News and Insights

Do you know someone who doesn’t like surprises or being told what to do? Those attitudes are prevalent among people who resist change at work and are shaped by several factors. Fortunately, resistance to change can be overcome.

This article shares approaches on how to overcome resistance to change and build enthusiasm for embracing the unknown. It likewise shows you how to use those principles to navigate a vendor switch to make the process smoother and less intimidating. Read on to learn how these methods work.

Why we resist change

Change is a constant in the workplace. Overcoming resistance to change is no longer just a nice-to-have; it’s become mission-critical to the success of businesses and the people who work in them. The first step to conquering this resistance is to understand why some people resist change.

Researchers have compiled a laundry list of reasons people avoid change, such as:

• Disturbed practices, habits, and relationships
• Lack of respect and trust in the people who promote change
• Self-interest and shifts in power and influence
• Dislike of imposed change
• Dislike of surprises
• Reluctance of management to deal with difficult issues
• Lack of self-confidence and confidence in others

Experts wrestle with the best way to effect change, but generally agree on one point: Adopting change is the only way to thrive in a digitally-driven business world that evolves rapidly.

How to step into change

Moving people from their ‘comfort zone’ means moving from the familiar, secure, and controllable, to the unfamiliar, insecure, and uncontrollable.

Here are four mindset shifts to help anyone warm up to the idea of change.

1. Embrace the opportunity: Ultimately, if you don’t focus on the change, you won’t be successful. Maintaining a positive outlook and focusing on the change that is ahead will keep you from falling backwards.
2. Be curious: Ask yourself, “How is this moment happening for me rather than to me.” Ask good questions and follow your curiosity. This will give you confidence to navigate what lies ahead.
3. Accelerate your goals: Resisting change will slow you down from reaching your destination. Change presets you with the opportunity to go further, faster.
4. Lean on others: You’re in this together. Recognize that you are not the only one experiencing the change personally or professionally. Reaching out to those around you can make it easier to navigate change.

Manage the fear factor

Anxiety. Fear of uncertainty. Fear of failure. All of these keep us from stepping into change, but—good news—each of these factors can be modulated.

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins offers an excellent set of techniques for overcoming fear. We’ve summed several that can be used:

• Adopt a growth mindset
  It’s not about achieving your goals and being perfect every step of the way. It’s about getting comfortable with what you don’t know and continuing anyway. As Robbins says, “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”
• Recognize excuses
  Fear makes you procrastinate. It’s much easier to make excuses than put in the long hours and energy needed to reach your goal. Recognize when you are using excuses and figure out how to overcome them. Replacing them with a positive approach is a good start.
• Know that failure is part of the process
  Everyone on the planet – including those you know and admire – has encountered failure. Realize that your fear of failure is preventing you from making the decision to achieve your objectives.
• Visualize your goals
  Goal visualization sets your focus. This visualization may take the form of priming, meditation, or imagery training. What’s important is to see yourself succeeding and condition yourself into believing that you can do whatever you imagine.
• Keep company with success
  People who are focused on overcoming fear and achieving their dreams surround themselves with others who share that mindset. This group may include people you admire as well as those who will push you in a positive direction.

Change and the art of switching vendors

Don’t go through change alone. Find a strategic partner.

Changing litigation support service providers can help law firm staff members solve work-related frustrations and operate more efficiently today. But what about the future? With workflow automation, data, and digital transformation trends taking hold in the legal industry, not all vendors are prepared to support modern law firms seeking assistance in these areas.

You can sidestep that problem if you know how to evaluate whether your vendor has the stuff to be a strategic partner.

“Strategic” means the firm and the vendor can do more together than individually. A strategic partner has deep industry knowledge to know what else can be done with synergies created by systems and technologies beyond an obvious product feature.

How do I evaluate a vendor?

If you are considering switching vendors, don’t be sold on technology alone. The truth is technology by itself does not make a 21st century law firm.

The vendor you want should bring strategy and new ways of thinking to the table, as well as best-in-class technology.

An example of that may be found in how a vendor thinks about integrations or data metrics with the law firm.

If a vendor gives a law firm visibility and transparency into the litigation support service work itself, and shows the firm what more can be done to gain efficiency and cost savings on the execution of work the vendor does, that means the relationship is strategic.

A strategic partner will help uncover and examine a firm’s vision, strategies, and plans.

Firms that have the most data and insights will win

In the 21st century, change for the better means switching to a tech solution that produces data. That data should tell you how well your business is running. Furthermore, the data must be sharable and timely so you can use it to track performance and identify trends.

The ability to help you use data smartly is the mark of a strategic partner.

What kind of data can I use?

If you’re considering a switch, a new vendor should provide data associated with common litigation support services such as court filing, eFiling, and process serving. This data can help gauge the performance of vendors and function as a cost control measure.

Yes, it works

As an example, a firm can examine service of process orders by pricing zone to predict whether the cost of service of process in certain locales may be untenable. The firm may also use the reports to gauge a law firm’s internal performance and whether the vendor is delivering service as promised.

Other firms are using vendors that have this capability which means it’s no longer a nice-to-have but rather, mission critical.

Set expectations

A big part of what a firm can achieve depends on the providers they select to help them get the job done. But what is the job, exactly, and how should it be done?

Good leaders answer these questions by setting expectations for their firms and their vendors. They make sure those expectations are clearly defined by answering the following:

• What are the expectations?
• Can the vendor meet them?
• Have the expectations been clearly articulated?

The relationship you need and want

Some relationships continue long after their expiration date. That may be the case oftentimes between law firms and vendors. The law firm continues to do business with a poor-performing vendor simply because they believe changing vendors will require too much fuss and bother.

But that thinking is a good way to ensure you never get what you deserve or need.

If the aim of your vendor switch is to create a truly positive effect on your law firm, take a moment to think about whether your current litigation support service vendor offers:

• Transparency
• A dedicated account manager
• Data reporting that identifies good/poor performance
• Tying more strategic implementations into other systems
• Metrics that confirm cost savings

Even a good relationship should not stand in the way of a switch to something that helps the law firm operate at a higher level.

Make sure your partner is consultative. Find one that has deep industry knowledge it will share to reveal to you what else can be done to bring efficiencies, cost savings, and risk mitigation.

Change is good

Embracing change is a critical skill for your personal and professional life. Throw out the idea that change is hard and get your transformation moving with a change in mindset. Then, tap into your curiosity, peer network, and technology vendors to help reinvent yourself.

Remember, stepping into change will not only expand your knowledge and inspire your co-workers, but it will also make you stand out as a law firm and create competitive advantage.

Schedule a call or book a demo today with a Rapid Legal account executive today to find out how we can be a strategic partner and help you navigate change successfully.

You’ve heard the buzz. “Become a contract paralegal and work for yourself.” The internet is practically daring you to use its technology so you can decide when to work, where to work, and for whom to work.

Sounds good, right?

And it is good for many paralegals but becoming a successful contract paralegal requires more than just a laptop and broadband connection. If the idea of becoming a contract paralegal appeals to you, this article can help you figure out whether you’ve got the skills and aptitude for it, and provide valuable tips to help get you started.

