Information as the Great Equalizer

Today I will be a guest instructor on the topic of fact investigation at the law school clinical program. I have been doing this three times a year since 2003. Which got me thinking about one of life's great truths that I've learned as an investigator:

Information is the great equalizer. This applies not just to those in the legal profession, but to everyday regular folks too.
No this is not about idealism. Twenty-two years in the field doesn't leave much room for that.

For information to be effective, it has to be targeted both in how you search for it and in how you use it. Fishing expeditions don't work very well. Asking the boat that returns with a boatload of fish where they fished (interview) is much more efficient than just going someplace and tossing out your line (hoping and praying).

Investigation is not rocket science. I actually take martial arts with a couple of folks, whose work is pretty close to rocket science and there is most definitely a difference between what they do and what I do for a living.

The first part of the investigation process (developing and using information) is knowing what tools you have to use to accomplish your tasks. There are really only a few tools needed for investigation 1) Knowing how to locate and review public records and other documents 2) Conducting effective interviews 3) Creating visual documentation--diagrams, photos and videos and 4) Computer research which is really just a one stop shopping location for the first three tools.

The second part of the process is to focus your searches on the areas most likely to be productive. That comes with experience and the fact that there is often a tight budget to work from (investigation plan). I prefer to start when possible with the documents and then use those to identify the people to talk to.

The third part is the collection process. Get those docs, talk to the people, take those pictures and run those searches.

The fourth part of the process is analyzing the info to determine how best to use it. This is the stage where it all comes together. Without it, the first three stages of the process are meaningless. The beauty of this final stage is that good information shows you the path forward. It makes the decisions for you. Now, go get 'em.

To learn more about the investigation process be sure to visit http://www.everydaydetective.com.