Due Diligence
Pre-transaction risk investigation for buyers, lenders, and investors — verifying the people, operations, and representations behind a deal before capital moves.
Commonly used byFinancial services, cannabis, construction
Sagax Watson
Risk Investigations, Compliance Audits, and On-Site Verification
We supply the facts stakeholders need before they sign, buy, settle, or underwrite — gathered from real people on-site.
We have specialized knowledge in high-risk and highly regulated industries: Cannabis & Alcohol, Custom & Historic buildings, Energy, Data and IT businesses, complex litigation / pre-litigation.
Get the facts. Primary evidence, not hearsay.
Sagax /ˈsa-gaks/ — keen-scented, acute, perceptive.
Latin definition - sagax, (gen.), sagacis.
(Adj): Possessing or showing keen mental discernment, acute perception, and sound judgement; shrewdly wise.
Used in a sentence:“You underestimate yourself, my dear Watson,” remarked Holmes, puffing on his pipe. “Your own sagacious mind has illuminated the darkness of this case far more than you credit, for your steady observations often provide the very spark my own methods require.”
The difference
Eyes on the Asset,
not just the paperwork.
A lot of due diligence is a stack of reports and a couple of phone calls. This is secondhand information dressed up in a binder. You know the old stories about Munger, Buffett, and Walton: they didn't take a spreadsheet or the circular some fancy law firm put together at face value — they'd go stand in the parking lot and count how many people walked out with a bag and then counted the nightly receipts. That's the standard I hold my own work to. If I haven't seen it myself then it's not primary knowledge, it's hearsay with a letterhead.
About the practiceEngagements
Scoped to the matter.
The work is tailored to the decision in front of you, not pressed into a fixed menu.
Custom & Historic Building Evaluations
On-site condition and risk assessment for architecturally significant or non-standard properties, where a standard inspection checklist doesn't fit the structure.
Commonly used byConstruction, real estate, underwriters
Complex Claim Investigations
Independent investigation for liability claims too disputed, too high-stakes, or just too weird for a standard adjuster file.
Commonly used byInsurance carriers, financial services
Litigation Support & Evidence Investigations
Evidence gathered and documented to a standard that holds up in negotiation, arbitration, or court.
Commonly used byAttorneys, litigated insurance claims
Regulatory & Operational Compliance Investigations
On-the-ground review of how a business actually operates against the regulations that govern it — for operators who want to know before a regulator does.
Commonly used byCannabis, energy, construction
The practice
Independent means the work answers to the evidence.
Every engagement is covered by mutual NDA. We check on potential conflicts of interest during discovery, and our information sharing systems are fully compliant. We also understand that your investigation may not be helped by a cookie-cutter service package. Let us know what you require.
Every matter starts with scope.
Tell us what you're deciding, buying, or defending.
Licenses & Certs
All-Lines Independent Adjuster, New York — 1534174
Private Investigator, New York - Lic #pending
Series 66 (lapsed)
Partner Licenses
Astor Associates, Private Investigator License, New York — 11000207327
Astor Associates, Private Service Bureau License, New York — 2132252-DCWP
Practice areas
Cannabis & Alcohol, Custom & historic buildings, energy, data and IT businesses, complex litigation / pre-litigation.