What is a contract paralegal?

Let’s clarify the difference between a contract paralegal and a similar sounding but distinctly different role: independent paralegal. Here’s what defines each:

As the definitions above note, the contract paralegal contracts with law firms. Their work is reviewed by the contracting attorney, who is likewise responsible for whatever work the contract paralegal has done.

An independent paralegal does not work under the supervision of an attorney.

Why become a contract paralegal?

Some opt for contract work because they want control over whether they work full-time, part-time, or just enough hours for the work to be a side hustle. For others, controlling whether they can work a flexible schedule in a home office is what draws them to this role.

Still others may like the idea of becoming a contract paralegal because they feel fed up with the stress of the law firm grind and want to protect their personal wellness. Doing contract work can also give them an opportunity to walk away from traditional employment and explore other areas of specialization, or routinely change work environments.

While becoming a contract paralegal can open the door to a more worker-friendly setting, perhaps the greatest benefit is that it offers those with an entrepreneurial bent a platform for becoming their own boss and a business owner.

(Almost) everyone is doing it.

Many experienced legal professionals have—at some point—felt tempted to leave the conventional workforce and strike out on their own. In fact, according to a recent survey, nearly one-third of employees polled indicated they left their jobs specifically to start a business.

Online technology makes it easier than ever for talented paralegals to do this because it equips them with resources only the deep pockets of established companies could once afford, such as:

• Free professional websites from providers such as WordPress and Wix.
• Free marketing on LinkedIn, Facebook, and other platforms.
• Fast paperless payment via online payment platforms that handle business payables and receivables digitally.
• Billable work that can be performed online through a litigation support service provider’s portal including, eFiling, service of process, document retrieval, and more. The portal allows paralegals to access the tools and data they need to perform these tasks from anywhere Internet access is available.

You’re a good deal for law firms

It’s fair to say that in some cases contract paralegals may help a law firm run leaner. The firm simply pays the contract paralegal an agreed upon wage and doesn’t have to bother with the additional cost of a benefits package, payroll taxes, or equipment and workspace.

In contrast, the expense of recruiting and onboarding a traditional hire can amount to a costly game of roulette, averaging about $4,700 in 2022.

That’s $4,700 paid for each new hire, regardless of whether the employee flops after two days or stays until retirement.

The expense of employer-paid taxes and employee benefits also inflates the cost of hiring a traditional, office-based paralegal. Those “hidden” payroll expenses can increase the all-in price tag to 1.25 to 1.4 times the employee’s salary.

Through the eyes of a law firm’s CFO here’s how that looks:

Hiring a paralegal as a full-time employee at an annual salary of $70,000
will actually cost a firm a benefitted salary of $87,500 to $98,000.

Speaking of money

California has more paralegal jobs than any other state. The salary range can vary widely depending on factors that include practice specialty, firm size, and professional experience.

According to Indeed.com, the average hourly wage for a contract paralegal in California is $34.15 per hour. Narrowing the focus to specific metropolitan areas, we see the average hourly wage in San Francisco is $38.50; in Los Angeles $34.56; in San Diego $33.75; and in San Bernardino $31.64.

Those figures offer an incomplete picture of actual earnings for contract paralegals working in the state, however, and don’t account for what experienced, highly-skilled paralegals can earn.

For example, one veteran California paralegal reportedly began her contract with a firm charging $75.00 per hour for probate work. That figure soon rose to $115.00 per hour.

The key to finding such lofty earnings, it seems, is to find a niche where you’ll be paid for your subject matter expertise.

Test yourself

By now you may be feeling pretty good about becoming a contract paralegal. However, before you turn in your resignation and hang your shingle, make sure you can check the following boxes.

▢ Can you live without employer-sponsored benefits?

Some of the most affordable non-employer sponsored insurance programs are HMOs or programs with only a limited number of physicians that may not include your primary care provider.

▢ Are you entrepreneurial?

Unless a throng of law firms is already knocking at your door, you’ll most likely need to market yourself to pull in leads and close business. Most successful entrepreneurs are also competent networkers, so if you’re a wallflower or an introvert consider whether those traits may hold you back.

▢ Are you a good administrator?

You’ll have to pay self-employment taxes and track expenses, so good follow-up and follow-through is a must. You can outsource these tasks to a bookkeeper or accountant but doing so will cut into your earnings.

▢ Can you prove your value to an attorney?

You may think you’re being productive, but you’ll need to prove it. Finding that proof may mean you have to examine invoice data and crunch the numbers to determine how your presence has increased the firm’s billing.

▢ Can you build rapport with the law firm staff?

A full spectrum of personalities inhabits the legal profession. A successful contract paralegal must be prepared to work with them all – at the office and from home.

▢ Are you up to speed with the technologies law firms use?

Regardless of whether it’s trial presentation software or office management software, your skills must be sharp, and you must understand the practice’s preferred tech stack. Remember, part of the contract paralegal’s appeal is that they should require minimal training.

▢ Who’s on your litigation support service provider shortlist?

Be sure you have a vendor that can provide customer and court references. Your preferred vendor should also provide eFiling in every California court that offers eFiling in addition to the electronic and physical services you need most from a single customer portal. You’ll also need to know how to interview a vendor for eFiling and service of process.

Find your gig

Once you make the transition to contract work, you’ll want to fill your client book quickly. Niche practice areas can help you do that because they offer some of the best opportunities for skilled contract paralegals. Here are several areas to target:

Litigation: A successful contract paralegal in the litigation setting may be one who can write specific types of pleadings or who excels at drafting motions.

Estate planning: Many estate planning attorneys prefer to outsource probates to contract paralegals because they are time-consuming. And, oftentimes, the attorney’s staff does not have the training to complete probates properly. Therefore, contract paralegals who are particularly good at probate-related work may find opportunities in this specialty.

Small firms or solo practitioners: Smaller law offices simply may not have the resources to hire a full-time paralegal. But, by having you handle overflow or administrative tasks, you free up the attorney’s time to devote to billable hours.

Real Property Law: You’re unlikely to become bored in real property law. This type of practice requires many different tasks associated with due diligence and often demands interaction with multiple parties. It is fast-paced and can demand long hours as well as weekend work to close transactions on schedule.

Weekends and evenings: Being able to work outside of regular office hours may give you a leg up as a contract paralegal. This type of schedule flexibility may make you attractive especially to law firms that work on deadline-driven projects such as mergers and acquisitions, real property law, and government projects.

Get your wings

Still wondering whether becoming a contract paralegal is the right move? There’s only one way to know whether the idea will fly.

But, before you cut the cord as a fully employed paralegal, assess your suitability carefully. If you have lingering questions or difficulty finding answers, approach your peers at association meetings or look to professional organizations that serve paralegals.

California has the largest court system in the country, which means that if you’re determined to find your own success as a contract paralegal, you’ve come to the right place.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rapid Legal Delivers a More Streamlined eFiling Experience for Law Firms by Integrating to Leading Document Management Platforms

CHINO HILLS, CA – December 5, 2022 – Rapid Legal Inc., a premium legal services and technology company, today revealed new integrations with the NetDocuments and iManage platforms and a partnership with ECFX for the automatic processing of electronic court filing notices.

