One of the most common assignments we receive is for a subject locate. Usually generated from attorneys, insurance companies, financial institutions (as, as you know, we do not work for individuals), BNI is often asked to locate:
- Adverse Witnesses
- Cooperative Witnesses
- Debtors
- Clients
- Heirs
The difference between a successful locate and an expensive failure is how much attention and care is given to a case. Obvious, right? But it has to be the right attention, which is a tight focus, and the proper care; to detail.
The starting point in a successful locate is to gather as much information from the originating requestor as possible:
Name: AKAs, Extensions (Jr., III, MD, Esq…), Maiden form, prior marriage form
Address: Last known contact date at this address, form of contact, (e.g. mail, phone… ), contact outcome, ( i.e. returned mail, no response, etc.).
Phone Number: Last known phone number, cell, landline, Skype, other internet phone.
Personal identifiers: DOB, SSN, TIN, DL#, Medicare/caid recipient? School i.d.?
Contacts: Family, friends, employers, coworkers
Prior lawsuits: If known, to include form of involvement.
Civil records: Is/was the subject married, divorced? Has s/he declared bankruptcy or have judgments, liens… against him/her?
Criminal records: Almost every state now allows for an inmate lookup. (If a person is missing for a considerable period of time, there are only so many scenarios, short of a bizarre abduction, to account for this disappearance: a move, death or incarceration.)
A good investigator will then form a profile of the missing subject and conduct an address history search which will generally yield a pattern. (We’ll get to that in the next para.) The address history may not contain the subject’s current address. (All databases, from DMVs to privately held, fee-based information companies operate within the limitations of data input regularity. The subject may not release his/her most current address to an agency. P.O. box registration is no assurance of a current address either. If it is a planned moved, one simply has to apply and receive the P.O. box prior to moving and generate forwarding from the old address.)
Having created the profile, the investigator now looks for the pattern. Is the subject constantly relocating? Staying within a certain geographical area? Is s/he beholden to a mortgage? Has s/he foreclosed? An address history search will also almost always reveal family member information.
Once the profile and pattern have been formed and detected, the investigator must decide on a course of action. The approach will determine if the locate will be successful. Each investigator has his/her own technique but there is a different methodology applied between “friendly” locates and those involving people who’ve intentionally chosen to stay or go off the grid. A sharp investigator will know how to entice a friendly subject and not tip off an adverse one. That knowledge comes with experience and skill and a great deal of curiosity.
As a final step, an investigator may have to physically check an address to verify the subject’s address. By arriving to this point, all other methods of locating have been exhausted but valuable knowledge on the subject gained. (The location should be thoroughly researched before heading out to the field. Showing up on a private road on 2 acres of land in the middle of nowhere is usually not going to result in a productive session. Suggestion: Google Earth. There should also be an established strategy to observe the location, discreetly, within a restricted time span of when the subject’s presence is most anticipated. If covert observation is not possible, the game plan must be thought out prior to, and include at least Plans A, B and C. ) Below; lack of a plan:
Finally, if your investigator returns with an address, ask that it be “verified”. If there is no confirmation that the subject is at the reported location, and the requestor is not made aware of the nonverification, a costly situation for the requestor may result, financially and with regard to negotiation stance. If the locate results are not verifiable, (and that occurs, although that number should be in the single digits, percentage-wise, in a competent investigator’s record), the requester will at least have that knowledge with which to make decisions.
BNI Operatives: Street smart: Net savvy.
Every attorney has his/her own intake survey (generally varying by incident type) and method of working a case. Below are several situations that our (BNI Investigations) investigators have experienced in the field, and recommendations based on these incidents. We hope these observations serve a proactive purpose in keeping a case in check.
1. Your client’s emergency contacts.
Situation: On numerous occasions we’ve had to locate a client that has moved without notifying his/her attorney.
