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Legal and Ethical Issues of Using Private Investigators - Webinar (Recorded)

  • Webinar

  • 90 Minutes
  • August 2023
  • Lorman Business Center, Inc.
  • ID: 5834025

Learn how to get the most out of using a private investigator and avoid pitfalls an investigator can cause.

There are many private investigators available, but which ones put legal and ethical standards above others? Which investigators are going to conduct investigations without cutting corners or doing anything illegal that would harm your bar card, your case, or your client? What training or experience does the investigator you want to hire have? These are all questions you should have answers to before you and your client decide to bring a private investigator on to help with your case. You will also learn effective strategies to negotiate competing results between what your client wants and what will help their case. This presentation is critical in understanding how to get the most out of using a private investigator and avoiding pitfalls an investigator can cause.

Agenda

Who’s in Charge Here?

  • Set Parameters Between Your Client and Your Investigator
  • Make Sure That Everyone Is on the Same Page Before Any Investigation Is Started
  • What Happens If Your Client Goes Behind Your Back?
  • What If the Client Brings in Their Investigator

Ethical Expectations

  • Investigators Are Not Attorneys; We Learn Through Experience
    • What Type of Training Do Investigators Receive?
  • When Speaking With a New Investigator, Evaluate the Following
    • Honesty, Truthfulness, and Maybe Integrity
    • Ask Other Attorneys for Referrals and References
    • Listen to What the Investigator Has to Say About Other Cases They Worked
  • Should Investigators Follow What Is Ethical/Moral or What Is Legal?
  • Don’t Put Your Investigator in a Place Where They Must Make a Call on Whether Something Is Legal or Not

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

  • Make Sure Your Investigator Understands What This Is
  • If Something Sounds Too Good to Be True, Then It Usually Is
  • Feel Free to Ask Your Investigator to Outline How They Are Going to Conduct an Investigation
  • When Your Client Offers Your Investigator a Bunch of Cash to Do Something Illegal
  • Usually Not Our First Rodeo, an Experienced Investigator May Have an Answer on How to Obtain Information in a Legal Way

State Licensing - What Does It Cover?

  • The Application Varies From State to State
  • Some States Don’t Require Licensing at All
  • Many States Don’t Require Continuing Education
  • Do We Have to Be Insured?
  • Private Investigators Don’t Need Any Type of Degree to Receive a License in Any State

Speakers

  • Patrick McPherson
  • Mr Patrick McPherson,
    Metro Legal Services


    • Worked with local police agencies, F.B.I. and D.E.A. on criminal cases resulting in prosecution
    • Obtained a private investigator licenses in both Minnesota and Wisconsin
    • Located over 3,500 debtors/witnesses for service of process
    • Conducted over 2,500 pre and post judgment asset searches ranging from judgments of $1,500.00 to $23 million dollars
    • Has over 30,000 hours of private investigation experience
    • Has been cited as an expert witness in mortgage fraud cases
    • Received the 2012 Every Day Hero award from Thomsen Reuters for outstanding work conducting asset searches
    • Can be contacted at 612-349-9532 or pmcpherson@metrolegal.com

Who Should Attend

This live webinar is designed for attorneys. Other legal professionals may also benefit from attending.