NetDocuments, the trusted cloud document management platform for legal professionals, enables law firms and legal teams to secure, organize, automate, and collaborate on documents throughout their organization. With state-of-the-art security coupled with innovation and hundreds of integrations, NetDocuments supports 7,000+ law firms, legal teams, and public sector entities worldwide.

iManage, a cloud-enabled document management and collaboration platform underpinned by best of breed security, sophisticated workflows, and governance approaches, boasts over one million professionals at over 3,500 organizations in over 65 countries – including more than 2,500 law firms and 1,200 corporate legal departments and other enterprise customers.

ECFX, an enterprise notice management system, processes all Federal and State notices automatically for law firms and corporate legal departments. Built to work with a firm’s existing ecosystem, integrating with the firm’s case management, document management system (DMS), and time and billing software, ECFX automates the processing of electronic court filing (ECF) notices-saving a firm hundreds of hours a week to focus on client work and business outcomes.

Rapid Legal’s integration with these platforms marks another step forward for Rapid Legal in fulfilling its vision of “connecting the entire legal community for seamless document exchange” and its purpose of “automating the processing of legal documents.”

“The legal services market is transforming, from courts and law firms to the parties they serve. This transformation has only accelerated during the pandemic years with new firm models, including a hybrid work model, taking hold. Workflow and document automation has become a key consideration in this ongoing transformation. So, offering the ability for our law firm customers to access documents from the systems they know, and love is critical,” said David Nill, CEO and Founder of Rapid Legal.

The integrations with NetDocuments and iManage will allow legal professionals to seamlessly upload and download documents for their eFiling orders from the document management systems. The time saved from these integrations not only produces a demonstrable ROI for the law firm, but also frees firm resources to address higher value work. Moreover, the partnership with ECFX offers additional automation features law firms can use to enhance how their document management systems interact with Rapid Legal’s platform for maximum efficiency and productivity.

About Rapid Legal

Rapid Legal is a premium legal technology company that automates the processing of legal documents for law firms. Headquartered in Chino Hills, California, the company is a leading certified eFiling Service Provider to courts in 36 California counties, with more on the way. Combining deep industry expertise, superior performance, and innovative technology, Rapid Legal is transforming the way the legal community exchanges electronic documents, information, and payments, to streamline how law firms manage work, and for the effective and expeditious administration of justice.

To learn more, please visit https://rapidlegal.com.

Every legal professional wants to level up their eFiling success. This infographic gives you a visual shortcut for learning five key practices designed to help improve your eFiling accuracy, efficiency, and court acceptance rate.

These helpful takeaways are visually oriented, quick to absorb, and very easy to share.

Speaking of sharing…

It couldn’t be easier to pass this infographic to a colleague or friend. Just click on the download button below for a full-size PDF you can share as an email attachment or print to a desktop printer.

Want to learn more ways to improve your eFiling success?

Check out these guides and eBooks that Rapid Legal created especially for legal professionals. You’ll get everything from eFiling 101 basics to pro tips from our operations team. Click on the links below and begin your transformation into an eFiling power user.

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to eFiling in 2022 and Beyond

5 Secrets to Successful eFiling

A Complete Checklist for Selecting a Certified eFiling Service Provider

The eFiling and Legal Tech Dictionary for Legal Professionals

Note: All information in this infographic is current as of Oct. 1, 2022.

Table of Contents

• Physical filing in California Superior Courts
• Three ways to file physically in California courts
• #1: In-person physical filing
• #2: Physical court filing by mail
• #3: Physical filing by fax
• Common mistakes with physical court filings
• Improve your court acceptance rate: Let Rapid Legal physically file for you
  

Physical filing in California Superior Courts

It’s a fact: The Golden State’s Judicial Court system is the biggest in the nation and one of the busiest in the world.

And about 26% of the 636,142 court filings in California in 2021-2022 were physical filings, so there’s a good chance that sooner or later you’ll need to do a physical filing for your firm.

Despite electronic filing making strong inroads throughout the California judicial system, physical filing is still used in 28 of 58 county superior courts as of Q3 2022. In the table below, each county that allows physical filing in one form or another is linked to the respective court’s website.

Table 1.

Three ways to file physically in California courts

The numbers make it clear that physical court filing is going to be with us for some time, even though it is a slower process than filing electronically. To keep your physical court filings from slowing down even more, it’s important they get done right the first time.

This section of the guide helps you do that, beginning by breaking down the three ways court documents may be physically filed in California:

• In-person (at the filing counter of the court’s clerk or at a drop box).
• By mail.
• By fax.

The requirements for physical filings can vary from court to court and depending on the type of matter or proceeding. Filers need to understand each court’s particular filing criteria.

So, before you enter the first keystroke for your filing, make sure you know:

• Type of physical filing permitted by the court.
• Forms required.
• How to correctly fill out a form.
• Filing deadlines.
• Formatting, binding and information requirements of the document and exhibits.
• Number of copies needed.
• Filing fees and how to pay them.
• Return document requirements.

#1. In-person physical filing

At the counter of the court clerk

The court clerk window (or counter) is the hub of physical filing. In person, this is where documents are submitted, and the filing fee is paid.

Two important things happen at the court clerk’s window during physical filing:

1. The court clerk inspects the document to ensure it complies with the court’s rules and verifies the information is correct.
2. If the information is correct the clerk stamps the document and the copies as received. For the filer’s records and evidence that a filing took place on the said date, the court clerk should then provide what is called a ‘conformed copy’ which is an exact copy of a document filed with a clerk with an official stamp.

Knowing immediately that a document has been accepted by the court provides the filer peace of mind, especially when a tight statutory deadline must be met.

The tradeoff, however, is that peace of mind most likely will be earned by someone spending long periods of time waiting in line.

At a court drop-box

It’s not uncommon for courthouses to experience reduced hours or for staff to be furloughed due to judicial budget cuts.

Therefore, drop boxes can be offered by courts to make physical filing still available. Drop boxes allow documents to be deposited for filing outside of a court’s normal operating hours or at other times of the day when a court is not accepting counter filings.

California Rule 2.210 states how drop boxes are to be used when it is an option:

(a) Use of drop box
Whenever a clerk’s office filing counter is closed at any time between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on a court day, the court must provide a drop box for depositing documents to be filed with the clerk. A court may provide a drop box during other times.

(b) Documents deemed filed on day of deposit
Any document deposited in a court’s drop box up to and including 4:00 p.m. on a court day is deemed to have been deposited for filing on that day. A court may provide for same-day filing of a document deposited in its drop box after 4:00 p.m. on a court day. If so, the court must give notice of the deadline for same-day filing of a document deposited in its drop box.

(c) Documents deemed filed on next court day
Any document deposited in a court’s drop box is deemed to have been deposited for filing on the next court day if:

(1) It is deposited on a court day after 4:00 p.m. or after the deadline for same-day filing if a court provides for a later time; or
(2) It is deposited on a judicial holiday.