Recommendation: Obtain the complete contact information of at least 2 relatives and 2 friends NOT living with the client. (Drilling deeper, obtain the DOBs of the emergency contacts. This may appear to be a rather aggressive suggestion but, at least 2 of these 4 contacts should be within the 25 - 65 years old range. Obtain an email address! They’re are usually traceable. )
2. The witnesses.
Situation: I’m sure you’ve all seen a PAR w/a witness listed as “Johnny, 917-555-1234″. (or same, similarly incomplete police report). No address, no surname and a cell phone that may or may not be active in 2 weeks, let alone 2 years.
Recommendation(s): Call “Johnny” immediately. Obviously the first objective is to determine his knowledge of events regarding your client’s matter. 1. Obtain his contact information and an identifier. (Again we suggest DOB. Many people are reluctant to release their SSN.) 2. Obtain an emergency contact for him. 3. Check the contact info every 6 months until the case is resolved.
3. Professional photographs of the accident scene, especially if citing defect or disrepair.
Situation: Several years ago, we had an exterior premises trip and fall situation wherein we were called to investigate the scene approximately 4 months post-incident. The injured person made several natural and unintentional mistakes: 1. Not realizing the extent of his injuries, he did not call 911. There were no on-site witnesses and no responder witnesses, and 2. When he returned a week or so later, after receiving medical attention, he’d taken photos of the accident scene but the shots contained shadows running across the defect rendering it difficult to determine the exact nature and severity of the defect. He was to go back and re-shoot the scene but did not. 4 months later, no defect, no repair record. The homeowner, of course, knew nothing. Good luck with an area canvass among neighbors.
Recommendation: Send out a professional to photograph the accident scene ASAP. The defect may “disappear” and there may not always be a repair record.
From our good friend, http://www.stus.com:
4. If it seems weird; it probably is. Check all possible contributory factors.
Situation: Claimant fell UP the stairs. She wasn’t carrying bags, wore flat shoes; no drugs or alcohol were involved. No defects, liquids or debris on the ground.
Recommendation: Measure everything. After taking detailed step and rail measurements, we realized that a) the steps were unequally sized – from the height between them to the protruding lip of each step (which was excessive at the point where she was caused to trip and b) the rail would have been out of reach from her position regardless, with no secondary, wall rail in place. Rarely do people slip, trip or fall for no reason (unless there is an underlying medical condition.)
5. Always check to see if drugs and alcohol were involved. (Defense)
Situation: Building maintenance crew member claims to have fallen off of a defective ladder. The ACR showed extremely high bp readings; 3 taken at 15 minute intervals by responding EMS. Beyond what would be expected even in a stressful situation.
Recommendation: Check the medical history. The individual was on Lipitor and had not taken his medication as prescribed for several days preceding his fall. (He’d also commented to several co-workers earlier on the day of incident that he was feeling “dizzy”.) There was absolutely nothing wrong with the ladder, the area surrounding it, nor was he working at a height requiring specialized safety equipment.
BNI Operatives: Street smart: Net savvy.
As always, stay safe.
We welcome our newest partner, retired NYPD detective, John Brown, to the BNI team. After 23 years on the job, John decided to exercise his retirement option and shift to the civilian equivalent of his police force investigative position. We have been anticipating John’s arrival for several years, and in doing so, he has become very familiar with our SOPs. Once again, welcome aboard, John!
On to this week’s Bulletin.
It’s time to ”winterize” our firms/companies. Slip/Trip and falls occur year-round, but snow and ice conditions up the number of these case types. We review our intake surveys in the fall and mid-winter (as a reminder) and ensure that they’ve been updated.
(Obviously, when we receive this type of assignment, we are provided the client’s name, the date, time and location of accident. We then go on to a more formal intake survey. Below is primary information required in a slip/trip and fall event.)
