BrazilBRG launches a forensic technology practice in Asia-Pacific
Global consulting firm BRG has launched a Forensic Technology practice. Based in Singapore, the unit will provide investigations-focused technology and analytics services to clients across Asia-Pacific.
Berkeley Research Group (BRG) is one of the world’s leading consulting firms in the area of disputes & investigations. The firm works for governments, corporates and law firms on topics including forensic accounting, cyber investigations, financial crime, litigation and investigations.
The US-headquartered consultancy already had a Disputes & Investigations practice in Asia, but most of the technology-related expertise was sourced in from other offices, mainly those in the US and the Middle East. Now, with the hire of a quartet of experienced forensic technology practitioners, the firm has established a local unit to meet growing demand.
All four join from Law in Order, an Australian supplier of end to end document solutions and digital services such as eDiscovery and eCourts to the legal industry. Erick Gunawan was the firm’s Global Head of Forensics based out of Singapore, he has now been appointed a Director at BRG. Earlier in his career, he worked for Deloitte and law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in the US.
Christopher Lim was Law in Order’s Head of Consulting for the region, and previously, he worked for EY and IBM in their Forensic practices. He has been appointed an Associate Director at BRG. The duo are joined by two other forensic technology consultants from Law in Order.
In their new role, they will support clients – mainly corporate in-house legal functions and law firms – with the technology-side of forensic consulting, compliance investigations, information governance, eDiscovery, data identification and collection and managed document review for both contentious and non-contentious matters. Their focus will be on cases in the financial services, life sciences and energy sectors.
Commenting on the appointments, Mustafa Hadi, co-leader of BRG’s APAC division, said: “I am delighted to welcome them to the firm. They are highly respected in the market and share our vision of building a leading technology practice that pushes the boundaries to offer our law firm clients valuable, data-driven insights on their most complex matters.”
Frank Holder, leader of BRG’s Global Investigations + Strategic Intelligence practice, welcomed the expansion in APAC, and added that the team hire will in addition further the firm’s international capabilities in the field.
BRG also plans to harness the team’s capabilities to support the new ways in which experts, lawyers, clients, judges and arbitrators are working together, including in virtual hearings which have been necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic but are anticipated to become more common practice in the longer term.
In Asia Pacific, BRG has six offices – in Beijing, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo. Other services that are part of the core offering of the Singapore office include valuation and damages, forensic accounting, strategic investigations, and energy industry advisory.
