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Litigation Support
A case may be won on the law, but recovery depends on the facts.
Our litigation-support work helps clients establish the factual and financial position before proceedings begin, investigate relevant parties while a dispute is under way, and trace assets after a judgment or arbitral award has been secured.
Litigation support is often described as work that begins once proceedings are under way: gather the evidence, identify the assets and deliver the findings to counsel. That is part of the picture. But intelligence often makes its greatest commercial difference at the two bookends of a dispute: before you commit to pursuing a claim, and after you have secured a judgment or arbitral award.
The questions that determine whether a dispute is worth pursuing are not only legal. They are also factual and financial: who you are really up against, what they actually own, where value is held and whether a favourable outcome can be turned into recovered value.
Lawyers are best placed to assess the legal merits of a claim. What may not be apparent from the case file is the commercial reality behind it: the counterparty's true ownership and control, its solvency, the assets standing behind a corporate name and the jurisdictions in which those assets may be reached. That is the wider picture we help to establish.
Pre-litigation intelligence before you commit
A claim with strong merits can still be a poor investment if the prospective defendant has limited assets, or has placed value beyond easy reach. Before a client commits time and cost to litigation or arbitration, we help answer the questions that shape that decision:
- who ultimately owns and controls the prospective counterparty
- what assets exist, where they are held and through which entities
- whether the prospective defendant appears solvent and has a history of default, insolvency or litigation
- what corporate filings, litigation records, media archives and other open sources reveal about how the counterparty conducts itself
- where any judgment or award would need to be enforced, and what practical obstacles may arise
The aim is not to advise on the law. It is to give clients and their advisers a clear-eyed commercial picture at the outset, rather than allowing important facts to emerge only after substantial costs have been incurred.
Intelligence support during litigation
As a dispute develops, new questions often arise. The ownership of a relevant entity may be unclear. A witness, expert or associated party may require closer scrutiny. A pattern of conduct may need to be reconstructed from records across several jurisdictions.
We work alongside in-house teams and external counsel to investigate these issues discreetly and proportionately. Our role is to establish the factual background, identify connections and provide intelligence that can inform legal strategy, settlement discussions and the next stage of the proceedings.
Asset tracing and enforcement support after judgment
A judgment or arbitral award is only as valuable as the ability to enforce it. A defendant intent on frustrating recovery has every incentive to obscure ownership, move value between jurisdictions and place assets behind layers of holding entities. Establishing where value has gone, and who ultimately controls it, is a core strength of ours.
This is where litigation support overlaps with asset tracing. Working across corporate registries, directorship records, litigation filings, ownership records and other public sources in multiple jurisdictions - and in local languages - we identify connections that a single-jurisdiction or English-only search may miss.
Where relevant public datasets are difficult to interrogate, our proprietary database services can make otherwise challenging records reverse-searchable. This allows us to start with the name of an individual or entity and work outwards to identify associated companies, directorships and other relevant records.
Background research on parties, witnesses and experts
Disputes are not only about assets. Opponents, co-defendants, witnesses and expert witnesses all have a track record, and that track record may be relevant to the matter.
We conduct discreet background research on the parties to a dispute. Depending on the circumstances, this may include:
- verifying corporate registration, ownership and control
- reviewing litigation history in the relevant jurisdictions
- searching media archives and open sources in the appropriate languages
- screening sanctions lists and watchlists
- identifying relationships and potential conflicts of interest
- mapping connections through publicly available social-media and other open-source material, where relevant
The scope is shaped by the matter. The purpose is to identify facts that may alter the strategic picture, not to generate information for its own sake.
How our cross-border litigation support works
Two principles run through our work.
The first is the use of primary and local-language sources. Working from original records and researching in the local language, rather than relying solely on translated material or aggregated databases, gives a richer and more accurate picture of any party, asset or transaction.
The second is discretion. Litigation-related work is sensitive by nature. We conduct it confidentially and with care, mindful that our findings may need to support enforcement action, settlement negotiations or proceedings themselves.
We work alongside your in-house team and external counsel and, where appropriate, forensic accountants. We do not give legal advice. We provide the factual foundation on which legal and commercial decisions can be made.
Why early intelligence matters
The strongest claim is of limited commercial value if the other side cannot, or will not, satisfy it. Cross-border disputes raise the stakes further: assets, owners and records may be spread across jurisdictions that are difficult to navigate and, in some cases, deliberately difficult to reach.
Establishing the facts early protects the value of a claim. Establishing them thoroughly after judgment improves the prospects of recovery.
Frequently asked questions
What does litigation support involve?
Litigation support involves establishing the factual and financial background to a dispute. Depending on the matter, this may include pre-litigation intelligence, corporate and beneficial-ownership research, background investigations, litigation-history searches, asset tracing and enforcement support.
When should asset tracing begin?
Asset tracing can begin before proceedings are issued, during litigation or after a judgment or arbitral award has been secured. Starting early can help determine whether a claim is commercially viable and identify potential enforcement obstacles before substantial costs are incurred.
Can you trace assets across multiple jurisdictions?
Yes. We conduct cross-border asset-tracing research using corporate registries, litigation filings, directorship records, ownership records, media archives and other open sources in multiple jurisdictions and local languages.
Do you work alongside external counsel and forensic accountants?
Yes. We regularly work alongside in-house teams, external counsel and, where appropriate, forensic accountants. Our role is to provide the factual and financial intelligence that supports legal and commercial decision-making.
Why Maddocks Insight?
Founded in 2011, Maddocks Insight is a boutique corporate-intelligence consultancy. This means we can respond quickly and discreetly to a sensitive matter, rather than forcing it into a standard template.
Our multilingual team combines deep language skills with international-affairs expertise. We conduct investigations across most of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, South and North America, and China.
Our clients include Big Four accountancy firms, international law firms and specialist risk consultancies, many of which we support on a confidential, subcontracted basis.
Please contact us to discuss a matter in confidence.
