Litigation and International Arbitration Support

Although renowned for our due diligence and asset identification services, the great majority of Interfor’s cases involve supporting legal teams on an incredibly wide variety of cases around the world. Our Litigation Support Group is strongly positioned to augment your team’s efforts and protect your clients in today’s challenging environment.

From breach of contract to price fixing cases, we provide critical investigative resources to assist in the litigation process – pre-trial intelligence gathering, discovery, trial preparation, witness location, development and execution of strategy and post-judgment asset tracing.

As a full-service investigative firm, we provide a complete menu of investigative and consulting services throughout the world. Whatever the area of expertise, all of many services are rendered with the Interfor hallmark: diligence, discretion and thoroughness.

Interfor has the resources and experience to handle every type of dispute from small inquiries to the largest, most complex international cases. We understand and respect the uniqueness of every client and treat every case in a bespoke manner

Litigation Support Services

Corporations face a daunting array of legal challenges in today’s business environment. These disputes can range from frivolous lawsuits to “bet the company” and “scorched earth” litigation. Whatever the case, you need experienced investigators who can provide sound research and actionable intelligence to guide your course of action.

Interfor offers a wide array of services to ensure thorough litigation preparedness in all types of cases. Since 1979, we have worked discreetly and confidentially providing vital intelligence to litigators. Interfor supports any and all activities that prepare litigants for trial in the pre-litigation, in-litigation, and post-litigation stage.

Interfor offers comprehensive, worldwide intelligence and investigative services, including:

• Special factual inquiries
• Witness location
• Evidence gathering
• Pre-discovery intelligence gathering
• Background investigations
• Interviewing witnesses
• Selection, management, and vetting of expert witnesses
• Document discovery
• Case preparation
• Asset investigations
• Post-judgment asset investigations

Interfor’s investigative findings can help legal strategists and businesses decide whether to litigate, negotiate or chart an alternative route to dispute resolution.

We have worked closely with financial institutions, corporate entities and their inside and outside counsel to manage these challenges throughout the world.  Our case managers and investigators have been involved with high-profile cases, and we understand the special circumstances of media exposure.  Interfor’s Litigation Support Group has regularly represented parties in major trials in state and federal courts as well as arbitration tribunals in the United States and abroad.

Interfor has the ability to rapidly assemble an integrated, international team of investigators to address all aspects of a client’s case and to handle various inquiries in multiple jurisdictions.  We have the experience and know-how to tackle complex investigations aggressively and incisively on your behalf.

Interfor offers a comprehensive package of asset search services to corporations, law firms, bankers’ workout or restructuring departments, financial institutions and creditors’ committees, including the four points listed above. 

As a world leader in asset search and recovery, Interfor has developed the unique capability to locate concealed or undisclosed assets hidden, including in international “safe havens.” We assist clients in recovering billions of dollars with investigative resources. Much of Interfor’s success has been due to our pioneering use of international legal remedies to maximize recovery.

What does an asset search cover?

While Interfor takes a bespoke approach to each assignment,  our strategy is typically to develop a full financial profile on the subject by investigating the location and worth of all real property, personal property, interests in properties, business entities, stocks, bonds, accounts receivable, royalties, patents, and other valuable assets. Interfor also examines the assets of spouses and family members for possible transfers, corporations associated with the subject and the subject’s partners.

Additionally, Interfor leverages its considerable investigative network to help identify individuals or entities that can provide leads and directions to the discovery of hidden assets. Interfor often conducts a lifestyle analysis to determine how the target meets their current obligations and examines what business they are currently conducting.

Interfor’s confidential financial sources are available to develop additional intelligence on the subject(s) as may be required.

Interfor’s asset recovery division is unique as our resources are as strong internationally as they are within the U.S. Interfor works with legal counsel who provide international experience and worldwide resources to assist in the freezing of assets for later collection. As part of Interfor’s on-going commitment to our clients, Interfor monitors changes in asset protection legislation throughout the world to ensure that clients are afforded every opportunity to recover assets to which they are entitled.

