Stanislaus County Superior Court eFiling with Rapid Legal
Effective immediately, you can now eFile with Rapid Legal for all Non-Criminal cases at Stanislaus County Superior Court. This is permissive and the date for mandatory eFiling has not yet been announced.
These requirements are issued pursuant to Rule 2.250 of the California Rules of Court, Code of Civil Procedure § 1010.6 and Stanislaus County Superior Court’s General Order in Re Electronic Filing Procedures. Documents that are determined to be unacceptable for eFiling by the Court due to eFiling system restrictions will be rejected subject to being allowed to be filed nunc pro tunc to the original submittal date upon exparte application to the Court and upon good cause shown
For more information see the requirements document here.
CA Court eFiling Requirements – Part One
Here at Rapid Legal, we often get asked which courts are moving to eFiling and when. To start, eFiling means to electronically file your legal documents over the Internet, typically through a court-approved Electronic Filing Service Provider. And while it’s nothing new on the Federal level, for California state courts, it’s a different story, but we can cover that topic another time. To address the original question in this post, “What CA courts are moving to eFiling and when?” we’ve created a 3 part series that shares eFiling developments in the Sunshine State. Here we discuss Orange County Court eFiling and Los Angeles County eFiling.
Please note: This information is current as of January 2015. While we’ve made every attempt to verify its accuracy, you should always consult CCP, local court rules and/or CA Rules of Court. Also, this is only information, not legal advice.
Orange County Superior Court
January 1, 2013: OCSC mandates that all documents filed in limited, unlimited and complex civil actions must be filed electronically pursuant to CCP Sec. 1010.6 and OCSC Rule 352. Two caveats exist, however; self-represented litigants are exempt from the eFiling mandate, but are strongly encouraged to eFile, and parties facing undue hardship may apply for an exemption from eFiling in accordance with rule 2.253.
Additionally, California Rules of Court, rule 2.251 states that a party by electronically filing any document with the court thereby agrees to accept electronic service.
September 3, 2013: OCSC mandates that all documents (exceptions are listed below) for Probate and Mental Health must be electronically filed pursuant to section 1010.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure , rule 2.253 (b)(2) of the California Rules of Court , and Local Rule 601.01.
Along with these mandates, filers must use one of the court-approved Electronic Filing Service Providers (EFSPs). Shameless plug: Rapid Legal is an EFSP. Need to eFile some documents? Give our team a call at 800.366.5445!
Take note, the following original documents may not be filed electronically:
Civil Cases:
- Bench Warrants
- Subpoenaed documents
- Labor Commissioner deposit of cash or check
- Bonds
- Undertakings
Probate/Mental Health Cases:
- Affidavit re: Real Property of Small Value
- Bonds
- Financial Documents submitted by Private Professional Conservator
- Letters (probate, guardianship, conservatorship)
- Subpoenaed documents
- Undertakings
- Will/Codicils – originals for filing or safekeeping
In a proceeding that requires the filing of any original documents, an electronic filer may file an electronic copy of a document if the original document is then filed with the court within 10 calendar days. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 2.252(e))
We know this is a lot of information. Orange County Superior Court does a great job answering many of the pressing questions you might have. Check out their FAQs here.
Curious about how Orange County eFiling works? To become an approved Electronic Filing Service Provider with OCSC, we had to first determine a way to connect with the court’s Electronic Filing Manager (EFM). Some attorney services who are also EFSPs chose to use a third party application built by someone else, at Rapid Legal, we chose to build our own eFiling portal to connect to the court’s EFM. As a result, our court-integrated proprietary technology allows us to process legal documents quickly and efficiently. Check out the illustration below.
Interesting, huh? We’ll talk more about Rapid Legal’s eFiling technology in future posts, but for now, let’s see what’s going in with eFiling in the Los Angeles County courts.
