International corporate investigation is only as good as the local capability it draws on. The investigator who can conduct a rigorous background check in the UK or produce reliable court filing searches in England and Wales may not have the linguistic capability, the local knowledge, or the contact network to conduct equivalent investigation in Poland, Brazil, or Indonesia. The quality of an international investigation firm’s partner network is therefore one of the most significant factors in assessing the quality of the international investigation they can provide.
How We Select and Work With Partners
Bond Rees has developed relationships with investigation partners in the jurisdictions most commonly relevant to our corporate clients’ international work. Partner selection is based on: demonstrated capability in the specific type of work required in the relevant jurisdiction; adherence to legal and ethical standards consistent with our own; a track record of reliable, accurate, and timely work; and the ability to produce output in a form that meets the evidential standards required for UK proceedings.
We brief our partners against the UK evidence standards we apply to our own work, and we review their output before it is incorporated into any investigation report. We take responsibility for the quality of the work produced through our partner network in the same way that we take responsibility for work conducted directly.
The Coordination Role
In multi-jurisdictional investigations, Bond Rees acts as the single point of coordination for the client and their UK legal team: managing the partner relationships, consolidating and quality-checking the outputs from multiple jurisdictions, and producing a coherent, integrated investigation report that addresses all relevant geographies. The client does not need to manage multiple international investigation relationships; we manage that on their behalf.
Transparency About Limitations
A crucial element of working effectively with international partners is being honest about what is and is not achievable in specific jurisdictions. Some countries have accessible, reliable corporate registries; others have records that are difficult to access, unreliable, or accessible only through informal channels whose output is difficult to verify. We tell clients honestly what the investigation can and cannot achieve in each relevant jurisdiction, rather than overpromising on jurisdictions where the records environment limits what is possible.
Need multi-jurisdiction investigation? Contact Bond Rees to discuss your international investigation requirements.
