Should You or Your Attorney Hire the Private Investigator?

01The options

Two ways to hire an investigator

In a direct hire, you sign the agreement with the investigation firm, you set the goals, and the report comes to you. In an attorney-retained engagement, your lawyer's firm signs the agreement, directs the work, and receives the findings, even though the cost is often passed through to you as a case expense.

Both arrangements are common in Tennessee, and the same licensed investigator can work either way. The difference is who controls the assignment and where the results go first. That can matter a great deal once a lawsuit, custody dispute or criminal charge is involved, because it affects discovery, strategy and who sees the findings first.

02The legal angle

Work product and why it matters

Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 26.02(3) provides protection for materials prepared in anticipation of litigation by or for a party or that party's representative. In general terms, that can shield some investigative materials from being handed to the other side during discovery, unless the other side shows a substantial need and cannot obtain the equivalent another way.

Whether an investigator's work qualifies is not automatic, and it is a question for your attorney. Having counsel retain and direct the investigator is one way attorneys try to strengthen that position. It also helps keep the attorney's mental impressions and strategy out of the file the other side may eventually see. Protection has limits, and if the investigator testifies, what they observed can become part of the record.

03Strategy

Keeping the investigation aligned with your case

Attorneys know the legal elements they need to prove, the evidence rules that apply, and what the other side is likely to argue. When the attorney directs the investigator, fieldwork targets those needs. In a custody case, that may mean documenting specific conduct relevant to the child's best interests. In a workers' compensation defense, it may mean activity that conflicts with stated restrictions.

Direct hires can drift toward what the client most wants to know, which is not always what the court needs. Evidence gathered without legal guidance can be accurate but less useful, or collected in a way that invites challenges. Early coordination between you, your attorney and the investigator avoids spending money on the wrong question.

04Direct hire

When hiring the investigator yourself makes sense

Many situations do not involve a lawyer at all. You may want to confirm whether a spouse is being honest before deciding whether to consult an attorney, locate a family member, check out a potential business partner, or verify facts for a personal decision. In those cases, hiring directly is faster and keeps the relationship simple.

A direct hire can also be the first step. If the findings suggest litigation, you can share the report with an attorney later, although that report was not prepared at counsel's direction. Pro se litigants, who represent themselves, also hire investigators directly. Delator Group works with private clients across Tennessee and puts scope, timeline and cost in writing before work begins.

• No lawsuit is pending or expected soon
• You need facts to decide whether to see a lawyer
• The goal is personal, such as locating a relative
• You are representing yourself in court

05Attorney-retained

When your attorney should retain the investigator

If you already have counsel and a case is pending or clearly coming, it usually makes sense to let your attorney retain the investigator. That is especially true in divorce and custody disputes, business litigation, insurance defense and criminal defense, where evidence rules and discovery deadlines shape what is useful.

Even if you plan to pay the investigator yourself, involve your attorney before the work starts. Your attorney may want the agreement in the law firm's name, may want reports sent only to the firm, and may need the investigator available to testify. Delator Group regularly works at the direction of attorneys in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga and statewide.

• A lawsuit, custody dispute or criminal case is pending
• Discovery and evidence rules will matter
• The investigator may need to testify
• Confidentiality of the file is a priority

06Working together

How the client, attorney and investigator work together

In an attorney-retained engagement, the attorney sets priorities and receives reports, and the investigator takes direction from the attorney. You still play a central role. You usually know the subject's routines, vehicles and associates better than anyone, and the investigator may speak with you directly to gather those details, with your attorney's approval.

Agree early on who receives updates, who approves changes in scope, and who pays the invoices. Clear lines prevent confusion, protect confidentiality, and keep everyone working from the same information. When something unexpected turns up in the field, the investigator reports it promptly to the person the agreement names, who decides the next step.

Interactive checklist

Decide who should hire the investigator

Answer these points, ideally with your attorney, before signing an agreement.

Step by step

How Delator coordinates with you and your attorney

1. 01

   Initial conversation

   Leadership speaks with you, your attorney, or both, to understand the matter and deadlines.

2. 02

   Decide who retains us

   We follow your attorney's preference on whether the agreement is in the firm's name or yours.

3. 03

   Written scope

   Scope, timeline and cost are put in writing before any work begins.

4. 04

   Reporting as agreed

   Updates and final reports go to the person named in the agreement, in the agreed format.

5. 05

   Court support

   If needed, the investigator who did the work is available to testify.

Compare

Direct hire versus attorney-retained engagement

FAQ

Frequently asked questions