The investigative industry has evolved since I started 30 years ago. I often wonder if the private investigative field is a dying profession. Now that law firms have assistants with Internet access, too many attorneys think that an hour or two in front of a computer screen constitutes a complete background investigation. Younger attorneys believe they only need the in-house paralegal or legal assistant to do some court and newspaper searches on LexisNexis, check social media which only includes Facebook and make a general “Google search”.
Often law associates conduct research to save money and — because he or she went to law school — they must know more about what they are doing than an investigator would. Attorneys have no idea what they are missing!
A longtime client of mine, who specializes in attorney malpractice, tells me that an incomplete in-house investigation can have “catastrophic consequences” for law firms. Charles L. Curtis of Fort Lauderdale said that just one mistake that overlooks a glaring piece of relevant information for a client’s case can easily come back to the lawyer as a malpractice action and an ethics complaint. When lawyers are not conducting due diligence for their cases, they are opening themselves up to malpractice. In my seminars, “Discovering Hidden Assets” or “Google is not an Investigation” to law firms, I emphasize the points that matter most to them: how to make more money and how to keep from losing their licenses.
Today’s investigator needs to educate their attorney clients, by demonstrating the value a professional investigator can add to their team.
For example, a background investigation of a Russian individual was at a dead end until I took on the case and recognized that, although Facebook is international, in certain countries like China and Russia there are other, local social media of more significance. I contacted a colleague who I had trained for an international smuggling contract a couple years before. With his Russian language skills and knowledge of “VKontakte”, the Russian equivalent to Facebook, we were able to find valuable information about our subject.
Another example, I was contacted by an out-of-state attorney who was suing a Florida family for a motor vehicle accident with horrendous injuries. The car was driven by the daughter. The vehicle was owned by the parents. This attorney planned to settle the case for the insurance limits, but decided to consult with me just to make sure there were no significant assets. I immediately recognized the family name. Following my investigative instincts, I was able to identify the father as the vice president of a major national retail chain that was founded years ago in the Fort Lauderdale area. Since the injuries were severe and the defendant was wealthy, the attorney was able to get a settlement three times larger than what he had expected.
Some of my clients that are well established firms based in New York, D.C, and California want detailed backgrounds on all parties during a litigation to include witnesses, experts, and sometimes even the judges. They want to know what the judges’ prior rulings have been and if they have any affiliations with opposing counsel. Inexperienced researchers may check the usual state and federal courts, but do not have the experience or knowledge to inquire with administrative and regulatory agencies, or look into licenses and permit paperwork or check federal and local campaign contributions.
In my early years, I was a law enforcement investigator with Alcohol and Tobacco I have both the criminal as well as an administrative background. I know a licensing file is a treasure trove of information. An applicant has to list his fellow investors, bank references, all other business interests. The file will also contain inspections, complaints and violations on the premises.
In a perfect world, attorneys would hire a professional investigator early in a case because it actually would save them money so they do not spend their higher billed hours on a substandard investigation.
The investigator:
- would recognize when
information need to be updated and facts double-checked; - would have effective strategies for cross-checking and verification of sources:
- would know that just because the information comes up in a Google search, it is not necessarily true;
- would know that information should always be confirmed at the source;
- and, would know if an official document could still be intact at another agency—and would figure out where to look.
On numerous occasions, an attorney’s case theory has changed after my in-depth investigation uncovered unexpected issues. Whether it’s a new witness, an exceptional expert, some third-party liability, or some high-value assets to help pay a larger settlement or judgment, a liability case could be worth ten times what they thought when the case was signed.
None of us can specialize in every aspect of this profession. Experienced investigators maintain a network of subject matter experts to contact when a case is outside their knowledge base. The sharpest people in this field network with other investigators around the country and around the world. They join associations such as National Association of Legal Investigators (NALI) and their state associations. They spend the time and money to attend ongoing training.
Being a true professional investigator today means spending each part of your day keeping up with all the advances in technology, search techniques and resources.
Whether it’s the daily changes to Facebook or knowing to verify the date of the many images on Google Earth or other image websites, these are the nuances that can win a case.
All good investigators know that desktop and courthouse research needs to be augmented with “boots on the ground”. I always recommend that we conduct a drive by the subject residence or business. Let’s just say during an asset investigation it may be fruitful to drive by that house on the waterway and see the beautiful boat docked nearby!
Because professional investigators add great value to any due diligence or litigation, but investigators need to remember to educate their attorney clients about the ways in which their skills are different from a lawyer, paralegal and legal assistant. The investigator’s perspective, skill set and tenacity are important selling points.
You can make an impact if you take the opportunity to lead a seminar, or be a presenter at a Bar association meeting. You can always provide examples of successful investigations in your newsletter or on your blog.
Law firms need to know that there’s more to an investigation than their classic big three of LexisNexis, Facebook and Google—and that it is the professional investigation who find the important information.