How to find someone without using a private investigator

Asianchick

Hey everyone,

I need to find someone who worked for a solicitor 15 years ago.

She was a legal secretary at the solicitors who dealt with my property purchase who witnessed a trust deed. Now the other party to the trust deed is denying that he signed it.

I have typed the solicitors into Google and have found nothing. I think it may have closed/changed name. I know the address of the solicitors and the address of the legal secretary but she has moved.

I cannot afford to hire a private investigator. Can anyone give me any suggestions on where to start or what to do?

How do private investigators find out there information?

Is there a database of solicitors companies, both old and new?


If this is the wrong section to post this in, please advise me which one to post it in. I have also posted it in the marriage one.

Thanks in advance for your help.

alyth

Contact the Law Society - they will be able to advise you whether the solicitor has closed down/merged/moved.

Facebook/bebo/google the secretary's name? Having worked in law for many years though until recently, if she witnessed the document 15 years ago the chances are she did this so often she won't remember witnessing your document unless there was someone out of the ordinary about you/it.

Good luck.

owsaboutthatthen

I can only echo what alyth has said. I too worked in law for many years as a legal secretary, and I myself have witnessed numerous documents of this nature, and cannot remember half of the stuff that was witnessed! We had to trace a witness once over, but luckily that particular witness was still residing at the address given on the document.

I worked in the Manchester area and if the solicitors you are trying locate were based within this area, I could try and recall some of the firm names for you.

Failing that, good luck in the search.

dieselhead

I would ask at your local archives, my mother is a amateur genealogist who works part time for the the local archives service. She specialises in researching family trees but recently has managed to track down two (living as opposed to her usual job of locating dead people ) families, for people who have been adopted using her genealogist knowledge.

So what I am coming to is it may be worth asking at your local archives service to see if there is anyone who has any ideas about tracing people.

alyth

there is also a website called 123.com - if you type in the secretary's name you might be able to trace her that way.

Firefly

or it might not be as expensive as you think to trace her via a PI.

I found my ex's 'other woman' that way for a pittance and it was worth every last penny!

maggie111

Perhaps you could do a search somehow and find other deeds this lady has signed and witnessed - perhaps someone with more knowledge than me on archiving might know if that's possible...

But if so, look for houses through that solicitors (in the local area there must be a few) find her signature on another deed - and then pay a handwriting expert to confirm it's the same signature?

momoyama

It's been said but I'll reiterate. Social networking sites like Facebook would be my first port of call.

Asianchick

Thanks everyone. All excellent ideas. I will tell you how I get on.

ameliarate

Asianchick wrote: »

Hey everyone,

I need to find someone who worked for a solicitor 15 years ago.

She was a legal secretary at the solicitors who dealt with my property purchase who witnessed a trust deed. Now the other party to the trust deed is denying that he signed it.

I have typed the solicitors into Google and have found nothing. I think it may have closed/changed name. I know the address of the solicitors and the address of the legal secretary but she has moved.

I cannot afford to hire a private investigator. Can anyone give me any suggestions on where to start or what to do?

How do private investigators find out there information?

Is there a database of solicitors companies, both old and new?


If this is the wrong section to post this in, please advise me which one to post it in. I have also posted it in the marriage one.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Actually, do you need to find this person? Can you not just see a solicitor and explain the situation. If the document is properly signed and witnessed surely (s)he can't just deny it?

Asianchick

ameliarate wrote: »

Actually, do you need to find this person? Can you not just see a solicitor and explain the situation. If the document is properly signed and witnessed surely (s)he can't just deny it?

He is denying it. We have seen a solicitor and she is dealing with it. I don't want it to get to court. I would like to find the solicitor/legal sec as proof so he will see that his lies will not stand up in court.