We help establish, verify and document facts where litigation, a dispute, an employment matter, a commercial decision or a sensitive private issue requires evidence rather than assumption.
You do not need to decide which investigative technique is required before contacting us. Tell us the issue, the factual questions that need answering and any deadline. We will explain what can realistically and lawfully be done.
Legal & Dispute Support
Independent investigation around facts, people, companies, events and disputed activityEvidence & Reporting
Clear chronology, source material, observations, imagery and relevant limitationsTracing & Verification
People, addresses, identities, businesses, directors and connected informationOperational Evidence
Surveillance and activity verification where justified and proportionateConfidential Legal Investigation Enquiry
A useful instruction starts with the factual issue, not the investigative technique. Tell us what has happened, what is disputed, what is already known and what decision, hearing, negotiation or deadline is approaching.
We will identify the questions that can realistically be tested, explain the evidence that may be available and recommend the most proportionate way to obtain and report it.
Legal Investigation, Evidence & Litigation Support
Disputes often turn on details that are missing, contested or difficult to verify from documents alone.
A person may need to be located. An address may need confirming before proceedings. A business relationship may be hidden behind connected companies. A timeline may contain gaps. A witness account may conflict with independent information. A party may make claims about location, activity, assets, employment or trading history that need to be tested.
Our role is to investigate those factual questions independently. We can combine research, tracing, corporate intelligence, online investigation, surveillance, discreet enquiries and evidence analysis depending on what the matter genuinely requires.
We are not solicitors and we do not determine the legal significance of the evidence. We establish and report facts so the client and their legal advisers have a clearer evidential position from which to decide what to do next.
Start With the Question
That may be where somebody lives, whether an event happened as claimed, who controls a company, whether a person attended a location, whether two parties are connected, whether activity is continuing, or whether independent evidence supports a disputed account.
We do not manufacture certainty. If evidence supports only part of an allegation, or a fact cannot be verified, our report should make that clear. A useful investigation is one that helps the decision-maker understand both the findings and their limitations.
Evidence, Facts & Legal Support
We can provide a focused line of enquiry or combine several investigative disciplines around the same legal or evidential question.
Independent enquiries to establish events, relationships, activity, locations, identities, companies or other facts relevant to a dispute, proceeding or important decision.
Discreet mobile or static surveillance where observing activity or movements is a lawful and proportionate way to address a legitimate factual question.
Tracing people and current addresses for legitimate legal, commercial and private purposes, including locating parties, potential witnesses and individuals connected to proceedings.
Lawful research into websites, public social media, usernames, domains, online identities, historic web material and other appropriately accessible digital information.
Research into companies, directors, ownership, connected entities, addresses, corporate history and other business information relevant to a dispute or legal instruction.
Clear presentation of what was done, what was observed or established, the relevant source material and any important limitations or unanswered points.
Evidence Gathering
The best method is the one most likely to answer the factual question lawfully, proportionately and in a way that can be explained later.
We do not begin with surveillance because surveillance is available, or with online research because it is quick. We start with the evidential gap. That keeps the investigation focused and helps avoid unnecessary cost or intrusion.
| Question | What may help establish it | Potential output |
|---|---|---|
| Where is a person currently living? | Tracing research, address verification, public and commercial sources, lawful corroboration. | Current-address finding with source context and relevant confidence or limitations. |
| Did a person attend or visit a location? | Surveillance, contemporaneous observations, imagery where appropriate, timeline comparison. | Observation log, times, locations and supporting imagery where lawfully obtained. |
| Are two people or businesses connected? | Corporate records, addresses, directorships, online information, historical associations and public sources. | Relationship map, chronology and supporting records showing relevant links. |
| Is an online identity genuine? | Username research, photographs, public profiles, website/domain information and other open sources. | Identity indicators, inconsistencies, linked public information and source record. |
| Does a disputed account fit independent evidence? | Timeline analysis, tracing, background verification, online research, surveillance or third-party factual enquiries where appropriate. | Chronology separating confirmed facts, conflicting information and unresolved points. |
| What is known about a company or director? | Corporate records, public filings, connected entities, addresses, online presence, litigation/insolvency context where publicly available. | Structured company/director intelligence with supporting public-source material. |
We do not coach facts into a preferred theory or describe inference as certainty. We record what the investigation establishes. That distinction matters where findings may be reviewed by a solicitor, employer, insurer, court or other decision-maker.
Operational & Digital Evidence
Some matters require observation, tracing or digital research to test what is happening beyond the paperwork.
Our surveillance investigators can carry out discreet mobile and static surveillance where there is a legitimate objective and observation is a proportionate means of establishing relevant activity or movement.
We keep contemporaneous notes and record times, locations and observations. Imagery may be captured where appropriate. We do not promise that surveillance will prove a client's theory; its purpose is to record what actually happens during the observation period.
