INVESTIGATOR PREP
Know what to ask. Know where to look.
Investigators are expensive, and the clock runs whether or not they know what to ask. I don't interview anyone. I read the record first and draw the map the investigator will need: the questions each witness still has to answer, the records referenced but not located in the production reviewed, the points where accounts diverge, and the facts that would settle them. It goes to you, and at your direction to your licensed investigator, with every item tied to the page it came from.
Open Questions by Witness
What each witness has said, where it conflicts with the record or another witness, and the questions that would resolve it, in the order the record raises them.
Leads and Records to Pursue
Items the record refers to that the production does not contain, who likely holds them, and what each one would prove or disprove.
Divergence Points
Where accounts, timelines and physical evidence disagree, laid side by side with the source for each version.
Hand-Off Ready
A clean, sourced package you can give the investigator as is, with your instructions on top. What comes back gets mapped into the case.
Why it matters
An investigator who walks in with the right questions comes back with answers. One who walks in with a file and a hunch comes back with hours billed. The map costs less than the second trip.
"I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew);
their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who."
Rudyard Kipling
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you interview witnesses?
No. I prepare the questions; the interviewing is done by your licensed investigator or by you. Witness interviews, surveillance, field work and background research on people are licensed investigator work in California, and they stay with the investigator.
What does the investigator actually receive?
A sourced package: open questions by witness, leads and records to pursue, divergence points with the source for each version, and a short cover note. It goes to you, and only to you. You decide what reaches the investigator, in what form, and when.
How does this fit with discovery review?
Discovery review builds the map of what the record says. Investigator Prep reads that map for what it leaves open. Both are parts of Case Cartography, and both go to you first. See What Is a Case Cartographer?
Can you work with an investigator I have already retained?
Yes. The package is written for whoever you choose, and I will match its format to what your investigator prefers. All communication runs through you unless you direct otherwise.
Investigator Prep is legal support work performed under attorney direction. I do not conduct interviews, surveillance or field investigation, and I do not serve as a witness in the case. All work is handled confidentially within the attorney-directed matter and prepared for counsel's use. It does not constitute legal advice.