How a Professional Investigator Saved a Client $9.5 Million | Sally Tierney (Professional Investigator)

A reluctant witness, a freezing 3 a.m. wake-up, and one parking-lot conversation that saved a client $9.5 million: this episode shows why the right investigator can change the entire outcome of a case. Sally Tierney is a professional investigator, working with law firms to uncover facts, evidence, answers and the stories behind the case. It's thrilling and fascinating work, all the more so when you learn about Sally's motivation for becoming a professional investigator in the first place. That painful experience led to a complete 180 career change, out of left field, and she tells us all about it. Investigators play a critical role in criminal defense, personal injury and civil litigation. Sally shares how a thorough investigation can uncover key facts, strengthen a case, or even reveal when a case should not move forward.  And then there are the psychological questions of getting witnesses to open up, of knowing when and how to keep pushing for that breakthrough conversation, and of knowing what it means to truly listen. A skill that is equally crucial for lawyers. Sally shares how tenacity, not just intelligence, drives great investigative work, and why the lawyers who use investigators well are often the ones who build stronger cases, make better settlement decisions, and protect their clients earlier. "The answers are, one way or another, good or bad for your client, right? You want to find them out. You don't want to only find them out because the other side did their job." - Sally Tierney In this episode, we discuss: ◼️ Why every case can benefit from early investigation, even when the evidence may hurt your position. ◼️ How Sally gets reluctant witnesses to talk. ◼️ The difference between asking questions and truly listening. ◼️ Why in-person contact often gets results that phone calls and Zoom never will. ◼️ How investigators help lawyers uncover missing video, witnesses, police report errors, and critical details before it is too late. Chapters 0:00 Why Professional Investigators Matter 5:26 The Case That Saved $9.5 Million 11:58 What Real Listening Looks Like 16:14 Why Every Case Needs Investigation Early 28:09 Purpose, Power, and Helping the Wrongly Accused 33:43 The Weirdest Parts of the Job 36:35 Why Going to the Scene Matters 40:39 What an Investigation Looks Like in Practice 44:02 AI as a Research Assistant 46:51 Anxiety as a Useful Tool 49:01 How to Reach Sally Tierney Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com  Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers. If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us. Thank you! Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki