A Coral Gables Attorney’s Guide to Hiring a Private Investigator

What a Coral Gables base means for your casework

If your firm practices in Coral Gables, you need an investigator who can reach a scene, a witness, or a records office without losing a day. Wasser Investigations works from 2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Suite 300, and covers Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties. When a matter reaches past South Florida, statewide coverage is available.

Travis Wasser graduated summa cum laude from Florida International University with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and spent more than a decade working alongside his father on civil, federal, and criminal matters. Every client works directly with him. For attorneys who want one accountable point of contact from planning through follow-up, that is a practical reason to start with Wasser.

The office sits on Ponce de Leon Boulevard, close to Miracle Mile and the University of Miami. Our Coral Gables service area also takes in Coconut Grove, Brickell, Pinecrest, Aventura, Doral, and Kendall. Hiring a licensed private investigator in Coral Gables with that reach means one firm can handle field work across all three counties.

Law firms handling a Florida matter from another state get the same setup. One licensed Florida agency handles the field work, and you deal directly with the investigator who did it.

Investigation work Coral Gables attorneys hand off

Most of what Coral Gables attorneys send Wasser Investigations falls into a handful of case types. The table below shows the field work each one involves and who usually hires for it.

Civil teams usually start with litigation support in Coral Gables, insurance defense surveillance for Coral Gables firms, or corporate due diligence in Coral Gables. Defense teams can read about our criminal defense investigations. Injury lawyers on either side will find more on personal injury field work in Miami.

Asset and judgment-recovery research

Asset work is records research. Our background and asset investigations cover asset searches and identification, skip tracing and locates, and judgment-recovery research. Findings arrive in organized, court-ready format, with the source data behind each one.

For a judgment or pre-suit question tied to a local party, see asset searches for Coral Gables matters. Family law counsel can read our article on asset searches during South Florida divorces.

How a matter is scoped, documented, and handed to counsel

At Wasser Investigations, the licensed investigator on your first call is Travis Wasser, who owns the firm and works the cases himself. Here is how a Coral Gables matter moves from that consultation to a court-ready report.

1. Consultation. A licensed investigator conducts every confidential consultation and defines the subject, the scope of the research, and what your decision depends on.
2. Field work. Travis Wasser works the case himself, so the person who gathered each fact is the one who reports it to you.
3. Reporting. Findings arrive in organized, court-ready format with supporting source data.
4. Handoff. You get one person from your first call to your final report, so follow-up questions go straight to him.

Court-ready describes how the findings are organized and sourced. Whether any evidence comes in is the court's decision, and we make no promise about it. Before you scope a surveillance assignment, read what makes surveillance video hold up.

What a private investigator costs, and what drives the bill

Most investigators bill by the hour, and the rate depends on the work. A few Miami firms post their prices. Miami Investigation Corp, for example, lists covert surveillance at $100 to $200 an hour with a 4-hour minimum, background checks from $125, and asset search reports from $395, as of October 30, 2026. Nationally, Thumbtack puts the range at $70 to $210 an hour.

A bill usually has three parts. The retainer is paid up front and drawn down as the work is done. Hourly time covers fieldwork, research and report writing. Expenses cover costs like mileage, gas, parking, travel and court fees. Bring your matter to the free consultation with Wasser Investigations, where a licensed investigator defines its subject and scope before any estimate.

When you call, ask how the retainer, the hourly time, and the expenses are billed, and get each one in writing. You put those questions straight to the licensed investigator who will work the case, not a call center or a receptionist.

How fast a Coral Gables matter can start

Wasser Investigations replies to inquiries within one business day. The Coral Gables office keeps hours Mon to Fri 9am to 6pm. Outside those hours, the contact form takes after-hours inquiries.

The fastest starts come from attorneys who arrive with the scope already sketched out. The checklist further down covers what to have ready. Matters outside the tri-county area are scoped the same way, since statewide coverage is available.

Checking a Florida investigator's license before you hire

Check two things before you hire. The first is the Florida agency license number, shown below for our firm. The second is who will actually do the field work. At Wasser Investigations, owner Travis Wasser works the cases himself, and the firm has roots in a South Florida agency founded in 1985. You can read more about our firm.

What to settle before your first call

Your free consultation is with a licensed investigator, not a receptionist, and it defines the subject, the scope, and what your decision depends on. Settle these points before you call so that conversation can start on the case itself.

1. The case type, the court, and any deadline you are working against
2. The subject identifiers you already have (name, last known address, vehicle, employer)
3. The specific questions you need answered
4. What your decision depends on, such as settling, filing, or deposing
5. The counties involved, and whether the matter reaches beyond Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach
6. The deliverable you need, such as a report, video, or sworn statements
7. Your questions about the retainer, hourly time, and expenses

Questions Coral Gables attorneys ask about investigators