 Have you tried to find a process server who can serve your legal documents promptly and correctly? If you have ever needed one, most likely you know that it is not so easy to find a good and reliable process server. It becomes even more complicated if you are looking for a process server who can handle a larger volume of services on a regular basis. How about when you need a process server in another county or state? Finding a good and reliable process server can quickly become difficult and time consuming. All you need, after all, is to quickly reach out to a process server who is ready, available and willing to work with your legal team and efficiently deliver your legal documents. When you are trying to find a process server, most likely you are doing one of the following:
What these methods have in common is that you may or may not find a process server who covers the specific area you are looking for or you end up with a list of process servers, sometimes even several pages of names, without a reliable way to sift through the names and select the best and most reliable one. You have to spend valuable time to call or email each process server and using very little information, you must decide who to hire to serve your legal documents. Yet other times you end up finding someone who seems reliable only to discover that they are miles away from the zip code of the service address and later on they have a hard time providing status on your service. If you are lucky, another legal professional may refer you to a good process server whom they have successfully used before. That's where reviews and referrals could be extremely helpful in saving you time and valuable resources when looking for a process server. When it comes to reviews, there are a couple of ways they can help your legal team when looking for a process server:
Reviews are an important indicator to consumers as to whether or not to purchase a service. Here’s why:
Some of the reasons reviews are important for your process service businesses:
Almost every paralegal you talk to has a story about their unpleasant experience of dealing with a process server. It is common to hear that it took them hours to just find one single process server. Or they sent their legal documents to a process server who seemed reliable, only to never hear back from him again. Or the story of another paralegal whose documents were served fast, but had the hardest time trying to get an affidavit from the process server. Behind many of these stories, frustration is a common thread.
In fact, when a paralegal needs a process server in Orange county, California, he or she may quickly find the top 3 process servers using PROServer List. How about a process server in the Atlanta, Georgia area? If you have ever tried to find a process server in some of the large metropolitan areas, you are familiar with the long lists of names of process servers some of the nationwide directories throw at you. As a busy paralegal, you certainly do not have time to call each and every process server from three or four pages showing 25 or more servers per page. And how do you even begin to find out whom you can trust to get the service done on time and correctly? Equipped with PROServer List, legal professionals may now skip the long line and instead focus only on the top 3 process servers included in each county in every state. Built on the foundation of more than 100,000 successfully completed service of process, PROServerLIST connects government agencies and legal professionals directly to its online directory of Pre-Screened and Certified Process Servers in order to improve the legal support services experience for both legal clients and process servers. PROServerLIST is an exclusive Directory designed to provide client rankings of process servers in order to:
The Process Server Center holds its process servers to the very highest standards of consistent quality of their services, sustainable record of services completed correctly, and continuous training and improvement. PROServerLIST is the only Directory in the United States where government agencies and legal professionals hire Certified and Pre-screened process servers. Think of PROServer List as the Client Reports for process servers. You can log-on to the site any time of the day to do some searches for highly recommended process servers as well as read all the unbiased and verified reviews on them provided by legal professionals who have recently used their services. In fact, PROServer List is the only place of its kind that provides unbiased reviews and other-related information that are focused on process servers in the United States. Think of PROServer List as the Consumer Reports for process servers nationwide, represented by the top three process servers in any given county. Process Servers are rated on the site based on various criteria that includes professionalism, quality, responsiveness, punctuality, and of course, price. Each process server who takes one of the 3 tops spots has successfully completed the Certification Exam and/or Training program for process servers. Paralegals find this rating system and client reviews very helpful. They definitely save time, valuable resources, eliminate delays in legal case proceedings and of course, they eliminate frustrations from improperly served legal documents. With PROServer List, legal professionals have a much better chance of weeding out unprofessional and low quality process servers as client members provide their feedback on their actual experiences with these process servers. Furthermore, in order to guard against unscrupulous legal professionals from reporting positively on themselves or negatively on others, reviews are only accepted by current client members, then verified and checked prior to being included as part of a process servers' online resume. Source: theProcessServerCenter.com
