Legally Sufficient Background Investigations
Strengthen your agency’s hiring investigations: spot critical red flags, apply the legal standards and understand the consequences of inadequate candidate screening.
About this class
This is much more than a simple “how-to” background investigation course. It answers why you conduct legally sufficient background investigations, and what happens if you don’t. We will cover some of the “how-to’s”, but in the context of the legal consequences of background investigation failures.
Together we will examine current best practices in background investigations to reduce, as far as possible, the risks that come with hiring. We will look at legally sufficient background investigations in the context of failure to investigate, failure to vet and failure to thoroughly and completely screen candidates within the law.
You will leave knowing not only why we conduct background investigations, but how to properly investigate and document legally sufficient candidate background investigations. Attendees must take part in discussions and assignments and complete the course to earn a certificate.
What you’ll learn
- Legal liability issues tied to background investigation failures for entry-level and lateral hires
- Organizational impacts of background investigation failures, and the “red flags” to find
- The importance of cybervetting
- Federal statutes that apply, and related court decisions
- Accreditation standards and compliance requirements
- Practical strategies for background investigations
- Reporting and record-keeping requirements
Who should attend
- Background investigators
- Recruitment and hiring personnel
- Supervisors and command staff
- Accreditation managers
Schedule
November 18–20, 2026
- Day 110:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
- Day 210:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
- Day 310:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET
Instructors
Daigle Law Group draws on several background investigation experts for instruction you can apply to your own investigations right away.
Attorney Joseph Race
Attorney Joseph Race, an Associate Attorney at Daigle Law Group, specializes in policy and accreditation. He led the Madison (CT) Police Department to dual CALEA and Connecticut Tier III Accreditation, serves as a CALEA Assessment Team Leader, and completed the Southern Police Institute’s Command Officers Course and the FBI National Academy.
Attorney Eric Daigle
Attorney Eric Daigle focuses on internal affairs operations and the use of force, specifically the training, investigation and supervision of force and deadly force incidents, along with civil rights litigation, including misconduct claims and employment matters.
Principal and founder of Daigle Law Group, LLC, a firm specializing in government operations, with an emphasis on management and operational consulting. Legal advisor to departments across the country, counseling command staff and officers on legal liability, policy development, employment issues, use of force, laws of arrest, and search and seizure.
He speaks at seminars and conferences across the country on the legal standards for effective and constitutional police operations.
Attorney Eric Atstupenas
Attorney Eric Atstupenas is General Counsel of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and founder of BrightRaven Strategies, LLC. Counsel to more than 400 chiefs and their departments. Immediate Past Chair of the IACP Legal Officers Section, and amicus counsel before the First Circuit, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Appeals Court.