Behind the Investigations:
A Q&A with Nicholas Quinn

From stumbling upon an industry they never knew existed to tracking down witnesses living in RVs across America, we spoke with Quinlan Partners investigator Nick Quinn, whose journey from the district attorney's office to private investigations reveals how natural curiosity and an inquisitive personality can become powerful professional assets.

Q&A

Q: How did you first learn about working as an investigator?

I first encountered professional investigators while working at the district attorney's office, where I saw a different side of investigative work beyond traditional law enforcement. After two years there, I decided against pursuing law and stumbled upon an investigations job at another firm—an industry I never knew existed. It was recommended because of my DA experience, and I'm grateful I found it because it perfectly satisfies my natural curiosity. The transition felt natural since I'd grown up watching Law and Order SVU and CSI shows with my family, always enjoying the problem-solving aspect.

Q: How has your unique background contributed to your investigative methodology?

My time at the DA's office gave me an investigative mindset and familiarity with certain databases, though the work was quite different from private investigations. Learning from experienced professionals who worked their way up from analyst roles taught me the practical tools needed to succeed in this field. While you can definitely teach investigative techniques, success in this field requires genuine interest and curiosity. If you find the fun in it, the work doesn't seem as difficult, and you're naturally motivated to dig deeper. The technical skills—like database searches, Boolean language, and research methods—are all learnable through training. But having that underlying passion makes it easier to absorb and apply these skills effectively. Without that foundation, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Q: What do you appreciate most about working at Quinlan Partners?

After working at larger firms, I really appreciate that Quinlan treats you as a whole person, not just a number. Management genuinely cares about employees' well-being and mental state, which creates better work and makes you excited to come in each day. You don't have to leave your personal life at the door—it's actually embraced, which is something that's really hard to achieve at large employers. Working at a boutique firm fosters more accountability and investment in both the work product and company’s success. Being part of a rapidly growing company where everyone contributes to that growth is empowering and fun. You want to make sure you keep the momentum going, and it’s exciting to be part of that growth trajectory. 

Q: What case outcome are you most proud of?

I'm particularly proud of locating a witness for a client who needed to serve a subpoena but could only find a PO box. The client needed this urgently, and they'd exhausted their own search capabilities before coming to us. Within four hours, I discovered the person had retired, sold their house, and was traveling the country in an RV. By expanding my search to include his wife's social media and Google reviews mentioning specific RV parks and dental appointments, I pinpointed their location and found an active email address. This case demonstrated our value—finding someone an in-house team couldn't locate—and proved that persistence and creative thinking can solve seemingly impossible challenges. We provided the client with multiple data points within hours of our search.

Q: What sets Quinlan apart in identifying hard-to-reach individuals?

While there are always limitations, I believe we're better equipped than most non-government entities to locate people. We have specialized training, database access, and expertise that in-house diligence teams typically lack. Often companies think they don't need firms like ours because they have internal teams, but those teams rarely have our specialized tools and training. An internal team probably couldn't have found someone traveling the country in an RV like we did. So while finding anyone in the world might be ambitious, we'd have a pretty good shot at finding most people.

Q: What's one lesson every investor should know about investigations?

The most important thing is that specialized investigative firms exist and offer capabilities beyond what in-house teams can provide. We're doing this work every day, led by investigative industry veterans with 10, 20, even 30 years of experience. When you're dealing with multi-million dollar transactions, spending a small fraction of this on due diligence is worth the peace of mind. You can't put a price on knowing that the people and companies you're investing in are who they claim to be. If a deal goes south and you realize that an investigation could have revealed critical information, the cost-benefit analysis always favors hiring professionals like us. For example, cases like the Yahoo executive who misrepresented his education on SEC filings—a seasoned investigator could have caught that fact in minutes, but instead it became a public scandal that impacted share prices and people's livelihoods.

Q: How do you explain Quinlan's value add?

We help clients make confident, informed decisions by providing context and telling a complete story, not just delivering data points. We look for evidence, find facts, and provide the context that allows clients to truly understand what they're dealing with. As an independent firm, we'll share adverse findings that an in-house team might be motivated to downplay if they want a deal to succeed. If I were embedded in a company and wanted a deal to go through, I'd be much less motivated to share something adverse than an independent firm that has no stake in the deal's success. We don't just tell clients what they want to hear—we prioritize our relationship and trust with them over any particular transaction outcome. Our stake is in maintaining trust with our clients, not in any specific deal outcome. Essentially, we provide clients peace of mind knowing there aren't hidden surprises waiting to emerge. When clients say they've done their due diligence, hiring us means they can say it with genuine confidence.