Los Angeles Superior Court
As it stands today, LASC only allows for permissive eFiling for Small Claims. Parties who want to eFile a Small Claims action can do it online through the Court’s website, except when:
- The claim is against a government agency
- The claim involves an attorney-client fee dispute
- The claimant is requesting a waiver of Court fees and costs
- The claimant is a minor, a legally incompetent person, or a person for whom a conservator has been appointed
So maybe you already knew this and you’re asking when eFiling is going to be instituted for other case types at Los Angeles Superior Court? We’ll here’s what we know…
In 2013, LASC appointed a new CEO, Sherri Carter, known for her achievements in technological innovation. Last year, the court hired the Chief Information Officer, Snorri Ogata, from Orange County Superior Court to serve as their CIO. Our guess? LASC is making these types of moves because they’re getting serious about expanding electronic filing. As the largest court system in the nation, LASC’s eFiling expansion will be quite significant and will likely take at least 3-4 years, if not longer, to fully implement.
In our next post in this 3 part series, we’ll be discussing eFiling with San Francisco county courts.
Common Pitfalls for Court Filing Rejections and How to Avoid Them
How to avoid a court filing rejection at the court:
Triple-check everything.
It’s always a good habit to double-check your work. Is that enough? Usually yes, but when it comes to court documents, you should always take the time to give them one last review before sending them to be filed. That last review can be crucial in catching a wrongly dated form or a missing signature; even an out-of-date Proof of Service. When you’ve finished filling in a form or titling a document, check it. When it looks good, check it again. Before sending it, check it one more time. Your client, your case or your reputation could depend on it.
Sign and date everything.
This might sound self-explanatory, but a missing signature is a surefire way to have your documents rejected by the court. Even if the window clerk misses it, you can bet the clerk of the department won’t. This is a very common pitfall for court rejections. Consider yourself warned (wink).
Be understanding of the clerks.
The clerks hold the ultimate power. They can decide whether or not to file your documents simply based on the kind of day they’re having. Okay, not all clerks are mean or spiteful, but like everyone, they don’t like to do extra work for a bunch of random individuals bugging them while they attempt to get their work done. Do you? Every time you have to ask a clerk in the department to schedule a hearing date, approve a date or to argue a rejection, that’s extra work for them and they hate it. So always treat them with respect and be courteous – hello, have a nice day, thank you – it all goes a long way.
Know what you’re filing.
Not every document should be treated the same. A Request for Dismissal may be okay to leave at the window, but a Stipulation and Order might need to go to a specific department. These documents might be similar, but they are not the same. Know where they go. You don’t want to waste your time or the clerk’s time by getting in the wrong line or having your documents sent to the wrong place.
Know the local rules.
Many documents may look the same with very similar sounding titles but that doesn’t mean they are treated the same. Said another way, not all documents are created equal. There may be a specific document that requires having a hearing set by the department clerk before filing or a fee that needs to be paid before being received and filed later. Some courts may require a specific cover page to be filed with all new cases. If you aren’t sure about what’s required, court websites have plenty of information regarding filings. Also, if you need a specific form, they usually have them available on their website or they’re just a simple Google search away.
Happy filing.
5 Tips on How to Avoid Remote Work Burnout
We take a closer look at why “Working From Home” has become “Living At Work” and how to avoid the pitfalls.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, surveys showed that only about 29% of Americans were able to work from home, and 43% were working from home part-time or more. Starting in late March, with stay-at-home orders across the nation, that number skyrocketed, enabling more than 63% of workers to realize their #WFH dreams, whether or not they were ready. Working from home is attractive because it is usually associated with flexibility, work-life balance, saving commute time and other commute-related expenses. And if they are a parent – spending more time with children is also a perk.
However, according to recent data from NordVPN, which tracks when users connect and disconnect from its service, workers are now clocking an average of 3 more hours per day than they were when they worked in an office. Workers reported being stressed, overworked, and burned out.
Huda Idrees, the chief executive officer of Dot Health, a Toronto-based technology startup, confirms that her employees are working, on average, 12-hour days, up from 9 hours pre-pandemic. “We’re at our computers very early because there’s no commute time,” she said. “And because no one is going out in the evenings, we’re also always there.”
Another reason why workers are feeling stressed is due to the economic impacts of the pandemic. Many workers know of family, friends, or coworkers who have been recently laid off. Although they are grateful and relieved to have their jobs still, some feel a tremendous amount of burden having to prove their value. This results in trying to be available at all hours, having the “always-on 24/7” on-call mentality. For working parents, this pressure, coupled with the added responsibility of taking care of children at home and other household duties, results in a tremendous amount of stress. In addition, parents of school-aged children also found themselves suddenly homeschooling for the first time.
