Partner - Forensic Technology & eDiscovery… at Search &… · Hong Kong

We are seeking a Partner-grade Forensic Technology and eDiscovery practitioner to join our client in Hong Kong. The ideal candidate will hold senior forensic-technology and eDiscovery credentials with at least 15 years of relevant experience, the most recent 3+ years at Partner, Managing Director or equivalent practice-leadership level, a market reputation as a defensibility and bilingual AI-assisted-review authority, and Mandarin and Cantonese working fluency at Partner-grade authority level. The successful candidate will have a portable book of senior client and law-firm-partner relationships, a sustained personally-originated forensic-technology revenue track record, and the brand presence to lead a forensic-technology and eDiscovery practice in the Hong Kong market. They will be responsible for leading the most complex multi-jurisdictional forensic-technology engagements end to end, originating and growing managed-discovery and information-governance retainers, and setting practice strategy on bilingual AI-assisted-review governance, hiring, pricing and methodology.

Confidential Client. Applying to this position means that you are interested to have an initial confidential discussion about how we can help you to identify and join a new forensic technology and eDiscovery practice at Partner level. With your authorisation we will exclusively run the entire application and recruitment process for you, keeping you apprised at every step. With over 30 years' combined experience of helping the most talented forensic-technology practitioners to make safe exits to launch rewarding new careers, we have the experience, network and ability to help you.

Key Responsibilities:

• Direct the most complex forensic-collection and eDiscovery engagements end to end - high-stakes, often privileged, often counsel-instructed engagements running USD 1.5m - 12m+ - frequently with HK-Mainland-Singapore-elsewhere-APAC overlay, with full P&L responsibility for the forensic-technology engagement portfolio.
• Originate, win and grow Partner-instructed forensic-technology mandates by carrying a portable book of senior relationships at General Counsel, Head of Litigation, CIO and Chief Compliance Officer level, and at relevant law firm partner level in Hong Kong and Greater China.
• Convert reactive case work into multi-year retainer engagements covering managed-discovery, eDiscovery-readiness, legal-hold-program design, custodian-onboarding, information-governance and PIPL / CSL / DSL-aligned data-export sequencing work.
• Take signed-off authority positions on bilingual AI-assisted-review governance, TAR-3.0 protocols on Traditional-and-Simplified-Chinese populations, predictive-coding validation methodologies and Sedona-aligned proportionality on bet-the-company matters; serve as forensic-technology Partner before HKIAC, CIETAC HK Centre tribunals and the HK Court of First Instance / Court of Appeal where required.
• Set the practice's strategy on tooling adoption (such as Relativity / Nuix / Reveal stacks and the AI-review frontier), hiring, pricing and market positioning; shape the firm's defensibility doctrine on PRC-counterparty productions and signed-off declaration practice in bilingual settings.
• Build the practice's external IP and brand presence on forensic-technology themes through published thought leadership and conference-level speaking engagements in HK / PRC publications and forums.
• Hire, develop, mentor and advocate for the practice staff - Senior Directors, Directors, Senior Managers and the wider bench - championing advancement at firm-wide promotion rounds, sponsoring sustained bilingual upskilling on emerging methodology and AI tooling, and shaping their external profile-building. Contribute to firm strategy beyond the forensic-technology sub-practice.
• Set evidence-handling and AI-governance protocols at Partner-policy depth that align with ISO 27037, ACPO Guidelines, Sedona Conference principles, PDPO cross-border-transfer obligations and PRC PIPL / CSL / DSL data-export requirements.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• Multiple senior forensic-technology and / or eDiscovery credentials, such as EnCE (EnCase Certified Examiner) plus ACEDS CEDS plus Relativity Master, or Nuix Master plus GCFA plus ACEDS CEDS - the recognised stacking pattern at Partner level.
• At least 15 years of relevant experience in forensic technology, eDiscovery or digital evidence, with the most recent 3+ years at Partner, Managing Director or equivalent practice-leadership level.
• Mandarin and Cantonese working fluency at depth sufficient to lead bilingual practice direction, regulator engagement and senior-stakeholder communication. The Hong Kong Partner market is structurally bilingual at this level.
• Demonstrable track record of leading the most complex regional forensic-technology matters with full P&L accountability and signed-off defensibility positions in adversarial settings on bilingual document populations.
• Demonstrable, sustained, personally-originated forensic-technology revenue track record. Hong Kong market guide: USD 1.5m - 3m+ annually originated on forensic-technology and managed-discovery work, calibrated to the engaging firm.
• Portable senior client relationships at General Counsel, CIO, Head of Litigation, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Risk Officer level, and at relevant law firm partner level (international arbitration, commercial litigation, white-collar crime, regulatory enforcement and internal-investigations practices) who refer and instruct forensic-technology and eDiscovery work - credibly portable subject to non-compete and non-solicit posture; named accounts with multi-year history are the strongest evidence.
• Experience running a forensic-technology sub-practice or country-team P&L: revenue, utilisation, gross margin, partner-time leverage, hire-and-promote responsibility, tooling and licensing strategy.
• Authority on the Hong Kong evidence and disclosure framework: discovery under the Rules of the High Court, the eAPL system, PDPO cross-border-transfer obligations, the Companies Ordinance disclosure provisions, and the 2024 Mainland Judicial Mutual Assistance arrangements including PIPL / CSL / DSL data-export and review-jurisdiction implications.
• Cross-border fluency on US Federal Court eDiscovery procedure (FRCP Rules 26 / 34, ESI orders), UK High Court (CPR Part 31, eDiscovery Practice Direction 31B), Singapore Order 21 RoC 2021, PRC arbitration (CIETAC, BAC, SHIAC) and Australian Federal Court Practice Notes on technology and the court for cross-jurisdiction productions.
• Familiarity with industry-standard forensic-technology tooling, including review platforms (such as Relativity, Relativity aiR for Review, Nuix Discover, Reveal / Brainspace, Disco or Everlaw), forensic-imaging and analysis tools (such as EnCase, Magnet Axiom, X-Ways, FTK or Cellebrite UFED), processing engines (such as Nuix Workstation, Relativity Processing or LAW), and cloud-collection platforms (such as Hanzo, Onna, Pagefreezer or X1 Social Discovery) - particularly for bilingual / multi-byte-character-set populations.
• Realistic engagement on notice periods and non-compete / non-solicit obligations given the senior nature of the move and the relationship-led nature of the practice.

