Services
I'm an archival researcher. I build dossiers the way I build history: from primary sources, with every fact footnoted. If you need to know what's documented about a person, a company, or a decision — and you need to be able to defend every line of it — that's what I do.
What you can commission
Prices are starting points. The quote depends on scope — a narrow question with a short paper trail costs less than a decade of someone's public life. You'll know the price before I start.
For when you need the essentials, fast. A 5–10 page PDF on a single focused question: every claim linked to its primary source, key documents pulled and attached, a one-page executive summary up front — delivered within one week of the deposit clearing.
Good for: pre-interview prep, background checks on public figures, verifying a tip before you run with it.
Request a brief →For when the stakes are high and the record is long. A 20+ page PDF covering the full documented history of your subject: complete source appendix, timeline of key events with dates and citations, gaps flagged honestly — plus a 30-minute walkthrough call. Delivered within 2–3 weeks of the deposit clearing.
Good for: opposition research, investigative groundwork, litigation support, book research.
Request a dossier →For when the questions keep coming. Ongoing research capacity reserved for your team or newsroom: weekly or biweekly source drops, a direct line for rapid-response lookups (same-day on urgent items when possible). Monthly minimum of 10 hours; unused hours don't roll over.
Good for: campaigns in active season, newsrooms without a research desk, organizations tracking an ongoing issue.
Discuss a retainer →Who hires me
Process
Questions
Primary sources first: court records, government filings, campaign finance disclosures, archived web pages, public meeting minutes, FOIA-obtained documents. Secondary reporting only to point at primary material. Every factual claim in your deliverable is cited. If I can't source it, it doesn't go in — or it goes in clearly marked as unverified.
Yes. I don't disclose who hired me, what I researched, or what I found — unless you give me written permission. The only exception: if a court orders me to, and I'll tell you first if that ever happens.
A short brief takes one week from deposit. A full dossier takes two to three weeks depending on scope. Retainer clients get priority on rush requests. If you have a hard deadline, tell me up front — I'll tell you honestly whether it's doable.
One round of revisions is included: corrections, clarifications, and reframing. If new research is needed to address your feedback, I'll quote it before doing the work. I don't change findings to fit a narrative — if the record contradicts what you hoped, I'll show you exactly where and why.
I don't write unsourced hit pieces. I don't hack, phish, pretext, or access anything illegally. I don't fabricate documents or "fill in" what the record doesn't say. I don't dox private individuals — my work covers public figures and matters of public concern. If your request crosses any of these lines, I'll decline it plainly.
50% deposit to start, balance on delivery. I accept bank transfer, check, and major payment platforms — details on the invoice. Late payments (over 14 days) pause any ongoing work until settled.
You do. Once paid in full, the deliverable is yours to use, publish, or sit on. I keep a private copy for my records and won't reuse or publish your commissioned work without your written permission.
Possibly, under a separate agreement. Ask me about it if it's relevant to your matter.
Intake
To quote your project accurately, I'll need:
You don't need polished answers. Rough ones are fine — part of my job is turning a vague question into a researchable one.
Why me
Most research-for-hire is either expensive lawyers billing paralegal hours, or cheap freelancers Googling things. I'm neither. I'm a trained archival researcher — I work in primary sources the way historians do, because that's what I am. My standards are simple: if it's not documented, it's not in the dossier. If it's documented, you'll see the document.
You've seen my public work. Commissioned work gets the same treatment, aimed at your question, with your deadline, under your confidentiality.
See the standards in action. Beyond Avalon is my archival research project tracing a Madison County plantation's history from primary sources — and Follow the Money is my public accountability project, with sourced trackers on corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse. Both are built to the same evidentiary bar I bring to commissioned work.
