Legal Services and Litigation

DMA provides the following services as part of litigation support:

• Fact-gathering data
• Identifying, locating, interviewing, proofing, and assessing credibility of witnesses
• Intelligence gathering and background analysis of adversaries, hostile fact, and expert witnesses
• Collaborating with forensic accountants to provide comprehensive analysis for asset assessments, damage calculations and valuations
• Expert testimony (such as handwriting, accident recreation, audio, security, etc.)
• Accident scene recreation and analysis
• Computer forensics
• Surveillance

Examples of our investigative work include:

• In an extremely contentious criminal offence case, through our instructing solicitor, we introduced the first virtual re-enactment video evidence within Australia which independently corroborated our client’s claims.  The matter proceeded to the High Court of Australia where our client was vindicated and the case dismissed.
• In a compensation case, we tracked a supposedly injured worker from Central Highlands to the Grampians, where we observed him performing physical activities such as fishing, and rock climbing; feats he claimed he was no longer able to perform.
• In a proposed company merger, we conducted comprehensive due diligence background checks on both our client’s and adversaries Board of Directors, providing for our client a clearer picture of the adversaries’ personalities, strategies, and motivations.

Solicitors will at one-time or another require and engage the services of a private investigator. Surveillance can assist Family solicitors in custody, employment, and income disputes. There is an increase in solicitors seeking help in cases of illegal monitoring and hacking of mobile phones, social media harassment, and tracking devices and bugging of premises involving former partners or spouses.

Private investigators can help Criminal solicitors who require location of witnesses, motor vehicle accident re-enactment, digital forensics evidence, document location or witness statements to assist in defence of their client.

A Commercial solicitor may consider the services of an investigator to conduct discreet enquiries about their client’s opposition during a merger or takeover consideration.  They may want enquiries made into a supplier, a client, a contractor, a director, or a shareholder. An experienced investigator can conduct surveillance and background checks that may help our client learn more about the retrospective and prospective behaviour of key personnel against whom litigation is conducted. Disputes or doubts arising from handwriting and signatures can also be forensically investigated to assist in resolving contractual business disputes. Handwriting analysis to resolve disputes surrounding testamentary documents of Wills can also be undertaken and may involve surveillance3 or background checks to resolve a family provision claim.  Dishonest acts such as a breach of confidentiality, breach of fiduciary duty or director’s duties, breach of data protections laws or Fraud maybe proven or disproven through the use of computer forensic examination.  Forensic accounting can also help clients identify wrongdoing and quantify damages.

Private investigators can assist either workplace solicitors whether they act for the employer or the employee. Solicitors acting for employers may require a circumstantial or surveillance investigation to be undertaken on a claimant employee.  This could involve interviews with witnesses to a workplace incident, computer forensic services to establish whether there has been a breach of confidential information, or handwriting analysis to determine whether anonymous notes can be attributed to a particular employee. Solicitors acting for employees may require interviews with others in the workplace or assistance in identifying inappropriate workplace behaviour such as bullying or harassment.

Intellectual property solicitors utilise the services of an investigator to establish whether a trademark has been or is being breached or whether a patent is being infringed. Both covert and overt surveillance can assist in determining the bona fide of this particular. Computer forensics may reveal whether there has been a breach involving the illegal copying of a client lists or trade secrets.