Investigations for lawyers and law firms
A case rarely fails on the law. It fails because the party bearing the burden of proof cannot discharge it. We work where the file ends: on the facts that are still missing.
What firms instruct us to do
- Family law: establishing a cohabiting relationship in maintenance disputes, determining actual living and care arrangements
- Employment law: documenting feigned incapacity for work, breaches of non-compete obligations
- Insurance law: investigating suspected inflated or staged claims
- Succession and corporate law: asset tracing within lawful limits
- Civil litigation generally: witness tracing, address enquiries for service of process
Why form decides the outcome
An investigative finding is only useful if it can be introduced into proceedings. Our documentation is therefore built to procedural requirements: chronological, stating place, time and observer, with photographic material and metadata, and with a clean separation between observation and inference. Our investigators are available to give evidence.
Lawfulness as a precondition, not an extra
Before every deployment we assess proportionality and record the legitimate interest. The reason is practical: unlawfully obtained evidence is as a rule excluded in German civil proceedings — and creates additional exposure for both client and firm. A finding that collapses at the hearing is worse than no finding.
Working together
A single point of contact, reports in the format you prefer, availability outside office hours where the hearing date demands it. On an ongoing retainer we work on call.
Additionally: the polygraph
In one-word-against-another cases, clients sometimes ask for a polygraph examination themselves, to support their credibility. Admissibility in German criminal proceedings is limited; outside court — in settlement negotiations or within a family — the report nonetheless carries weight. We set that out realistically in advance.
What law firms instruct us to do
Three things most often. First, tracing addresses and whereabouts where service fails or a judgment is to be enforced. Second, tracing witnesses: people who appear in the facts but are not reachable for the proceedings. Third, obtaining evidence in civil, family and employment matters — findings the party cannot document in a legally reliable way on their own.
Added to that is clarifying the facts before filing: testing whether the other side’s assertion holds at all before a case is built on it.
How we work with counsel
We work on individual instructions and on a retained basis. On request, all communication runs through the firm rather than the client. Reports are delivered in a form you can attach directly: numbered findings, date and time, reference to supporting material, a clear separation between observation and assessment.
We understand the requirement behind that: what is not documented did not happen as far as a court is concerned. And what was obtained unlawfully may fall under an exclusion of evidence — at which point it harms the case more than it helps. So we examine admissibility before deployment, not after.
Timeframes and limits
Address tracing is often completed within days. Surveillance follows the subject’s daily routine and usually takes two to four days in the field. For urgent matters with a procedural deadline we tell you in advance, honestly, whether the timeframe is realistic.
Where the facts cannot be observed but only inferred from sources, the route runs through OSINT research. Where your client wishes to rebut an allegation, a voluntary polygraph examination can carry weight as a private expert opinion in settlement negotiations.
What usually brings firms to us
Most often problems with service: the defendant has moved without notice, the summons comes back, the case stalls. Second, enforcement, where a judgment exists but neither address nor assets are known. Third, maintenance and custody proceedings in which statements about the other party’s circumstances must be substantiated.
In employment matters we are instructed both by employers who must support a dismissal and by employees who want to rebut an allegation. Both need the same thing: a finding that holds up in court.
What determines the scope
For address tracing the scope is small and easy to quote. For surveillance it follows the number of days in the field, the location, and whether several investigators are required. For clarifying facts it depends on how many sources must be worked through.
For law firms we work on a per-matter estimate on request, so that you remain predictable towards your client.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work at short notice?
Yes. Where a hearing is imminent we can usually deploy within a few days.
Is a polygraph admissible in court?
In German criminal proceedings admissibility is severely restricted. Out of court, the report is regularly taken into account.
How do you bill?
By time expended, within a framework agreed in advance. Price on request.