PI's: "Who's the client?"

Some of our students have asked the question, "When working a case where an attorney is involved on behalf of another party, who is the private investigator's client?" 

Great question and the quick answer is "Your client -- the one that is paying you." Of course that does not always answer the question satisfactorily depending on the circumstances. Actually the better question is; "How does a private investigator work with multiple client's, or when there are two needs that are potentially in conflict?"

Consider this case study: 

Investigator is contracted by an attorney for an infidelity case. Attorney's client, the "spouse-client", calls the investigator and shares information that may be helpful in scheduling surveillance, but the attorney disagrees. The spouse has received a call from a friend that says his wife is meeting her alleged boyfriend tomorrow night at a restaurant. 

The easy response for the investigator is to follow the instructions of the attorney as they hold the contract and that may be the only answer as working outside of the contract could place the investigator in a situation where they will not be paid. Of course, there may be a missed opportunity in identifying, or not identifying, potential infidelity on the part of the spouse. 

What would you do? 

Click the Read More link below to learn what the investigator actually did in this case.
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