Sleuthing the ‘Net
Investigative avenues have opened up considerably in the past quarter-century thanks to the internet and, more recently, social media.
Half of all divorce cases use evidence obtained from social media, according to a study conducted three years ago by the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers. The internet and social media platforms contain a treasure trove of invaluable personal information that investigators and attorneys can use to disqualify jurors, confirm or question alibis, validate or disprove workers’ compensation claims, and generally smoke out the truth.
But getting a hold of this information depends not only on your knowledge of free and paid online resources, but also the creativity and thoroughness of your search strategies.
In the Illinois Bar Journal’s June cover story, “Sleuthing the ‘Net,” we interview investigators and consultants who train lawyers on data-mining techniques. They discuss basic methods and lesser-known tools, such as “search criteria manipulation” and Google’s Reverse Image Search.
Attorneys for plaintiffs and defendants in all areas of law can exploit these and other tools when looking to gather supporting evidence from the internet.
"Our goal primarily is to teach lawyers why it's important to do this and how to do it themselves," says legal technologist Mark Rosch.
"The information is out there. How do you search for it effectively so you're not wasting time?"