JERICHO, N.Y., June 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Global consulting firm J.S. Held, proudly celebrating 50 transformative years, announces the recognition of multiple experts and firmwide expertise in Chambers and Partners’ Annual Guides: Crisis & Risk Management and Litigation Support firms.

The J.S. Held Global Investigations team is once again recognized for expertise in Political Risk, Investigative Due Diligence, and Asset Tracing & Recovery. New for 2024, the Global Investigations team, in concert with the Environmental Health & Safety team, is recognized among the leading global Environmental, Social & Governance Risk experts. Further, the Global Investigations experts in the United Kingdom and the Asia Pacific are recognized in Business Intelligence & Investigations.

J.S. Held is proud to share the recognition of the team expertise and individual experts who received top Chambers and Partners rankings in the areas of:

Asset Tracing & Recovery – Global | Band 1

Peter Pender-Cudlip, Global Investigations & Intelligence Expert and Senior Managing Director within the J.S. Held Global Investigations practice. Peter advises clients on commercial and sovereign asset tracing, complex fraud investigations, and a wide range of cross-border litigation and arbitration matters.

“[Peter]… understands what is important for blue-chip clients and is able to get useful and usable information with his team. Peter is great to deal with, and he gets results.”

Ashley Messick, Global Asset Tracing & Recovery Expert and Senior Managing Director within the J.S. Held Global Investigations practice. Ashley leads J.S. Held’s Sovereign Debt Advisory and has extensive experience advising on sovereign and commercial disputes, asset recovery, and enforcement. She has led high-profile investigations involving debtors originating from Africa, Latin America, and Russia/Central Asia. She has tracked down assets and gathered intelligence in some of the world’s most difficult frontier markets, including West and Central Africa, the Middle East, and Russia.

“Ashley Messick has an amazing set of contacts, she’s results-oriented … extremely creative and subtle about looking for assets. She’s … thoughtful about developing strategies that fit with enforcement and … able to co-ordinate teams from across the globe.”

Political Risk – Global | Band 1

Livia Paggi, Political Risk, ESG, and Business Intelligence Expert and Managing Director within the J.S. Held Global Investigations practice. She advises multinational clients on doing business successfully in some of the world’s most challenging markets. Over the past decade, Livia has developed expertise in Russia and the wider Eurasia region.

“I worked with Livia and she is brilliant. She is dynamic and responsive.”

Philip Worman, Global Political Risk, Business Intelligence, and Investigations Expert and Senior Managing Director within the J.S. Held Global Investigations practice. Philip advises clients on doing business in emerging and frontier markets and has particular expertise in sanctions policy and risk mitigation.

“Philip Worman is outstanding in all respects; [he] has on-the-ground experience and has a real international coverage.”

Investigative Due Diligence – Global | Band 3

Chambers and Partners recognizes J.S. Held’s expertise in this category and observes, “J.S. Held provides clients with investigative due diligence alongside its extensive litigation support, asset tracing and recovery, and political risk practices. Its clients consist of sovereign entities, corporations, financial institutions, pension funds, private equity and hedge funds, legal firms, and high net worth individuals.”

Environmental, Social & Governance – Global | Band 3

Chambers, in recognizing J.S. Held’s expertise in this category, shares, “J.S. Held advises multinational companies on ESG issues around the world, using both its political risk expertise and its investigations and due diligence practice to assist with providing advice on ESG-related risks and disclosure obligations. J.S. Held recently acquired boutique consultancy Africa Matters, further strengthening its capabilities on ESG work in Africa.”

Business Intelligence & Investigations – Asia Pacific | Band 2

Bruno Vickers, Global Investigations & Business Intelligence Expert and Managing Director within the J.S. Held Global Investigations practice. Bruno has expertise in locating and recovering assets on cross-border disputes. He has acted for clients in many significant legal proceedings over the last decade, including those heard in local courts as well as in international arbitration centers such as London, Geneva, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

“Bruno is very impressive … he runs a good outfit and clients really like him.”

