Disputes

J.S. Held provides investigative and forensic support to companies, financial institutions, and others facing high-stakes litigation and helps them develop multi-jurisdictional strategies to support their overall objective in a dispute.

We provide expertise in commercial litigation cases involving breach of contract, business interruption, construction defect, partnership, intellectual property, fraud, and other general business litigation in courts and before triers of fact (global litigation, international and domestic arbitrations, and regulatory bodies).

Our experts develop sound and persuasive analyses, expert opinions, and solutions across a wide range of complex litigation, mediation, arbitration, and regulatory proceedings. Leveraging our eDiscovery, document management, and data analytics expertise, we can efficiently analyze large datasets to untangle complex financial and accounting problems and evaluate damages for clients across all sectors and geographies. Our global investigative team gathers evidence to strengthen the client’s position and support their legal team – including obtaining evidence to support legal submissions, establish jurisdiction, aid in service, and support disclosure requests – and seeks out actionable intelligence to support client strategy and decision making in complex disputes.

Our team provides financial and economic analysis for cases involving government agencies, such as the SEC, FINRA, the DOJ, and state securities regulators. We also assist counsel in litigation involving private parties, such as financial institutions, corporations, investors, shareholders, and insurers. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Analysis of Securities Class Action Certification
• Assessment of Financial Statement Misstatements & Disclosures
• Data Analysis & eDiscovery – Evidence Collection, Preservation & Analysis
• Economic & Valuation Damages Calculations
• Event Study Examination of Corporate Events on Stock Price
• Expert Witness Testimony
• Settlement Negotiations Advisory

Our team provides forensic accounting, economic consulting, neutral arbitration, mediation, and expert witness services to both buyers and sellers of companies and their legal counsel as they seek to resolve post-closing disputes. We help facilitate the resolution of disputes for a variety of M&A participants, including entrepreneurial start-ups, global corporations, private equity, equity partners, and shareholders’ representatives. Our services include, but are not limited to:

• Accounting & Forensic Analysis
• Accounting Expert Affidavit Submissions & Testimony
• Alleged Breaches of Financial Statement Representations & Warranties
• Application of Accounting Standards
• Arbitration Issues for Purchase Price Adjustments
• Arbitrator Selection
• Earn-Out Threshold Achievement Determination
• Final Purchase Price Review with Preliminary & Final Closing Statements
• Lost Profits / Diminution in Value Damages Claims
• Neutral Accountant Services
• Position Paper & Rebuttal Submission Guidance
• Post-Closing True-Up Adjustments of Closing Date Working Capital Calculations
• Settlement Strategy Considerations & Evaluations of the Strength of Claims / Rebuttals

Our team helps clients and counsel in responding and/or strategizing in various types of cross-border disputes. We combine in-depth knowledge of business, culture, and regulatory compliance in multiple jurisdictions with expert opinion, forensic accounting, data analytics, and specialist investigative capabilities to help clients build and win cases and mitigate financial, reputational, and/or operational damage stemming from a range of global disputes.

Our team assists clients and their counsel in international arbitration to help build their legal strategy and successfully resolve complex global disputes. We provide expertise in quantum and regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions. We collect, gather, and analyze vast amounts of quantitative and qualitative information; utilize our data analytics and forensic accounting expertise; and apply investigative techniques to trace assets and identify and locate potential fact and expert witnesses.

We have extensive experience giving expert testimony before domestic and international forums including:

• Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation & Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC)
• American Arbitration Association (AAA)
• Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
• China International Economic and Trade Arbitration (CIETAC)
• Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC)
• Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (DIFC)
• Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
• Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI)
• Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
• The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
• The International Court of Arbitration (ICC)
• United Nations Commission on International Trade Law / Permanent Court of Arbitration (UNCITRAL)

J.S. Held brings specialist asset-tracing expertise and is recognized internationally as a leader in multi-jurisdictional asset recovery initiatives. The firm is engaged by corporates, SOEs, financial institutions, litigation funders, insolvency practitioners, and their legal advisers to gather evidence and to recover funds globally. The group takes a strategic approach to asset recovery, targeting both high value assets that meet the judgement amount as well as those that may not meet the monetary value of the award but create disruption or loss of face for the debtor. Asset tracing services include:

• Pre-litigation evaluation of the asset position of counterparties to inform the client’s legal and recovery strategy.
• Mapping the assets of Sovereigns, corporate entities, and individuals in support of litigation or arbitral awards.
• Working with counsel to provide evidence on assets and alter ego to support freezing orders and other enforcement measures.

J.S. Held’s Sovereign Debt Advisory division is dedicated to helping clients purchase, evaluate, and monetize Sovereign arbitral awards and judgements. The firm has the in-house expertise and resources unique to sovereign collection coupled with a global network of sovereign enforcement specialists making us ideally placed to bring together a tailored team of experts and effectively monetize sovereign awards.

From generating the overarching recovery strategy, to identifying and gathering evidence on enforceable assets, to bringing together the appropriate legal team for coordinated, multi-jurisdictional enforcement litigation – the firm’s work is underpinned by years of experience in managing large scale recovery cases.

J.S. Held’s asset findings have been used in support of arbitration and commercial court claims around the globe. This has included underlying evidence, affidavits, and expert witness testimony.