Commercial Disputes: Practice Lead

Your new company
My client is a large UK firm and part of an eponymous international network. Recent strategic re-alignment of service-lines has led to the firm now going to market in solution groupings and there is now a genuine Consulting "ecosystem." Leadership at the top of the firm has for some time now been led by Advisory Partners and the UK firm has a long tradition of being renowned for its Corporate Finance and Restructuring services in particular. The firm's top line has now doubled, and strategically the next focus for investment is the Forensic function, which is currently focused primarily on investigations, fraud advisory, valuations and private client disputes.
Importantly, the firm is on a continued journey to change the lens through which it is viewed, from being an audit/tax firm with Consultancy, to a Consulting firm which happens to also have audit and tax. Investment and growth will therefore be pivoted to this ratio.
Your new role
This is an incredibly rare chance in this market to make genuine impact on the UK practice of an internationally recognised brand. Commercial Disputes is to date the most underdeveloped of the Forensic capabilities, due to having no London-based practitioner in the field. While it's widely acknowledged Expert work usually follows its Expert, brand and cross-specialism referrals still make a big difference both to opportunities and delivery capability and this firm's new streamlined approach to market ensures collaboration on projects and business development is much easier. The required infrastructure is already in place - team, FTech, marketing etc. There are 4 "pillars" in F&I: disputes, fraud risk, corporate investigations and FTech.
Forensic and Investigation services currently stands at around 40 people, headed by a newly joined ex Big 4 Partner. There is a genuine "blank slate" to develop the commercial disputes function to your own strategies.

What you'll need to succeed
A UK-based and experienced commercial disputes practitioner, you're likely to be at one of the following levels:

• Director who is on or would like to be on Partnership track, but either way off the starting blocks in co-signing reports and being appointed in your own name
• Experienced Director who is ready for first-rung Partner (the firm would make you this level on appointment)
• Existing salaried or equity Partner who may feel overly-conflicted or under-invested in their current firm, and would like the chance to lead, shape and build out a whole Forensic function, capitalising where applicable on the firm's major international presence

What you'll get in return

• Simple, transparent Partnership reward structure.
• Building a business for yourself, not a PE house
• Knowing that Advisory/Consultancy is understood and invested in from C-suite downwards - no having to explain why non-recurring fee income targets don't work like audit ones...
• Enough testifying Experts in other disciplines to bounce ideas around with, yet knowing that Commercial Disputes is yours to develop freely and strategically
• A brand that is recognised across the globe, with boots on the ground in every country.
• A brand that is working hard for you in the background - no whitespace issues/having to explain who they are

What you need to do now
I appreciate a potential move at this level is sensitive and of course 100% confidential. I have a briefing document prepared for any potentially interested and relevant person, but I always think the best start is an exploratory phone call or meeting, which I'd warmly welcome and treat with complete discretion.

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