Just “a little off” Can Mean Fraud
Lots of the work in divorce asset detection involves looking at the names of companies a subject has, and then trying to figure out the names of new companies concealed from our client (the spouse).
Sometimes, a tiny change is all it takes…
Social Media and Conventional Media: Sometimes There’s No Difference
I always like to ask professionals, no matter their industry: “What’s a good screening question to see whether someone in your profession may be competent?”
In the case of someone who does investigations, I regularly advise that if…
The One Thing You Wish Your Clients Had Already Done
A favorite question of mine when I talk to other professionals is: “You’ve been doing this a long time, you see patterns. What do you most often say to your clients (or wish you could say) about how they could have helped themselves before…
How an Artificial Intelligence Asset Search Would Start (and Stall)
AI will tell you a lot, but if you ask it to unblock a drain or patch your roof you will be disappointed. All the how-to’s in the world won’t get the job done for you.
I tried doing an asset search from the very beginning on Perplexity,…
The Courage to Investigate and Leave AI Behind
There was a letter awhile back in Barron’s that said, “Lawyers look backward to precedent. Innovators assiduously look forward and avoid precedent. The two mindsets are antithetical.”
The letter was about why lawyers at the SEC can’t…
How Imaginative is Your Investigator?
If investigation simply meant following people around or pulling information off easy-to-use databases, an investigator would not need a ton of imagination.
But tough cases can turn on an investigator thinking, “I should be seeing X…
Why I Love Working with Divorce Financial Analysts
I do some of my most satisfying work in the area of divorce. People (usually women) are often afraid as they navigate what for many of them is the worst thing that’s ever happened to them.
In a contested divorce, not only are they battling…
How Soon Should You Start a Divorce Asset Search?
If you’re thinking that you may be divorced in the near or medium term, the answer isn’t necessarily “start now,” but it’s not too early to start organizing your information.
Step 1: What Do I Know, and What is Missing?
It’s never…
AI and Google: Not so Different from an Investigative Perspective
Two of the best ways of explaining why a Google search is never enough in an investigation is to remind people that Google is not a neutral distributor of facts, and that it is a tool for thinkers, not a substitute for thinking. I’ve been…
Foreign Investors in the U.S.: If You Don’t Grasp Federalism, You Will Miss a Lot
People from outside the United States sometimes think they understand the country better than they do. That’s natural, because America’s entertainment industry blasts depictions of U.S. life out to just about every other country’s television,…
