When the investigators of Herdens introduce themselves to members of the public as legal agents (or occasionally private investigators), we frequently have to explain exactly what a legal agent does. This usually leads to the question “so are you a kind of private detective then?”
Private detectives is a term that Herdens attempts to avoid, as we feel it can give the image of an unprofessional organisation whose staff sneak around and use underhand techniques to obtain information about their targets before getting into an exciting and dramatic confrontation. This image has often been promoted by television programmes and film productions which seek to glamorise this sort of occupation, but unsurprisingly don’t usually give the full and accurate picture
Although as legal agents, Herdens carry out very similar investigations to those which private detectives would consider taking on, we prefer using the term legal agents as we think it better describes the relationship that we have with our clients. When instructed to carry out investigations, we act in the knowledge that we are the face of and are often seen as agents and representatives of the firms which instruct us. For this reason we always maintain the highest standards and ensure that all of our work is legal and transparent.
Private detectives are also often associated with investigations into cheating partners and spouses and the controversial honey pot approach. Just to be clear, Herdens do not generally accept instructions directly from members of the public, preferring instead to work with their legal and professional representatives. We also try to avoid matrimonial investigations, since this is not currently an area of expertise for Herdens and there are a number of other firms who are happy to carry out this type of work and have the necessary skills and equipment.
Sadly we can also report that the life of a legal agent is not all excitement, drama, sticky situations and near misses. This however doesn’t mean that the work we do is not different and varied and there isn’t the occasional story of funny or strange goings on. Hopefully we can tell some of our stories in later blog entries.