(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2007.)

(d) Date and time documents deposited
A court must have a means of determining whether a document was deposited in the drop box by 4:00 p.m., or after the deadline for same day filing if a court provides for a later time, on a court day.

Rule 2.210 amended and renumbered effective January 1, 2007; adopted as rule 201.6 effective January 1, 2005

Drop box requirements will be different. Count on it.

California courts are characterized by a patchwork of court requirements that vary from one jurisdiction to the next. What you know about one California court may not apply to courts across the county line, including requirements for drop box filings.

Therefore, filers should be sure to know the differences about the following before they use a drop box:

• Date stamping procedures
• The kinds of documents can/cannot be filed via drop box
• Use of pouches or folders for depositing documents
• Inclusion of filing information in the pouch or folder
• Enclosing correct filing fee
• Providing return envelopes for conformed copies for pick up by a messenger
• Enclosing self-addressed, stamped envelope for copies to be returned to the filer by mail.

Are they safe?

Drop boxes have been around for a long time. For example, the U.S. Postal Service’s proto drop box (known as a letter box) first appeared in 1858. The kangaroo, nature’s original drop box, appeared even earlier.

The low-tech nature of the drop box may lead you to question whether it is secure and safe to use.

The answer is, “Yes.”

Drop boxes are considered a safe method for physical filings and documents are usually processed the next day.

Note: Some California courts are experiencing delays with drop box filings and have long turnaround times for certain kinds of filings.

For example, if you are currently filing into San Bernardino County Court or Sacramento County Court, Table 2 notes the delays in turnaround times you may anticipate for drop box filings:

Table 2.

Also noteworthy: San Bernardino County Court and Sacramento County Court require mandatory drop box filings for civil filings, and only Sacramento Family Court currently allows counter filings. However, there may be up to a 3-hour wait in line to do a counter filing in Sacramento Family Court.

#2: Physical court filing by mail

In most cases, documents can be filed by mail in any court that accepts physical document filings. It is important to keep in mind that filing by mail may slow down the process and should be avoided if your filing has tight deadlines.

Filing by mail is not as immediate or safe as filing in person at a counter/window, where you know if your filing is accepted and have your documents stamped on site.

Moreover, filing by mail adds the risk of your package becoming lost or delayed in the mail.

To find out what a court requires to file papers by mail, call the court clerk and ask about:

• The number of copies that need to be included with your original documents.
• The amount of the filing fee and the payment methods the court accepts.
• The court’s mailing address.
• How to provide for the return of your filed documents (i.e., If you need to include a self-addressed envelope with enough postage so the clerk can return the filed documents back to you).

Need Physical Court Filing AND eFiling?

Rapid Legal’s technology and document specialists can help you with all your civil court filings in California.

Contact an account executive now: (909) 664-9565

#3: Physical filing by fax

The fax lives on in the California court system. Some California courts allow filing by faxing documents to the court and provide a dedicated fax number. As with other kinds of physical court filings, there are different requirements and considerations for fax filings. These include:

• The use of fax cover sheet.
• Marking documents “By Fax”.
• Restrictions on the number of pages.
• Filing fees (which include court filing fee, an additional fee per page and a fax filing fee).
• Inclusion of instructions for payment.
• How receipt of the documents will be confirmed by the court.

It is important to confirm that a court accepts fax filing and to contact the clerk of the court, if needed, to understand the requirements and obtain the correct fax number.

Common mistakes with physical filings

Even some of the most experienced legal professionals can make missteps with physical filings. Some of the most common errors are:

• Missing pages
• Missing required local court documents
• Incorrect case number
• Missing signature
• Document not legible
• Court location is different on documents than where the filer is trying to file

If you’re wondering how to stay on top of it all, the following resources can help bring you up to date about specific state and county rules:

• California Courts
• Local Rules
• Judicial Council Forms
• Help Filling out Judicial Council Forms
• Rapid Legal’s Resource Library

Improve your court filing acceptance rate: Let Rapid Legal physically file for you

Don’t have time to manage and track your physical court filings? Rapid Legal can take care of it for you in one of two ways.

Rapid Legal can file physically into all California Courts that require physical filing.

Our technology makes your physical filing fast and easy, and the deep experience our court filing experts have with the California courts means they understand the variations in physical filing requirements across the state.

Turn to an experienced provider who understands the local court rules, can make your filings more efficient, and free up valuable firm resources.

Ready to find out more?

Book a demo or schedule a call with a team member. Get a close-up view of the Rapid Legal portal and how we can help with your physical filing needs and more.

Times are changing in the California Courts and electronic court document filing (eFiling) is helping drive those changes.

If you’ve been wondering how the trend may affect you, review this infographic to get a look at how eFiling turnaround times are performing and to understand the eFiling process workflow.

Share this infographic

Do you have a colleague or friend who could benefit from this information? This infographic is easy to share. Click the download button below for a full-size 8.5” x 11” PDF you can print to a desktop printer or share as an email attachment.

Want to know eFiling A to Z?

Rapid Legal offers guides and eBooks that explain the nuts-and-bolts of eFiling and how to get the most from an eFiling provider. Build your eFiling expertise with this free, informative content written for legal professionals who work hands-on with court document filings:

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to eFiling in 2022 and Beyond

5 Secrets to Successful eFiling

A Complete Checklist for Selecting a Certified eFiling Service Provider

It’s Time for Law Firms to Think Differently About How They Use Litigation Support Service Providers

The eFiling and Legal Tech Dictionary for Legal Professionals

Note: All information in this infographic is current as of Sept. 1, 2022.

Not everyone has the right stuff to be a process server. It is a vocation that requires the tact of a diplomat, the instincts of a bloodhound, and the patience of Job. It can be a difficult profession to describe but one that deserves clarity. Why? Because a process server who does the job badly can compromise an entire legal matter.

This article erases 6 common myths about process servers. It replaces misperceptions with a clear view of the resourcefulness, technical savvy, and almost encyclopedic knowledge about serving legal papers that good process servers must possess.

Getting the facts will also help you make sure the providers you hire and work with will are able to do the job right.

Myth 1: A Process Server’s Job Involves Disguises, Danger, and Deception

Fact: There are indeed times when a process server must handle a reluctant person or an emotionally charged situation. More commonly, though, the individuals being served accept service without incident and treat a process server as someone who simply is doing his or her job.

Good process servers know they cannot break the law while serving documents. By obeying the laws process servers make their own jobs safer, which means they do not under any circumstances:

• trespass on private property
• break into a home
• pretend to be a police officer or an officer of the court
• force doors open
• look in or open mailboxes
• deliver documents to a minor
• make threats.

The best process servers understand the minutiae of the local rules that prescribe how documents must be served, who can be served, how service should be completed, and related deadlines. Process servers must continually update what they know and stay abreast of rule changes.

Do you think you know a good service of process provider when you see one?

Test your knowledge here:

What to Look for When Hiring a Process Serving Company.

Myth 2: Process Servers Must Physically Hand-deliver Papers to a Person Being Served

Fact: Despite popular belief, a process server does not need to physically put the legal papers into the hands of the person they are serving. And, contrary to popular portrayals on television or film, they don’t have to say, “You’ve been served!”

