Sorting Out the Evidence – From Pristine to Lousy
Investigators are in the business of gathering evidence. Beyond gathering, there is the equally important job of analyzing. Good fact gatherers need to report on evidence but also where it comes from and how reliable it may be.
Evidence was…
President’s Day Thoughts on Interviewing
In honor of President's Day (still officially known as Washington's Birthday) a few thoughts about interviewing.
There are so many more facts about ourselves that are in our heads (or the heads of people we know) than there are in databases…
When Databases Fail Us
There is a widespread belief among lawyers and other professionals that investigators, armed only with special proprietary databases, can solve all kinds of problems other professionals cannot.
While certain databases are a help, we often…
EB-5 Visa Due Diligence: How to Spot the Warning Signs of Fraud
Another EB-5 visa fraud, more burned investors. For people outside the United States trying to pick a reputable investment that will get them permanent residency in the U.S., sorting through hundreds of projects is often the hardest part of…
3 Ways to Improve Law Firm Innovation
Lawyers need to find witnesses. They look for assets to see if it’s worth suing or if they can collect after they win. They want to profile opponents for weaknesses based on past litigation or business dealings.
Every legal matter turns on…
A Manual for How to Blow Your Due Diligence
Step one: don’t have a manual. That’s the message in an information-packed new book about the inner workings of the SEC just after the Madoff and now largely forgotten (but just as egregious) Allen Stanford frauds.
In his memoir of five…
Due Diligence When Databases Fail
What to do when the databases you rely on start stripping out the very data you are paying for?
Word in today’s Wall Street Journal that the main credit reporting firms will be removing many civil judgments and tax liens from credit reports…
The Best Picture Mix-Up and Artificial Intelligence
What will it take for artificial intelligence to surpass us humans? After the Oscars fiasco last night, it doesn't look like much.
As a person who thinks a lot about the power of human thought versus that of machines, what is striking is…
The Fake News Problem in Corporate America
There is a huge branch of the “fake news” business that gets no attention at all: the fake news consumed each day by corporate America that has nothing to do with politics, but everything to do with business – the bulk of the $18 trillion…
FEAR OF FLYING, FEAR OF DUE DILIGENCE
A wonderful piece in the Wall Street Journal here called “The Logic of Our Fear of Flying” does a great job explaining our irrational fear of flying using concepts from math. We all know that our chances of dying in a plane crash are much…
