He is often positioned on the front line of investigations and has particular expertise leading whistleblower-initiated internal investigations that meld human intelligence collection, digital forensics reviews, and overt interviews.
In addition to his expertise in China, Nicholas has extensive on-the-ground experience in India, Vietnam, and South Korea, where he has assisted companies and investors with numerous due diligence, internal compliance, and fraud investigations. He recently undertook inquiries in India to assist a client engaged in a high-stakes activist investor dispute. While in South Korea he led a review that identified multiple employee fraud schemes designed to funnel money from our client’s construction project. Nicholas has experience conducting interviews, managing document reviews, and guiding clients through crisis situations that occur within numerous corporate structures ranging from listed companies to state-owned enterprises.
Clients quoted in Chambers say: “Nicholas Blank is hands down one of the top investigators in the region” and “Nicholas Blank is an excellent investigator, unbelievably detail-oriented, and delivers good value for his clients.” Another source says “Nicholas knows the Asian market, speaks Mandarin and has an intense eye for detail. He is the best I’ve worked with.”
Nicholas began his career in Shanghai assisting multinational firms in the development of brand protection and enforcement programs. He was involved in some of the largest trademark infringement and enforcement actions in history. As well as leading incident-driven investigations throughout China, Nicholas helped clients prospectively protect their intellectual property and trade secrets by completing security reviews of offices and manufacturing sites, monitoring gray market activity, and conducting background investigations into employees with access to trade secrets.
Nicholas was later the head of investigations in a global risk consulting firm, where he managed multiple engagements across the Asia-Pacific region. These included investigating complex theft of a commodity at a manufacturing site in Southeast Asia; an investigation — referred for criminal prosecution — into a Hong Kong employee suspected of having a beneficial interest in a subcontractor; and a digital forensics investigation into the theft of a client’s prototype design.
