Services

Clear Law Institute is available to coach your organization’s internal investigators by phone on specific cases. Coaching can be a cost-effective means for your organization to use an internal investigator but know that Clear Law is helping to guide and oversee the investigator’s work. Coaching allows internal investigators to learn by doing but with oversight from a seasoned Clear Law attorney.

Clear Law coaching can include:

• Review of initial allegations to determine the best strategy for conducting the investigation
• Preparing for important interviews, including developing an appropriate questioning strategy
• Listening in or leading the questioning of important witnesses (often by phone)
• Review of interview notes and other evidence
• Writing or reviewing the investigative report using the ClearLaw investigative report template

Clients choose whether to hire Clear Law for coaching on an hourly basis, pay a flat fee per investigation, or pay a monthly retainer.

Clear Law Institute’s team of former U.S. Department of Justice, law firm, and corporate attorneys investigate claims of harassment, discrimination, bribery, and other forms of alleged employee misconduct for organizations around the world.

Advanced Investigative Techniques

Clear Law investigators apply the same scientifically validated techniques for conducting investigations, interviewing witnesses, and assessing credibility on which we have trained thousands of investigators around the world.

Expert Investigators

Our investigators have:

• Provided expert witness testimony in cases challenging the adequacy of employers’ investigations
• Trained thousands of attorneys, compliance officers, HR professionals, and other professionals how to conduct investigations
• Investigated one of the U.S. Department of Justice’s first “pattern or practice” sexual harassment cases

With experience providing expert witness testimony in cases challenging the adequacy of employers’ investigations, Clear Law Institute ensures that its investigative methods and investigative reports are “bullet-proof” from attack by plaintiffs’ attorneys or prosecutors.

Types of Investigations

Organizations turn to Clear Law to investigate allegations that:

• May result in future litigation or criminal proceedings (e.g. sexual harassment, fraud, bribery, discrimination)
• Involve a high-ranking official within the organization,
• Require a sophisticated investigation and the organization does not have anyone on staff with experience conducting such an investigation (e.g. sexual assault in the workplace, embezzlement, Sarbanes-Oxley violations, workplace violence, etc.)
• Involve “he said/she said” claims or claims where there are no eyewitnesses or other “smoking gun” evidence such that advanced techniques for detecting deception and truthfulness are required

Less Expensive Alternative to Law Firm Investigation

Organizations also choose Clear Law Institute to investigate part or all of cases that are being handled by their law firm. In this way, organizations can have an experienced Clear Law attorney—who might be a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney or former large law firm attorney—conduct an investigation for less than what a law firm would charge for a first year associate.

In certain cases, organizations may choose to “unbundle” the investigation, relying on Clear Law to conduct the factual investigation and a law firm to provide legal advice.

Clear Law attorneys work closely with the organization’s in-house counsel and/or law firm attorney to ensure an effective investigation and to ensure that the attorney-client and work product privileges are maintained.

Chosen by Leading Law Firms

Law firms turn to Clear Law attorneys to conduct investigations on behalf of their clients. In this way, law firm attorneys are not conflicted out of handling any subsequent litigation. Clear Law Institute does not represent clients in litigation or engage in the practice of giving legal advice so there is no danger of Clear Law Institute “stealing” the firm’s clients.

Investigations Conducted Around the World

Based in the Washington, DC area, Clear Law Institute conducts investigations around the US and the world. We do not gouge clients for travel expenses and do not charge clients for our time traveling to the client location.

Phone or Skype Interviews

Depending on the nature of the case, Clear Law Institute attorneys are often able to complete investigations by phone or using Skype, which can greatly reduce client cost.

Free Consultation

For a free consultation, call (703) 372-0550 or complete our contact form.

Clear Law Institute’s team of former U.S. Department of Justice attorneys and compliance officers have helped organizations such as the United Nations establish and update policies and procedures for receiving and effectively investigating alleged employee misconduct. Clear Law will ensure that your policies and investigations manual are not only well written and legally sufficient but also provide a structure for your organization to effectively gather information and reach a conclusion on whether the alleged misconduct has occurred. Among other things, Clear Law will ensure that your procedures and investigations manual:

• Encourage employees and others to raise concerns promptly
• Detail the avenues in which people can make complaints
• Describe who will conduct investigations, which may vary depending on location, the type of issue, the role of the accused, etc.
• Provide a step-by-step structure for effectively interviewing witnesses
• Provide a structure for reaching a conclusion on whether the allegation is true
• Provide a structure for writing an effective and legally sufficient report
• Guide your staff on following up with the accused, the complainant, and others after the conclusion of your investigation
• Detail where and for how long documents related to the investigation will be maintained

Clear Law Institute relies on its attorneys’ extensive experience investigating and litigating alleged employee misconduct and providing expert witness testimony on the adequacy of employers’ investigations.

Law firms and their clients have retained Clear Law Institute attorneys to provide expert witness analysis and testimony in harassment and other employee misconduct cases. Clear Law Institute attorneys are available to analyze, write an expert report, and testify to the adequacy of the employer’s:

• Code of conduct, harassment policies, and other employment policies
• Investigation policies and procedures
• Preventative efforts, such as employee training
• Internal investigator’s qualifications
• Steps taken to investigate a particular claim