The Firm

An investigator who reads the file first

Case Theory Investigations was founded by Claudette Ward, a licensed private investigator who built the practice around one kind of work: litigation-focused investigation for attorneys, before and during trial.

8+ yearsin private investigation

7,800+documented investigative hours

Licensedprivate investigator, New Mexico

Firm: Case Theory Investigations, a licensed private investigation practice
Founder: Claudette Ward, Founder and Licensed Private Investigator
Clients: Attorneys and law firms only. The firm does not work directly with the public.
Based in: Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
Service area: Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, and Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance counties. Statewide New Mexico by arrangement.
Experience: More than eight years in the field and over 7,800 documented investigative hours
Turnaround: Most assignments begin within one to two business days. Rush work is completed in under 48 hours, subject to availability.
Billing: Hourly, in quarter-hour increments, at rates that vary by the type of work. A rate card is provided at the intake call.
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time
Telephone: 505-331-7836

Across those hours she has worked closely with attorneys, law firms and insurance professionals on matters that turn on detailed fact development — investigative interviews, background research, witness location, case review and professional investigative reporting. The volume matters less than what it produces: a practiced sense of which facts a court will find relevant, and which leads will not repay the hours spent chasing them.

Her academic background is in psychology, applied behavior analysis and industrial-organizational psychology. That training shows up in the parts of the work that decide cases. How a reluctant witness is approached and questioned. How an account is weighed against the record rather than taken at face value. How several thousand pages become a chronology counsel can use in an afternoon. How an investigation is run efficiently enough to finish before the setting.

Better questions. Better facts. Stronger case preparation.

The firm takes a small number of matters at a time. That is deliberate. It is the reason each file gets the full discovery read, the second attempt at a witness who did not answer the first time, and the return trip to a scene at the hour the events actually happened. Volume practices cannot do that, and it is usually the difference between a name on a witness list and usable testimony.

What counsel gets is the discipline of a licensed private investigator combined with the structure, responsiveness and operational understanding attorneys need from an investigative partner.

The approach

Understand the theory counsel is building. Find out what the facts actually support. Say so plainly — including when the findings are not what anyone hoped to hear.

That last part is the one that matters. An investigator who reports only helpful facts leaves counsel unprepared for what the other side already knows. Everything here is documented on the assumption that opposing counsel will read it and a judge may see it, which is also what makes a report worth putting in front of a court.

Facts shape strategy. Never the reverse.

Standards the firm observes

Nothing is obtained by a method that would make it inadmissible or embarrass counsel later
Identity and purpose are disclosed truthfully to every person contacted
Represented parties are not contacted, and unclear representation is raised with counsel first
Observation is kept separate from inference in every written report
Unwelcome findings are reported immediately rather than buried in a summary
Assignments whose evident purpose is harassment or evading a court order are declined

How the firm works with your office

Intake. Conflicts are checked, the factual question is defined, and scope and deadline are agreed before any time is billed.
Updates. Progress comes by phone or email on whatever cadence your office prefers — most attorneys want a check-in after the first interviews and a call before the report is finalized.
Delivery. Findings are given orally first where that helps counsel decide what should be reduced to writing, then in a dated written report with attachments indexed.
Testimony. The investigator who did the work is available for hearings, depositions and trial, including standby.

Where the work happens

The office is in Downtown Albuquerque, minutes from the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, the Second Judicial District Court and the Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse. Assignments run throughout the metro and, by arrangement, across New Mexico. See the service area for counties and travel terms.

What the firm does

Six lines of investigative work — interviews, witness location, file and evidence review, field investigation, written reports and testimony — used alone or in sequence across the practice areas we support.

Questions about the firm

Who will actually work on our matter?

Claudette Ward. The investigator you speak with at intake is the investigator who does the work and, if it comes to it, testifies to it. Assignments are not passed to a subcontractor.

How many matters do you carry at once?

Deliberately few. A small caseload is what makes the full discovery read, the second attempt at a witness, and the return visit to a scene possible.

Are you licensed and insured in New Mexico?

Yes. Claudette Ward is a licensed private investigator. The license and insurance certificates are provided in writing for your file before an engagement begins.

How do you handle confidential case material?

Case material is treated as your work product. It is not discussed outside the engagement, and files are transferred and stored in a manner your office approves.