8.1 Client Screening, Scope, Fees & Service Agreements

Client Screening, Scope, Fees & Service Agreements

Intake is the first investigative control. A clear contract cannot legalize an unlawful purpose, but it can prevent scope drift, billing disputes, unsafe disclosure, and misunderstanding.

Verify the client and purpose

Obtain enough information to verify the client or authorized representative and evaluate the assignment:

• legal name and reliable contact;
• relationship to the subject or matter;
• attorney or organizational authority where applicable;
• case number and counsel when litigation exists;
• objective and intended use;
• known orders of protection, custody orders, threats, or prior confrontations;
• requested locations, methods, deadlines, and recipients; and
• source of any sensitive credentials or data.

Do not collect a copy of every identity document by habit. Record or retain only what is necessary under a secure process.

Red flags include demands for real-time location, refusal to explain the relationship, plans to confront the subject, access to a former partner’s accounts, hidden vehicle trackers, illegal recordings, or payment contingent on finding damaging information. Pause or decline.

Conflicts and competence

Search the company’s conflict system before learning unnecessary confidential detail. Check clients, subjects, related parties, counsel, companies, and prior matters. Rule 1175-04-.05 governs conflicts and written consent for compensation from more than one interested party on the same matter.

Rule 1175-04-.03 limits work to areas of competence. A company may accept a larger assignment only while restricting the investigator’s role to qualified phases and using appropriate specialists. Do not promise forensic, medical, accounting, legal, or technical capability the team lacks.

Define the objective and methods

A precise scope might say: “Observe the claimant’s publicly visible physical activity from lawful locations on October 10–12, up to eight hours per day, and provide an objective report and original media.”

It should also state exclusions: no trespass, audio interception, tracking-device placement, account access, confrontation, or entry into private areas. Define whether interviews, database queries, subcontractors, travel, evidence collection, or legal process require additional written approval.

“Find anything damaging” is not a professional scope.

Fees and advance funds

The agreement should state:

• hourly or flat rates;
• minimum blocks, if any;
• mileage, travel, database, equipment, and subcontractor charges;
• advance amount and replenishment;
• cancellation and no-show terms;
• billing frequency and itemization;
• treatment and refund of unused funds; and
• authorization threshold for added work.

Tennessee’s PI rules prohibit billing for services or expenses not provided or incurred and require a complete itemized statement on request. Section 62-26-221 also prohibits unsubstantiated charges.

The author draft incorrectly declared that every PI advance is legally required to sit in a segregated client trust account. Tennessee’s PI licensing materials do not establish that universal lawyer-style trust-account rule. The company must follow its agreement, accounting method, tax advice, and any other law applicable to the transaction. It must not label earned funds unearned, spend refundable money inconsistently with the contract, or commingle funds when another governing duty forbids it.

No guaranteed result

A no-guarantee clause should explain that the investigator will perform authorized work competently and report facts, but cannot promise a location, confession, favorable evidence, admissibility, or litigation result. Fees compensate agreed work and expenses under the contract, not a desired outcome.

This clause does not excuse incompetence, false billing, or stopping communication. If successful completion becomes unlikely, § 62-26-221 requires advising the client and obtaining approval before continuing.

Reporting and confidentiality

Identify report recipients, delivery method, frequency, and whether counsel directs the work. Warn that copying the report outside the approved group can waive protections or expose sensitive information.

Attorney involvement does not make every investigator record privileged. Counsel should define purpose and communications. The investigator protects client information under § 62-26-221 and Rule 1175-04-.07 while recognizing valid legal process and reporting duties.

Domestic and stalking-risk screening

Ask directly about protective orders, custody restrictions, prior violence, threats, and intended confrontation. Do not rely on a client’s optional “no restraining order” warranty as if Tennessee law mandates a particular form.

When risk is unacceptable, refuse the engagement. Consider offering counsel-to-counsel, court, service-of-process, or consent-based alternatives. Do not reveal the located address of a vulnerable person to a client without a safe lawful plan.

Changes and termination

Use written change authorization for added subjects, hours, methods, jurisdictions, or deliverables. Emergency verbal authority should be documented promptly.

Termination grounds include illegality, client deception, nonpayment under the agreement, conflict, unsafe conditions, instruction against professional advice that violates law or public safety, or loss of competence/resources. Rule 1175-04-.02 requires refusal to consent to a client decision that violates law and, in stated circumstances, termination.

On closing, account for funds, preserve required records, return property, identify unfinished tasks, and secure the file.

Exam method

Choose verified lawful purpose, defined limits, transparent billing, no promised outcome, approval before continuing a futile effort, and refusal of unlawful methods. Reject answers claiming a contract can authorize illegality or that a specific trust-account structure is universally mandated by Tennessee PI law.