Recommend someone to do courthouse document retrieval in Chicagoland?

April 23, 2019 10:56 AM

I'd like to directly engage a regional document retrieval person rather than work with one of the national document brokers.

At the moment, I have a few known documents I need from the DuPage County Courthouse system. This requires an in-person visit that I cannot swing from where I live.

I may need more documents pulled based on what I read it the first batch, so I'd like to engage someone that can be my "feet on the ground" in this capacity. That's a major reason I don't want to use a national firm.

If you know a firm or person or a strategy that has worked for you in a similar situation, please help with ideas.

If it matters, this is for a non-commercial investigation where I have been asked by a friend to help with some family issues.

posted by Glomar response to Law & Government (5 answers total)

If you're trying to keep it as cheap as possible, which it seems you might be, I'd try whatever job board exists for UChicago or similar law school. There's probably some 3L who wouldn't mind picking up a few bucks collecting documents for you. This assumes no need to use proprietary information services, though.
posted by praemunire at 11:02 AM on April 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

This could be a job for a Mefite, actually! (I was going to suggest a variety of local libraries which, if you have access to them, could potentially provide some sort of access to those documents, but I will assume that you're familiar with them and their resources, and that these documents fall below a level of something that would make them Lexis or Westlaw territory in any case. So obviously I am not going to suggest that etc.)
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:26 AM on April 23, 2019

Best answer: I have had some success with calling the clerk and asking not for a recommendation, but if there are any messenger companies they see frequently. Sometimes they'll tell me company names.
posted by purple_bird at 11:31 AM on April 23, 2019

Best answer: I am a lawyer and I live in the city where the DuPage County Courthouse is. I'd be glad to head over there and pull something. But I don't come cheap: I'll charge $0.
posted by AgentRocket at 11:35 AM on April 23, 2019 [6 favorites]

This link also helps to provide an answer.
posted by megatherium at 1:00 PM on April 23, 2019