While rules vary from state to state, documents are generally considered served when the process server has confirmed the identity of the person being served. At that point, the documents may be handed to the person or left at the door or a nearby place if the person refuses to accept them.

Each state, county, and local municipality has regulations and guidelines regarding how and when different paperwork should be delivered. A truly exceptional process server will be able to tell you what they are without losing a beat.

Ask these nine questions to get the clear and direct answers you need to qualify a process serving company.

9 Questions to Ask a Process Serving Company

Myth 3: Almost Anyone Can Be a Process Server

Fact: While most states require no special licensing or education to be a process server, the skills, and qualities needed to be effective at process serving extend far beyond those for simply delivering documents.

Good process servers are valued for their efficiency, efficacy, and reliability. But a more specific set of qualities separates excellent process servers from the merely adequate. They include:

• Resourcefulness
• Patience
• Industriousness
• Craftiness

In California, process servers are required to apply and be registered in the county where they serve. Registration is statewide and the process server must have lived in California for at least 1 year.

Myth 4: Process Servers Only Serve Legal Documents

Fact: The work of a process server isn’t limited to simply handing over documents to the receiving party. A professional server applies specific skills, knowledge, and tools to successfully complete the full scope of tasks associated with service of process.

Knowledge

Getting an individual served and having the service stand up in court requires knowledge of the court rules and service requirements, so process servers must stay abreast of state regulations, research methods, and technology. They must be well-versed in the substance of subpoenas, summons, complaints, and other legal documents.

Research

Process servers oftentimes are tasked with finding hard-to-locate individuals, which requires using both online and offline resources to home in on the location of persons or businesses.

• Because people are more mobile than in the past, it can be challenging to locate a current address for someone.
• Businesses that operate as a “dba” or through shell companies can also be hard to locate.
• Considerable research may be required to find a current address before having to petition a court for substituted service.

Process servers use a range of technology to conduct research to locate a person or entity including:

• Search engines
• Social media sites
• Databases

GPS-enabled mobile apps that verify location are also essential tools for process servers who need to record delivery attempts.

Use of Technology

Arguably one of the most advanced uses of technology by modern process serving companies (and other attorney service providers) is a high-performance technology platform for managing their services and workflows.

A technology platform provides a process serving company an online portal for ordering, tracking, and completing service of process. A portal allows a process server to submit, manage, track, and execute each order for service of process anywhere in the nation from a single point.

The technology platform a process server uses should also improve efficiency in two important ways:

1. Eliminate paper controls.
2. Save time by enabling the process server to eSign the proof of service.

Process servers with this portal/technology can typically provide clients superior service because they can better utilize their internal expertise, reduce errors, provide more timely updates to clients, and better prioritize each order.

If your process server isn’t using the right tools they can’t deliver the best results.

Read: Technology Your Process Server Should Be Using to find out if you’re getting all the speed and conveniences available.

Myth 5: A Process Server’s Job is Complete Once the Papers Have Been Served

Fact: After serving court documents, one crucial step remains to complete the service of process: the process server must submit Proof of Service to the court.

Sometimes called an Affidavit or Certificate of Service, Proof of Service is a document that functions like a sworn statement from the process server confirming the delivery of documents from one party to another in a legal matter.

Proof of service also provides a valuable protection to a court case: If a defendant wrongly claims papers were never served, proof of service demonstrates otherwise.

It may seem like a minor formality, but proof of service performed incorrectly can profoundly impact a legal matter by creating delays or causing a case to be dismissed.

Common errors include:

• Not using the correct form for proof of service based on the type of legal document that was served
• Filling out a form inaccurately or incompletely
• Missing the deadline for filing the original completed Proof of Service
• Not following the correct process for filing Proof of Service when substitute service was used instead of personal service.

Using a qualified service of process provider will help you know as quickly as possible whether service has been effected and properly completed. Rapid Legal, for example, generally returns the proof of service within 2-3 business days from the date service takes place.

Legal professionals who use Rapid Legal’s service of process receive an alert directly in their email inbox notifying them that service has been completed. This means they spend less time following up with vendors and worrying about their order status.

Want to Build Your Proof of Service Knowledge?

Use this Resource:

Proof of Service Boot Camp: What Every Legal Professional Should Know

Myth 6: Avoid a Lawsuit by Avoiding a Process Server

Fact: Lawsuits cannot begin until a defendant has been properly served. For this reason some people mistakenly believe they may avoid a lawsuit simply by avoiding service.

Avoiding a process server may delay a lawsuit but it does not mean legal documents cannot be served and the process cannot continue. The courts realize some individuals will avoid service and consequently have established provisions for evasive, hard-to-serve people.

The rules vary among jurisdictions but many courts require process servers to make at least three attempts to serve someone in person.

Furthermore, some courts may require personal service to be attempted at certain times of day to maximize the likelihood of a successful serve.

If personal service on an evasive party cannot be completed after multiple attempts, a process server may perform substituted service of process on another person or entity.

Substituted service can include:

• Leaving the papers with an agent of the recipient;
• Leaving them with an adult of sound mind at the recipient’s home;
• Leaving them at the corporation’s office—or place of transacting business; or
• Posting the papers in a public place and then mailing copies of the documents to the recipient(s).

The types of parties that may be used for substituted service vary, so a process server must be well acquainted with the local court rules governing substitution of service.

The Right Process Server for the Job

Process servers are the arms and legs of civil litigation. Millions of dollars in fees and settlements hinge on good process serving so it is critical to have a quality process service provider with the experience, know-how, and technology platform to get the job done.

Put Rapid Legal’s best-in-class service of process to work for you. Make your move to begin receiving court-stamped documents and proofs of service fast and reliably.

Book a demo or schedule a call with an account manager now.

Proof of service is a small thing that makes a huge impact on a legal matter—especially if it’s not done correctly. We’ve designed this fact-packed crash course to build your proof of service expertise with the effectiveness of a Marine Corps boot camp, but without the push-ups and drill sergeant culture.

Without moving from your comfy chair, you’ll be razor sharp in no time about:

• What proof of service means for trials.
• How proof of service relates to service of process.
• Deadlines for filing proof of service.
• When proof of service is considered complete.
• Handling proof of service when court papers can’t be served.

Think you’re ready? OK, recruit, let’s move out!

Proof of service in a nutshell

When you make an important purchase, you always ask for a receipt. It’s the same with proof of service, which functions as a sworn statement that confirms court documents have been served on a party.

A proof of service form (sometimes referred to as a proof of service affidavit) records the name of the person served as well as the time, date, and location where the documents were served. The form describes the types of documents served, the way they were served to the party, and the process server’s name and signature.

Proof of service also acts as a failsafe device. In the event a defendant claims his or her papers were never served, proof of service says differently.

Now that you’ve got the basics, let’s put proof of service into context with its parent action: service of process.

What does ‘service’ mean?

For legal professionals who are new on the job or haven’t worked in litigation, here’s a quick primer about service of process. If your journey through this boot camp goes no further than this paragraph, this is an essential takeaway:

Service of process establishes jurisdiction.

