The collection lawyers at Adams & Rocheleau utilize various sources and databases containing information about the debtor's assets, address and employment information. Not only does this research assist our lawyers in framing Civil Procedure Rule 69 discovery (i.e., document requests, interrogatories, and/or deposition questions), but it also provides important leads about the location of the debtor's assets and where he/she is employed. Sources of information include:

1. Client records. The client may possess information such as the debtor's financial statements, credit applications, tax returns, bank account identification, real or personal property holdings, and employment;
2. County Assessor. Records maintained by county assessors will reflect property assessed to the debtor. Most assessors will respond to inquiries and give the detail their office has with respect to the debtor's property. Reviewing prior years' assessments can also reveal transfers of property the debtor may have made;
3. County Recorder. The County Recorder's Office will show transactions or property holdings of the debtor. Items to locate include deeds of trust in which the debtor may be a beneficiary, deeds in which the debtor is grantor or grantee, limited partnership certificates in which the debtor may be shown as a partner, trust agreements, contracts, mechanics liens, UCC Financing Statements and other miscellaneous items;
4. Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will reveal what, if any, LLC's or corporations in which the debtor holds a directorship and position as officer. This may lead to evidence of the debtor's stock ownership in various business entities. In addition, records maintained by the Secretary of State and the County Recorders Office will show whether Uniform Commercial Code filings have been filed for a particular debtor (UCC-1's). This will reveal personal property assets owned by the debtor, or assets upon which the debtor has loaned money and upon which he holds a secured interest;
5. Motor Vehicle Department. Information describing motor vehicles registered to the debtor may be obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Further, address information that appears on the debtor's driver's license or vehicle registration may assist in locating the debtor.
6. Court Clerk's Office. Adams & Rocheleau checks with the state and federal court clerks to see if the debtor is a party to any other litigation. The debtor may have a claim against another person that can be executed upon or garnished. Additionally, another attorney may have collected a judgment against the debtor and may be able to provide information concerning the debtor's assets. Further, a divorce action in which the debtor was a party can be an excellent source of property information;
7. Online databases to which we subscribe. LEXIS/NEXIS is an excellent source for doing asset searches and provides numerous databases. For example, LEXIS/NEXIS has databases that includes people, business and asset locators, public records (liens and judgments), company records, financial reports about companies (e.g., Experian Business Reports), filings with numerous Department of States and with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are also motor vehicle databases. LEXIS/NEXIS also provides databases concerning a debtor's real property, judgment and lien information, and information about associated entities. (If the debtor has some interest or relation to an entity, the trial attorney, by using hypertext links, can obtain information regarding the entity, including a profile, the names of executives of the entity, and judgments and liens against the entity). The search results may also show multiple addresses for the judgment debtor in more than one state. Information pertaining to the judgment debtor's real property may include the price the debtor paid (or received) for the property, the legal description of the property, the current assessed value of the property, and other details about the property. WESTLAW also provides another source for doing asset searches. WESTLAW and LEXIS/NEXIS databases are similar but not identical. Locating a judgment debtor or witnesses having relevant information can be found by consulting the People Finder Name Tracker , People Finder Social Security Alert , and People Finder Skip Tracer databases. Motor Vehicle records can be found on both LEXIS/NEXIS and WESTLAW. Other Electronic Databases include Dun & Bradstreet Business Information Reports. A "D&B" report provides information and analysis in order to evaluate a firm's operations and profitability. This is where a credit rating for a company may be obtained.
8. Credit Reporting Agencies. Adams & Rocheleau also has access to the major credit reporting agencies, such as Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax. These can provide current addresses, employment information, and credit scoring, and can often help to locate banks with which a debtor does business.