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NATIONAL SOCIETY OF LEGAL INVESTIGATORS ℠
Founder's Message:
Greetings in the name of the National Society Of Legal Investigators (NSOLI℠ ) and its membership. We're happy to have you visiting our website and invite you to look around while you're here.
Members of the National Society of Legal Investigators are a class of investigative specialists working for and under the supervision and direction of licensed and practicing attorneys. We are employed by solo-practitioners and law offices owned and operated by more than one lawyer and most of them are individually supported by an administrative staff and paralegals.
As employees who are attached to an attorney's practice, we are assigned to work on civil and criminal cases with respect to providing investigation services on behalf of the licensed professional regarding their representation of one or more clients directly affected by a case in which the attorney dispenses legal services, including but not necessarily limited to providing legal advice and counsel, court representation, and mediation.
We are usually exempt from state private investigation boards, state licensing, and P.I. regulators simply because we do not provide our services to individuals for a fee. We work directly for attorneys. In fact, we may ourselves have law degrees, criminal justice degrees, a CPA designation, and other professional credentials but we prefer devoting our talents to the investigative side of the legal profession.
Legal Investigators (often referred to and known as Special Investigators) specialize in cases involving the courts and are normally employed by law firms or lawyers. We frequently assist in preparing criminal defenses, locating witnesses, serving legal documents, interviewing police and prospective witnesses, and gathering and reviewing evidence. We also may collect information on the parties to the litigation, take photographs, testify in court, and assemble evidence and reports for trials.
Attorneys and law firms that hire us usually look for individuals with ingenuity, persistence, and assertiveness. A candidate must not be afraid of confrontation, he or she should communicate well, and should be able to think on his or her feet. Good interviewing and interrogation skills also are important and usually are acquired in earlier careers in law enforcement or other fields. Because the courts often are the ultimate judge of a properly conducted investigation, we must be able to present the facts in a manner that a jury will believe.
We, as Legal/Special Investigators, often work irregular hours because of the need to conduct surveillance and contact people who are not available during normal working hours. Early morning, evening, weekend, and holiday work is common. Many of us spend time away from our employers' law offices conducting interviews or doing surveillance, but some of us work within the law office most of the day conducting computer searches and making phone calls. When we are working on a case away from the law office, the environment might range from plush boardrooms to seedy bars. And although we generally work alone, we sometimes work with others during surveillance or when following a subject in order to avoid detection by the subject.
Some of the work involves confrontation, so the job can be stressful and frankly, at times, it can be dangerous. Some situations call for some of us to be armed, and those who have a need to carry concealed handguns should seriously consider becoming licensed by the appropriate authorities. In most cases, however, a weapon is not necessary, because the purpose of the work our assignments encompass is that of gathering information.
Admittedly, our work sometimes creates additional stress in our having to deal with demanding and sometimes distraught clients of the attorneys for whom we work. Nonetheless, an attorney's or a law firm's Legal/Special Investigator also knows that he or she is likely to have very few mundane or boring work days and some assignments are just downright exciting.
As members of the National Society of Legal Investigators℠ we carry identification cards created and issued by the Society and gold badges (as pictured above)identifying us as Special Investigators.
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For additional details and information about the Society please visit our FAQ page.
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For membership inquiries please go to the site's application form page, print it, complete the required information, and submit it to the Society's headquarter's address for consideration along with the required annual membership fee.
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For information concerning members obtaining an official membership certificate and/or membership I.D. card please go to the site's order form page and follow the instructions contained therein.
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To join the National Society of Legal Investigations℠'s MSN Group go to the internet address provided below and sign up: http://groups.msn.com/NationalSocietyofLegalInvestigators
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Best Regards,
NSOLI℠'s Founder
Send E-Mail to: nsoli@usa.com
Copyright © 2007 NSOLI℠ Founder. All Rights Reserved