Criminal Defense Link to heading

Jill has always been a strong advocate for the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. She will go above and beyond to ensure that clients receive proper assistance of counsel, the right to a fair trial, know the evidence against them and who their accusers are, and have the means to defend themselves. She works tirelessly to mitigate the imperfections of the justice system.

She has worked on criminal defense cases involving murder, attempted murder, robbery, rape and sexual assault, drug charges, stalking, harassment, and misdemeanors. She is skilled at gathering exculpatory evidence and helping defense attorneys handle their cases with a full deck of cards. Her strong memory aids her ability to recall notable details and detect contradictions, and she is always prepared to testify if needed. Notably, Jill was part of a team of investigators and lawyers working on behalf of Kevin Spacey, whose charges in Massachusetts were dropped in July 2019.

Wrongful Convictions Link to heading

Jill Vaglica was part of a team of investigators and lawyers [John Nardizzi, Barbara Munro and Madeline Blanchette] who received the Arc of Justice Award from the New England Innocence Project in 2021. Jill conducted several interviews that helped the team exonerate a man named James Watson, who spent 41 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Watson’s case had several elements of misconduct, such as witness hypnosis and coercion. The team uncovered considerable new evidence supporting Watson’s claim of innocence, in addition to scrutinizing old evidence.

Learn more about Mr. Watson’s powerful story here.

Jill has worked on dozens of other cases involving wrongful convictions, many of which have succeeded in exonerations and motions for new trials. In 2019, Jill worked on the legal team who helped exonerate Gary Cifizzari, who was the first person she saw exonerated. Although DNA evidence excluded him and pointed to an alternate perpetrator of a gruesome 1979 murder in Milford MA, the team still had to fight for his exoneration.

Civil and Family Matters Link to heading

Jill handles civil, family and probate matters and applies her unique skill set to each investigation. She also has considerable experience helping clients both fight against and seek restraining orders.

Jill has considerable experience working on cases involving medical malpractice, million-dollar lawsuits, restraining orders, divorce, asset tracing, and corporate fraud.

Witness Interviews Link to heading

Jill is skilled at interviewing people from all walks of life, which is a skill she has been honing on since her early days working as an investigative reporter. Jill conducts interviews in a professional yet conversational manner, and can persuade hostile and hesitant witnesses to cooperate. Each witness has a unique personality, connection to the case, and various emotional traumas and defenses. Prior to interview inquiries, Jill educates herself on such matters and strives to meet each witness with empathy and understanding. Oftentimes, this leads to positive outcomes.

Public Records & Social Media Link to heading

Despite her relatively young age, Jill is skilled at utilizing old non-computerized records to assist in old and cold cases. She goes beyond the digital realm, and has experience working with records dating as far back as the 1960s. No case is too old for her to take on. Conversely, no case is too new. Jill is highly savvy with evolving trends in technology, cryptocurrency, and social media. She finds unique and innovative ways to utilize technology to collect critical evidence. She has the softwares and skills necessary to document digital and paper evidence in a presentable form for client reports and exhibits in court proceedings.

Surveillance Link to heading

Remote technology is not the only avenue for investigation, as each case has unique needs and dilemmas. When remote technology reaches its limit, Jill is skilled in surveillance techniques. She has various tricks and advanced tools to discreetly surveil the target of investigation and report results in a timely manner. She aims to stake out, not strike out. Jill is well-versed in legal and ethical boundaries and knows how to conduct surveillance and collect information without crossing them.

Background Checks and Skip Tracing Link to heading

Jill is skilled with background due diligence and provides this service for a variety of reasons, such as for employee and corporate background checks. She knows how to extract high quantity and high quality information using public records laws. She is skilled at understanding, summarizing, and retrieving legal documents. She is also skilled in tracking down a person’s real-time whereabouts for various reasons such as for service of process, surveillance, interviews, etc.