How Private Investigators Can Help Attorneys Win Cases

Far from what is depicted in gumshoe films, a Los Angeles Private Investigator (PI) or any other PIs for that matter mostly take less glamorous yet important assignments. These may include doing background checks, running license plates, collecting evidence for family court cases, researching ancestry, locating birth parents and doing surveillance for fraud and infidelity cases. The experience and skills of private investigators make them especially helpful for lawyers to win cases. What is even more important is that good PIs know what the law says they can and cannot do when they are on assignment. This means that their statements and the evidence that they collect will likely be acceptable in court. Here is a look at the ways can PIs help lawyers win cases.

Finding People

There are several reasons why lawyers may want to acquire the services of private investigators to locate people. Some lawyers may want to find out the whereabouts of possible witnesses in a case or to have the person served in a lawsuit. As mentioned earlier, the lawyers may also turn to PIs to look for a client’s birth parents or to track down a potential heir to a deceased client’s estate. These tasks may be too tedious for attorneys to have to do on their own. Hiring PIs to do the legwork in locating people allow lawyers to focus more on building and winning their cases.

Finding Assets

Assets are very important in civil cases as it can make or break the case for lawyers. Locating assets can be difficult, especially when legal action ensues, and the owner actively tries to hide them. An experienced PI will know where to look when searching for hidden assets such as unreported income, real estate properties, bank accounts, trust funds, vehicles and even boats.

Analyzing Digital Evidence

While not all PIs may have this skill, some may have gone the extra mile to understand and become adept at computer forensics and digital equipment analysis. This is due to the fact that digital devices, such as computers and smartphones, have become indispensable tools in our daily lives. Even if the owners of such devices delete sensitive data, it leaves behind digital footprints that skilled PIs can still recover. These data may be what lawyers need to win a case.

Evidence Gathering

Lawyers may hire private investigators to review the merits of their particular case or gather more evidence to help them win it. PIs can pore through a police report for a particular case and look for lapses and inconsistencies in the case. The private investigator can also examine the case file more closely to see any details that the police may have missed. A closer look at the police file is very important as it can turn up more evidence or new leads that might seal the victory for the lawyer.

Surveillance

Private investigators are skilled in shadowing people without being noticed. Such ability makes them ideal for investigating insurance fraud or marital infidelity. For these assignments, the lawyer may also ask the PI to gather video evidence of fraud or cheating.

Lawyers can also hire the services of a PI to have a more objective and impartial view of the case. Their lack of partiality and emotional involvement in the case almost ensures that the information and evidence that they provide the lawyers are balanced and unbiased. Lawyers may hire PIs for other tasks not mentioned here. Whatever tasks lawyers may ask their PIs to take on, information and evidence that will come out of such assignments will go a long way in helping them win cases.