1. CLIENT PEDIGREE (to include name, address, phone #, DOB, SSN,employment/scholastic and licensed driver info and emergency contacts)
2. WEATHER CONDITIONS
3. LIGHTING CONDITIONS
4. SURFACE DESCRIPTION (sidewalk, hallway, stairs…)
5. DEBRIS/DISREPAIR/CONSTRUCTION PRESENT
6. DESCRIPTION OF SURFACE (concrete, torn matting, tile…)
7. PRESENCE OF ANY WARNING SIGNS (e.g. wet floor cones, signs…)
8. DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF PARTICIPANTS (northbound, descending steps…)
9. DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT (detailed, including, for exterior falls in snow and ice, how long the condition had existed)
10. ALCOHOL/DRUG INVOLVEMENT
11. WHERE WAS THE CLIENT GOING?
12. RATE OF WALK (normal gait, walking briskly… )
13. TYPE OF SHOES WORN
14. CONDITION OF SHOES (new, good, worn.. )
15. DOES THE CLIENT STILL HAVE THE SHOES?
16. OBSERVABLE INJURIES SUSTAINED (detailed)
17. MEDICAL ATTENTION RECEIVED AT SCENE
18. EMERGENCY/OFFICIAL VEHICLE AND PERSONNEL RESPONSE
19. STATEMENT(S) MADE AT SCENE
20. ADDITIONAL WITNESSES
21. DOES THE CLIENT KNOW OF ANY OTHER SIMILAR PRIOR INCIDENTS AT SAID LOCATION?
22. HAD THE CLIENT COMPLAINED TO MANAGEMENT OF EXISTING RELATED CONDITIONS?
23. DOES THE CLIENT KNOW OF ANYONE ELSE WHO MAY HAVE MADE SIMILAR PRIOR COMPLAINTS TO MANAGEMENT?
24. COPY OF CLIENT’S LEASE.
25. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION, IF KNOWN.
26. MUNICIPALITY INVOLVED?
Additional related searches you may opt to have your investigator conduct: real property search, weather check and prior incidents (lawsuits filed for similar situation v. the same property owner. Rarely, in these cases, do our clients ask us to conduct a financial background check on their clients (to determine if there are active liens, judgments, bankruptcies.. .), preferring to question their own clients on this matter. We do however have that capability and generally, that type of search, pending the case level, should include joint (spouse) information.
BNI Operatives: : Street smart; web savvy.
“Google it” doesn’t mean exclusively search on Google.com these days. As search engines and information portals evolve and continue to improve our ability to drill down results within tighter parameters, many effective ”first step” sites have been developed that deliver specific information. We’ve put together the below list on how to find topics and then more specifically, by discipline, search engines and sites:
I NEED TO FIND:
| TOPICS: | ||
| Bing | Cool visuals; strong results. | |
| Clusty | Old fashioned layout but great result clusters. | |
| Social Issues | The latest hot topics and pro/con arguments. | |
| Technorati | Search for topic suggestions via “tags” resulting in related blogs. | |
|
TOPICS W/ANNOTATIONS: |
||
| InfoMine | Researched critical comments and notes. | |
| Intute | Out of the U.K. but w/worldwide results. | |
|
RELATED TOPICS: |
||
| Grokker | As stated, related topics (Yahoo based). | |
| Ask.com | Click “Expand Your Search” | |
|
REFINED TOPIC SEARCHES: |
||
| Ask.com | Click “Narrow Your Search”. | |
| Surfwax | Click “Focus” to broaden or narrow your search results. | |
|
QUALITY SEARCHES: |
||
| Librarians’ Internet Index | Extremely well defined search trees with authoritative sites chosen by topic experts. | |
| Virtual LRC | Scholarly search results based on a word or a phrase. | |
|
ADVICE FROM EXPERTS: |
||
| Sources and Experts | A comprehensive listing of sources, compiled by a journalist. | |
| Ask A Librarian | The site of last-resort (but not for last minute homework help!) Library of Congress | |
NOW I NEED TO FIND:
| TOPICS WITHIN SPECIFIC DISCIPLINES:
GOVERNMENT: |
|
| USA.gov | Browse official U.S. information and services sites. |
| Foreign governments | Search worldwide government sites. |
|
LAW: |
|
| Law.com | Legal stories, technology, firm identification and jobs in the field. |
| Findlaw.com | Search U.S. cases, codes, news and commentary |
| LOUIS | Amazing site, named for famed jurist Louis Brandeis, Search Congressional documents, Federal Register, GAO reports, bills and resolutions |
|
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: |
|
| SCIRUS | Science-specific portals. |
| Nat’l Science Digital Lab | Science, technology, math and engineering. |
|
ARTS & HUMANITY: |
|
| Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy | Browse peer-reviewed, continually-updated entries on contemporary philosophy. |
|
HEALTH & MEDICINE: |
|
| Health & Medical Sleuth | Find health information faster by searching multiple health search engines from one place. |
| Medical Search | “Fast and productive medical searches” – The Washington Post. |
|
NEWS & INFORMATION: |
|
| BBC | Incredible source for searching worldwide issues, especially war coverage, |
| eHow | Search and ye shall find; how to do just about anything. |
| FactCheck.org | From the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, research political speeches, press releases, TV ads, public statements… |
| FedStats.gov | Useful compilation of stats and reports from 100+ official US agencies. |
BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy.
As always, be safe.
For those you fortunate enough to have the day off, relax and play our game. Based on the above landing of Columbus depiction: please identify:
1. the judge
2. the defense attorney
3. the prosecutor
4. the defendant(s)
5. the case.
Most original wins. We’ll have our response in tomorrow’s edition of our regular Beacon Bulletin, pushed back one day for holiday observance. (We’ll also be announcing our new online order form capability and toll free numbers.)
Safe and healthy all,
The BNI Crew
Given the amount of research BNI conducts, we thought we’d share one of our favorite listings:
The Top 25 Most Useful Sites:
| 1 | American Factfinder Your primary source for population, housing, economic and geographic data, from the U.S. Census Bureau. |
| 2 | One Look Online Dictionary This site consolidates all the online dictionaries, including over 4.2 MILLION words! Even links to dictionaries with internet and computer terms (e.g.-enter YAHOO). This site also has a wildcard spellcheck that will find words beginning with, ending with, or containing, a string of characters. |
| 3 | MapQuest Enter an address and get an instant map (street, aerial and rotational views available). |
| 4 | Download.com Most massive accumulation of the most used and current software – and here’s the big bennie – no registration required, ever.
|
| 5 | Bored.com If you’re BORED, go here. It will keep you entertained for HOURS. Actually an extensive list of interesting, unique and off-beat sites on the internet. |
| 6 | Purportal.com – Filtering out the hoaxes! Few things bog down the internet as much as emails urging you to “Forward this to everyone you know.” It might involve a missing child or a supposed new virus going around or a chance to make money because the number of emails you send are being “tracked.” To find out if it’s legit, go to this site first and check it out. They have five searches to real info on just about every rumor, hoax or urban legend on the `Net. Enter a few keywords from the email in question into their search, and get the truth! |
| 7 | The Secret Guide to Computers The online version of the book makes this one of the better places on the web to get all your answers to your computer questions. recommended by PC Magazine. |
| 8 | USPS Zipcode+4 Lookup Quickly find the 9-digit zipcode for any delivery address in the U.S. The 5 +4 zip addressing really does speed up the delivery. |
| 9 | FirstGov “Your First Click to the U.S. Government” No matter what you’re looking for within the U.S. Government, this is the place to start. Everything from applying for student loans to tax information can be found here! |
| 10 | Mail 2 Web Ever been at the AIA convention and seen a bank of free computers on the convention floor, and wished there was some way to check your email? Or been visiting a friend in another city who has a computer, and wished you could check your email from his computer? Well, now you CAN! Go to this site, enter your complete email address and email password for any POP email account, and check your email from any computer with a browser. You can also selectively delete junk mail, reply, and forward. |
| 11 | My Yahoo There are lots of Portals available on the Web, but My Yahoo still tops the list. You can modify the portal to meet your needs: local weather, sports and news, what’s showing at local theatres and local TV, track your stock portfolio, and TONS more to give you just what you want at the click of a button. |
| 12 | Information Please Online Almanac with loads of information on just about any topic. Also check out their Fact Monster. |