Our online and digital investigation work can identify and preserve relevant publicly available information, including websites, social-media material, public profiles, usernames, domains and historic online content.
We do not hack accounts, obtain passwords, impersonate authorised users or bypass access controls. Where private digital material is required, the appropriate legal or disclosure route should be considered with the client's solicitor.
Evidence Quality
Evidence & Reporting
The value of an investigation does not end when the enquiry is complete. The findings need to be understandable to somebody who was not there.
Depending on the instruction, our reporting may include the factual objective, work undertaken, chronology, observations, relevant source material, images, addresses, company information, online findings and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
We distinguish direct observation from information obtained from a source, and both from analysis or inference. Where a finding could not be corroborated, where a source has limitations or where an important question remains unanswered, that should be recorded rather than hidden.
Investigation Reports
The exact format depends on the matter and the needs of the instructing client or solicitor, but the principles remain consistent.
A clear description of the factual objective so the reader understands what the work was intended to establish.
The relevant enquiries, research, tracing, surveillance or other work carried out, without obscuring the methodology behind vague language.
A factual timeline where dates, times, sequence or repeated activity are material to understanding the matter.
Relevant photographs, screenshots, source records, notes, corporate information or other supporting material, organised so it can be reviewed efficiently.
Direct findings separated from allegation, interpretation and points that could not be independently verified.
Material gaps, constraints, alternative explanations or unresolved questions that a responsible reader should understand before relying on the findings.
Disputes, Proceedings & Pre-Litigation
We can work directly for a client or alongside their solicitor, depending on how the matter is being managed.
Tracing and address verification where a person needs to be located for proceedings, service, contact or further factual enquiry.
Independent research and evidence gathering where the parties' descriptions of what happened materially differ.
Corporate and commercial intelligence relevant to ownership, control, connected businesses, representations and wider dispute context.
Surveillance where observation is justified and the disputed question cannot reasonably be answered by less intrusive means.
Lawful online investigation into public profiles, websites, usernames, domains, historic content and other relevant open-source material.
Lawful research into public indicators of property, corporate interests and connected entities where relevant to a recovery or dispute strategy.
Working With Solicitors & Professional Advisers
Where a solicitor is already involved, we can work to the factual questions and reporting needs they identify.
That can be particularly important where litigation is contemplated or already under way, where privilege may be relevant, where evidence may feed into witness statements or pleadings, or where disclosure and document-management issues need to be considered.
We do not give legal advice on privilege, admissibility, disclosure or procedure. Those are matters for the client's solicitor. Where the structure of the instruction matters, we encourage the client to agree it with their legal adviser before investigative work begins.
We can also work directly with businesses, HR teams, compliance professionals and private clients before solicitors are instructed, provided the purpose of the investigation is legitimate and the proposed work is appropriate.
The earlier these points are identified, the easier it is to keep the investigation focused and useful.
How We Work
We work backwards from what needs to be established and how the findings may be used.
Explain the dispute, allegation or concern, what evidence already exists, who is involved and any deadline or legal process already under way.
We identify what can realistically be established, what is already known, what remains disputed and which points could materially affect the next decision.
We explain the proposed research, tracing, surveillance, digital or other work, likely cost, reporting arrangements and important limitations before work begins.
Investigators carry out the agreed work, keep clear contemporaneous records and preserve relevant supporting material in a controlled and organised way.
You receive findings with factual chronology, supporting material and relevant limitations, separating direct evidence from analysis or inference.
The evidence can then inform negotiation, employment action, further investigation, legal advice, litigation strategy, settlement discussions or referral to the appropriate authority.
Lawful Evidence Gathering
Evidence obtained by improper means can create new problems instead of solving the original one.
We do not offer hacking, password acquisition, unlawful access to bank or phone records, interception of communications, impersonation of police or public officials, unlawful tracking, harassment or access to protected records without authority.
We also do not present ourselves as able to compel disclosure. Where bank records, private communications, confidential employment records or other protected material are required, the appropriate legal route may involve disclosure, a court order, consent or statutory powers. The client's solicitor can advise on that process.
Our role is to investigate lawfully available facts and carry out proportionate investigative work where there is a legitimate purpose. If a proposed line of enquiry is not appropriate or is unlikely to answer the question, we will say so.
We can provide factual evidence, observations, research and reports. We do not decide guilt, legal liability, admissibility, evidential weight or the outcome of proceedings. Those decisions belong to the relevant employer, solicitor, tribunal, court, regulator or other decision-maker.
London Specialist
Our office is at Salisbury House, 29 Finsbury Circus in the City of London, and our operational focus is London.
Legal investigations in London can involve courts, chambers, law firms, corporate offices, residential addresses, serviced workspaces, transport hubs and multiple boroughs within the same instruction. The practical realities of London matter when planning surveillance, tracing visits, enquiries or the timing of operational work.
