5 Ways Your Law Office Can Use a Private Investigator

Attorneys often do not fully realize how useful an experienced private investigator can be until they use one. One client in particular recently told us that she had never used an investigator in the past, but after experiencing what we could delivery, now uses us for nearly every case.

While attorneys typically have many useful research techniques, consulting with an experienced investigator can almost always help them leverage their position.

Here are 5 ways an attorney can effectively use an experienced private investigator:

1. Locate People

Locating witnesses, potential at-fault parties, heirs, etc. is the hallmark of any good investigator. Remember, a tenacious investigator is willing to go beyond a database search by scouting an area and speaking to people face-to-face if needed, depending on the desired outcome.

2. Leverage for Negotiations

An investigator can pull intelligence from numerous sources, and inform you of any potentially pertinent information. For instance, an experienced investigator can sometimes pull a vehicle’s location history from nothing more than a license plate, providing you with a date/time stamped picture of the vehicle, without ever have done any actual surveillance. While the investigator can usually obtain this information in a matter of seconds, the surveilled party is often left wondering how long they have been under surveillance, and how much you know about their potentially unscrupulous habits.

3. Discovery Analysis

The tactic of inundating opposing counsel with voluminous documents is nothing new, and is still used today. If you don’t have the time or desire to pour over discovery, you may be better off passing it over to an experienced investigator. Investigators view things through a different lens, and are adept at discovering seemingly innocuous discrepancies in the case files you’ve been provided. A good investigator will look beyond the one case you are handling for a particular client, by searching for incongruities possibly available through other avenues.

4. Preparation for Depositions

Depending on your case, an investigator should be used to vet the opposing side (and sometimes your own client). An investigator can research and analyze a person’s background, behavioral tendencies, and potential weaknesses, all of which can be valuable tools during a deposition or cross-examination.

5. Dissecting Police Reports and Notes

While not all private investigators have law-enforcement experience, this type of background can be useful. Investigations Plus, Inc. can review and analyze police reports, and can spot any potential shortsightedness. We can also obtain key law-enforcement intel, even when a police report was never written. Knowing police codes and jargon can prove quite useful in these situations.