The Importance of Evidence and How to Gather It
If you are unlucky enough to find yourself embroiled in a legal matter, there’s only one thing more important than having a good lawyer and that’s having good Evidence.
While you should always seek the best legal representation possible, if you obtain definitive evidence that supports your case then you probably won’t need to splash out on a top barrister to win judgment in your favour.
Useful Evidence could also save you from actually having to go to court or limit the duration of the court hearings meaning you save time, money and stress. It is just as important in many civil matters as it is in criminal trials.
Evidence usually comes in one of three forms: testimonial evidence by a witness speaking in court, documentary evidence and real evidence, such as a knife used in a homicide.
Sometimes the evidence will be readily at hand such as in the case of a contract, the meaning of which is in dispute. On other occasions, the evidence will need to be found. For example, take the case of a disputed workers compensation claim where the claimant is captured on film engaging in activities inconsistent with his alleged incapacities, months after the “injury.”
Most lawyers are competent at presenting evidence but far fewer know how to effectively gather evidence that you don’t already have. This is where a private investigator is often able to assist.
Skilled investigators are experts at gathering court-admissible format evidence in a variety of investigative circumstances. A good investigator will have competency with and access to multiple public record databases as well as a team of operatives with a variety of skills. Regardless of the type of evidence you need and regardless of the area of law, your investigator should know where the evidence is and how to get it.
Perhaps the most important attribute for an investigator is a broad skill set. There is a strong likelihood that your case will involve different areas of investigative expertise so choosing an investigator with real broad-based experience is a must.
For example, imagine engaging a family lawyer with no expertise in corporations law. If your family assets are tied up in companies, rather than handling the matter him or herself, your lawyer will need to spend time briefing an expert in that area of law, increasing the costs you incur and increasing the risk of miscommunication.
So it is with investigations. It is best to engage a broad-based investigator, regardless of the area of investigations you think your matter will fall into. In an investigation, you are by definition dealing with the unknown so you don’t know what evidence-gathering needs you will have down the track. You want your matter managed by one person who is in possession of all the facts.
Lyonswood Investigations has carried out broad-based investigative work for over thirty years and our evidence has been used in hundreds, if not thousands of litigated matters, including at the Supreme Court level. Many large corporations, law firms, and local government councils rely on Lyonswood for their investigative needs and have chosen to be listed as clients on the Lyonswood website. This is evidence in itself of Lyonswood’s evidence-gathering skills. For a list of the investigative services provided by Lyonswood, see here.
Click HERE to get in touch with us now.
