Litigation Support Services: Attorneys Can Unlock Hidden Insights With Link & Social Network Analysis Tools

In litigation, cases are often won or lost based on the details hidden in complex networks of information. While traditional tools such as background checks and due diligence can reveal some stories, they only portray part of the picture, leaving gaps that can be detrimental. That’s where tools like Link and Social Network Analysis (SNA) come in.  

What is Link Analysis? 

Link analysis examines and visualizes the relationships between entities – people, objects, locations, and events (known as POLE data). This method is widely used by organizations like the Department of Defense, law enforcement, and the intelligence community to quickly identify patterns and connections within large datasets to develop actionable insights and support informed decision-making. 

How Link Analysis Supports Attorneys Involved in Complex Investigations

Attorneys involved in complex investigations encounter thousands or tens of thousands of POLE data. Link analysis is a valuable tool providing attorneys with a highly searchable repository of case data. Similar to a quick “CTRL+F” function, link analysis databases enable analysts to search for information, be it a partial name or license plate number, VIN, event date, or case number, and find the matching data in seconds. 

Moreover, link analysis databases, or repositories, can help confirm or deny connections that typically involve countless hours of manual searches through unique legal texts or attorney’s notes. For example, if an attorney is curious if Person A is connected to Person R or if Persons A-E are connected to Persons R-Y, link analysis services can find those connections within seconds. Once connections are identified, the investigator can extract those connections and create new charts to visualize only what is relevant. With a visual mapping of connections, attorneys can save time and quickly determine if multiple entities or individuals are linked in unexpected ways. 

What is Social Network Analysis? 

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Social Network Analysis (SNA) is “an analytic tool that can be used to map and measure social relations.” The FBI explains that link analysis and SNA help solve institutional memory issues, which could also be referred to as general information asymmetry. 

While similar to link analysis, SNA goes beyond identifying connections to help provide insight into a person’s importance, role, level of activity, or control over a group of other people, assisting attorneys to understand who holds power and how influence flows. Together, these tools reveal deeper layers of insights often hidden in traditional searches. 

How Link & Social Network Analysis Helps Attorneys Handling Complex Investigations 

Link and Social Network Analysis (SNA) provide attorneys with the advantages of visual, actionable insights that reveal connections, influence networks, and hidden relationships, all essential for building a solid case. By organizing vast amounts of information into a structured, searchable format, attorneys can use this tool to quickly identify connections, patterns, and hidden relationships critical to building a case and speeding up the investigative process. 

These tools help attorneys by: 

• Uncovering Obscure or Hidden Connections: Rapidly identifies unexpected relationships
• Illuminating Key Relationships and Influencers: Shows who holds sway within networks
• Determining Who to Depose or Surveil: Reveals potential witnesses and surveillance targets.
• Supporting Jury Selection: Identifies biases and connections that might otherwise go unnoticed
• Identifying Potential Conflicts of Interest: Detects relationships that may create conflicts

Enhancing Jury Selection with Link & Social Network Analysis

One of the most practical applications of link and social network analysis is in jury selection. These tools help attorneys gain deeper insights that lead to a better-informed jury selection process, from targeted questions to identifying conflicts of interest that would otherwise remain hidden. 

These tools enhance jury selection in these ways: 

• Social Network Mapping: Allows attorneys to map out a prospective juror’s social networks and connections, which aid attorneys in identifying potential biases or revealing conflicts of interest that may not be immediately apparent. Attorneys can see potential jurors’ relationships to other individuals (witnesses, parties, etc.) involved in the case, connections to relevant entities, ideological leanings, such as political affiliations, and even industry ties that might signal biases or conflicts of interest.

• Uncovering Hidden Information: Link analysis tools can rapidly search across multiple social media platforms and public records to uncover information about jurors, such as past litigation history, criminal records, business affiliations, and financial situations for evidence of financial difficulties and through lifestyle indicators, such as property values, vehicle values, etc., to build more complete juror profiles to support informed selection.

• Identifying Influential Jurors: Jurors with extensive networks or significant social influence may be more persuasive or influential during deliberations. Link analysis can reveal which potential jurors are active or vocal online and have large social networks.  Attorneys can then decide whether to retain or challenge these individuals.

• Real-Time Monitoring: Enables attorneys to monitor jurors’ social media and online activity during a trial, alerting them to violations of the judge’s instructions about discussing the case online. 

• Enhancing Voir Dire Questioning: Informs attorneys of more targeted voir dire questions. For example, if analysis reveals a juror’s connection to a particular industry, attorneys can probe that area further during questioning. 

Why Attorneys Choose Convoy Group for Litigation Support

At Convoy Group, our background is what sets us apart. While most private security companies conduct background checks or assist with internal investigations when needed, you rarely hear them offering link analysis as a service. With over 40 years of experience in national security and intelligence – including work with the U.S. Army Special Forces – our team is trained to perform advanced analyses and deliver results that directly support attorneys’ needs. 

Convoy group litigation support services provide: 

• Cutting-Edge Tools: We have a range of integrated tools to support this service, including access to several advanced background report services, link and social network analysis software, and OSINT (open-source intelligence) software, which provides access to hundreds of databases instantly. 
• Expert Analysts: Our team, based in Pittsburgh, PA, has substantial experience performing these services in a national security environment and a proven track record of delivering results for attorneys working on simple and incredibly complex cases. Our analysts have won OSINT competitions. 
• Clear, Actionable Timelines: We turn data into connection maps and build easily palatable timelines of events that condense hours of data extraction and manual sorting so that attorneys can quickly use that information to see hidden connections and gain a rapid overview of case events, saving attorneys valuable time and effort.

Traditional investigative methods in today’s litigation landscape can only take you so far. Convoy Group’s link and social network analysis services provide attorneys with a comprehensive view of their cases, uncovering connections that might otherwise remain hidden. Convoy Group litigation support services help attorneys build the strongest case possible, from identifying potential biases in jury selection to revealing pivotal relationships between witnesses.  By leveraging our expertise, attorneys can focus on building their cases with confidence, knowing that they have a trusted partner in their corner.