CLI Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CLI facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What fiduciary duty applies to investment analysis? → Act in the client's best interest with loyalty, care, and full disclosure
2. What does SIPC protect when a member brokerage firm fails financially? → Customer cash and securities up to $500,000, including a $250,000 cash limit
3. What is a plea bargain? → Negotiated guilty plea
4. Which piece of equipment is commonly used by CLI field investigators to document subject activity in low-light conditions? → Night-vision or infrared capable camera
5. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, an investigator may obtain a consumer report only when: → A permissible purpose exists under the Act
6. In a financial investigation, what is a 'lifestyle analysis' mainly used to identify? → Gaps between a subject's visible spending and the income they report
7. Under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, an investigator may obtain personal information from state motor vehicle records: → Only for a permissible use listed in the Act, such as use in connection with litigation
8. Which body handles most arbitration of disputes between investors and their brokerage firms? → FINRA Dispute Resolution Services
9. What is the primary legal requirement a CLI investigator must meet before conducting covert surveillance on a private individual in the US? → Have a legitimate, lawful purpose related to the investigation
10. When valuing a privately held business in a divorce or fraud case, which approach estimates value from projected future cash flows discounted to present value? → Income approach (discounted cash flow)
11. Under the Model Penal Code, a defendant who consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk acts with which mental state? → Recklessly
12. Within the federal criminal system, the Jencks Act requires the government to produce a prosecution witness's prior statements: → After the witness has testified on direct examination
13. A 'guaranteed' investment promises steady monthly returns of 2% with no losses in any market condition. To an investigator, this is mainly a red flag for: → Ponzi-type fraud
14. What fiduciary duty applies to portfolio management? → Act in the client's best interest with loyalty, care, and full disclosure
15. Which federal law specifically criminalizes obtaining confidential telephone records through pretexting? → Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006
16. What fiduciary duty applies to tax strategies? → Act in the client's best interest with loyalty, care, and full disclosure
17. Under ABA Model Rule 5.3, who is responsible for ensuring a legal investigator's conduct is compatible with the lawyer's professional obligations? → The supervising attorney who retains the investigator
18. How should portfolio management performance be reported to clients? → Provide accurate, complete, and timely performance reporting with appropriate benchmarks
19. What is the standard of proof in a criminal trial? → Beyond a reasonable doubt
20. Which of the following is an ethical responsibility of a Certified Legal Investigator? → Maintaining client confidentiality
21. What regulatory compliance requirement applies to portfolio management? → Full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and industry regulations
22. What type of question is generally best for opening the substantive part of a witness interview? → Open-ended
23. How should conflicts of interest be managed in portfolio management? → Identify, disclose, and mitigate all actual and potential conflicts of interest
24. An investigator plans to put a GPS tracker on a vehicle the client does not own. What is the main risk-assessment concern? → Many states criminalize tracking a vehicle without the owner's consent
25. What is the recommended approach for documenting surveillance observations in a written report? → Use precise, objective descriptions including time stamps and specific behaviors observed
26. A person or group that acquires more than 5% of a public company's voting stock and intends to influence control must usually file which form? → Schedule 13D
27. Which element is central to the cognitive interview technique used with cooperative witnesses? → Mentally reinstating the context of the event
28. In workplace violence threat assessment, which behavior is generally the MOST concerning warning sign? → Specific statements about a plan to harm a named person, along with weapon acquisition
29. Which legal doctrine protects individuals from surveillance in areas where they have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'? → The Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy standard
30. A prior inconsistent statement by a testifying witness is admissible as substantive evidence, not just for impeachment, under FRE 801(d)(1)(A) only if it was: → Given under penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, other proceeding, or deposition