Terry F. Lenzner, the founder of IGI and its chief executive for more than 30 years, passed away on April 23, 2020.  A legendary attorney and a pioneer in the field of private investigation, Terry maintained a fierce commitment to uncovering the truth while always upholding the highest ethical standards.  Terry has bequeathed IGI with a strong legacy and sound principles that the firm will continue to build upon in the coming years.

Described as the “preeminent private investigator of our time” by the late Cokie Roberts (the renowned NPR and ABC News political commentator), over the course of his remarkable career Terry developed a formidable reputation for his relentless pursuit of concealed facts – with no stone left unturned.  60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl has observed that Terry “plied his craft at the highest levels of power,” with investigations involving presidents, royalty, and titans of industry.  Terry harnessed the intensity developed as captain of the Harvard football team to become what Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson described as “a linebacker for truth,” with “an instinct for sniffing out deception and the courage to tackle it.”

Those who worked alongside Terry at IGI have described him as both intense and charming – with a fierce loyalty to his clients’ interests that remains a hallmark of IGI’s practice.  As James Rosen of The Wall Street Journal put it, “So decisive have been his victories that those who have encountered him are divisible into two groups: those who thanked God he was on their side and those who rued that he wasn’t.”

The Washington Post has published an obituary, an excerpt of which follows:

“Mr. Lenzner launched IGI … as an offshoot of his legal practice, and he retired from the firm in 2015. … Enlisting the help of financial specialists, investigative reporters and law-enforcement veterans, he oversaw undercover operations, tracked down phone records and credit reports, and investigated the death of Princess Diana for the father of her companion, Dodi Fayed. … Among many other clients, Mr. Lenzner and IGI investigated the fabrications of New Republic journalist Stephen Glass; worked for Ivana Trump during her divorce from Donald Trump; and helped Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) during his 1994 reelection campaign by investigating the business history of his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.”

Read the full obituary here.