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Article first published in PROServerCENTER.com 1-11-2021 Is it possible to start a process service business with no money? It is not easy, but for certain type of businesses like process service, the answer is yes, and here is how it is done.  Process service is one of these service businesses where in most cases, you spend money only when you make money. What it means is that if you have organized your business frugally (you have not rented an outside office and have not hired an office assistant before you have even served one process), then you spend money only when a client hires you to deliver legal documents. The "secret" to launching your process service business with little or no money is to get creative and be determined. Contrary to the cliché, it does not always "take money to make money." There are plenty of process service business owners who started their businesses with little or no cash. Here are 11 strategies that work to start a process service business without capital: 1. Recognize and Use the Assets You Have as a Process Server If you are reading this article, chances are you have little or no cash to invest in a business. But you do have assets and abilities that you can use to get a process service business started. Most likely you already have skills and knowledge that would help you launch your process service business. Perhaps you are a retired law enforcement officer, a former military, have worked as a courier or even a delivery guy. Many skills you have developed while working other jobs could be applied and used as assets when starting your process service business. Using those skills and assets - in other words, using what you already have – is the key to getting your process service business started when you have little or no money. Begin by making a list of things you already know how to do, are good at doing and like doing that are related to process service. Do not limit this initial list. List even the simplest tasks like delivering pizza or mail, as well as more difficult or skilled things like analyzing financial data or creating software. Next, think about the physical things and money you do have that could be used in your process service business. For instance, if you are reading this page on a computer or a mobile device that you own, you already have a piece of equipment that you can use to get your process service business started. You can use your word processor (or other software if you have it) to keep track of your services or prepare affidavits of service or even write up promotional materials and distribute them by email to paralegals or attorneys who want information about your services. If you have an inkjet or laser printer, you can print some of your initial promotional materials in very small quantities. Once you know what works and want to print, say 100 copies, it may be cheaper to have a local UPS or Staples or an online printer run them off for you. Your smartphone can be used to create snapshots or videos to publicize your process service business to people you know on Instagram or other social media platforms. And if you own a reliable vehicle, then you already have one of the most important physical assets to launch your process service business, particularly if you do not live in a metropolitan area with regular and reliable public transportation. 2. Make Money by Saving Time While Launching Your Process Service Startup To increase your chances of success with your business, consider getting proper process server training through online or in-person programs. Your investment in such programs ensures that you have the right skills and knowledge to serve legal documents in the most efficient way and cut time spent per service. Why do things the hard way, particularly if you have little or no money to invest in your process service business? Wasting time while attempting to serve a respondent or getting affidavits ready translates into wasting money. The better equipped you are, the more efficient you become and the more money you will make as a process server. Learning and acquiring process service know-how teaches you to pay attention and minimize spending. It also helps you keep business costs down once you get your process service business going. 3. Work as a Process Server from Home Many process servers complain that they are struggling to make ends meet, even though they have clients and they regularly serve legal documents. While the reasons behind this could be many, one key expense may be pulling you down and preventing you from seeing that profit. Renting office or retail space for your process service business is expensive and most times unnecessary. It is something you may want or need to do once you grow the business in the future and have solid savings in your business account. But when you are just starting out as a process server, find a way to work from home. If you work from home as a process server, your business will not need money for rent, utilities, and office furniture. 4. Conserve Your Cash as a Process Server Yes, a faster computer might be nice. Or a new desk, a better camera, an expensive software package or cloud service. But make do with what you have and look for the lowest cost options for anything you need to acquire until you start bringing in paying customers for your process service business. Conserve cash by organizing your day better and being more efficient when setting your routine. Most legal documents need service attempts during the day if the address given is a business, or early in the morning or later in the evening if the address is a residence. In addition to making attempts to deliver the documents, process servers also need to dedicate time to prepare affidavits, to update their clients on the status of the services, to market themselves and in general, to run their business. Many process servers start making attempts early in the morning and work on their office work in the evenings. Such repetitive routine leads to deadlines being missed, affidavits and invoices being delayed, and ultimately leads to poor business outcomes. Instead, consider alternating your daily routine, where you work on your office and business duties in the morning, then begin attempts toward service at noon. Follow that with attempts early in the morning and office work in the afternoon the next day. Alternating your daily routine increases your due diligence toward service, maximizes your chances to catch a respondent home while it ensures that your office, marketing and business duties will not be neglected. 