Beyond the Basics: Navigating Public Records Like an Expert
About the Course:
Whether you’re conducting pre-deal due diligence, verifying assets, investigating possible fraud, or checking out your expert witnesses, online public records contain a treasure trove of information about businesses and individuals. However, searching for assets, liabilities, corporation filings, court documents, and other online public records can be challenging, even for experienced researchers and investigators.
This course covers the what and how of online public records searching, including what public records are and what they are not, what is and isn’t available online, myths and challenges, sources, and strategies for effective searching. Learn how to save time, what information you can trust, and when you need to go offline to find what you need.
Course Objectives:
- Explore the definition of public records and the different types available online.
- Recognize the myths and challenges of searching online public records.
- Identify the types of sources that offer access to online public records and what sources to avoid.
- Discover tips and strategies for effective searching and retrieval of online public records.
Who is the Target Audience?
- Investigators, risk managers, operations managers, compliance professionals, anti-fraud professionals, law firm researchers, paralegals
Basic Knowledge:
- There are no prerequisites for this course.
Definition and types of public records
- Dictionary definition
- Exceptions
- Types
- Non-public records
Myths and challenges of working with public records
- Myths about online information
- Legal limitations
- Jurisdictional differences
- Missing information
- Personal identifiers
Types of sources and sources to avoid
- Search options
- Direct access
- Aggregators
- Investigative databases
- Comprehensive report
- Pricing
- Sources to avoid
- Sources-considerations
Search strategy and tips
- More than just “finding”
- What to know and how to evaluate
- General search strategy
- Searching specific types of public records, including what’s useful and what’s not, and best practices
- Business entities
- Real property
- Judgments & liens
- UCC filings
- Courts