We are engaged by top law firms, inside counsel at numerous Fortune 100 and 500 companies, U.S. federal agencies, multiple state attorneys general, and sovereign nations.

We have unsurpassed knowledge of federal, state, and local records and have expertise conducting research around the globe in a variety of archives, libraries, government offices, and private record collections. Since inception, we have successfully completed more than 1,400 historical research investigations. Our team has helped clients obtain over $1.4 billion in successful settlements and judgements.

HAI | Legal employs PhD- and MA-trained historians, researchers, archivists, and other subject matter experts. Our multidisciplinary staff have a wide range of experience and technical expertise which enables us to effectively partner with all members of your legal team.

Our PhD- and MA-educated historians and subject matter experts have served as consulting experts and as corporate representatives under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6), providing historical analysis and subject matter expertise on an array of matters.

HAI | Legal provides fact-based demonstrative evidence (GIS maps, data sets, and other multimedia visuals) for trial, mediation, and settlement negotiations. Our skilled historians can prepare custom historical maps and infographics as well as ADA-compliant audio descriptions.

Our clients include senior counsel and C-suite decision makers from a wide array of industries and sectors including aerospace, chemical, construction, defense, energy, financial services, insurance, mining, transport, and utilities.

We have a network of historians and researchers all over the globe who can deploy as required. We have successfully conducted research in numerous countries where we have gained access to non-digitized (and thus potentially overlooked) records in a wide variety of foreign archives, libraries, government offices, and private collections.

We are a nationally recognized expert in obtaining documents through federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, state and local Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, and other sunshine laws. We have assisted hundreds of clients in accessing records from the federal government and from an array of state and local governments. Our team of skilled historians and researchers can prepare and submit a targeted request to one federal agency or design and implement a coordinated series of FOIA requests to multiple federal and state agencies. We also maintain proprietary in-house databases that detail the volume and location of records that have been transferred into Federal Records Centers. This resource is vital when targeting records that are not yet available to the public through the National Archives and Records Administration.

We assist law firms, corporate counsel, and public relations professionals in understanding the complex social, political, and economic dimensions of crisis situations.  Our historians have been consulted or called to investigate and research some of the most sensitive matters—human trafficking, the use of forced and slave labor during World War II, historical ties to the institution of slavery in the United States and abroad, and Holocaust-era looted assets. We also advise clients on the history of known and emerging contaminants-of-interest like vinyl chloride, coal ash, and the “forever chemicals” of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Our team of researchers can discretely identify legacy liabilities that may adversely impact your acquisition strategy. We also help identify historical environmental releases (HERs), potential legacy environmental liabilities, and asbestos litigation exposure. Other clients rely on our historians to scrutinize corporate claims, such as climate and sustainability disclosures, as well as undertake audits of historical connections to the Atlantic Slave Trade and African Slavery, and myriad other critical ESG risks.

All work undertaken by HAI Legal adheres to the highest professional standards of the historical discipline.