We work across the City of London, Westminster, Mayfair, Canary Wharf, Kensington, Chelsea, Shoreditch and the wider Greater London area. Where a London-led matter involves companies, records, witnesses or parties elsewhere in the UK, we can discuss what research or support is appropriate while remaining a London specialist.
For corporate disputes and business-critical matters, our corporate and commercial investigation capability can be combined with legal and evidential reporting. Where locating or verifying a person is central to the matter, our tracing and background investigation service can support the instruction.
Legal Investigation FAQs
These answers explain how we approach common evidential and litigation-support instructions. Every matter is assessed on its own facts.
For us, litigation support means independent investigation and factual research that helps a client or solicitor understand evidence relevant to a dispute or proceeding. It may include tracing, surveillance, company research, online intelligence, chronology development, factual verification and clear reporting.
Yes. We can take instructions from solicitors and work to specific factual questions, deadlines and reporting requirements. Where privilege, disclosure or evidential procedure may be relevant, the solicitor should determine how the instruction is structured.
Investigation reports, observations, imagery, tracing results and other factual material may be useful in legal proceedings, but whether particular evidence is admissible and what weight it carries depends on the circumstances and the applicable procedure. We provide the factual material; the client's solicitor should advise on its legal use.
Yes, where surveillance has a legitimate objective and is a lawful and proportionate way to address the factual question. We can provide contemporaneous observations and imagery where appropriate, together with relevant dates, times and locations.
We aim to keep clear contemporaneous records, preserve relevant original or working material where appropriate, identify the source of important information and organise supporting material so the findings can be reviewed. The exact approach depends on the type of evidence and the instruction.
We can carry out lawful person and address tracing for legitimate purposes, including locating people connected to proceedings or a dispute. See our tracing and background investigation service for more detail.
Yes. Address verification can help reduce the risk of attempting service at an outdated or incorrect address. Where process serving is required, we can discuss the appropriate next step and the records needed.
Yes. We can research companies, directors, connected entities, addresses, corporate history and other public or appropriately accessible information relevant to a dispute, recovery matter or commercial claim.
We can investigate lawful indicators of property, company interests, connected entities and other economic interests. We do not obtain private bank balances, confidential tax information or protected financial records unlawfully.
Yes. We can research public and appropriately accessible online information, including websites, public social-media material, usernames, domains and historic web content. We do not hack accounts, obtain passwords or bypass access controls.
No. We do not offer unlawful access to private communications, bank accounts, credit files, phone records or protected databases. Where protected material is required, the appropriate legal or disclosure route should be discussed with the client's solicitor.
Yes. Where timing matters, we can organise verified events, documents, observations and relevant source material into a clear chronology, identifying points that are established, disputed or still unresolved.
Where there is a legitimate reason, we can examine corporate records, addresses, directorships, public online information and other lawful indicators that may establish or challenge an alleged connection.
Where appropriate, an investigator may be able to provide a factual statement concerning their own work or observations. The required form and wording should be agreed with the instructing solicitor where it is intended for proceedings. We do not provide legal opinions unless separately qualified to do so.
Our ordinary role is factual investigation rather than expert opinion. If a matter requires specialist expert evidence, the client's solicitor should identify and instruct an appropriately qualified expert. We can still assist with factual investigation that sits alongside that work.
We treat legal and evidential instructions as sensitive by default. We can agree who receives updates, how communication takes place and how reports or supporting material are delivered. Where legal privilege may be relevant, the client's solicitor should advise on the instruction structure.
It depends on the question, complexity, investigator time, research sources, travel, surveillance or specialist resources and the reporting required. We explain the proposed work and likely cost before starting.
That depends on investigator availability and the work required. If there is a hearing, service deadline, planned meeting, imminent employment decision or another time-sensitive issue, tell us at first contact so we can assess what is realistic.
Start with a concise summary of the factual issue, the people or organisations involved, key dates, what is already known and what needs to be established. Do not send passwords, unlawfully obtained material or large volumes of sensitive documents before we have confirmed what is relevant.
We are a London specialist. Our operational focus is Central and Greater London. Where a London-led matter has witnesses, records, companies or people elsewhere, we can discuss what research or support is appropriate without presenting ourselves as a generic nationwide investigation firm.
Confidential Legal Investigation Enquiry
Tell us the issue, what is already known and the decision or legal step that depends on the answer. We will explain what may be possible, what we would recommend, any important limitations and the likely cost before work begins.
Central London Investigation Office
Legal, evidential, corporate and private investigation support across Central and Greater London, with consultations by prior arrangement from our City of London office.
You do not need to choose a service before contacting us. Explain the legal or factual question and what you need to establish. We will identify which combination of research, tracing, surveillance, digital investigation or evidential work is appropriate.
Send a confidential enquiry or call us directly.
City of London