For attorneys today, hiring a private investigator can be essential to gathering the evidence needed to build a successful case that represents clients well. Private investigators can play a pivotal role in collecting, organizing, and analyzing evidence, which can be beneficial to clients strategically. Plus, outsourcing parts of the discovery process is often more cost efficient than having attorneys do all the work themselves.
So, when should lawyers bring in private investigators to assist, and how can outsourcing investigative practices help expedite the legal process for faster, more informed case preparation and better outcomes for clients?
1. Surveillance
For many legal cases, surveillance is a critically important form of evidence, as judges, juries, and opposing counsel find photographic and videotaped evidence more compelling and convincing than any other type of evidence. Surveillance is also incredibly time-consuming to conduct as it requires a trained and licensed professional, equipped with advanced technologies, to track and record the whereabouts, activities, and behaviors of the subjects being investigated.
As a busy attorney, conducting surveillance is not likely your core competency – or a practice you have time to pursue. Bringing in a reputable, licensed private investigative firm can help you obtain the observations and documentation you need on individuals and activities pertinent to your case, so you can leverage this firsthand data as you move forward to synthesize and analyze all the relevant facts.
2. Gathering Open-Source Intelligence
The digital footprints individuals and businesses leave behind today are widespread, and information packed. To gather all relevant facts related to a lawsuit or legal due diligence process, lawyers must review an extensive amount of documentation that is accessible to the public, information that is known as Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT).
According to PInow.com, OSINT includes all “publicly available information appearing in print or electronic form,” from sources such as radio and television broadcasts, newspapers, journals, the Internet, commercial databases, videos, graphics, and drawings. The website adds that OSINT “is not limited to what you can find via popular search engines.” In fact, information found on the deep web is legal to obtain and reference in lawsuits as well.
While an abundance of information can be mined through OSINT, PInow.com emphasizes that most of it will turn out to be “useless data.” Accordingly, lawyers can benefit from outsourcing this process to an experienced private investigator who can remain dedicated to the task of sifting through volumes of data and distilling it into just the relevant facts.
3. Locating Assets
According to EI Investigator, locating assets is foundational to a variety of lawsuits, including when recovering a judgment. Asset investigations can be instrumental when a borrower has defaulted on a loan or anytime a judgement has been awarded.
Locating assets requires a depth of research, as often in legal disputes assets of a defendant are concealed – or not fully disclosed – to plaintiffs. While law firms can do the legwork themselves to conduct asset searches, it can be more effective and cost efficient to outsource this practice to an experienced private investigator who also has deep knowledge of the tactics and technologies involved and the laws governing asset protection and personal privacy.
4. Collecting Statements
Lawsuits can bring about the need to collect information from the witnesses and parties involved – some of whom can be elusive and uncooperative with the process. Sometimes they even pack up and leave altogether, making it difficult to locate them and gather their statements.
Accordingly, it can be extremely time consuming and logistically challenging to track down and question individuals who are involved in – or who witnessed – an alleged crime or incident. Consider also the pressing need to conduct these interviews in a timely manner, as memories can fade over time.
Outsourcing statement acquisition to a highly skilled investigator enables a law firm to make the best use of its own time and resources. Bringing in trained experts dedicated to this process allows lawyers to focus instead on other aspects of the case while confidently and expeditiously moving forward with pursuit of the facts.
Partnering with Subrosa Investigations
Subrosa Investigations is an established, experienced private investigative firm with a team of experts who specialize in analyzing your unique investigative needs – and putting in place the optimum plan of action.
At Subrosa, we work closely with your law firm to create a fully customized and comprehensive investigative plan that augments your law firm’s core services and provides the seamless support you and your clients need to discover valuable, actionable information and insights. While we offer a breadth of litigation services, including investigations of any classification, regardless of practice, what we pride ourselves on most is our integrity, discretion, and respect for all whose personal and professional lives we touch.
As our guiding mission, we strive to align the way we work with your own values and code of ethics, and we work diligently on your behalf to ensure that your clients get the answers they are seeking and the outcomes they deserve.
Let us help you give clients all the attention, information, and peace of mind they need. Contact us for a free consultation today.