| 13 | Google There is an estimated 1,500 search engines on the web, but this one is the one we use, because it never fails to find our targets. Withteh additional of Bing, the research focus is now even tighter and delivers more relevant results. |
| 14 | About Quotations: All-in-one Quotations Search Looking for a quotation? There are several sources to search for a quotation on the web, but this one searches all the major quotation databases for your quote! |
| 15 | The Internet Movie Database What’s coming out at the theatre soon, or on TV or DVD or Video? And is it worth seeing? You can find out on this site, the most complete database on the topic of movies anywhere. Characters, plots, star biographies, quotes and ratings on every movie ever made! |
| 16 | The Internet Public Library By the University of Michigan School of Information. Special areas for Teens and Youth, too. |
| 17 | Price Watch Helps you locate the best street price for just about anything electronic. Amazingly, but not confusingly, detailed. |
| 18 | How Things Work Sponsored by the University of Virginia, the people who run this site will try to answer any question you may have about how things work, from how a paper towel absorbs water to how the universe is expanding, and everything in between. |
| 19 | HyperHistory If you’re into World History, you should really get into this site. 2,000 files covering 3,000 years of world history. |
| 20 | WOOT.com One day: one incredible deal. No rainchecks. When they run out of stock on these hard to beat price-wise items, the deal of the day is done. Check it early each day. |
| 21 | iTools The consumate Virtual Reference Desk! A virtual compendium of search tools for everything you’re looking for! |
| 22 | The Why Files The science behind the news. You can literally spend HOURS on this site. Be sure to visit their archives, and I guarantee you’ll learn something you didn’t know! |
| 23 | Cindi’s List of Geneology Sites If you plan to do genealogical research on your family, this is the place to start, with over 126,600 links in 150 categories to geneology resources! |
| 24 | GolfCourse.com They have info on over 20,000 courses worldwide. A joint venture of Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine. Complete course information, directions, facilities, user ratings and even a scorecard for most courses. We threw this one in because, well, it can’t be all work. |
| 25 | So You Wanna Teaches you how to do all the things nobody taught you in school: how to avoid getting a traffic ticket, how to fake being a wine expert, how to talk with the dead, how to lose weight, how to be a movie extra, and much more. (I don’t think we are allowed to tell you more.) |
BNI Operatives: Street smart: web savvy.
As always, be safe.
Several years ago, we brought your attention to a start up New Mexico company, Tru Touch Technologies, busily developng a non invasive blood alcohol testing machine for use in the public (police) and private (airlines, drug testing centers… ) sectors. Tru Touch sensor operates by using infrared technology through the skin’s layers in testing for acohol and drugs in one’s system.
Update 2009: they are operational and in use in many US and European companies/agencies.
The below, easy flow tutorial explains The Tru Touch sensor’s operating method and capabilities/uses.
http://trutouchtechnologies.com/CustomPage.aspx?page=Tech
Also, please watch this short video, featuring Tru Touch’s CEO, my friend, Jim McNally:
A product whose time has come.
BNI Operatives: Street smart: web savvy.
As always, be safe.
We’ve been asked for this information repeatedly so we though it was time to reprint our research.
Most webmail users (i.e., nearly everyone with a pulse), at best, guess how long their dormant free email accounts are kept alive. (It’s important to define “dormant” in the sense of webmail accounts. Dormancy generally relates to login. Most webmail hosts, e.g., Yahoo, Gmail, AOL…, will reset the “scheduled removal” of unread email at regular intervals. This interval appears to reset if you simply login to your account,; you don’t have to necessarily read your mail.)
Mashable recently conducted a survey with the four major free webmail hosts, with the following responses to the question, “How long do webmail services keep an email account alive?”
