S-RM

Firm details

Key contacts: Martin Devenish, MBE (Board Director, Global Head of Corporate Intelligence), Marcus Fishburn (Global Practice Head), Sam Taylor (Practice Head, US), Septimus Knox (Global Practice Deputy Head), Philippa Wilkinson (Associate Director)

Number of employees: 400+

Number of languages spoken: 45+ including Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Czech, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian

International offices: 8

Year founded: 2005

Firm overview

S-RM is a global intelligence and cyber security consultancy comprising 400+ practitioners across eight international offices, serving clients across all regions and major sectors. The firm is headquartered in London with offices in New York, Washington, D.C, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Cape Town and Utrecht.

The firm has a dedicated Disputes & Investigations practice staffed by senior practitioners which provides specialist support to clients engaged in contentious situations. Our investigations provide clients with intelligence and evidence which can be deployed in high-stakes scenarios including litigation, international arbitration, negotiations and internal investigations.

In the last few years our practice and its leadership has repeatedly received international recognition by leading legal directories. Both our global practice head, Marcus Fishburn, and our deputy global practice head, Septimus Knox, are individually recognised by Chambers & Partners and Who’s Who Legal as being amongst the very best in the London market. This reputation has been forged through the delivery of critical support to multi-billion dollar disputes since 2018.

S-RM provides a full spectrum of dispute-focused services including:

• Global asset tracing and enforcement strategy;
• Advanced digital and OSINT investigations;
• Human intelligence;
• eDiscovery and digital forensics (including expert witness work);
• Forensic accounting;
• Cryptocurrency tracing;
• Physical surveillance.

S-RM’s research and analysis is provided by six regional teams, which provide expert coverage of the key jurisdictions and political dynamics in their regions. Collectively, S-RM’s analysts and managers speak over 45 languages and have come to the business from a broad range of sectors including intelligence, government, finance, journalism, the military and academia. Each team is adept at locating hard-to-find public records and has built an extensive network of human sources on the ground in their region. On every project, we bring together the most relevant and experienced practitioners from across our business, creating bespoke teams to resolve the client’s problem.

Our clients include Sovereigns, multinational corporations, global law firms and UHNWIs. They trust us to keep them well informed and to resolve their most sensitive disputes with speed, versatility and discretion. We build long-term partnerships with our clients, growing our understanding of their challenges, goals and ways of working to deliver increased value over time.

We deliver tangible results and present our findings in clear, straightforward language. Our approach is always transparent, and we place great emphasis on tailoring our work to the client’s specific objectives and adapting to any developments in real time. Our clients can always rely on our advice and act upon our intelligence.

In parallel to its Disputes & Investigations practice, S-RM has specialist Deal Advisory, Strategic Intelligence, and Cyber Security practices. The Deal Advisory team delivers complex pre-transactional due diligence to some of the world’s largest private equity houses, corporate M&A teams and international financial institutions. The Cyber Security team specialises in cyber incident response, digital and cyber forensics, and technical expert witness work. The Strategic Intelligence team is focused on assessing the impact of (geo)political, macroeconomic, social and security developments on the commercial environment across the globe.

Main areas of practice

Asset tracing:

S-RM supports clients through the whole lifecycle of asset recovery. From assessing the viability of claims and preparing them for funding applications, to mapping assets, unpicking complex corporate structures, and locating evidence to monetise awards and judgments. The firm identifies high-value assets including shareholdings, real estate, moveable assets, intellectual property, judgment debt, trade receivables, cash and investments. S-RM’s dedicated cyber team has expertise in tracing and analysing cryptocurrency transaction flows.

Sovereign investigations & enforcement:

S-RM routinely investigates sovereigns and state actors. We help investors monetise awards and seek redress by tracing assets, providing political insight, gathering critical intelligence and supporting arguments against sovereign immunity or to demonstrate alter ego. The firm develops multifaceted enforcement strategies, relying on strategic communications, diplomacy, and lobbying, alongside traditional intelligence gathering.

Litigation and arbitration support:

Working with legal teams, expert witnesses and PR professionals, S-RM’s intelligence is used to craft strategy and drive successful outcomes in complex, international disputes. The firm helps clients to achieve favourable settlements or victory before courts and tribunals worldwide. As well as intelligence, S-RM provides evidence, expert reports, affidavits and testimony to support a range of legal measures, including security for costs applications, freezing injunctions, search orders and enforcement proceedings.

Internal investigations:

S-RM builds multidisciplinary teams of analysts, investigators, forensic accountants, cyber experts and digital forensics practitioners to investigate internal issues at the world’s leading corporates. The firm’s internal investigations often deal with issues including bribery and corruption, fraud, bad leavers, IP theft and data leaks.

Special situations:

S-RM’s investigators have helped clients navigate an array of highly complex and sensitive situations by providing timely intelligence and strategic advice. Over two decades the firm has designed activist shareholder defence strategies, unmasked the architects of ‘dark’ PR campaigns, located a stolen oil tanker, and helped broker negotiations between feuding joint venture partners.

Investigative due diligence:

In the context of major transactions, S-RM provides in-depth research to support critical decision-making. The firm has advised some of the world’s leading private equity houses, DFIs and banks as well as numerous governments worldwide.

Digital forensics and cyber incident response:

S-RM's Digital Forensics team identifies, preserves and analyses digital evidence to uncover the facts for their clients' most complex and sensitive investigations and legal cases. The firm's experts ensure a thorough investigation is conducted and provide clear, factual findings for the firm's clients, their counsel and the courts.

Offices

London (HQ), United Kingdom

4th Floor, Beaufort House, 15 St Botolph Street, London, EC3A 7DT

Tel: +44 (0)20 3763 9595

New York, United States

25 Broadway, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10004

Tel:+1 917 745 3990

Washington, DC, United States

The Homer Building, 601 13th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20005

Tel: +1 202 505 7443

Hong Kong

Unit 1901, 19/F, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Central

Tel: +852 6209 2185, +852 3008 2134

Singapore

The CEO Suite Pte Ltd, Centennial Tower, 21st Floor, 3 Temasek Avenue, Singapore, 039190

Tel: +65 6031 1363

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Level 35-02 (East Wing, Q Sentral, 2A, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2,Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Cape Town, South Africa

21st Floor, Towers South, The Towers, 2 Heerengracht, Cnr Hertzog Boulevard, Foreshore, Cape Town, 8001

Tel: +27 (0)21 137 6249

Utrecht, Netherlands

Room 302, Nicolaas Beetsstraat 216-222. 35111 HG Utrecht