Preferred Experience:

• GREM (GIAC Reverse-Engineering Malware) or GCFA (GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst) for Partners whose practice extends into incident-response forensics.
• Sedona Conference Working Group membership and / or EDI committee positioning.
• Postgraduate qualification: Master's in computer science, information security, digital forensics, MBA, or LLM with eDiscovery / privacy / litigation-technology relevance.
• Visible market profile in the Hong Kong / Greater China / APAC forensic-technology community: published author in HK / PRC publications, conference speaker in bilingual settings, recognised authority on bilingual TAR / CAL or AI-assisted review, named in legal directories.
• Track record of testifying or signed-off declaration on forensic-technology defensibility issues, including AI-assisted-review challenges, in arbitration or court.
• Demonstrable conversion of one-off forensic-technology engagements into multi-year managed-discovery and information-governance retainers.
• Visible thought leadership on the AI developments reshaping forensic technology and eDiscovery and a documented growth-mindset operating posture: candidates who set the practice direction on tooling adoption (such as Relativity aiR for Review or Reveal AI for bilingual review, TAR-3.0 protocols on Traditional-and-Simplified-Chinese populations, or AI-assisted classification under PIPL / CSL / DSL data-export sequencing), advocate for and develop their practice staff on emerging methodologies, and have a track record of upskilling-programme delivery within the sub-practice.

Compensation:

Partner-level package commensurate with origination, portable book and seniority. Includes base, profit-share / partnership-distribution, equity participation and long-term incentive arrangements.

Next Steps:

This opportunity is open to Hong Kong permanent residents and qualified candidates with relevant Hong Kong work-rights status who match the above criteria. Please apply to receive prompt confidential contact from an experienced and specialist forensic technology and eDiscovery recruitment Partner.

Search & Counsel is a trading style of Feltan Associates Pte Ltd; an international Executive Search, Recruitment and Consulting business based in Singapore, licensed and regulated by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower to conduct recruitment services for clients. UEN: 202225620G. EA Licence 23S1672. All rights reserved.