Our experienced team of researchers has the extensive skills and knowledge to provide litigation research support in a number of areas for our corporate clients.
What is litigation research?
Research for litigation encompasses archival research, detailed analysis of current and historical legislation, presentation of findings in a manner both the client and the court can easily understand and apply, and the confidence to stand behind findings when challenged. We help attorneys incorporate historical evidence into settlement discussions, motions, briefs, and trial presentations. We assist with discovery, document management, and trial preparation for outside experts. Records pertinent to corporate litigations can be found in local, state, or federal archives; university manuscript collections; engineering offices; or private collections. These archives and special collections are often difficult to locate and even more complicated to maneuver. Our extensive experience working with these collections significantly lessens the amount of time needed in discovery.
How can my corporation benefit from litigation research services?
Hundreds of thousands of laws, regulations, and legislative precedents rule business every single day. Sometimes it is called into question whether a corporation has always been in compliance (e.g. asbestos regulation). For a corporation to defend itself when such questions arise it is imperative to understand not only the history of the corporation, but also the history of the law or regulation. These two areas of questioning, but intensely detailed on their own, must then be cross-referenced to understand whether a particular corporation was ever out of compliance. Add to that the need to write the findings in a way that succinctly and clearly communicates the results, and it is clear why a corporation can benefit from employing the services of a company that specializes in these questions.
Following are examples of use case scenarios where litigation research may prove beneficial:
Corporate Histories
There are many reasons a corporation might commission a corporate history, from an anniversary, to public relations crisis, and anything in between. Whether your corporation has cause to celebrate or mitigate, our researchers utilize the best sources available, both within your corporate archives and without, to highlight your corporation’s growth and success as well as place it in historical context. Corporate histories often focus on key individuals, key decisions, and key acquisitions. An emphasis on how a corporation has interacted with its neighbors and competitors can help inform the public’s opinion on current events. In addition, for anniversaries, our professional oral historians can interview current employees and board members to document living history.
Land, Water, or Mineral Rights Histories
Rights to land, water, and minerals can often be both hotly litigious and difficult to maneuver. Title search agencies can only go so far and often focus too narrowly. Our researchers are trained to research entire corporations, families, and communities, and are thus able to gather information and details others miss.
Site Use Histories
Corporations looking to sell portions or all of their mixed-use sites are frequently asked to provide site use histories so that future purchasers understand what should and shouldn’t be erected there in the future. Legacy Tree Genealogists has the expertise to work with corporations using both their own archives and external sources to compile these required documents.
FOIA and FOIL Request Support
Freedom of Information Act and Freedom of Information Law requests can often be a lengthy process. Our researchers are familiar with the requirements and are able to submit these requests with all the needed supportive documentation the first time to expedite your results.
Slavery-Era Regulatory Compliance Research
Many cities have ordinances requiring corporations desirous of city service contracts to disclose whether they or their historical predecessors profited from slavery prior to abolition. Research for these corporations includes first investigating what early corporate incarnations were merged or subsumed into the current corporation, and then investigating the business dealings and historical holdings for each of these predecessors. It is not the fact of a corporation’s historical entities profiting from the slave trade either directly or indirectly that could disqualify them from city contracts, but the inability to state with confidence whether or not they did and to provide evidence to met the disclosure requirements. Legacy Tree Genealogists compiles our findings into a report that can be filed directly with the city to meet these requirements.
Historical Context
It is common for the past to be judged with the present’s morality. But this can be particularly dangerous for corporations, national monuments, and other government bodies when historical details come to light and are judged harshly. Legacy Tree Genealogists has spent decades placing individual ancestors as well as their associations into historical context to aid descendants in understanding why an individual acted in a particular manner. Corporate Public Relations crises can often benefit from the same attention to historical detail and careful analysis of the social morays of the time.
Our Team of Professional Genealogists Can Help
Our team of professional genealogists have decades of experience combing through millions of records that may prove essential in establishing the burden of proof necessary for your litigation proceedings. Whether it's scouring insurance risk maps, land ownership plats, original waterways or highways to track land usage over time to prove or disprove whether asbestos or other harmful chemicals may have been utilized on site, or providing key historical details essential for navigating a public relations crises, our team has you covered. Contact us today to request a free quote for research litigation services.