Unless a court has jurisdiction over the party or parties involved in a legal matter there can be no trial.

For the party being sued, service accomplishes three things:

• Explains what the plaintiff is asking for.
• Establishes date, time, and place of the trial.
• Instructs the defendant about how to respond (i.e., explains choices).

Service of process uses specific types of court documents to launch legal matters, including trials. To help you visualize the relationship between these documents and their case types be sure to note Table 1 below.

Table 1.

Although there are some exceptions, all these documents must be personally served to the defendant or respondent before anything can proceed.

Documents such as discovery requests and discovery responses are not filed with the court, so the proof of service for these documents is not filed after the papers are served. The proof of service should, however, be signed for the law firm’s own records.

Wouldn’t it be nice to tackle two jobs at the same time?

Try a file and serve.

File and serve allows you to simultaneously submit a file order and a service of process in just a few easy steps through an online portal:

1. Upload the conformed copies as soon as the documents are filed.
2. If the conformed copies are not readily available, request them from the provider.
3. Know the service level of the serve order.
4. Verify the documents.

It’s easy to start using file and serve today. Call now for details! (909) 664-9565.

Which type of service?

There are several ways to conduct service of process but two of the most common ways are personal service and substituted service.

• Personal service occurs when an individual gives court documents directly to the party being sued or to the agent authorized to accept service (this may be a business or public entity).
• Substituted service occurs when an individual gives the papers to an adult where the party named in the suit lives, works, or receives mail (including a private post office box, but not a U.S. Postal Service P.O. Box).

Check out The Ultimate Guide for Process Serving to see the full range of service of process methods. The guide is packed with ideas law firms can use to get greater value from service of process, including how to find out where you may be losing money on service of process orders.

Does my document have its own proof of service form?

If you’re uncertain whether a document used in a matter you are handling has its own proof of service form you can find out by checking with the court requirements.

If your document is not paired with its own proof of service form, you may use a general proof of service by mail form.

Watch this video for the step-by-step instructions to fill out a General Proof of Service by Mail form. If you use this form, be sure to give it scrupulous attention, though, because completing this form incorrectly may delay a matter or cause it to be dismissed.

When is proof of service complete?

The parties were located, documents handed over, now the matter may proceed, right?

Wrong.

After court documents have properly been served, the person who served those documents must complete and sign a proof of service affidavit, which attests to the service. That affidavit in turn is filed with the court.

This breakdown may help you more easily visualize the proof of service workflow:

1. After papers are served the person who served the papers files a Form SC-104 Proof of Service with the court clerk.
2. If the server used an alternate form, they must note each paper served on the alternate form.
3. If service was completed by a registered server, the server must file the original proof of service directly with the court and mail you a copy of the filed form. That form may be taken to court and used as needed.

Remember: The original completed Proof of Service form must be filed 5 days before the trial.

If your proofs of service are taking too long to come back or seem less than rock solid use these 9 Questions to Ask a Process Serving Company to find out whether your vendor is up to the job.

Personal service doesn’t always work

Some parties will go to great lengths to avoid being served court papers. Divorce cases are one example where this scenario may play out. Once a server has exhausted the avenues of personal service set by the local court rules, substituted service may be used.

When such circumstances occur, the server provides proof of service using the following steps:

Substituted service is complete 10 days after the day the papers are mailed.

Other types of substituted service include:

• Service by Notice and Acknowledgement of Receipt
• Service by posting on the premises and mailing (for eviction cases only)
• Service by publication
• Service by posting (at the courthouse)

The proof of service methods these types of substituted service require are detailed on this California court website page.

Proof of service the easy way

No legal professional wants to spend the day wondering whether service was successfully completed.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to know as quickly as possible when service has been effected and that proof of service has been filed with the court: Use a qualified service of process provider.

Rapid Legal, for example, generally returns the proof of service within 2-3 business days from the date service takes place. Legal professionals who use Rapid Legal’s service of process receive an alert directly in their email inbox notifying them that service has been completed. This means they spend less time following up with vendors and worrying about their order status.

A range of service levels is available to meet the needs of a particular service of process order. They include:

Mission accomplished

Congratulations! You’ve graduated boot camp and have the skills you need to work your way through proof of service questions. You also have a better understanding of how proof of service fits in the service of process ecosystem.

Now it’s time to put Rapid Legal’s best-in-class performance to work for you. Make your move today to start receiving court-stamped documents and proofs of service fast, and reliably, with our portal that was designed to deliver maximum speed and accuracy.

Book a demo or schedule a call with an account manager now!

Table of Contents

1. To perform at your best, use the best
2. Surround yourself with experts
3. Know the rules, follow the rules
4. Be a format fanatic
5. Keep a clear head
   

Ever wonder why some legal professionals seem to have better eFiling experiences than others? Do you wish you could sneak a peek at their tools or decode the behaviors that set their work apart?

Your wish is about to come true.

We’ve worked with countless high-performing eFilers for years and observed what makes this population stand out. If your eFiling rates need a boost or if you want to break out of an eFiling plateau, use these insights about the tools high performers use and how they apply them.

While some practices may seem like things you already do, you are likely to find subtle yet important differences that generate next-level performance. So be sure to read the article closely.

1.  To perform at your best, use the best

It takes time to build excellence. Psychologists argue that 10,000 hours of practice are required to develop the highest levels of expertise (known as the 10,000 Hour Rule). However, no one who works in a law firm has 10,000 hours of non-billable time available to perfect their eFiling skills.

So, how do you get there from here?

Take a shortcut.

Partner with a litigation support service provider whose eFiling technology has done the 10,000 hours for you. If you’re not sure how to recognize that kind of technology here are three features it must deliver:

Top-tier technology should also give you the option to file electronic court documents yourself or turn over your order to an eFiling expert. Be sure to investigate how Rapid Legal’s Self-Service and Concierge Service can fill the eFiling gaps for your specific situation.

2.  Surround yourself with experts

Legal professionals work in fast-paced, high-demand environments. That’s why the most successful eFilers don’t hesitate to call in an expert reviewer as a “secret weapon” to provide extra coverage and minimize the risk of rejection.

The expert reviewer’s mission is to scrutinize legal documents that may be complex or need hands-on, personalized attention. Rapid Legal’s Expert Review service covers both of these objectives with an audit that helps prevent documents from landing with the 10-15% of eFilings courts reject.

The expert review audit for document formatting and assembly provides:

• • Checks to verify that documents are not password-protected or corrupted.
  • Visual confirmation that font size and style are correct.
  • Assurance that document pages are paginated correctly.
  • Confirm that the summons matches the complaint.
  • Verify that all mandated forms are attached.
  • Review all exhibits to make sure they are electronically bookmarked.
  • Confirm that text is text-searchable.

Expert review can also help protect against eFiling rejections by digging deep into document details and to confirm:

• • Signatures and dates appear as required.
  • Court locations and addresses appear correctly.
  • Names and parties match on the documents.
  • Case numbers match and documents are confirmed (where applicable).
  • Document titles are correct.
  • Verify that correct document titles have been selected so that fees are paid to the court correctly.

