 Do you need to find a defendant, witness, or beneficiary?One of the ways I help lawyers advance their files is by finding missing people. Solving the “locate puzzle” is always rewarding and each request has its own unique set of challenges. Most can be solved reasonably quick; however, others can be extremely complicated by minimal or outdated information. The case of Rob from Saskatchewan was one. A prominent Ottawa law firm called me with an estate file that had been all but given up on. When I asked what they knew about the beneficiary, I was told, “His name is Rob and he lived in Saskatchewan with his mother about 20 years ago.” I asked, “Do you have anything else?” They replied, “A 20-year-old photo of his mother with her maiden name written on the back.” Well, I do like a challenge. After 3 months of research, enquiries, deduction and reasoning (and to make a long story short), there was no sign of Rob, but I found Mom. I dialed her number anticipating that I was mere steps away from Rob, when a woman answered. I asked for her by name (which I had figured out by now), but she told me that I had the wrong number and hung up. My investigator’s intuition was pinging, so I called back but there was no answer or voicemail. Being that she was 3500 km away, I couldn’t just drive over and knock on her door. I decided to write an email and sent it to her at the email address I had identified. Later that night, my phone rang with an out of province number on the display. It was Mom. I authenticated that I had the correct person, but she was not giving up Rob yet. Mom explained to me that she was concerned as Rob was serving time in an Alberta jail for stealing to support his addictions, and that his inheritance could take him to the brink. After a short while, she agreed to speak with Rob before telling me what jail he was in. Later that week I received a call from an Alberta correctional institution where an officer verified my identity and then after 3 months, Rob came on the line. He told me that he had hoped one day to meet his estranged father and he was saddened that was no longer possible. Rob had a quiet, polite manner and throughout our conversation I learned that he had sought refuge in his addictions which had eventually consumed him. Rob sounded truly humbled and in disbelief that a second chance had come his way while sitting idly in a jail cell. Contact me, I can help you move your file along to the next stage. Helping you make informed decisions.Surveillance provides objective point-in-time information about activities and behaviour. FAMILY LAW Child Custody Concerns:
INSURANCE DEFENCE Claimant Integrity Suspicions:
CORPORATE LAW Employee Activity Doubts:
Russell Crawford Private Investigations offers a personalized approach aimed at resolving your specific concerns while adhering to the highest ethical standards. Our deliverables include professional production of surveillance footage and detailed, objective reports used in legal proceedings. Contact me for your free confidential case consultation.
Helping clients make informed decisions. A prominent civil lawyer contacted me to locate her client’s former business partner for litigation and to help evaluate the likelihood of financial recovery. Her client had invested much of their retirement savings in a venture based almost solely on the business accolades their former partner had received. Within the early stages of investigation, I identified several red flags that should have halted the investment at its onset. Sadly, recovery was doubtful as her client’s fate was largely sealed with the discovery of several federal judgements against their former business partner. Another potential investor that contacted me to perform due diligence before investing was more fortunate. The environmental invention they were considering looked impressive with its high-quality presentation. Investigation determined that the prospective partner had a notable history of civil and criminal litigation and had been linked to organized crime. From what I could determine, the “invention” simply appeared to be an industrial wind turbine strung together with a generator giving the appearance of something unique. A leading businessperson had been given a corporate purchase offer they could not refuse. They decided to perform background investigations on the venture corporation and principal. I uncovered some past derogatory information; however, the main concerns were the lack of information found to support the positions the principal investor was making about the corporation and its investors. Official business registrations were not found and the advisory board appeared to be comprised mainly of esteemed business leaders that the principal investor admired. Failure to conduct investigative due diligence can have a lasting impact on any individual or organization. Every decision needs to be carefully examined in order to wisely mitigate risk. Proper vetting of a potential business partner is an essential step that must be taken to avoid loss of income and damage to a business’s reputation. Background and due diligence investigations are an invaluable tool to help clients make informed decisions. Contact me for your free confidential case consultation.
A picture is worth a thousand words.A thorough analysis of a slip and fall, motor vehicle accident or assault can lead to a better understanding of what happened and provides an opportunity to test the accuracy of witness accounts. Slip and fall personal injury files often develop over a period of time and require re-creating and/or understanding the conditions as they were at the time of the incident, including: • weather factors (for example, precipitation or freeze-thaw cycles) • lighting conditions • design standards • debris and damage • landscape Personal injury and criminal defence lawyers with clients involved in motor vehicle accidents often benefit from photos taken from the position of the drivers and witnesses to help illustrate what they could or could not see. Photos taken by the client usually do not show the scene clearly or provide the details necessary to assist the lawyers. For over 20 years, I have helped lawyers advance their files and achieve successful outcomes for their clients by creating a thorough permanent record of the incident scene using photographs, video, measurements, diagrams, and witness interviews. Contact me for your free confidential case consultation.
A thorough interview can make the difference. Investigative interviewing involves eliciting a detailed and accurate account of an event or situation from a person to assist in decision making. The method is ethical and research based, and aims at maximizing the likelihood of obtaining relevant information while minimizing the risks of contaminating evidence obtained in questioning. Interviewing witnesses for personal injury, regulatory, and criminal law matters is one of the many ways I can help lawyers build cases. First-Degree Murder A prominent criminal lawyer and I travelled to Western Canada to interview several witnesses that could potentially shed light on the background of his client’s marriage. His client and her husband had only been living in Ontario for a short time before she plunged a kitchen knife into him while he slept. He bled to death while en route to the hospital and she was charged with first-degree murder. I interviewed numerous witnesses who provided accounts of psychological, verbal, and chronic low-level physical violence, as well as other major elements of coercive control (such as isolation and humiliation) that left the wife in a constant state of fear for herself and her son. The skillful defence lawyer called six witnesses from Western Canada who provided evidence at trial, along with expert testimony on battered wife syndrome and coercive control, to fully develop the case for self-defence. As the trial judge disallowed the initial self-defence plea, the defence instead argued that she was guilty of manslaughter, but not first-degree murder. After a four-day deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty of first-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Her conviction and sentence were later appealed, and The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on conviction, but allowed the appeal on sentencing and reduced her sentence to time served. The Court of Appeal concluded that the trial judge erred in focusing on the degree of abuse she suffered, rather than on the impact this abuse had on her. Do you have witnesses to be interviewed? I've taken over 1000 witness statements, many of which have made the difference in the outcome of my client’s cases. Contact me to arrange your complimentary confidential case consultation.
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Blog AuthorRussell Crawford, a licensed private investigator for over 20 years, is regularly retained by many of Canada's highest profile law firms, insurers and corporations. 
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