Investigations

With few exceptions, acting as an investigator is not considered the practice of law. We are a nationwide and (where English is generally spoken) international service provider. Therefore, in most states and many international venues, we can act as an independent investigator for hire by a profit or nonprofit organization or government agency. When inquiring about our availability to serve you, we will verify our qualifications before engagement or payment.

Together with associates that we may retain on a case-by-case basis, we can on a select basis employ our many years of professional legal, corporate, compliance, regulatory, and forensic experience as independent investigators in relation to:

• Employment Matters (including Allegations of Discrimination, Harassment, Wage Disputes, and Workplace Violence)
• Enterprise Compliance & Risk
• White-Collar Crime
• Other Compliance and Regulatory Issues

As arbitrators and mediators, Olive Branch Solutions LLC has a core team of professionals. When undertaking investigations, we understand that some investigations require an inter-disciplinary approach to achieve optimum results.

We will (depending on the scope of the investigation) retain additional independent contractors known to us, who have specialized expertise in compliance and/or forensics. Our bid for your services will include an identification of these additional human resources, as they may in our judgment be necessary.

Fees for a single investigator or team of investigators are dependent upon the nature and scope of the suspected problem. Sometimes, a client may not yet know the scope of what is required until they contact us, followed by a discussion. We have found that the best way to formalize our relationship with a client in investigation matters is to offer an hourly rate (or a combined single rate per hour if more than one investigator is involved) up to a maximum fee, regardless of how many additional hours it may take us to complete the investigation and issue a report. We also understand that when our client is a government agency, there may be prescribed fees and costs dictated by official regulations.

We do offer a discount for certain nonprofits and for religious organizations. 

Subject to cost limits when a government agency is the client, we also charge for our costs. In most situations, we will make efficient use of remote, off-site review of documents and, where appropriate, conduct interviews of client personnel or third parties remotely through the use of Microsoft Teams or Zoom. We will charge for our any on-site expenses (including hotel, transportation, and per diem).