Brett Shearing

Brett Shearing is the Deputy Head of Risk Advisory’s Americas team based in Washington, DC. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Brett has lived and worked in Canada, the UK, and US.

Since 2018, Brett has led and overseen several hundred complex investigations in over two dozen countries. He specialises in anti-corruption and strategic intelligence investigations in the energy sector, as well as pre-transactional risk assessments for financial services clients primarily in the US and Canada.

Prior to his career in business intelligence, Brett worked as a legislative assistant to a Canadian Member of Parliament, advising on matters related to energy, the environment, and political affairs.

Project highlights:

• Advised several publicly listed oil and gas companies on the E&P investment landscape in Guyana and Suriname. Consulted on the regulatory, licensing, and political environments of both countries to help guide clients considering first and latter-phase investments.
• Helped the managing partner of a large private equity firm analyse an investment in a mid-sized US-based natural gas developer. Guided the investment committee through complex criminal and regulatory concerns to evaluate pre-investment risks.
• Assisted outside counsel on an extensive internal investigation into senior figures of a US-based private equity firm accused of fraud. Analysed confidential and public-source records to assess allegations of self-dealing and inappropriate workplace conduct.
• Advised a US-based metals importer on whether to bring adverse proceedings against an import agent. By examining whether the client’s vendor received kick-backs from a state-backed exporter in Asia, we were able to mitigate concerns that the agent had exposed our client to potential regulatory scrutiny.