Now that many of us have worked from home for at least a couple of months and experienced some of the stresses firsthand, it’s time to take a closer look at how we can avoid burnout and achieve greater harmony working from home. Here are a few practical tips:
- Create New Rituals and Routines.
“All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits — practical, emotional, and intellectual.”- William James, psychologist and philosopher
Humans are creatures of habit. Having routines is physiologically essential and beneficial to how we function. Previously, before heading into the office, one might go to the gym first, drive their kids to school, or grab a cup of their favorite coffee to start the workday. Now that schools and some gyms remain closed, there’s currently no commute time so workers are waking up later than before. It might be nice getting a little extra sleep, but this actually shortchanges us from the “buffer” time that we used to have for ourselves before work to help us transition into the “work mode.”
It might be a little hard to do at first, but try to wake up the same time as you did before, and use what would have been your old commute time to ready yourself for the day. This does not mean checking email or doing anything work-related. Perhaps this could be time well-spent doing something you enjoy – whether it’s brewing your favorite tea or coffee, doing some gardening, or listening to music – anything that you find enjoyable to help you start the day strong and sustain that energy for the remainder of the day.
- Take Breaks and Schedule your Lunch Hour.
Schedule short mental breaks away from the screen throughout the day and schedule your lunchtime. While it’s tempting to throw in a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher in between conference calls, multitasking actually stretches your workday longer, and it may also cause you to lose focus. If you must schedule in 15 –20 minutes each day to complete a household chore by all means, do it! But planning it and scheduling it on your calendar allows you to be in control of the time you allot towards it and not lose sight of the most important things you need to work on.
“Breaks” may mean different things to different people, so do what you need to recharge throughout the day, whether that means taking care of things around the house, taking the dog for a walk, chatting with a friend on the phone, or spending a few minutes with a hobby. Always keep in mind that the end goal is to be more energized and productive towards your work product. Be honest with yourself in that the breaks you schedule for yourself is to help you recharge, not procrastinate.
- Communication and Transparency is Key.
Having said the above, this third suggestion, communication & transparency, is probably the most important.
One executive for a California-based CRM company shares how he communicates expectations with his remote team and coworkers:
“Schedule your day and let your coworkers know how you schedule your day. I try to keep my meetings in the morning since I work with a lot of people in European time zones. This way, everyone knows that my mornings are full of meetings, and so if someone is trying to get a hold of me, there isn’t any second-guessing of why they are not hearing back from me right away. They know that I’m in meetings. Sharing calendars helps with this as well.”
Also, because there is the added pressure for workers to demonstrate they are available and working, some have reported that chat or other collaboration tools sometimes actually bring on more added stress of always having to be “on” and “available.” In reality, there could be other immediate pressures or issues you need to tend to in the background. For example, kids could be having a meltdown or an argument in the other room and you need to play referee. Handle it and don’t feel like there’s a need to fib about it. When tactfully done, it leads to better communication and transparency.
When it comes to being truthful and transparent, the CRM executive tells his team: “You shouldn’t feel like you can’t ever have your chat status show you as being “away” or “idle.” Working from home is making both aspects work together and not have one or the other control your life. Because if you choose to let one aspect control you, the stress will pile up, hindering productivity and performance. Being idle on chat may mean that you’re on the phone, going to the restroom, getting a snack, etc. Those all happen when you’re in the office too, so have a meaningful conversation with [your manager or direct reports] that being on “idle” does not mean you are slacking off work.”
At the end of the day, we’re all human. Humans working – through a pandemic – at home. If we dare to show this side of us (while, of course, remaining professional), it encourages our coworkers also to share and do the same. And when we share, we can empathize and be flexible with each other, ultimately building trust and respect.
- Set Boundaries and Expectations.
How many of us have had that annoying coworker that plays music at their cubicle too loud? Or that friendly but too-chatty coworker who interrupts your work and focus throughout the day? Only now, there’s isn’t HR you can complain to because you live with these new “coworkers”!
