 2021 for Litigation Support and Asset Tracing and Recovery

Global coverage

Analysts across 9 offices worldwide, speaking 35+ languages and leveraging deep regional knowledge

Litigation support specialists

Skilled at finding court-admissible evidence and contributing to litigation strategies

Disputes-and-Investigations---content

Trusted and specialist investigative support

Our track record of specialist support in high-pressure situations has helped us build long-lasting relationships with leading law firms, businesses, governments and private clients. 

  • Dedicated open source specialists and digital forensic investigators alongside traditional investigators, linguists and regional experts.
  • Global network of contacts and advisors, delivering human intelligence that adds genuine insight and perspective. 
  • Thorough analysis combined with a creative approach to the most complex problems provides solutions tailored to the client’s needs.

Our key services 

 We support clients and their advisors to resolve disputes globally across six key areas: 

Asset tracing & enforcement

We identify assets globally and provide evidence of their ownership. This helps clients determine whether to pursue a claim, where to focus their efforts and how to enforce a judgment or award – as well as securing third-party funding.

Internal investigations

We investigate suspected internal fraud and other white collar crime. We forensically image devices; review key documents and digital data; and conduct in-person interviews.

Litigation support

We provide intelligence and evidence to underpin creative dispute resolution strategies. We are accustomed to working in multi-disciplinary teams comprising lawyers, comms teams, forensic accountants and funders.

Insurance disputes

We help insurers, re-insurers and their advisors understand complex, major losses. We gather evidence from conflict zones, provide granular analysis of the causes of a loss event, and analyse any sanctions risk posed by paying a claim.

Threat attribution

We protect value and reputation by unmasking anonymous threat actors. Using advanced OSINT, forensics, and linguistic and behavioural analysis we defend clients against black PR and smear campaigns in traditional media and online.

Digital forensics

We identify, preserve and analyse digital evidence for use in sensitive civil and criminal investigations. Our experts provide clear, factual findings for our clients.

Case study

Tracing global assets worth $300 million

Instructed by the GC of a state-owned oil & gas business, S-RM traced the assets of a UAE-based businessman to enforce arbitral awards collectively worth more than USD 300 million. Our expert evidence of asset dissipation led to the award of a worldwide freezing order. 

The team is very strong in the global asset investigation space; they act honestly in the client's interest, execute work very well, and are competitive on pricing.

Chambers & Partners, Litigation Support Guide, 2023

Case study

Insurance litigation

Acting for a global insurer’s outside counsel, S-RM successfully defended a USD 100m claim. The loss took place in a conflict zone in the Asia-Pacific region, but S-RM was able to identify non-public documentary evidence and eyewitness testimony to support counsel’s arguments. 

S-RM is very good at getting human source information. The firm did very well in coming up with the full picture of who the cast of characters were, who was pulling the strings and what the counterparty thought in making their claim. They don’t overpromise and they’re very professionally managed. 

Chambers & Partners, Litigation Support Guide, 2021

Case study

Sanctions investigation

Instructed by the C-suite of a European bank, S-RM investigated the sanctions exposure of an adverse party. Our findings, which were submitted to the local prosecutorial authorities, resulted in the opponent’s designation. 

S-RM is just better than all the others. They are very dependable, set realistic expectations, and you never have comments on their work product because it is always very well drafted. They have become my go-to for the last few years and I am always happy to recommend them.

Chambers & Partners, Litigation Support Guide, 2023

Case study

Internal investigation 

Acting for the CCO of a multinational corporate, S-RM discreetly identified and evidenced supply-chain corruption through research, interviews, eDiscovery and device forensics, leading to the dismissal of the key coordinator. 

The forensic investigation was so deep, we practically knew what the guy had for Christmas dinner last year!

Head of Compliance, multinational corporate 

Case study

Supporting €40bn asset recovery

S-RM has spent over a decade supporting the Irish government’s National Asset Management Agency in its recovery of approximately EUR 40 billion in assets. 

S-RM have been engaged by NAMA for several years to provide asset tracing services. We are happy to recommend S-RM – their reports are of a high standard, provide value for money and are always delivered on time. 

The National Asset Management Agency, Ireland 

Meet our experts

Our senior investigators have decades of experience finding answers to complex questions around the world. We have worked on some of the highest profile legal proceedings before the English courts and supported the recovery of assets worth billions of dollars for our clients.  

Marcus Fishburn
Marcus Fishburn
Head of Disputes & Investigations

Marcus is the Head of Disputes & Investigations at S-RM, overseeing the firm’s intelligence work in support of litigation and international arbitration as well as internal corporate investigations.

Marcus specialises in finding creative solutions to intelligence problems, and his clients include some of the world’s most prestigious law firms, multinational corporations, and private clients. He leads a team with advanced capabilities in open source and digital investigations, human intelligence gathering and digital forensics. Client say that “The team who work with him are clearly highly motivated under his leadership.”

