Park Avenue Presentations: Investigations Using Social/Mobile Evidence: How to Use It; How Not to Use It

Investigations Using Social/Mobile Evidence: How to Use It; How Not to Use It

Duration: 90 minutes

DESCRIPTION

In 2014, a professional investigator – an auditor, a lawyer, an HR manager, a police detective or a private investigator – would be unwise not to consider social/mobile evidence. This webinar will analyze different methods for accessing and recording the evidence. It will evaluate pitfalls, including new legislation, as well as privacy and ethical issues the investigator must bear in mind. It will offer practical tips for establishing that an investigation is lawful and responsible and yields credible evidence.

Mobile apps are causing social and mobile evidence to blend together and to skyrocket in investigative value. For official investigations, social media like Facebook® and Twitter® -- combined with mobile devices like phones and tablets -- are veritable gushers of evidence.

Today, HR disputes, divorces, tax audits, civil lawsuits, criminal probes, internal corporate investigations, regulatory inquiries, child custody battles and virtually all other kinds of investigations are uncovering relevant evidence from social/mobile sources. For instance, employees often defame or embarrass their employers on social media, where the evidence is available both out in social media and on employee phones. What can you do to find the evidence and use it to discipline the employee? But the technologies are so new that few if any standard practices exist for finding, gathering and preserving evidence. The environment is daunting. New social/mobile apps pop up like mushrooms. What’s more, all of them change constantly, as they compete with new features, interconnections, privacy policies and legal terms of service.

Examples of the use of social/mobile evidence abound. In 2013, video and a deleted text message recovered from a severely damaged iPhone contributed to conviction of a child abuser. Two years ago, a Virginia court fined a lawyer $522,000, and his client $180,000, for removing unflattering photos from the client’s Facebook page right before trial. In the month of September 2013 alone, American courts published an astonishing 88 decisions that made substantial reference to evidence obtained from social media sites. And published decisions represent just a fraction of actual lawsuits.

AGENDA

How to motivate a suspect to preserve evidence and admit the truth in an investigation.
How to legally confiscate a mobile device and interrogate it.
Diverse examples where social/mobile media evidence has been relevant in legal cases and other investigations
What risks does an investigator face when probing social/mobile apps?
Ethical limits on the scope and methods of investigation
Techniques for managing risk and staying within the law and ethics
How to get access to evidence that is not readily available
Assessment of different techniques for preserving and authenticating evidence from social/mobile networks
How to prepare an investigative report that will be acceptable and believable, in court, two or three years later
General principles to make you more intuitive about what is allowed and not allowed in this emerging field of e-discovery

Logistics

90-minute webinar (Travel-Free) delivered over the phone and Internet.
Unlimited listeners per connection - bring the entire department.
Q&A session with the expert.

This event will be presented live by phone together with a PowerPoint presentation to be viewed on your computer. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants. The PowerPoint slides will be provided shortly before the event. Once you register, you will receive an email which is your receipt and which includes your instructions for dialing in and logging on. You will also receive an email reminder 24 hours before the webinar.

What is a webinar?

A webinar is a live Internet based seminar. Webinars are a way for participants in many different locations to see and hear a presentation and view PowerPoint slides. You can also have your colleagues attend the webinar using one connection.

What kind of equipment do I need?

You will need a computer with an Internet connection (high speed service such as DSL or cable works best) and a telephone.You may listen to the webinar through your computer speakers, in which case you will not need to use a telephone connection. Internet access is not required for phone-only participants, but you will not be able to see the speaker’s slides.

How can I share the webinar with my colleagues who may not be able to attend the event?

CDs of each program will be available for sale and can be shared with your business associates.

Can I get a copy of the PowerPoint slides used in the webinar?

The PowerPoint slides will be available on the materials page link in the confirmation email that will be sent to you no later than the morning of the day a webinar is presented.

How do I ask a question during the webinar? Will my question be answered during the presentation?

A question and answer session will be scheduled at the end of each webinar. You can then ask a question by typing it into the question box that will be provided to you duringthe webinar. You may also ask a question through the telephone connection. As many questions as possible will be answered during the Question and Answer period.