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It’s not just about finding the evidence: the true purpose of 21st century forensics.
Senior leaders and their legal representatives have a liability and duty of care to protect the assets and interests of their organisations. Solutions based around 21st century forensics can be applied to achieve successful outcomes in fraud, corruption and asset recovery investigations.Â
What do we mean by the word forensics? As a term, it has adopted multiple, conflated meanings over the years. When people talk casually about ‘doing the forensics’ they’re usually referring to establishing the facts or uncovering a paper trail that led to a particular outcome. And for some, forensics is most commonly associated with scene-of-the-crime officers searching for clues and dusting for fingerprints.
Yet look back over the centuries and you’ll find that the root of forensics is forum (Latin for ‘open court’), which evolved into forēnsis (meaning ‘of or before the forum’). So it’s clear that forensics is about more than sifting through evidence – it is about establishing the facts that enable a judge, court, or jury to bring either a civil or criminal case to its logical resolution.
The Gateley approach
Organisations face a growing range of existential risks from criminals and fraudsters, both internal and external. The outcomes they are looking for from their legal advisers are:
- to find the perpetrators and discover what happened
- and also to recover stolen funds, bring individuals to justice and discourage people from taking the same actions in the future.
To achieve these outcomes, we need to provide the right combination of skills and expertise for every individual case. At Gateley we bring together world-class experts with decades of experience in risk, forensics and compliance, disputes and economics, data and technology, turnaround and restructuring, strategy and performance, and construction disputes and advisory.
Recognising that collaboration drives results, this approach extends to our relationships with other law firms, in-house legal teams and law enforcement agencies.
Our team focuses on all four elements of the investigation lifecycle:Â
- interviews
- data
- documentsÂ
- business intelligence.Â
In our view, any fraud, corruption or asset investigation needs to involve these four interlinking elements in order to deliver the forensics required to secure justice and successful outcomes for the organisations we work with.
Do you need help investigating fraud?Â
We have extensive experience in conducting fraud and financial investigations on behalf of banks, corporate and financial services organisations, as well as ultra-high-net-worth individuals and foreign regulatory authorities.Â
Find out more about our fraud and financial investigations work or contact our experts below.
Got a question? Get in touch.
Meet our expert
Richard Healey
Partner & Business Services Platform Head
Gateley Legal
Location: London
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