Good People to Know: Your Friendly Process Server

Back in rural Alabama, when we served a summons and complaint, or a subpoena, or any other document that warranted service, we used the Sheriff's department. It was a one-step process: take the document to the courthouse (or e-file it), and let it go. The return on service would usually take around a week... if we were lucky.

I have since learned that private process servers are much more time efficient and focused on service of your specific documents to your specific defendant, deponent, or custodian of records. Within my first week at my Memphis job, I was introduced to the world of private process servers. The new system involves a couple more steps, but it takes much less time.

Step one: Send subpoena to court to be file-stamped and issued. Ask runner to return file-stamped issued subpoena to me for service.
Step two: Call private process server to come pick up subpoena for service.
Step three: Wait for return on service. The great thing about a private process server is that he or she will likely try more than once to perfect service, and if the address you gave is inadequate, will often put in some time finding a better one. He then usually takes the subpoena back to the court to be filed. 

Every once in awhile, I am asked to issue a subpoena in another state, or several hours away from this county. In these cases, I realize how convenient it is to know local process servers.

I once had to arrange for issuance and service of a subpoena in a rural part of the great state of Texas. In this little town in the middle of absolutely nowhere, I looked for hours for a process server. I finally found someone to help us with service, but he was located nearly two hours away. Because we were in a hurry to perfect service, I overnighted the subpoena to the local court in Texas, then arranged to have the process server drive in from two hours away to pick it up at the clerk's office and serve it.

I did not know the Texas process server I used, but now I do. Just in case, you know, we ever have to issue a subpoena in Middle Of Nowhere, Texas again.

Many private process servers also include other services, such as copying and imaging, or private investigations. So knowing you local process servers could mean knowing your local PI and document imaging business. Because of the nature of the business, many of them also have various connections in your town or city that could prove useful in the future.

If you currently use the Sheriff's office as your main server of process, I would suggest considering a private server. They can be more expensive, but you may find that the added cost is worth the added benefit. At the very least, get to know a local process server, whether you believe you will use him for service or not. You never know when his connections, knowledge, or related skill set will come in handy.

Good People to Know: Records Custodians

Whether you are trying to acquire medical records, city records, or any other type of recorded material, a relationship with the person who protects their distribution can make all the difference in the world.

I have learned that since moving to Memphis, a place where I know very few people. I took it for granted back in Small Town, Alabama, that all records custodians were sugary sweet and eager to help fill my requests. That was Small Town, Alabama; this is Large Metropolitan Area, Tennessee. While I am sure the hospitals back home see their fair share of records requests, Memphis hospitals probably see three times as many.

In my first two months, I have had few successes at quickly retrieving records. With exceptions, most records requests and subpoenas feel like pulling teeth. I may end up with the wrong address or learn that billing records have to be subpoenaed from an entirely different place. I have been told several times that they never received my request, even after re-faxing it. I can't tell you how many times I have heard the phrase, "We're running behind here, and we have two weeks worth of unopened mail to go through."

Thus, it becomes very important to form a relationship with the records custodian. He or she is not going to work any faster or put forth any extra effort for the faceless voice over the phone. However, a few seconds of warm conversation and a couple of thankyousomuches seem to melt even the coldest personalities.

I have taken to writing down names of people to ask for when I inevitably call these places again. It helps to speak to a familiar person, especially when you can remind her of how grateful you were for her help in the past.

When I first moved here, I made a request for records to a hospital system in a completely different region. The first request was sent to the correct (but incomplete) address. I had to send another one. The first custodian I spoke with gave me the complete address and encouraged me to save my firm a little money by requesting the records on CD. I failed to take down his name. The CD came in, but the records were password protected. This seems like a smart idea. It keeps out those who should not be viewing the records. I called the hospital for the password then proceeded to upload the records to my firm's system. I noticed, however, that they remained password protected.





I attempted to change the security on the pdf documents in order to release the password, but this required a new password. Of course when I contacted the hospital, they were unwilling to give me the administrative pass code. I was unable to OCR, bates stamp, or otherwise alter the documents in any way. And I could not remember the name of the guy who had been so helpful when I first called. He may not have been able to give me the password, but perhaps he would have empathized with me when I explained to him that the double password protection would require me to print the 1,000 pages of records anyway and then re-scan them back into the system before anyone else in my firm could access them or process them. The person I ended up speaking with simply did not care that we were in fact wasting paper and defeating the purpose of the paperless system.

So get to know your local records custodians. They hold the keys to the information you need.