5. Use Free and Low-Cost Marketing Techniques There are dozens of free and low-cost ways to market your process service business. Learn them and implement them before you start spending money on paid advertising via Google or any other search engines. Using free promotional strategies at first will help you gauge your marketing goals better, and it will help you start to understand what attracts or what motivates your customers to try your process services. Consider joining state and nationwide process service organizations and directories like PROServer list where competition for your local area is low due to its exclusivity which allows only three process servers to be included in each county served. 6. Do All the Process Service Work Yourself at First Rely on your own sweat equity to start a process service business with no money. Expect long days and the need to learn how to do things you have not done before, such as marketing, selling, accounting or even building a website. You can learn how to do some of these tasks for free by searching the web or YouTube for “How to…” followed by the skill you need help with. Consider serving all legal documents yourself and hold off on hiring another process server until you have a good amount saved in your business account. Doing all these tasks yourself at first saves you money and will also help you understand what type of skills each activity requires when the business is making enough profit to hire office or process service help. 7. Start Simple Your dream might include a pretty big process service business offering a wide variety of products and services and serving large-volume accounts, but for now, keep it simple. Focus on serving process and take excellent care of each and every client who trusts you with their legal documents. Build your customer base and later branch out into other products and services. One of the most expensive parts of running a process service business is acquiring customers. If you gain their trust with one service now, selling another one or attracting a new customer will become much easy. 8. Work for Somebody Else Although they may not admit it, most process service business owners became entrepreneurs thinking they knew more than what they did. In fact, many process servers fail because the person was ill-equipped to build a successful business. Before you start your own process service business, make sure to complete what we call the 2 Factor Success Tools: know-how and field training. Know-how training builds your skills and knowledge necessary to build an efficient and successful process service business. Field training involves practical training of your know-how skills while attempting to serve legal documents. Working for someone else allows you to practice your process service skills while continuing to learn from other process servers' past experience. As a process server working for an agency, you will also gain insider knowledge of the industry that is valuable to the success of your own process service business. 9. Use Free Services The Internet is full of high quality services you can use for free while launching and growing your process service business. Mailchimp is a powerful e-mail marketing platform that is free for the first 2,000 e-mail addresses. Wufoo allows you to make online forms, and although Facebook and other social media platforms will not put your ad in front of large amounts of people unless you pay, you can still gain some traction by telling people about your process service business or by joining Facebook groups and communities. There are also freelance platforms like Fiverr, Elance, and Upwork that have quality freelancers willing to help with logo and web design, and another service for cheap. You could get a logo made for $5! 10. Hustle! Finally, go into your process service business endeavor with a hustling mindset. Be ready to do anything legal and ethical to get your business off the ground. Do not like cold calling? Do it anyway! Not a graphic designer? You can find templates online for just about anything. Do not want to do any free work? It might be worth it to get your name out there. If you do not have the money to pay for services, you have to do them yourself or find somebody who can and will do it for free. Do not let a lack of funds discourage you from starting your process service business. You may have to work harder than someone with more financial resources, and it may take longer. But resourcefulness, creativity, hustle, and determination are often better predictors of success than money! Source: theProcessServerCenter.com
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New York, NY – Associated Services, a nationwide process service management company, today announced that the company is partnering with the Process Server Center (PSC). PSC is a legal professional organization that has successfully developed the first program to self-regulate the process service industry throughout the United States. Through this partnership, Associated Services and PSC aims to: · Implement nationwide certification for process servers in order to upgrade the professional quality of services provided · Encourage the continuous training and education among process servers to support the orderly administration of justice · Facilitate the administration of the Process Server Exclusive Directory to enhance confidence in the integrity of services provided by process servers · Provide a hassle-free solution for legal departments of government agencies, law firms and pro se clients to find professional and reliable process servers The process service industry has a huge market of process servers who constantly come and leave this industry. Process Servers are drawn by the ease of entry to this profession and the excitement to build their own business, all for less than 100 dollars. Self-regulation through certification, feedback incentives and a constantly updated directory of process servers is critical to ensure the consistent quality of service of process and eliminate hassles from improper service of