Judgment Collection

Where collection of a judgment is involved, Interfor works as a team with legal counsel to use our international experience and resources to assist in freezing assets for later collection.

In our deeply polarized society threats can arise suddenly and from many sources. Whether you are an international brand name with thousands of employees, a mid-size company with a rising profile, or an individual with a public profile, Interfor’s Threat Monitoring Program (TMP) provides intelligence and insights to constantly monitor, classify, and defeat threats. 

Interfor’s TMP was developed specifically for each client to analyze threats and provide actionable recommendations on how to proactively defend your interests and mitigate danger. With Interfor leading your threat assessment practice or acting as a force multiplier to augment your security team, your business will be able to identify potential security hazards and breaches before they happen, act efficiently against any potential threats, neutralize attacks, and plan and protect against the ever-evolving landscape of threats and forms of attacks.

Because of Interfor’s global footprint, our TMP team is on the job for our clients around the clock. We approach the overwatch of security against physical, cyber, and reputational threats our clients face through a mix of artificial intelligence systems and human analysis. Technology provides Interfor with granular insights into even the subtle negative sentiment of digital chatter. Interfor’s forty year history and experienced  staff provide the contextualized, bespoke analysis of any incipient threat to mitigate burgeoning risks. 

Interfor’s Outsourced Chief Security Officer program (OCSO) often pairs naturally with the threat monitoring service we provide. The two practice areas are critical facets of a comprehensive security umbrella, and as such, it is not uncommon for components of the OCSO program to be added to a TMP engagement depending on the needs of the client. As each engagement is unique, the service offered is completely customized. 

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Our experience has illustrated that many of our clients would have been spared the financial losses and reputation problems resulting from corporate malfeasance had they implemented more robust security precautions. This is particularly true for our clients who do business overseas or in highly competitive markets.

Protecting our clients from harm, whether physical or financial, is of the utmost importance to Interfor. To keep our clients’ assets, personnel, intellectual property and trade secrets safe, and to prevent those affected by corporate fraud from being victimized again, Interfor offers a full range of physical security and threat management consulting services.

Interfor’s Outsourced Chief Security Officer program brings physical and cyber security leadership, industry experience, and a deep bench to one of the most important operational roles companies face: the Chief Security Officer (“CSO”). 

Mid to large-sized companies often struggle with a dedicated responsibility towards security. We help clients free themselves from the burden of an ‘all-in-one’ hire so they can devote more time to their core business. The outsourced CSO is an on-demand resource to senior management without the need to hire, train, and maintain an internal security director. By working with the business and understanding the overall goals of the organization, an entire security program can be designed and implemented for a fraction of the cost of an internal hire.

For existing yet under-resourced security managers, Interfor can serve as force-multiplier through this service.

The Outsourced CSO role provides access to a seasoned security professional for issues including risk mitigation, hiring or firing employees, executive risk exposure, developing security policies and procedures, due diligence, and comprehensive physical and IT security planning. We work with the C-suite to integrate an insightful, actionable, and measurable risk management plan to safeguard their operations and deliver on their strategic vision.

A companion offering, the Outsourced Security Operations Director, is designed for companies who already have a CSO or equivalent position. While this program is designed to be flexible to meet the specific needs of the client, typically the program is set up to develop and implement security plans, including providing direction and guidance to outside agencies and the internal management team. We develop strategic security plans and long term strategies that are backed up by best practices that can facilitate aligning an entire organization that may have been missing the strength that a robust security program can deliver. The role of a Security Operations Director is critical within any security department.

Advantages of the Outsourced CSO Program:

• Increased consistency and quality of management
• Decreased employee-related expenses
• Decreased training and HR expenses
• Standardization of processes
• Speedy delivery of service and information
• Develop talent management and redeployment
• Frees up other internal stakeholders (legal, HR, operations, etc.) to spend more time on core business
• Improve ROI per employee
• Potentially lower liability insurance rates

The primary objective of Interfor’s Physical Security Assessment (PSA) is to observe and analyze areas of potential and/or actual vulnerability, to define causes, and to recommend means to reduce or eliminate exposure. In conducting the assessment, Interfor utilizes a specialized process known as The Interfor Method. The Interfor Method ensures that the assessment will be developed around the client’s individual and specific needs and allows for the most comprehensive analysis available on the market.

