Is your existing investigative services provider meeting your needs?
Finding alternatives beyond traditional private investigators and expensive investigative firms
With the demand of retaining existing clients, finding new business and participating in firm management, partners may resort to calling in mainstays for investigative services, but not all private investigators and companies are created equal. Evaluating the performance of existing investigative service providers ensures their practice and their clients are receiving the best insights possible to inform their legal strategy.
Private investigators often have investigation specialties. Since each investigation is unique, your current private investigator may not have a proven track record in the area you’re presenting to them, resulting in less than desirable findings to support your case. Depending on when you started contracting their services, additional client workload could be costing you longer turnaround times, which affect your time-sensitive requirements. Other factors to consider are their court experience. Someone who knows how to testify in court, preferably with a background in law enforcement or as a federal agent, will be the most beneficial to retain. There is also the possibility investigative work could be subcontracted to another investigator who may be less qualified than the person you agreed to work with.
Questions that need to be addressed
Some firms prefer the large investigative companies and accept the exorbitant price tag that comes along with them because the relationship was established long ago. They may also not be aware they can find the same quality and services in a timelier manner at lower cost elsewhere.
By answering the following questions, you can decide if it’s time to look for a new investigative service provider:
- How satisfied are you with the general investigative reports you’re receiving? Has the work been outstanding, or do you think it could be better?
- Are the services you currently receive time and cost-effective for your practice?
- Do you currently retain a private investigator who lacks in technological knowledge, or cannot always keep up with the workload?
- Are you using a large investigative service firm at an enormous expense because that’s how it’s always been done?
A Better Option
If you’re on the fence or have decided to consider alternatives to your current provider, we recommend considering a mid-size investigations firm like Prescient, as an option beyond less capable sole proprietors and large and excessively priced investigations firms.
Prescient is an investigations and due diligence firm providing nationwide service to attorneys, general counsel and law firms of all sizes. You can expect the expertise and services of larger investigations firms, delivered at a quicker pace with a lower cost involved.
Our team of analysts uses intelligence community-based best practices to search open web resources to compile actionable research to amplify our investigative services, fact-finding missions, and asset searches. Our analysts can far surpass a single private investigator’s capacity to identify and capture information from sources including forensic, social media and the dark web. Prescient offers a faster and more cost-effective way to conduct your investigative reports.
Intelligent Investigative Services
Our investigation experts have supported boutique practices and some of the world’s largest law firms in a variety of cases, including corporate espionage, internal fraud, and regulatory compliance. Whether your company is preparing for pending litigation, researching an insider threat, looking to vet witnesses and jury members, or conducting plaintiff social media investigations, our specialized investigations and litigation support expertise will equip your team with the high-impact knowledge to assist in your next case.
We Serve
- Multinational, full-service law firms
- Solo practitioners and boutique law firms
- White collar defense and internal investigations
- Employment law
- Criminal law
- Litigation, transactional
- General practice, legal aid, and advice centers
- Corporate general counsel and legal departments
- Corporate compliance departments