Need the ultimate in confidence and convenience for your eFiling?

Concierge Service is the solution.

We handle all the details with one easy call. Find out how.

3.  Know the rules, follow the rules

Pablo Picasso was famous for ignoring traditional art rules. To be fair, Picasso earned international fame by flouting those rules to create cubism.

Court filings, however, are not art so don’t be like Picasso.

Follow the local court rules to the letter.

It sounds simple but complying with court rules is not as easy as it sounds. That’s because court rules change routinely, including rules regarding deadlines, fees, and document formats. Every court has different rules which makes following the rules an even greater challenge.

The secret to staying on top of court rules is to make sure you stay informed about court activity. To do this, highly successful eFilers align themselves with good information sources and partner with a litigation support service provider that has relationships with the courts and the courts’ own technology providers.

Rapid Legal helps law firms stay abreast of the rules by communicating with them regularly through several different channels:

• Breaking court news, time-sensitive developments, and major change announcements shared via dedicated emails and social media.
• Regular updates in our monthly newsletter that share eFiling go-live dates, changes in court office hours, contact information, upload requirements, and other court news.
• Tips and reminders for working with California courts appear on Rapid Legal’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

You can also keep up with rule changes by checking your county’s rules and consulting these resources and useful court links.

The infographic below can help you visualize how electronic court filings flow from the eFiling user, through the courts, and back. Use it to visualize who the stakeholders are in the eFiling workflow and the technologies involved in this process.

4.  Be a format fanatic

The most successful eFilers have made a strategic commitment to never cut corners on small things that make a big difference. Document formatting is one of those things. It matters because the proper formatting and procedure for including exhibits as well as other types of attachments varies across the courts. If you get it wrong you get rejected.

For example, San Francisco Superior Court requires parties submitting exhibits as part of a proposed order, stipulation and order, judgment, or verdict, to upload everything as one document.

In contrast, Los Angeles Superior Court requires parties submitting accompanying documents to a single pleading or law and motion item to eFile each item as a separate PDF document.

Bone up on bookmarks:

If you’ve ever watched a cake collapse while it’s baking in the oven you’ve seen for yourself how getting one thing wrong can wreck an entire project. The same can be said about bookmarks.

For most legal professionals who do eFiling, a bookmark may seem like an incidental part of the electronic court filing process. In fact, few things send an eFiling to the rejection bin with the speed and certainty of bookmarks that are overlooked or done incorrectly.

To make sure a bookmark flaw doesn’t trip up your efiling you need to know these two rules:

1. Exhibits filed electronically must include electronic bookmarks with links to the first page of each exhibit and bookmark titles that identify the exhibit number or letter and briefly describe the exhibit. From: California Rules of Court, rule 3.1110(f)(4)

2. Each electronic document must include an electronic bookmark to each heading, subheading, and the first page of any component of the document, including any:

From: California Rules of Court, rule 8.74(a)(3)

Bookmark Pro Tip

Each electronic bookmark must briefly describe the item to which it is linked.

Example:

An electronic bookmark to a heading must provide the text of the heading, and an electronic bookmark to an exhibit or attachment must include the letter or number of the exhibit or attachment and a brief description of the exhibit or attachment.

Never eFile without this one important thing

An electronic appendix must have bookmarks on the indexes and the first page of each separate exhibit or attachment. Exhibits or attachments within an exhibit or attachment must be bookmarked. All bookmarks must be set to retain the reader’s selected zoom setting.

5.  Keep a clear head

You probably didn’t see this one coming: Being calm and relaxed helps legal professionals maintain focus during hours of detail-oriented, deadline-driven work. To help you stay clear and relaxed throughout your workday we’ve gathered these Simple Meditations for the Busy Legal Professional for you to use.

Nothing special is required to perform these 7 exercises. They’re perfect for the office or outdoors and can be done discreetly so most people will be unaware you’re performing them.

Each meditation can help you reduce stress and hone traits such as focus, creativity, empathy, and listening. If you’re wondering how to begin you can start small by spending a few minutes on them every hour or so throughout your workday. Then, increase as needed.

Let’s talk!

It’s no secret that achieving an extremely high eFiling rate is good for you, good for the courts, and good for your clients. Stop waiting to notch up your success and contact Rapid Legal to discover how our industry-leading technology platform and personalized customer care can move you closer to your eFiling goals.

While you’re connecting with us be sure to ask about our satisfaction guarantee: If service is not done right, it’s free.

Make today the day. Schedule a call or request a demo with one of our dedicated account managers now to learn what Rapid Legal can do for you.

Exciting developments are happening in the legal industry. And these changes are requiring a new breed of litigation support service providers that can adequately support today’s modern law firm and corporate legal department. Read on to learn:

• How the litigation support service provider industry is changing
• How this is impacting law firms
• What law firms should look for and avoid
• And how law firms can best leverage a strategic partner in litigation support services to gain maximum value; especially those law firms that are particularly keen to modernize or run their firm more like a business, which we see happening more and more every day.

How the Litigation Support Service Industry is Changing

Innovation, disruption, and digital transformation have now fully penetrated the legal industry – from the courts to the law firms down to the vendors + suppliers. If we can find a silver lining in the Covid-19 pandemic, it would be the acceleration of these trends that are serving to modernize the industry.

As a result of this digital transformation, an explosion of customer and business data is being created and used for metrics, reporting, and insights. And more and more law firms are leveraging this data to improve their competitive advantage and the business side of law.

Case Study:

How This Law Firm Leverages a System Integration
With Rapid Legal to Improve Cost Control & Gain Efficiencies

Courts are implementing various digital technologies to automate processes and increase access to justice. eFiling couldn’t have arrived soon enough during these times. Courts that already had implemented it were able to return to court operations and productivity while others who hadn’t struggled to cope.

Quick Fact: Prior to the pandemic, approximately 20 county courts had implemented eFiling. As of summer, 2022, that number stands at 30, with an additional 6 county courts on the way during 2023. With a total of 36 counties implementing eFiling, that will mean almost 60% of the state’s 58 county courts will be eFiling.

Law firms too have increased their adoption of technology as they seek to comply with changing court rules, modernize their practices and/or prepare for the future needs of their firms. Indeed, law firms are realizing the value of system integrations, process automation, data and analytics to improve their business of law.

Because the demand for legal tech is increasing, legal tech vendors with the right software and hardware are cropping up ready to support the technological needs of the legal industry.

Ready to quick-start your law firm’s digital transformation initiative?

Read How to Map Out Your Law Firm’s Digital Transformation and learn the step-by-step process to make it happen.

Bottomline: The litigation support service industry is changing due to the dynamics of the legal market changing.

And speaking of this change; as law firms engage in digital transformations and modernize their business practices, this is requiring a new breed of litigation support service providers that can adequately support today’s modern law firm.

And what we see is that innovative thinking and technology are bifurcating the litigation support service provider landscape into one that is distinguishing between strategic partners and transactional vendors, also known as, traditional attorney service firms.

Want the eBook version of this article?

