Areas of Specialization
Dawn has worked on hundreds of cases involving sex abuse. The individuals affected by this horror need more than just a private investigator poking around, getting the facts, they also need someone with feelings, that someone is Dawn.
Sex Abuse Experience
Sex abuse litigation has some unique technicalities that affect a case and Dawn understands that. All the states have a different statute of limitation that dictates if someone can or cannot come forward with a case. As the investigator Dawn takes the extra care to be aware of these statutes in whatever state she is working in. She is also monitoring any changes that may be happening at the Court of Appeals level. This makes her more than just an investigator, it makes her an expert.
Interviewing Expertise
Dawn knows you also need to be careful when interviewing witnesses. It is important during the interview process that she does not lead a witness but rather she listens. Sometimes it becomes clear that the person Dawn is interviewing has possibly been a victim. Dawn has excellent judgment, once she has made the connection that she is dealing with a possible victim she directs them to an attorney for advise.
Detailed Oriented
Dawn understands the importance of evidence, she knows it can come out of the smallest detail. For example, during an interview trying to locate facts about a Priest from many years ago it became clear that a witnesses memory had faded. Dawn was able to make the witness comfortable by just sitting listening to stories from the past. Dawn knows when people start to talk they start to remember things. In this situation the witness remembered there were some old church bulletins in the basement, these bulletins proved to be very valuable.
Personal Touch
Dawn knows you need to sit with with people in the comfort of their homes listening while they recount old memories, within those memories she is able to glean information. Interviews take patience and sometimes several follow-up interviews. Many times over she is asked if she would like to look at old yearbooks or old photos of family trips, Dawn says she never passes up this opportunity because it can lead to that smoking gun evidence. A passion for her work combined with patience and persistence is how Dawn is able to get the most powerful evidence for attorneys who hire her. Dawn says “I will not stop digging until I find the evidence needed to prove a case.”
Well Respected
“I have worked with Dawn for 12 years. She has a rare and uncanny ability to gain the trust of both clients and witnesses. When I needed people to reveal their most painful stories, I turned to Dawn. Many lawyers think that they can develop the facts of their cases through discovery, but 35 years of litigation have convinced me that formal discovery is a poor substitute for knocking on doors and talking to people in their living rooms. That is where the truth lives and where cases are made–and that is where Dawn excels.”
David Slader, retired trial lawyer in Portland, Oregon