Business Intelligence & Investigations – United Kingdom | Band 3

Sebastian Neave, Global Investigations & Business Intelligence Expert and Managing Director within the J.S. Held Global Investigations practice. Sebastian advises clients on complex disputes, cross-border litigation, and arbitration claims. Sebastian has developed specific expertise in disputes related to Russia and the CIS, working on high-profile matters emanating from the region. He has extensive experience gathering evidence to support recovery strategies against a diverse collection of states and state-owned commercial parties.

“Sebastian is outstanding… borders do not seem to exist for him.”

Equally important to the overall and individual expert rankings is the specific feedback from clients and peers acknowledging the work of J.S. Held:

“J.S. Held has an incredible ability to adapt their research and work product to the specifics of their respective clients across numerous industries.”

“These guys are top notch, without a doubt.”

“They have a very experienced team across various fields of expertise and jurisdictions.”

“The team is incredibly competent and responsive.”

“J.S. Held’s research, entrepreneurship, and responsiveness make them stand out.”

“Among other asset tracers, their work was by far the most comprehensive and specific.”

“…intelligence work is what they do, clients love them, and in the end, they find the gold.”

“They understand complex and sensitive matters and have the expertise to handle it efficiently.”

“J.S. Held [experts] are professional, responsive, and have an ability to get information which is unrivalled. They provide us with sometimes 24-hour support.”

“I would highly commend their capacity to tackle complex matters with finesse and expertise.”

Commenting on J.S. Held expert recognitions by Chambers and Partners, Greg Esslinger, Executive Vice President and Global Investigations Practice Lead, shares, “Global Investigations at J.S. Held is home to strategic innovators, integrated collaborators, and recognized thought leaders who have created the next-generation investigations practice together—a multidisciplinary team with global reach and strong cultural competence.” Esslinger adds, “The real added value of J.S. Held investigation work is the ability to use human sources to fill information gaps, corroborate data, and generate new leads. As a firm, we have a wealth of experience identifying and approaching specific sources with direct knowledge of a sovereign, company, or individual’s assets to develop actionable intelligence. “

The global forensics team utilizes best-of-breed technology to support complex data challenges. Experts leverage multiple technology partners with a clear view to appropriate integration of GenAI and related tools. Application includes data collection, managing disparate data sources, translation of foreign language documents, and processing information from emerging off-channel communications and collaboration tools. The result: J.S. Held’s clients can focus on strategy and know that technology is on their side.

Learn more about the dedicated and entrepreneurial experts who help transform J.S. Held, explore our story, and celebrate this momentous milestone, our 50 & Forward celebration, with us at jsheld.com.

About J.S. Held

J.S. Held  is a global consulting firm that combines technical, scientific, financial, and strategic expertise to advise clients seeking to realize value and mitigate risk. Our professionals serve as trusted advisors to organizations facing high stakes matters demanding urgent attention, staunch integrity, proven experience, clear-cut analysis, and an understanding of both tangible and intangible assets. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of services, products, and data that enable clients to navigate complex, contentious, and often catastrophic situations.

More than 1,500 professionals serve organizations across six continents, including 81% of the Global 200 Law Firms, 70% of the Forbes Top 20 Insurance Companies (85% of the NAIC Top 50 Property & Casualty Insurers), and 65% of the Fortune 100 Companies.

J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not certified public accounting firm(s) and do not provide audit, attest, or any other public accounting services. J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not law firms and do not provide legal advice. Securities offered through PM Securities, LLC, d/b/a Phoenix IB, a part of J.S. Held, member FINRA/ SIPC or Ocean Tomo Investment Group, LLC, a part of J.S. Held, member FINRA/ SIPC. All rights reserved.

Media Contact: 

Kristi L. Stathis | Global Public Relations | +1 786 833 4864 | Kristi.Stathis@jsheld.com

SOURCE J.S. Held