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Innovative thinking and technology

Distinguishing strategic partners from transactional vendors

For law firms to reap the strategic advantages litigation support service providers can offer them, they must be able to discern and select a strategic partner. The differences that legitimately separate strategic partners from the field of transactional vendors may not be readily apparent on the surface.

What’s the Difference?

Traditional, transactional vendors focus on tactical items such as orders or transactions and they typically work with a narrow slice of an organization, perhaps with a single paralegal or legal secretary. They’re focused on getting the work done; they follow a simple formula, i.e., 1+1 = 2.

Strategic partners on the other hand, inquire about, and focus on your firm’s strategic goals. Improve process efficiencies, reduce costs, better manage risk and more – they are more focused on how to deliver greater business value and strategic outcomes. For them, they are looking at how to make 1+1 = 4.

Features of a Strategic Litigation Support Service Provider

✓ Expertise: They offer deep experience with California court rules, nationwide process serving requirements and legal technology so they can provide more reliable and timely delivery of legal documents. Their decades of experience allow them to deliver efficiency and productivity insights to their customers.

✓ Performance: They’ve designed their services and software to maximize the speed and accuracy of filing and serving legal documents to quickly deliver Conformed Copies and Proofs of Service to clients.

✓ Accountability: They make it clear how their business impacts your business by transparently showing customers their performance:

• • eFiling Turnaround Times
  • Serve Success Rates
  • User Behavior and Order Data

✓ Partnership: They focus on long-term client success by continually earning client trust in every interaction. Every order is important to them. Nothing’s worse than a vendor who works so hard to win you over, only to abandon you thereafter because they’re more focused on acquiring customers than keeping them.

While they want to ensure they are properly executing the procedural elements of the law, or practice of law, they are equally keenly concentrated on the business of law, too.

✓ eFiling Footprint and Tech: They should be a certified eFiling Service Provider for all courts in California. They should leverage advanced, file + serve technology that is integrated with these courts. In fact, they may even be one of the first eFiling service providers to become certified in the state.

✓ Cultural DNA: Their mindset and culture are always forward-thinking and challenging the status quo. Always pushing to be faster and better by blending their expertise with legal technology to deliver greater value to their customers.

✓ Data-driven Insights for Business Intelligence: They provide data and insights into file and serve performance and user productivity through metrics/reporting for legal operations business intelligence.

✓ Forward-thinking Expertise for Legal Workflow Automation: They can, and welcome the opportunity, to integrate their systems such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with a client’s CRM and/or Practice Management Software for streamlined accounting of client’s end-customer costs and more accurate invoice tracking for better cost visibility and control.

How This is Impacting Law Firms

Law firms are reaping the benefits of litigation support service providers that act as their strategic partner. They are realizing greater efficiencies by getting their work done quickly and accurately. They are also seeing increases in productivity by unlocking staff time, which allows staff to focus on other important tasks

Strategic partners are allowing law firms to have more transparency with how their provider is performing by reviewing performance metrics or setting up quarterly business reviews to discuss performance and the current state of the partnership.

By using the strategic partner model the partners, themselves, are being more accountable when issues come up. Likewise, firms can mitigate risk by ensuring the software used with their strategic partner is built with professional grade security, compliance, and integrity.

Law firms are also realizing cost-savings by reducing staff time on both order placement and status update retrieval. Additionally, they are eliminating errors by offering more communication channels to answer questions, or opportunities for further staff training. Partners are also offering volume discounts and intuitive, transparent pricing to diminish cost as much as possible.

What Law Firms Should Look For

A strategic litigation support service partner does more for your business than simply delivering a service. You should think of litigation support service providers as strategic partners instead of merely “providers” for the following reasons:

• They offer a complete solution by leveraging their expertise, experience, technology, and customer support resources to meet your needs
• They are proactive with you and seek to add value to your firm.
• They inquire about your firm’s goals and objectives to understand their role and fit in helping you achieve them.
• They focus on strategic business outcomes such as cost and process efficiencies as well as risk management.
• They are always thinking of new and different ways to do things.
• They care about each interaction with you because their focus is a long-term relationship and partnership with your firm.
• They provide data and reports to you for transparency and accountability, plus much more

What Law Firms Should Avoid

• A transactional litigation support service vendor simply sells you a service or product.
• They tend to be reactive to your needs.
• They tend to think and act tactically by focusing on the what, not the why, focusing on the now, not the future, focusing on the status quo, not innovation.

They will typically take care of your firm’s basic needs, but they will not have the capability nor mindset to solve new problems or seize new opportunities for your firm.

Wondering if it might be time to switch your

legal support service provider? Read:

5 Signs It’s Time to Switch Your Legal Support Service Provider

Case Studies: How Law Firms Can Best Leverage a Strategic Partner in Litigation Support Services

Now that you have a clearer understanding about the benefits of working with a strategic partner in litigation support services, here are three real-life case studies/use cases of how firms are leveraging those partnerships.

1. California-based law firm leverages CRM-to CRM integration

The first example involves a firm that was being inundated with hundreds of invoices, which made it difficult for them to define cost. They weren’t sure whether all their costs were even being recovered during the fee motion process. Because the firm and its litigation support service provider used the same system for storing information and invoices, they were able to fully integrate the two systems.

As a result, when the firm’s fee motion department is ready to gather costs, with a click of a button they have all the necessary information already detailed and calculated in their own system. The upshot is that the firm no longer worries about missing out on recoverable fees.

2. Northern California law firm integrates accounting system with its litigation support service provider

The second example is a Bay Area firm that was having trouble allocating expenses to specific client transactions. The firm would receive a credit card statement with large transaction amounts, leaving staff members to figure out which clients to bill, and how many different clients were included in that transaction.

The litigation support service provider was able to customize an invoicing process tailored to address this issue. Now, just a quick search allows the firm to define, and attribute spend to specific clients. This customization has become a great time saver for the firm.

3. Law firms looking at how to leverage e-Filing API

The third example involves large law firms in the debt collection space that file hundreds of complaints in bulk daily. The volume of these complaints has driven the firms to find a way to avoid the lengthy order process altogether. As a solution, the litigation support service provider that works with these firms is leveraging technology to integrate with the firms’ practice management software so orders may be completed more quickly.

This integration will enable the firms to place orders directly through their system with a click of the mouse. It will eliminate the need for a standalone portal and ultimately allow the firm’s staff member to manage work from inside a singular system; to which the firm is already accustomed.

You Deserve a Strategic Partner in Litigation Support Services

The litigation support service industry is changing. With those changes comes the option to work with a transactional vendor or a strategic partner who will help your law firm adjust to the industry. It’s an important decision to consider because today’s best of breed litigation support service providers act as a strategic partner to their clients; delivering real business value and competitive advantages to law firms.

Why settle for a traditional service provider who will give you nothing more than the status quo when you can leverage the vast expertise, experience, technology, and customer support resources of a strategic partner?

It’s time to make your move.

A consultation with a Rapid Legal account executive will change the way you look at litigation support service providers and open the door to exceptional performance.

There’s no reason to wait. Book a demo or schedule a call now.