The assessment includes a review of: access control systems and procedures; ingress/egress procedures, intrusion detection systems; application of electronic control systems; employee and visitor identification procedures; IT procedures; employee/vendor background investigations; and general personnel policies and procedures.

Interfor specializes in an array of security services such as:

• Office Security Assessment
• Information Systems Evaluation
• Personal Protection Consulting
• Crisis Management & Threat Mitigation
• Threat monitoring & intelligence

Comprehensive security assessments are smart policy for any business, big or small. Understanding your businesses’ vulnerabilities – all within the context of your particular industry – is essential risk management. Interfor’s decades of experience providing such assessments has led to a proprietary system that measures risks for our clients from all angles. 

The Interfor Method

The Interfor Method involves an extensive system designed to assess, analyze, report and test areas of potential or actual vulnerability. The method can be scaled and implemented within small businesses, middle-market companies, and large corporations. Although the following reflects a framework of the method, given that no two assessments are identical, it should only be regarded as a guide.

Initial Meeting

• Introduction to client’s corporate structure, services, and identity
• Identification of key personnel
• Creation of a cross-functional Assessment Team (usually comprised of senior-level personnel within pertinent groups, divisions or business units)

Pre-Assessment Meeting/Survey

• Determination of the scope of the Interfor Assessment
• Discussion of perceived threats and historical incidents
• Classification of industry-wide threats
• Identification of key assets (i.e. personnel, facilities, material)
• Discussion of process for reporting and gathering information
• Establishment of timeline for entire process
• Identification of deliverables
• Identification of required tools and documentation (i.e. protocols and procedures)
• Clearance obtained for Interfor personnel

Comprehensive Onsite Assessment

• Implementation of the agreed-upon plan including physical assessments of facilities during both daytime and evening hours
• Review of current protocols and procedures and a determination of the level of compliance throughout the organization
• Comprehensive interviews with identified key personnel
• Aggressive testing of current security precautions and barriers through various prearranged means
• Evaluation of emergency planning and mitigation procedures and policies
• Analysis of business continuity plans
• Evaluation of security training and education procedures

Data Analysis and Initial Report Generation

1. Professional analysis of collected data
2. Design and development of report outlining observations and recommendations

Preliminary Briefing

1. General and specific observations of vulnerabilities throughout the organization
2. Specific recommendations highlighting areas of critical concern as well as areas in need of improvement
3. Discussion of the needs for further evaluation or testing

Presentation of Findings and Recommendations

• All findings and recommendations will be reported in a manner which fits the needs of the organization
• Presentation of all updated, rewritten or modified policies and procedures
• Recommendations for the implementation of training or awareness programs

Testing of Implemented Recommendations

• Prearranged audits to determine if the improvements have been implemented correctly
• Findings report and further recommendations
• Recurring evaluations and/or audits on a predetermined schedule

Interfor’s Cyber Risk and Technology team consists of intelligence professionals, IT experts, and special investigators. Cyber-attacks may threaten an individual, a company, a financial institution, or a nation-state. Criminals may reside virtually anywhere, and their malicious activities may cross international borders with impunity. Identity theft, hacking, disabling or misusing websites or computer networks, and phishing attacks are some of the more common offenses.

Our Cyber Intelligence Practice provides technical and strategic support to our clients in the following areas:

• Internet, Mobile Devices, and Computer Forensics
• Data Breach and Incident Response
• Prevention Measures, Cyber Tracing
• Cyber Threat Investigations
• Phishing Attacks, Business Email Compromise / CEO Fraud

In today’s increasingly globalized world, the effects of economic crises, violent conflicts, political shifts, and, indeed, pandemics are magnified and can easily ricochet across continents.

