The market-leading Forensic practice of Grant Thorton UK LLP has appointed Partners Philippa Hill and Vijay Rathour as UK practice heads to continue the team’s ambitious growth strategy.
Partner Philippa Hill leads Forensic and Investigation Services and Partner Vijay Rathour leads Cyber and Digital Investigations, following Partner Will Davies stepping down as Practice Leader in anticipation of his retirement from the firm this year.
Will has led the combined Band 1 full-service team of 13 partners and more than 200 people in the UK, well-known for its work on some of the largest disputes and well-publicised inquiries of the last two decades.
Philippa specialises in accounting disputes and investigations and is one of the best-known experts in the area of professional negligence, accounting irregularities and misconduct matters with more than 20 years’ experience. She is well-recognised for her leading expert determination practice, appointed by buyers and sellers to resolve post-transaction accounting disputes and is appointed as expert witness in court or arbitration in a range of commercial and contractual disputes on accounting and quantum issues.
Vijay, a former barrister and solicitor and digital forensics expert, leads the firm’s Cyber and Digital Investigations practice which specialises in litigation support, electronic disclosure and discovery, hacking, incident response and data breach, regulatory investigations and digital forensic investigations. He is a recognised expert in Digital Forensics, an Expert Adviser to the United Nations on cyber-crime and ransomware and a member of the ICAEW Digital Assets Working Party addressing developing cryptocurrency initiatives.
Philippa and Vijay’s forensics and digital capabilities and years of client service working alongside top tier law firms, barristers’ chambers and corporates, ideally position them to drive forward the Forensic and Cyber practices. As part of a multidisciplinary professional services firm with sector specialisms throughout the global network, and with one of the world’s largest dedicated global forensic teams of more than 800, Grant Thornton tackles the most complex, multi-faceted, data-complex and high-risk issues facing clients today.
Commenting on their leadership appointments, Philippa Hill says:
“The demand for high quality forensic input has never been greater, with strained economic conditions and geo-political issues disrupting commerce and fostering fraudulent exploitation. Our blend of investigative skills and tools, technical expertise, experience and creativity of thinking, combined with our firm’s asset recovery and special situations expertise means we can handle the most complex and challenging matters for clients, globally.”
Vijay Rathour adds:
“Evolving global events, increasing regulatory scrutiny and growing complexity in corporate environments position our teams to support our clients with essential skills around Data Analysis and Insights, Cyber Diligence and Operational Resilience, and our team looks forward to continuing to grow our market-leading strengths in Digital Investigations.”
The Forensic leadership promotions follow the promotion of Fred Brown to Partner and the appointment of Director Chris Tune, who joined Grant Thornton in 2022, as Head of International Arbitration and the lateral hire of Data Analytics Partner Justin Cooper. The Forensic group is part of the world-leading Insolvency, Forensic and Restructuring practice led by Partner Kevin Hellard.
Sourced from: Grant Thornton