Who we are
Heiko Ziehms
Heiko Ziehms focuses on the quantification of damages from warranty and other breaches and fraud examination in complex commercial and investor-state disputes. He has worked on matters under DIS, HKIAC, ICC, ICSID, LCIA, SIAC, Swiss rules, VIAC, ad hoc arbitrations, as well as the courts. Heiko has worked on some of the most complex corporate disputes across a broad range of industries in Europe with values up to several billion euros.
Heiko was recently ranked among the world’s foremost expert witnesses in the tenth edition of Global Arbitration Review’s GAR 100, and has been named among the leading expert witnesses and quantum of damages and forensics & litigation consulting experts in Who’s Who Legal since 2016, where he was described as “an impressive critical thinker”, “stands out for his testifying expertise on high-value corporate disputes”, “very smart“, “sensational”, and “recognised for his excellent knowledge and presentation abilities”. He is listed as a “Global Elite Thought Leader” in the categories “Arbitration” and “Quantum of Damages” (the latter category with only one other expert in Germany), and is further listed in six other categories in Who‘s Who Legal.
Heiko holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, and a Dipl.-Kfm. degree from Otto-Friedrich-Universität in Bamberg, Germany. He qualified and worked as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). Heiko has published widely on financial and commercial aspects of damages valuation and disputes. He is the sole author of two books on M&A Disputes, most recently ‘M&A Disputes – How they Happen, How to Resolve Them, How to Avoid Them’ (Wolters Kluwer, November 2023).
ziehms@zs-forensic.com
+44 (0) 7990 029 757
Sönke Schwartz
Sönke Schwartz focuses on forensic accounting matters and transaction advisory services. He has worked on DIS and Swiss rules arbitrations and matters in the courts.
He combines deep accounting knowledge in relation to IFRS, German and US GAAP and auditing skills with experience in investigations, including the detection of fraud and other financial irregularities. Sönke has worked on some of the most prominent recent accounting manipulation cases in the DACH region and on numerous post-M&A claims against sellers, former management, the target’s external auditors, and W&I insurers.
Sönke’s outstanding experience in transaction advice stems from several hundred M&A transactions over the last 25 years across all major industries for both private equity and corporate clients. His in-depth expertise in accounting, tax and financial modelling informs his approach to buy- and sell-side financial due diligence and enables him to advise on SPAs, including purchase price adjustment clauses and structuring appropriate financial and accounting-related representations and warranties. His experience encompasses complex carve-out transactions, quality of earnings analyses, synergy validation, and many other aspects of transactions. Sönke has also worked on a large number of closing accounts disputes in domestic and cross-border transactions and facilitated corporate financial restructurings.
Sönke holds a Dipl.-Volkswirt degree from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. He is a qualified German tax advisor (Steuerberater, 1999, currently inactive) and a qualified German certified public accountant (Wirtschaftsprüfer, 2001, currently inactive).
schwartz@zs-forensic.com
+49 173 523 6895