Nicholas BortmanPartner at Raedas (UK)Speaker
Profile
With a focus on the Middle East, Nicholas has acted in many of the region’s most significant commercial disputes of the last decade. He has particular experience in corruption investigations, evidence gathering in jurisdictions with minimal disclosure requirements and supporting the enforcement of judgements and arbitral awards.
Prior to co-founding Raedas, Nicholas was partner and co-chair of the dispute consulting group of GPW. He established the firm’s office in the UAE, spending six years in the Middle East developing its regional practice and working to integrate investigations into litigation strategy in matters heard before local courts and tribunals.
Nicholas’ experience includes litigation and commercial and investor-state arbitration heard in the DIFC, UAE, Lebanon, UK, Cayman and US courts and arbitration centres as well as private disputes among Middle Eastern merchant families and royalty. He has acted for HNW, corporate, sovereign and supranational clients and given evidence before multiple arbitral tribunals and in US federal proceedings.
Described in Chambers as “a dynamo” clients say “it’s not just the information he gathers, but that he gathers it in a manner that is admissible in court. He’s a quasi-lawyer-investigator, which is a godsend.” “The level of detail is extraordinary”.
In 2016 Nicholas was asked to consult for the International Criminal Court of The Hague, evaluating the Court’s financial investigation practices and advising the Office of the Prosecutor on asset recovery in Africa. In 2020 he co-founded FIND, a not-for-profit investigations practice to support civil society groups seeking justice for victims of human rights abuses, war and environmental crime.
Nicholas serves on the expert roster Justice Rapid Response, an intergovernmental facility for the global deployment of criminal justice professionals trained to investigate genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious human rights violations. He is also a member of the UN Security Council Affairs Division’s roster of experts.
Nicholas was trained by a former Manhattan District Attorney’s Office trial prosecutor, providing investigative and analytical support in tobacco and pharmaceutical counterfeiting and smuggling investigations.