This dynamic applies in particular to the business world, where a local conflict in a far-off country that shuts down a factory can drastically impact a multinational company or an emerging competitor in the developing world can threaten legacy players a hemisphere away. For business leaders navigating geopolitical shifts, supply-chain disruptions, and security threats to their employees and infrastructure, strategic intelligence is a vital decision-making tool.

• Interfor International provides clients with critical intelligence on emerging risks and opportunities in addition to deep insights into global trends, enabling them to maintain a competitive edge, guard against high-impact global crises, and drive continued growth.

• Interfor understands the increasing focus on Environmental, Social, Governance issues that are an increasing focus of companies eager to stay on the right side of these important topics to reflect the concerns of their customers and employees. 

• The deep experience of Interfor’s investigative team underscores their role as experts on global corruption and the enforcement of laws like the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K.’s Bribery Law. Our team regularly guides clients through the tricky waters of company expansion, joint ventures, and other corporate work in parts of the world where corruption is simply a part of the business background. 

• In four decades of targeted investigative work in some of the world’s most challenging and inscrutable countries, Interfor has built a vast global network of contacts who are well-positioned to shine a light on strategic-level client concerns. Our analytical staff has deep experience in key industries and regions and can expertly leverage our relationships around the world to extract unparalleled insights into markets of critical interest to our clients. Interfor’s deep experience and expertise in investigative and intelligence work uniquely positions us to explore opportunity or risk areas on behalf of our clients discreetly and confidentially.

Clients Served

As with our other practice areas, Interfor works with a wide range of globally-oriented businesses. Our Strategic Intelligence practice is often of value to the client types mentioned below, including:

• Alternative investors
  • Hedge funds, Private equity firms
• Natural resources industry
  • Energy producers & service companies
  • Mining companies
• Multinational infrastructure firms
• Aerospace and defense companies
• Pharmaceutical firms
• Global agribusiness companies

Solution Areas

Interfor’s Strategic Intelligence practice primarily provides solutions across the areas below; however, our solutions are inherently bespoke. More than anything, we are committed to equipping our clients with unparalleled insights into a wide range of global issues.

Geopolitical and Economic Analysis

Our Geopolitical and Economic Analysis practice helps clients understand political and economic dynamics in key regions, with an eye toward how clients can best position themselves in anticipation of future developments. We might, for example:

• Advise an alternative investor on how a new administration’s foreign policy might impact global commodity markets (with a focus on evolving U.S. relations with Russia, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Iran).
• Analyze the prospects of a given region’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, with a focus on key sectors of interest to our multinational client.
• Evaluate the present and future pace of political and economic reforms in high-risk but rapidly growing markets in the Middle East of significant potential interest to US investors and corporations.

Market Entry Support

Interfor provides on-the-ground intelligence and veteran insight for clients considering investing and operating in new geographies. Our capabilities include:

• Partnership landscapes, identifying and pre-vetting a range of potential partners to support client launches in new markets
• Regulatory mapping and intelligence, to guide clients through key regulatory processes and to advise on any reform agendas or other changes that might affect clients’ plans; additionally, risk mitigation guidance focused specifically on FCPA concerns
• Targeted risk analysis, to provide sector- or opportunity-specific insights into political and economic dynamics that might benefit or hurt clients’ prospects in new markets

Competitive Intelligence

Interfor can also provide insight into competitors’ strategic plans in high-priority markets around the world. We might, for example:

• Map the competitive landscape a client faces or will soon face as it enters a new market or introduces a new product
• Provide deep-dive analysis on specific global competitors, evaluating the threats they pose to a client’s overall growth plans
• Investigate specific issues related to a major competitor, e.g. allegations of corruption or other impropriety

The information herein is just an introduction and overview of our global capabilities in the area of Strategic Intelligence. Every engagement is tailored to meet the needs of the client.

Like the broader world in which we operate, blurred lines and nuance are inevitable. Whatever challenge you are facing — no matter how vexing, difficult, or seemingly unknowable — we welcome it.