8.5

Skip Tracing

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INTRODUCTION

Skip tracing does not usually involve "cloak and dagger" techniques. It is usually a matter of phone calls, library visits, Internet searches, and other, more mundane techniques.

Lecture Notes . . .

Skip Tracing
At some point in your career, you will probably be asked to locate someone who is missing. It may be a witness. It may be someone who owes your client money. Or it may be a client who has money coming to him or her. Remember, don't assume the skip knows he or she is missing!

It should be noted, and it will be helpful for you to know that there are three tiers of sources for skip tracing.

The Primary Tier includes sources that may be accessed from your home or office. The Second Tier includes sources that require out-of-office skip tracing.

Sources for Skip Tracing
You will not be tested on the contents of these lists, but it is a good idea to be familiar with them and use it as future reference in your career.

For now, the most important thing to remember is that there are Initial, or Primary Sources (for in-office searches) and Secondary, or Field, Sources (for out-of-office searches).

Tracking Down the Missing
As a paralegal, you may never actually conduct a skip trace. But the manual provides some techniques that don't take much time and have the potential for great dividends.

In fact, the techniques provided assume that the paralegal has not been given a substantial amount of time or funds to conduct the skip trace.

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Paralegal Perspective . . .

THE CASE OF THE MARRIED NUN
The most interesting skip trace I ever performed was for a woman who called from New York. She had been married in Denver several years earlier, but had gotten a divorce after only a few months. The event was so traumatic that she left for London and joined an Anglican convent, becoming a nun. She had recently been transferred to a convent in New York state, and they were requesting her records, including divorce records.

She and her ex-husband had drafted the divorce documents themselves, and now she was calling us, basically because we were one of the first firms in the yellow pages. I checked with an attorney who agreed that we could do it for free. That afternoon I was at the courthouse on other business, and stopped in the archives to get the file. When I saw it, I was stunned. They had failed to file one of the last documents, so the divorce was not granted.

I called the woman back, not knowing her current situation, and told her she was still married. Her response: 'I can't be married. I'm a nun!' Well, the convent put the firm on retainer to handle the divorce, but first we had to find her ex. The last our client knew, he was heading to Montana to trap for furs. (No kidding!) So the attorney said I could start searching, and if necessary, go up north to locate him. I'm excited now! Montana, here I come! First, I placed a few calls, checked the phone book, all the usual places. Nothing. But where do I start looking for a fur trapper? I decided to call a place that sold furs to ask for suggestions. They asked his name, and then said, 'Oh, he's a manager here. But he's on break." OUCH! There went Montana! I did find my target, though!


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Commonly Asked Questions . . .

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