Good People to Know: Court Reporters

Last night I attended my monthly BCALP (Baldwin County Assoc. of Legal Professionals) meeting. We meet at a local restaurant one evening a month to eat, chat, and learn. We usually receive a 1/2 hour CLE credit for whichever topic we visit. As I am sure you can relate, sometimes we really learn something, other times I feel like using that 1/2 hour toward my CLEs would be cheating. When our meeting began last night, I felt sure that I would be setting aside that CLE certificate for the benefit of my conscience. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Our guest speakers were from Freedom Court Reporting, which, if you are not familiar with them, is a very large court reporting service. In my neck of the woods they are known for their awesome free gifts and homemade chocolate chip cookies at conferences. Sadly, I have no real firsthand experience with Freedom because our office rarely hires court reporters. Even when we do, neither we nor our clients can really afford Freedom.

All that being said, I learned more about court reporting during this 1/2 hour CLE than I thought was possible. For instance, I learned that a "dirty ASCII" is a depo transcript straight from the scene, no editing. I learned that a witness can make changes to his or her testimony at any point, even at the end of the deposition. I also learned that the witness has the right to review his or her testimony. This makes sense, of course, and it's in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, but I rarely think about these things, since we do so few depositions. I learned that under the Federal Rules a deposition lasts up to seven hours, and that the court reporter is entitled to end it if it is growing over-long and pointless.

I also learned neat things about Freedom that are super impressive and super expensive. For instance, they have a real time feature which allows you to connect your laptop to their machine and download the transcript as it is being typed. You can even make notes as it is being entered. In addition, Freedom also has a captioned video deposition feature which scrolls the words across the screen as the deponent speaks.

But the reason I really like Freedom, though I've never used them, is their customer service. You can schedule a deposition online, and you have point-and-click access to any transcripts you've ever ordered through them, 24/7. The representatives last night called it a one-stop-shop. If you need to take a deposition from someone in another state, without leaving your state, done. If you need to find a conference room in an unfamiliar location, done. If you just have a question about general rules regarding depositions, call anytime. I have never spoken with an unfriendly Freedom representative.

I don't mean to tout Freedom. They are simply the only court reporting service I've had any contact with. Their services are above and beyond what I, so inexperienced, would expect from a third party service. The Boss has a deposition tomorrow, and all I can think about is how cool it would be if he could bring back a video depo with closed captioning. Or how easy it would be to set everything up through such a well established, big service.

But even though our small firm cannot yet enjoy the fancy extra services Freedom Court Reporting provides, I enjoyed last night's presentation on court reporting and depositions. I actually found myself interested in such a dry topic. While I do not yet know any court reporters, I believe I should get to know a few. At some point in the future, some time before our firm is big enough to benefit from all of Freedom's extra services, we'll still need the services of a local court reporter. At that point, it would behoove me to have a name in mind.

Good People to Know: Paralegals at Other Firms

This should be a given for any career-minded, relationship-oriented paralegal, but it's also helpful for lawyers and other legal professionals. First, though, I will explain why it is so important for paralegals.

These are the people with whom you will be in contact in order to schedule depositions, send settlement agreements back and forth, and receive updates on case progression. For instance, while depositions are usually few and far between in my firm's practice, when we do have to have one, I get to speak with the opposing side's paralegal regarding dates, times, and places. When I need to find out whether the other side has submitted a proposed order or how long it will be before we receive discovery answers in a case, I speak with none other than the paralegal. Being on good terms, being able to toss in friendly small-talk about the last association conference, these things make a big difference.

There are also situations, non-adversarial in nature, that give rise to the need for another paralegal. You may find yourself attempting to draft a document you've never drafted before. Perhaps a paralegal friend will have a sample of that document (any confidential information fully removed, of course) for you to use. I have used my contacts to find information for domestic abuse victims, to draft documents, and to get tips on procedural matters. I've also found that my out-of-state contacts provide encouragement and good career advice.

As for why attorneys should get to know paralegals from other firms, the reasons are numerous. First, the Boss himself has told me that if he needs information from another law firm, his first stop is the paralegal/secretary. He believes that many times, especially in our local firms, the assistant will know about the status of the case right off the top of her head faster than the attorney will. This probably has to do with the fact that the assistant is the person marking the schedule and making sure everything is done on time and according to procedure. Lawyers may also want to get to know paralegals because it is that much easier to find someone to hire when you're tapped into the scene. Only last week, I received a mass email notice from an officer of my local organization that an area attorney is looking for a paralegal. If she has not found someone yet, she will very soon. Another acquaintance of mine who is a new attorney contacted me soon after taking the bar, requesting that I keep my ears open for a tentative legal assistant for her.