Yahoo Mail – 4 months.
From Yahoo answers: “A Yahoo! account which hasn’t been logged in to over a 4 month period is called dormant account. Dormant accounts are de-activated at the end of four months.”
Gmail- 9 months.
“If you don’t log in to Gmail within three months of it being labeled dormant — or for nine consecutive months — GoogleGoogle reviews may delete the address.”
AOL Mail – 30 days.
“We reserve the right to cancel any free e-mail account that is inactive for more than 30 days, and any data on a deactivated account may not be retrieved later.”
Hotmail – 120 days.
“Free Windows Live Hotmail accounts become inactive if you don’t sign in for 120 days, or within the first 10 days after signing up for an account. After an account becomes inactive, all messages, folders, and contacts are deleted, but the account name is still reserved. If the account stays inactive for an additional 90 days, the account name may be permanently deleted. If you don’t use your Windows Live ID (The user name and password that you use to sign in to any Windows Live, MSN, or Office Live sites and services. If you have a Passport Network, Hotmail, or Messenger account, you can use it as your Windows Live ID.) for 365 days, your Windows Live ID may be permanently deleted.”
We’ve posted several blogs that have addressed one’s public online presence (what we refer to as your “Netface”). We’ve advised new bloggers to maintain their personal information (pics of the house, with the address clearly visible, phone numbers… ) off of the blogosphere. We’ve cautioned job seekers with a wild frat/sorority past, captured on pics or video, to try to clean up that history.
Recently, however, we came across a NYT article that outlined the outcome of a lawyer’s blog rant regarding a judge with whom he’d had an unpleasant (courtroom) encounter. You are correct if, based on “rant”, you’ve presumed the blog was written in a very negative tone.
The situation: Sean Conway was steamed at a Fort Lauderdale judge, so he did what millions of angry people do these days: he blogged about her, saying she was an “Evil, Unfair Witch.”
But Mr. Conway is a lawyer. And unlike millions of other online hotheads, he found himself hauled up before the Florida bar, which in April issued a reprimand and a fine for his intemperate blog post.
Upshot: In Mr. Conway’s case, the post that got him in trouble questioned the motives and competence of Judge Cheryl Aleman, and appeared on a rowdy blogcreated by a criminal defense lawyers’ group in Broward County.
All I had left were my words,” Mr. Conway said, adding that he decided to use the strongest ones he had.
Mr. Conway initially consented to a reprimand from the bar last year, but the State Supreme Court, which reviews such cases, demanded briefs on First Amendment issues. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida argued that Mr. Conway’s statements were protected speech that raised issues of legitimate public concern. Ultimately the court affirmed the disciplinary agreement and Mr. Conway paid $1,200.
Last word: For his part, Mr. Conway noted that the judge he criticized was reprimanded last year by the Florida Supreme Court, which affirmed a state panel’s criticism of what it called an “arrogant, discourteous and impatient” manner with lawyers in another case. (Judge Aleman did not return calls seeking comment.) Mr. Conway said his practice was “probably enhanced by the experience” of going public.
But the State Supreme Court ultimately concluded that his online “personal attack” was “not uttered in an effort to expose a valid problem” with the judicial system. And so, the court concluded, the statements “fail as protected free speech under the First Amendment.”
Your call: ethical violation or execution of the blogger’s 1st Amendment right?
On a lighter note, a lawyer, who shall remain nameless, asked and received permission to delay a case based on a funeral. Well, the funeral mention did appear on his Facebook page, so did the next days of relentless mojito-drinking, drunken binges… Rule 1: Don’t “friend” the judge in your case (or your boss, in general) and Rule 2: Don’t status your night out in MePa, post your first skyjump lesson pics or poll your friends re: a sex change operation consideration on Twitter or Facebook when you are supposed to be grieving, sick or out of the country on a family emergency.
BNI Operatives; Street smart: Net savvy.
As always, be safe.