Marcus has been ranked by Chambers and Partners and recognised as an Asset Recovery Expert by Who’s Who Legal since 2021. Clients say that “Marcus is regarded as one of the most trusted operators in the market.” They describe him as “entirely unflappable, ferociously intelligent, and able to grasp the nuances of complex and sophisticated matters.” A leading law firm partner says that “Marcus is masterful when leading investigations and commands the confidence of clients finding themselves in the most challenging situations.” 

Marcus has worked in investigations for over a decade, prior to which he spent time working in India both as a speechwriter and aide to a Minister in the Indian government and for McKinsey in Mumbai. He read Sanskrit at Balliol College, Oxford, and has an MA in Modern Indian politics from King’s College London. 

 

 

People Accreditations_Marcus-Fishburn

People Accreditations_WWL

 

Philippa Wilkinson
Philippa Wilkinson
Senior Associate, Disputes & Investigations

Philippa joined the Disputes & Investigations team from the MENA regional desk. She has experience leading litigation support and asset tracing investigations associated with complex corporate disputes, as well as managing internal investigations. Philippa has spent several years living and working in Europe and the Middle East, including in Spain, Tunisia and the UAE. She previously worked as a journalist covering finance and infrastructure, in the GCC and wider Middle East, and subsequently covering European infrastructure funds. Philippa has an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the School of African and Oriental Studies, and a BA in Modern Languages from Durham University, and is a fluent Arabic, Spanish and French speaker.

Sam Taylor
Sam Taylor
Head of Corporate Intelligence, Americas

Based in New York, Sam lead’s S-RM’s Corporate Intelligence practice in the Americas. He has over 13 years of industry experience leading professional services teams; supporting clients in complex crises; and conducting and managing investigations. Sam specializes in multi-jurisdictional investigations, proxy fights, asset tracing, litigation support, and complex transactional investigative due diligence. He works closely with counsel, compliance units, and deal teams to advise clients on investigative strategy, how to best approach challenging jurisdictions, and answer specific questions.

 

Sam specializes in the US and Latin America, but has worked on global engagements touching Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Sam spent eight years at Kroll where he led the North American research practice and co-led the monitorship of a bank fined for violating US sanctions law. Prior to joining S-RM, Sam worked for a Big Four accounting firm and later managed investigations at a boutique litigation support firm focusing on cross-border cases in Latin America.

Septimus Knox
Septimus Knox
Director, Disputes & Investigations

Septimus is a Director at S-RM. He specialises in gathering intelligence to support complex, multijurisdictional disputes globally. His clients include government agencies, global corporations, leading business figures and family offices. He regularly works in, and helps assemble, multidisciplinary teams comprising outside counsel, funders, expert witnesses, communications experts, digital forensics investigators and cyber practitioners.    

Since 2021, Septimus has been recognised by Chambers & Partners as one of the UK’s leading corporate investigators. Clients have praised him for his “incredible networks on the ground”, “ability to deliver game-changing intelligence” and “consistently high-quality, thoughtful service”.

Septimus has wide-ranging experience of gathering intelligence and evidence in the most challenging environments, using a combination of OSINT, human intelligence, eDiscovery and digital forensics. He works across EMEA, APAC and the Former Soviet Union. He has particular expertise in disputes involving parties from the Former Soviet Union and regularly supports clients in contentious situations relating to the region. Recently, he has advised numerous businesses affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, particularly in the insurance sector. Septimus’ work has been used to support litigation and arbitration relating to JV disputes, sanctions, fraud, asset recovery, ESG issues, contentious insurance claims and investor-state disputes. He has also managed internal investigations into employee misconduct, IP theft and insider threats.

His analysis of current affairs has been published by the Financial Times, Newsweek, the World Economic Forum, BNE IntelliNews and the Moscow Times. Septimus has also appeared on Bloomberg Daybreak: Europe to discuss the commercial impacts of the War in Ukraine. He has a BA in Russian Studies from University College London and speaks Russian.

 

 

People Accreditations_Septimus-Knox

People Accreditations_WWL-1

 

Richard Blaksley
Richard Blaksley
Senior Advisor, Disputes & Investigations

Richard Blaksley has 30 years of experience in the investigations and business intelligence sector. After 15 years at Kroll, rising to head its EMEA and subsequently Asian regions, he was then an initial partner of GPW & Co. His work has covered multiple jurisdictions on behalf of leading law firms, multinational corporations, private clients and foreign government agencies. Notable cases in which he has taken a lead have been the identification of assets misappropriated by the Bhutto family of Pakistan, the large-scale privatisation frauds of Viktor Kozeny in Azerbaijan and elsewhere, and an early role in the ongoing 1MDB investigation.

Marcus Fishburn
Marcus Fishburn

Head of Disputes & Investigations

Philippa Wilkinson
Philippa Wilkinson

Senior Associate, Disputes & Investigations

Sam Taylor
Sam Taylor

Head of Corporate Intelligence, Americas

Septimus Knox
Septimus Knox

Director, Disputes & Investigations

Richard Blaksley
Richard Blaksley

Senior Advisor, Disputes & Investigations

Talk to us today

Find the facts you need to resolve disputes in your favour

We provide intelligence and clarity when you need them most. Get in touch with our team of experts to learn how we can assist you today. 

Disputes-and-Investigations-CTA (1)