|
Do you know that according to the National Center for State Courts, process service is one of the top challenges confronting the justice system? Consistent with fundamental notions of due process and fairness, a person must receive proper notice of any judicial action in which he/she is made a party of. Yet process service is often a neglected step in a judicial proceeding. Proper service on a party and a correct affidavit of service filed with the court ensure that the parties to the action have been notified as prescribed by the court system. Failure to complete this process may result in a delay, breach of duty or termination of an otherwise successful trial. It could become costly.  Legal market analysis conducted by Associated Services shows that process service is often associated with headaches - you or your legal team spend valuable time chasing process servers to check on the status of legal documents being served or to obtain a completed affidavit on time for a court hearing. And even when filed with the court, a defendant may still appear and challenge the sufficiency of the service or the veracity of the return. The headaches from improper service of process are mounting and your legal team spends valuable time to ensure compliance and due diligence. Acknowledging the challenges law firms face with service of process, the question then becomes what can we do to eliminate headaches from improperly served papers and ensure proper service of process the very first time?
At Associated Services, over the years, we have gathered and tested different practices in serving legal papers both in state and nationwide in order to identify and implement management techniques to ensure the quality of service of process, to streamline the process itself and avoid costly mistakes. Based on 30 years of experience, we have differentiated 4 components in serving legal papers that can help your legal team and ultimately save you time and money.
0 Comments
Many lawyers believe that in order to attract and retain new clients, you have to market your law practice. Many also hold the belief that being legally smart and providing quality work are sufficient alone to grow your practice. While we agree that these are essential to being successful, it is also important to understand the concept of developing your personal brand to more effectively market legal services to potential clients.  The concept of developing your personal brand is essential to effectively market your law firm, and quality and personal excellence are two key elements of this process. Being aware and taking action to build and showcase your personal brand elevates your professionalism through conscious focus on quality and personal excellence.
What impacts the quality of your personal brand? Personal service of process has been the hallmark for initialing litigation for nearly 100 years primarily because it guarantees actual notice to a defendant of a legal action against him or her.  The Courts
It is estimated that more than 30% of the U.S. population is now served by courts that either already have or are in the final stages of transitioning to an electronic courthouse. It seems that 30% is just the beginning and the pace at which courts are moving in this directions is quickening. This change has required courts, their constituents and justice partners to rethink how they interact with the courts and how to do business more efficiently. The court constituents now enjoy electronic filing, electronic service between represented parties, electronic alerts/case events, electronic docket sheets and case management tools, all of which have arguably forever changed the way one interacts with a digital court. At first glance process service seems an easy part of the litigation process. Few are the ones who understand the importance of the service of process requirement to the outcome of a lawsuit. Proper service on a party and a correct affidavit of service filed with the court ensure that the parties to the action have been notified as prescribed by the court system. Failure to complete this process may result in a delay, breach of duty or termination of an otherwise successful trial.  Going back to basics, delivering legal papers is called service of process. The law says that legal papers have to be delivered the right way. Every adult and organization listed in the case must be served with its own set of papers. If legal papers are not served the right way when a case is started, the Judge may make the party starting the case start all over again. This is called a dismissal without prejudice. There are three general ways to deliver legal papers to start a case.
|
Associated Services
|
RSS Feed
