For Victims and Their Counsel

Attorney Engagement Packet: Digital Forensics Through Counsel

If your case is heading to court, the strongest way to bring in a digital forensics expert is through your attorney. This page explains why, tells your attorney exactly what Petronella Technology Group provides, and includes a draft retention letter their office can adapt.

This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state. Nothing on this page creates an attorney-client relationship or an expert engagement.

Why Privilege Matters for Victims Heading to Litigation

Here is the plain-language version. When you hire a forensics expert directly, most of what the expert does for you is discoverable: the other side's lawyers can generally demand the expert's notes, drafts, and communications, including preliminary findings that turned out to be wrong or unhelpful. Early in a case, when nobody yet knows what the evidence shows, that is a real risk.

When your attorney retains the expert to help counsel prepare your case, the expert's work is generally performed under the attorney work-product doctrine, and communications flow through counsel. In broad terms, that means the investigation can proceed candidly - exploring dead ends, testing theories, and being honest about weaknesses - without every step being handed to the opposing party. If the expert is later designated to testify, specific disclosure rules apply to the testifying opinions, but the early investigative phase had room to breathe.

Two practical consequences for you as a victim:

  • Order of operations matters. Protection generally cannot be added retroactively to work you commissioned yourself. If litigation is realistic, talk to a lawyer before commissioning a forensic report.
  • It changes nothing about honesty. The expert's findings are what they are. Privilege protects the process of preparing your case, not the truth of the evidence.

The exact scope of work-product protection varies by state and by court, which is precisely why this decision belongs with your attorney.

Give This Page to Your Attorney

Counsel: Petronella Technology Group, Inc. is a digital forensics and cybersecurity firm in Raleigh, North Carolina, founded in 2002 and BBB A+ accredited since 2003. Under engagement through your office, the firm provides:

  • Cryptocurrency tracing and on-chain analysis: tracing stolen or fraudulently obtained funds across blockchains, wallet clustering, identification of regulated-exchange chokepoints suitable for subpoena or freeze targeting, and written trace reports prepared for court use. See crypto forensics and crypto fraud recovery.
  • SIM-swap forensics: reconstruction of unauthorized number-porting events, carrier-record analysis, and the account-takeover chain that follows a swap. See SIM swap recovery.
  • Hacked-account investigation: compromise timeline reconstruction from provider logs and artifacts, access attribution support, and remediation verification. See hacked account recovery and digital forensics.
  • Stalkerware and account-surveillance triage: documentation-safe review of device and account monitoring indicators for protective-order and harassment matters.
  • Expert witness testimony: declarations, expert reports, deposition, and trial testimony.

Examiner: Craig Petronella, North Carolina Licensed Digital Forensics Examiner (DFE #604180), MIT-Certified in AI and Blockchain, CMMC-RP. Court-tested. Rates: From $750/hour, prepaid retainer, engagement letter through counsel.

Scope limits, stated up front: the firm does not perform Cellebrite-class physical imaging of phones or tablets, does not take custody-dispute or family-law device examinations, and does not provide private-investigator surveillance services. Matters requiring those are referred out, and the firm will say so at intake rather than mid-engagement.

Draft Retention Letter (Adapt on Your Letterhead)

The text below is a starting point for counsel. It is intentionally generic; adapt it to your jurisdiction, your engagement terms, and your case.

[LAW FIRM LETTERHEAD] [Date] Craig Petronella Petronella Technology Group, Inc. 5540 Centerview Dr., Suite 200 Raleigh, NC 27606 Re: Retention of Consulting Expert - [Client/Matter Name] Dear Mr. Petronella: This letter confirms that [Law Firm] retains Petronella Technology Group, Inc. ("Consultant") to provide digital forensics consulting services in connection with our representation of [Client] in the above-referenced matter. Consultant is retained by and will report solely to this firm, in anticipation of litigation and to assist counsel in rendering legal advice. All analyses, notes, drafts, communications, and other materials prepared by Consultant in this engagement are prepared at the direction of counsel and shall be treated as confidential attorney work product to the fullest extent permitted by law. Consultant shall communicate findings to this firm and shall not disclose any aspect of the engagement to third parties without this firm's written direction. The initial scope of work is: [describe, e.g., on-chain tracing of transfers from Client's wallet; forensic review of Client's account-takeover timeline]. Additional work requires written direction from this firm. If this firm later designates Consultant as a testifying expert, the parties will address the applicable disclosure obligations at that time. Fees are billed at Consultant's quoted hourly rate against a prepaid retainer of $[amount], replenished as agreed. [Client / this firm] is responsible for payment as set out in our separate fee arrangement. Please countersign below to confirm the terms of this engagement. Sincerely, [Attorney Name], [Bar No.] [Law Firm] Agreed and accepted: _______________________ Date: ____________ Craig Petronella Petronella Technology Group, Inc.

To open an engagement or conflict-check a matter, call (919) 348-4912 or use the consultation link below.

No Attorney Yet?

If you do not have a lawyer, start with your state bar association's lawyer referral service. Every U.S. state bar operates or endorses one, and most offer a low-cost initial consultation with an attorney matched to your issue (look for practice areas like consumer fraud, domestic violence and protective orders, or civil litigation). Search "[your state] bar lawyer referral service" or find your state's program through the American Bar Association's directory at americanbar.org.

If cost is the barrier, legal aid organizations provide free civil legal help to people who qualify by income. LawHelp.org lists legal aid programs by state, and victims of domestic violence can often get help with protective orders through local DV organizations and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-799-7233, thehotline.org).

You can still prepare while you look: keep the evidence log described in our free stalkerware checklist, preserve everything, and read the guidance for your situation in the victim help center.

Book a Prepaid Consultation - From $750/hour Call (919) 348-4912