No matter which role you fulfill on your legal team, get to know paralegals at other firms. The rewards are many: networking opportunities, new forms, access to general helpful information, quick access to case statuses, possible job tips, etc. With a little effort you can have the legal world at your fingertips, and you might make a few good friends in the process.

Good People to Know: In the Clerk's Office

In keeping with my Good People to Know series, tonight's post is about how truly wonderful some people in the clerk's office can be.

For any of you who are true newcomers to the practical world of law, the clerk's office is where you file court documents. But they do so much more than stamp documents. They are the lifeline of the court system. Many of the men and women working in my local court clerk's office have been working in the legal system since before I was born.

When local court rules change in any way, like when the fee schedules change or a judge begins requiring specific language filings, the clerk's office knows exactly what is going on. A year ago I attended a seminar regarding e-filing procedures. It came with a large binder full of wonderful information about local procedure, filing fees, and judge-specific directions. Some judges prefer proposed orders be attached to motions while others prefer they are filed separately, for instance. While the official association to sponsor the event was BCALP (Baldwin County Assoc. of Legal Professionals), I can assure you that most of the members who were involved in the seminar worked in the clerk's office.

On a daily basis, these ladies are life savers. I forgot a civil cover sheet for an initial complaint filing this past week. As soon as I realized my mistake, I turned to go. But the lady behind the counter, let's call her "L.," said, "Wait, we have a cover sheet here you can fill out."

I have learned a lot from the clerk's office over the past two years. For instance, while heavy bond paper is pretty, and the fact that your office can afford to buy it may be impressive to clients, the clerk's office would prefer that any paper filings be done with simple white paper. It scans better. When I related this matter to the Boss, his face showed slight indignation as he said, "But they don't understand that the presentation is important. Sometimes you have to use the nice paper." He's right, of course. Still, I've noticed lately that when I bring him a draft to review, if he finds it to be satisfactory, he will go ahead and sign the white regular paper rather than return it to me for printing on bond paper.

Rules and procedure are very important to the smooth function of the clerk's office. Every document has its place, every file has its number. That is why it is so important to get to know these people. If you have one good contact there, he or she will guide you through almost any procedural steps you may have forgotten or possibly never knew. Whether you are new, experienced, you need a good contact at the clerk's office. Of course, if you are experienced in the legal world, you already knew this, didn't you?

Good People to Know: Probate Office Personnel

I realized today that there are certain people I rely upon in my local legal community who do not work in my office. They are people who give me guidance and tips, who help me fix my mistakes, and who keep me on my toes. In nearly two years, the one lesson I continue learning above all others is that I still have much to learn. Whether you are an experienced legal professional in a new town, a brand new lawyer, a fresh-out-of-school paralegal, or an attorney stepping into solo practice for the first time, you will need these people. Tonight, I start a series on these Good People to Know, beginning with the Probate Office Personnel.

I have the choice of three probate offices to visit when I need to record a document. No matter which one I choose, the person at the recording desk is always helpful. I most often visit the nearest office, located merely two miles from my place of business. The lady there, we'll call her "G.," has patiently walked me through all kinds of dilemmas.

You may be asking yourself what kinds of dilemmas someone can find at the recording office. Well, as a brand new paralegal to a solo practice lawyer over the past two years, many situations have arisen right before my eyes. G. has been there every step of the way with me. From the time I forgot to include the "This document prepared by" stamp on a materialman's lien to the time I failed to provide a sale price or fair market value when recording a warranty deed, she has guided me through the steps to fix each and every small but significant problem that has arisen. Once, she even saved our client some money by suggesting I staple documents in a certain order.

Even before I arrived, you better believe she was doing the same thing for the Boss. As a fairly new attorney starting his own practice, he needed direction. Apparently law school does not teach local rules, like where to place the "This document prepared by" or the fact that the county will only charge half of the deed tax if a grantor is also one of the grantees on a deed. Legal professionals rely on the experience and knowledge of G. and others like her for this necessary information.

I have learned so much from G., but every time I think I know it all, she has something else to teach me. With her patient help, I have become a better paralegal and a more knowledgeable employee.

So, if you have not already tapped into the fountain of knowledge at your local probate office, get to it! I would still be wandering, lost in a forest of local rules with no way to sort through them, without the help of G. and the many other court personnel I have come to know over the past two years. The wisdom these people possess is necessary to the effective practice of even the best law firms, especially in a small town like mine.