Your client has won. The arbitral award is final, the costs order is generous and the respondent has stopped answering calls. Now the real work begins: finding assets that are worth enforcing against, in countries the respondent chose precisely because they are hard to reach.
Lawyers win cases with facts, and facts often sit outside the documents the client provides. Our legal investigation services give law firms, in-house legal teams, barristers and arbitration practitioners the evidence, intelligence and practical support they need at every stage of a matter. As an international investigation firm headquartered in Dubai and backed by the 30+ years of GREVESGROUP®, we act as investigators for law firms in more than 100 countries.
How Investigators Support Legal Work
- Before proceedingsAssessing the other side's assets, history and credibility, and whether a claim is worth pursuing
- During proceedingsLocating witnesses, testing evidence, identifying new facts and serving documents abroad
- After judgment or awardTracing assets and supporting enforcement in multiple jurisdictions
- In transactionsDue diligence on counterparties, targets and investors
- In IP mattersEvidence of use, infringement and counterfeiting for enforcement
- In internal mattersIndependent investigations for corporate clients facing allegations
Our Investigation Services for Law Firms
Private Investigation
Our litigation support investigations research opposing parties, verify claims and statements, and uncover facts that change the strength of a case. Our witness location service finds people who have moved, changed names or left the country, and our investigators can conduct professional interviews and take statements where instructed.
Corporate Investigation
For judgment enforcement investigations, our asset tracing for lawyers identifies property, company interests, bank relationships where lawfully discoverable, vessels, aircraft and other assets, including those held through relatives, nominees and offshore structures. Findings support freezing orders, disclosure applications and enforcement strategy.
Process Service
Our international process service for law firms handles personal service and service under the Hague Service Convention, as well as letters rogatory and alternative routes in non-Hague countries such as the UAE. We advise on method, arrange translations and provide affidavits or certificates of service that meet the issuing court's requirements.
IP Investigation
IP practitioners use our trademark use investigations, counterfeit and infringement investigations, test purchases and evidence packs to support oppositions, cancellations, injunctions, raids and damages claims.
Due Diligence
For transactional practices, we provide integrity due diligence on counterparties, targets, investors and management, identifying beneficial owners, sanctions and PEP exposure, litigation and reputational issues.
Background Check
We verify the backgrounds of witnesses, experts, opposing parties and individuals relevant to a matter, and screen lateral hires, partners and staff joining the firm.
Claim Investigation
Insurance and coverage lawyers use our claim investigations to establish the facts of disputed claims, including verification of events in other countries.
Brand Protection
Firms acting for brand owners use our monitoring, market surveys and enforcement support to identify infringers and build cases.
Evidence Built for the Courtroom
Evidence is only useful if it can be used. We gather information lawfully, record sources, preserve chain of custody and document our methods, so opposing counsel has little room to challenge how facts were obtained. Where needed, our investigators provide signed statements or affidavits and can support your team through disclosure and hearings. We also tell you clearly where findings rest on intelligence that should guide strategy rather than be filed as evidence.
Cross-Border Disputes and Arbitration
International arbitration and cross-border litigation often turn on facts in several countries at once: a respondent's assets in Europe, witnesses in Africa, corporate structures in offshore centres. From Dubai, a major seat for dispute resolution including the DIFC Courts, we coordinate investigators in each relevant jurisdiction under one case manager, giving counsel one point of contact and a consistent standard of work.
Pre-Action Intelligence
The most expensive mistake in litigation is winning a case against a party with nothing to pay. Before proceedings start, our pre-action investigations assess the defendant's assets, corporate structure, other litigation and likely behaviour, and whether assets are at risk of being moved. This helps counsel advise clients on whether to sue, where to sue, whether to seek urgent freezing relief and how to structure settlement discussions.
Supporting Insolvency Practitioners
Liquidators, administrators and trustees in bankruptcy often inherit incomplete records and uncooperative directors. We help them trace assets transferred before insolvency, identify connected parties and related-party transactions, locate former directors and gather evidence for antecedent transaction and misfeasance claims across jurisdictions.
Organisations We Support
International and regional law firms, boutique litigation and arbitration practices, IP firms, insolvency practitioners and liquidators, in-house legal and compliance teams, litigation funders and barristers' chambers.
Typical Engagements
The scenarios below are illustrative examples of the kind of work we carry out in this sector.
Award enforcement
Following an arbitration award, we identify properties and company interests held by the respondent through relatives in three countries, supporting freezing orders.
Witness location
A key former employee witness left the region years ago. We locate him in another continent and arrange for counsel to make contact.
Service in the UAE
A European law firm needs to serve proceedings on a Dubai-based defendant. We advise on the practical routes available given that the UAE is not a Hague Convention party, and complete service with proof accepted by the issuing court.
Litigation funding check
A funder asks us to assess a defendant's assets before financing a claim. Our findings show sufficient assets to justify the investment.
Insolvency recovery
A liquidator suspects directors moved equipment to a new company before the collapse. We trace the equipment and the new company's owners, supporting a recovery claim.
What You Receive
Structured reports with sourced findings, asset schedules, witness contact details and statements, evidence packs and affidavits, all prepared with court use in mind.
How We Work with Law Firms
We work directly with partners, associates and paralegals, under legal privilege where your jurisdiction allows it, on terms that protect your client's confidentiality. We can work case by case or as a panel provider with agreed rates and reporting formats.
Why Law Firms Choose Risk Investigators
Court-ready evidence
Lawful methods and careful documentation.
Multi-jurisdiction reach
Investigators in more than 100 countries under one engagement.
Process service expertise
Hague and non-Hague service with reliable proof.
Group experience
GREVESGROUP® has supported legal teams for more than 30 years.
Clear separation of fact and intelligence
You always know what can be filed and what should guide strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do investigators support litigation?
Investigators research opposing parties, locate witnesses, verify evidence, trace assets and serve documents, giving lawyers facts they can use in strategy, pleadings and hearings.
Can you trace assets to enforce a judgment or award?
Yes. We identify property, company interests and other assets in the UAE and abroad, including assets held through nominees, relatives and offshore structures.
Can you serve court documents in the UAE?
Yes. We advise on the routes available for service in the UAE, which is not a party to the Hague Service Convention, and complete service with proof suitable for the issuing court.
Do you locate witnesses abroad?
Yes. We use lawful locate methods in more than 100 countries and can conduct interviews or take statements where instructed.
Can your investigations be conducted under legal privilege?
We can be instructed by lawyers so that our work supports privileged advice where the applicable law allows. Your firm should confirm how privilege applies in the relevant jurisdiction.
Do you provide affidavits or witness statements?
Yes. Our investigators and process servers provide signed statements and affidavits where needed.
Do you work with litigation funders?
Yes. We assess defendants' assets and backgrounds to help funders decide whether a claim is worth financing and recoverable.
Do you work with liquidators and insolvency practitioners?
Yes. We trace assets moved before insolvency, identify connected parties and locate former directors, supporting recovery claims in multiple jurisdictions.
Can you investigate the other side's expert witness?
Yes. We verify an expert's qualifications, professional history, publications, prior testimony where records are available and potential conflicts of interest, helping counsel prepare cross-examination.