Criminal Defense Investigation
Independent investigation of the case against your client. The state’s file is a starting point, not a record of what happened — the work is establishing what the reports left out, what the interviews didn’t ask, and what the physical evidence does and does not support.
- Independent defense investigation & case review — discovery review, timeline reconstruction, and identification of the issues worth litigating.
- Witness location, interviews & recorded statements — including reluctant, relocated, and previously uninterviewed witnesses.
- Scene examination & physical-evidence analysis — photographs, measurements, lighting and sightline documentation, and diagramming.
- Law-enforcement procedure & use-of-force review — policy compliance, report accuracy, body-worn camera and dispatch audio review.
- Background & criminal-history investigation — prosecution witnesses, complaining witnesses, and impeachment research.
- Declarations & motion support — investigative declarations prepared for filing.
Civil Litigation Support
Fact development and verification for plaintiff and defense matters — personal injury, employment, business disputes, family law, and insurance claims — documented so it can go into a declaration or an exhibit without rework.
- Fact investigation & witness development — locating and interviewing witnesses, obtaining signed statements.
- Background, asset & due-diligence research — through licensed, restricted-access databases not available to the public.
- Skip tracing & subject location — for service of process, judgment enforcement, and witness recovery.
- Surveillance & activity verification — documented with photo and video, logged to an authenticable standard.
- Records retrieval & documentation — court files, agency records, and public filings, with a written record of what was requested and received.
Support & Consulting
Investigative and analytical work for counsel who need capacity rather than field work — particularly on document-heavy files.
- Case analysis & investigative strategy — assessment of the existing file and what investigation would actually move it.
- Evidence organization & exhibit support — indexing, chronologies, and trial exhibit preparation.
- Report writing & declaration preparation — investigative reports in a format built for discovery and filing.
- Expert identification & coordination — locating, vetting, and coordinating with retained experts.
- AI-assisted document review & analysis — large discovery productions processed for timelines, inconsistencies, and issue spotting, with attorney review of every output.
Coverage
Field investigation across Merced, Mariposa, Madera, Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Fresno counties and the greater Central Valley, including the foothill communities. Remote litigation support, records work, and case analysis available statewide.
Common questions
- How do you bill?
- Hourly against a written scope, with mileage and costs itemized. Rates and any retainer are set out in the engagement letter before work begins.
- Who retains the firm — counsel or the client?
- Either. Most engagements are through counsel, which keeps the work within the attorney’s direction. Where a client pays directly, a third-party payor acknowledgment documents that the work remains at counsel’s direction.
- Will you testify?
- By default the firm is engaged as an investigator and percipient witness, available to authenticate the investigation and lay foundation. Consulting-expert or testifying-expert roles are available by written designation.
- How fast can you get on a file?
- Depends on the current caseload and the conflict check. Call with the jurisdiction and the deadline you’re working against and you’ll get a straight answer on availability.
- Do you take work outside the Central Valley?
- Remote litigation support and analysis, yes, statewide. Field work outside the listed counties is considered case by case.
Not sure what the file needs?
That conversation is free. Call with the posture of the case and you’ll get an honest read on whether investigation helps.