process. PSC survey has proved that legal departments at government agencies, law firms and pro se clients will greatly benefit from advancing the training of process servers and utilizing a database that is constantly being updated to reflect the education, experience and real-time feedback for the quality of work and performance of process servers. “We are excited to support PSC in the much needed regulation of the process service industry”, says Brani, Andreev, CEO of Associated Services. “Providing the Know-How and Pre-screening of certified process servers in order to provide legal professionals the fast and reliable access to qualified, certified, pre-screened process servers is the most exciting opportunity the process service industry has seen in a long time.” Ultimately, Associated Services aspires to enable process servers to distinguish themselves from other process servers while providing clients with a reliable source of hiring the best process servers in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently about 15,000 to 20,000 process servers in the United States. Only 9 states now require initial statewide licensing for process servers and the responsibility to obtain sufficient education and training falls on each individual process server. "Both national and state associations, like the National Association for Professional Process Servers (NAPPS) require some proof of affiliation with the process service industry for one year in order to become a member”, says Richard Farrell, Program Director at PSC. “Aimed to solve problems in service of process and upgrade the quality of process servers’ directories, we are thrilled to partner with Associated Services to bring to the industry a results-driven approach to ensure the consistent high quality of service of process. PSC Exclusive Process Servers Directory incorporates both entrance and continuous education and training requirements to maintain membership. The Exclusive Directory further differentiates between certified and pre-screened process servers in order to encourage members to get relevant education and also to implement the 4Ps™ Management Model in order to sustain service of process quality in the long run” About Associated Services Associated Services is a Nationwide Process Service Management Company. What ensures the consistent delivery of service of process is the management approach the company has developed and implemented based on more than 30 years of experience. Associated Services selects, trains, and oversees process servers throughout the country in order to streamline the process and save you time and valuable resources. Brani Andreev, CEO of Associated Services, has created this breakthrough management model that provides the framework that every process server must follow to ensure proper service of process every time. The 4Ps™ Model is based on relevant experience actively managing process servers and represents a breakthrough know-how for the process service industry. Associated Services is headquartered in Syracuse, NY. For information, visit www.Associated.Legal About the Process Server Center (PSC) PSC is a legal professional organization whose mission is to set a standard for the process service industry in the United States. The organization’s approach provides specific, actionable solutions to process servers and legal departments the development of relevant training solutions for process servers and the administration of the first and only Exclusive Director for Certified and Pre-Screened Process Server. The Process Server Center Team has 20+ years of experience in working with individual process servers, process service agencies, government agencies and law firms. PSC helps process servers build and maintain successful process service business while ensuring proper service of process and highest quality is provided to legal professionals. PSC is headquartered in Boston, MA. For information, visit www.TheProcessServerCenter.com Media Contacts: Brani Andreev, Associated Services Tel: 646-828-7748 B.Andreev@Associated.Legal Richard Farrell, PSC Tel: 917-409-7046 Richard.Farrell@CertifiedProcessServer.com SOURCE: Associated.Legal Related Links: www.Associated.Legal www.TheProcessServerCenter.com www.CertifiedProcessServer.com Across our society, we are witnessing economic and technological changes at an unprecedented rate. These changes will continue to influence the way we live, work and perceive the world around us. Lawyers are exploring opportunities to innovate in ways that benefit their clients and to reshape the legal services sector. Innovation in the legal sector is quickly becoming a key differentiating factor and a competitive advantage. So how can lawyers adapt and get ready for a future of technological disruption in the legal industry? According to the Law Society, developing a strategy for innovation should start with a clear understanding and articulation of the law firm’s business objectives. How can a lawyer or a law firm create value for its clients? How to capture a share of the value that innovation might create? How can law firms improve the quality of the services they provide and differentiate themselves from others?  With Professor Andrew Perlman at the helm, Suffolk University Law School in Boston recently created the Institute on Law Practice Technology & Innovation. Its purpose: To “study how technology is revolutionizing the practice of law.” The future holds a great deal of uncertainty for lawyers. In a recent roundtable discussion at Law Practice Today, a panel of legal professionals offered their insights about the future of law practice and shared their advice about how lawyers can best prepare and prosper. From harnessing new technologies, to minimizing costs through alternate workspace arrangements and law firm structures, and expanding a firm’s online presence through social media and other avenues of client engagement and management, the practice of law is rapidly changing and as the pace of technological innovation accelerates the legal world will have to continue evolving to keep up. What does the future look like for the practice of law?  |
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