Tag Archive for: investigation

, , ,

Can ChatGPT Help in an Investigation?

ChatGPT now comes up in most of the extended conversations I have with lawyers about how things are going. Many rave about how easy it is to have this robot whip up a simple motion or even, in one example, “a short speech about NATO defense…
, , ,

FTX Warnings vs Madoff Warnings: What was the Difference?

Investors in Madoff Securities and FTX were both warned, but by different sets of people. If it turns out to be true that without customer knowledge FTX took billions of dollars of customer account money to invest in a risky company owned…
,

The Advantage of Small Talk in Big Cases

Listen to me explain why putting people at ease is the best way to elicit information from them. I don't have a badge or a subpoena, so the key is to be nice to them and be interested in what they do, think, and feel. Get the podcast chat on…
, ,

When Too Few Regulatory Problems Add to Risk

One indispensable part of due diligence is to check for regulatory sanctions. Was a company found by the SEC or FINRA to have misappropriated investor money? Put them in unsuitable investments? Lied on a filing to induce people to invest money…
, ,

Keith Hernandez on Hitting and Why Investigators Should Take Note

When not at work, I like to do many things, and one of my favorites is to watch New York Mets baseball. Since moving to New York I’ve grown to love the team and I make common cause with the many Mets fans I run into (even in my Bronx neighborhood…
,

Beware of Optical Illusions in an Investigation

Many of us love optical illusions. It’s a safe thrill to know we’re being tricked, and yet are still unable to tell our brains to “get real” and stop the illusion. When you’re doing an investigation, the same kind of thing can take…
,

Angel Investor Due Diligence: The Key Trait You Want

I’ve done a lot of interviews about people over the years, but you can always get better. A fascinating conversation last week with an angel investor about what he looks for in a candidate to run a new company gave me a question I will always…
, ,

The Federal Judge Scandal – a Glimpse of What AI Can Do

I was puzzled this week at the reaction to a bomb of a story by the Wall Street Journal. The paper’s rightfully cautious lawyers allowed it to go to press and declare that 131 federal judges had broken the law by hearing cases in which they…
, ,

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…
,

The Changing Face of Privacy for Investigations

We always like to say that when we find out about a person, we do so without invading their privacy. That can still mean we find out a lot of things about them that they would rather keep secret, but those facts are derived from what we can…