In today’s fast-paced digital world, law firms often face challenges in converting new case inquiries into actual new clients. Time is always of the essence and the fact of the matter is, that if you do not react fast enough, another firm will swoop in and convert the client. This is where private investigators (PIs) can play a crucial role by offering a range of benefits that enhance the sign-up process. By employing PIs, law firms can mitigate risks, ensure compliance, and streamline operations. Pairing this with digital solutions like DocuSign further enhances efficiency and security, making the entire process smoother for both parties involved.
Firstly, private investigators who specialize in personal injury cases can add value to your initial intake by employing the proper interview techniques that can develop information in a favorable manner for your claim. A PI firm that employs investigators that have worked on thousands of personal injury cases can give you leverage when setting up the claim for your client. A seasoned investigator can also identify claims that are fraudulent and help mitigate the risk of the law firm in representing a person who is not injured or may be responsible for their own accident.
Moreover, PIs possess the expertise to do a site investigation to look for videos, the skill set to locate and interview witnesses, the ability to identify defendants and defendant insurance carriers and the relationships with law enforcement to facility information about your client’s claim.
The downside to using a PI on every case has always been about cost analysis. Does your firm need to spend its resources on hiring a professional to do the initial work. Technology has certainly made it easier to keep the work in house, but are you doing a disservice ultimately to your client? Will a bigger initial investment of capital ultimately lead to the leverage you need to establish liability and receive a better settlement offer or judgement?
Integrating DocuSign into this process may be the proper solution to save your firm capital and still have an investigative professional conduct the initial interview and accident work up. Many firms are using services like Docusign to get retained on accident cases. Often, they just have one of their paralegals or other employees conduct the interview. There are several arguments why this might not be best practice.
Firstly, the person on your internal team was probably hired to do other work that is important in the life cycle of a case. This person is now distracted by having to jump on a video conference to go through the process of having new documents signed. This results in less productivity of this individual.
Second, an investigator’s fee is a recoverable line item in your retainer statement. The initial intake is considered investigative work product. By using the investigative professional to do more than just have the individual sign paperwork online, you can actually recover this expense at the end of your case. You are not able to recover the salary of the employee that conducts an intake/signup instead of the licensed investigator. At Satellite Investigations, our investigators always prepare a report on findings and recommendations on how to proceed. This is usually not the case when an in-house employee conducts the interview.
Finally, there is the question of liability. When it comes to the intake process and the need for notarized documents, are your employees following the strict guidelines set up by New York State Department of State for electronic notaries. There are strict guidelines for procedure and for record keeping. You are also required to register with the state as an electronic notary.
In conclusion, leveraging private investigators alongside DocuSign presents a powerful combination for businesses looking to streamline their sign-up processes while maintaining high standards of security and compliance. PIs provide thorough background checks and identity verification, reducing risks associated with fraud and misconduct. An investigator can also be tasked to do follow up work on a case like site investigators or defendant research. Satellite Investigations has an affordable “Virtual” sign up package that starts at only $250 per assignment. Contact us today to take advantage of this great service to save your firm time and money.
