ABFDE-Certified Forensic Document Examination and Expert Witness Testimony

Examination of questioned documents, handwriting, signatures and inks

Who we are

Rile & Hicks is the successor to Harris & Harris, the oldest and most prestigious forensic document examination firm
in Los Angeles.

Call us at 714/423-5121

A. Frank Hicks is certified by the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) and is a Regular member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE). He has more than 35 years experience in criminal and civil forensic document examination and testifying in local, state and federal court.

Howard C. Rile, Jr. (retired) is certified by the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) and is now a Life member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners.

Please read the FAQ for more information on choosing a forensic document examiner.

What we do

Rile & Hicks conducts thorough examinations
of documents involving
the following types of questions: 

• Signatures (such as on wills, trusts, deeds, logs, contracts)
• Handwriting (anonymous notes, medical charts, holographic wills)
• Page substitutions or entries added after the fact (medical charts, multi-page contracts or wills, diaries, anonymous notes)
• Ink and paper differentiation
• Printing processes, typewritten entries, fax transmittals

Upon request, a detailed, illustrated report can be prepared in the form of a declaration to be filed with the court.

Professional expert testimony clearly explaining the process and the opinion can also be provided.

What to submit

Prior to any discussion or examination of the questioned document, a conflict check must be run to be sure we are not already retained on the matter by another party. 

Please complete the contact form or send a copy of the caption page of the lawsuit.

Once the conflict check has cleared and we have been officially retained, we will discuss what documents need to be submitted for examination and the next steps in the process.

Please read the "What to Submit" tab and "Resources for Attorneys" for important information.

Please note we may not be designated as an expert unless we have received both the nonrefundable retainer and the signed Agreement for Expert Services sent after a conflict check has been cleared.