Communicate boundaries and expectations with those you share your living space with, such as your spouse, children, or roommate. Assign roles and responsibilities and create ground rules ahead of time by discussing these hard questions together:
- What are our work hours?
- Who will tend to the kids if they need attention or help with something?
- Whenever possible, have a separate, dedicated working space. If your working space is in an open area shared with others, layout ground rules on what noises, activities, and distractions are acceptable.
- If family pets become disruptive, who will help tend to them?
- Who will prep meals? Who will help with clean up?
- If there isn’t another adult available, communicate with children ahead of time, and explain what they need to do if they need your help. Create visual signs to show your availability (i.e., “On a Call – DO NOT DISTURB,” etc.) and perhaps designate pockets of time on a written schedule so they know when they can have your attention throughout the day.
- Unplug at the End of the Workday.
As mentioned earlier, without commute times, workers are waking up later, but also staying up later, further blurring the lines between work and home and likely adding to the burnout. Interestingly enough, although wake-up times have shifted later, NordVPN found that peak email time has crept up an hour earlier to 9 a.m. versus 10 a.m. pre-pandemic, indicating workers are likely not allowing a buffer of personal time before jumping right into work.
Employees are also logging back in late at night. Surfshark, another VPN provider, has seen spikes in usage from midnight to 3 a.m. that were not present before the coronavirus outbreak. To combat this, try going to bed the same time as you did before the pre-pandemic days, allowing yourself enough sleep each night to recharge. Getting enough rest is essential so that you can start the next morning fresh and on the right foot.
Remember setting boundaries? Resist the temptation to respond to that email at 2 a.m. (unless of course, it’s an emergency, but again, communicate those expectations with your team ahead of time), or even scanning through email with your phone as you lay in bed. Doing so prevents your brain from entirely “shutting down.” Some studies show blue light is harmful to your eyes and disrupts your sleep cycle. Instead, try out some of these healthy habits and routines:
- Physically distance yourself from work during your usual “clock-out” times
- Go to bed at a decent hour
- Wake up earlier, even with no commute time
- Take a few minutes to plan your day BEFORE you check email (as that ONE email could sometimes derail your entire plan for the day) – become proactive and not reactive
- Designate a specific time during the day to review and respond to non-urgent email
By implementing some of these tips, you will create the physical and psychological boundaries needed to differentiate between “home” and “work,” allowing for better focus and less stress. We all want to do a good job, and being proactive in preventing stress and burnout will allow you to achieve that more easily.
COVID-19: Rapid Legal Remains Open to Assist You
We, like so many Americans, have spent the last several days and weeks learning about the coronavirus (COVID-19) and how it is impacting our country and the world. We want to assure you that Rapid Legal is here for you during this challenging time. We value the trust you place in us and want you to know that our staff and systems remain operational, remotely, in accordance with local government and health official’s guidelines.
We are committed to minimizing any disruption to the level of service you’ve come to expect from us. However, in the coming days and weeks, as we manage through rapidly changing events and take the necessary steps to assure the protection of our employees and vendors, you may experience delays in service of process and physical court filings due to logistical and unforeseen challenges. We appreciate your patience during this time.
- eFiling continues to remain available as usual.
- Physical court filings continue to be delivered to the court wherever courts have stayed open or made drop boxes available.
- Service of process remains available as usual. All process serving documents are accepted and our nationwide network of professional partners continue to serve papers across the country.
- If you need an extra hand, we also offer Concierge Service to place order(s) on your behalf.
- Customer Support team members remain available via email and phone from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Pacific, Monday – Friday.
To keep up with the latest California court operations information, please visit our partner website at LegalConnect. Ongoing courts releases are posted there several times a day.
We recognize the importance litigation support services play in the legal process, especially for time-sensitive hearings or matters. Rest assured that our team is, and will continue to be, here to support you both now and in the brighter days to come.
– The Rapid Legal Team
Guide: eFiling Basics for Beginners
More and more county courts in California are making the switch from paper court filing to electronic filing (eFiling). At Rapid Legal, we’ve made it our business to help demystify eFiling and make it simple for legal professionals. Here’s what you need to know – all in one place – to understand eFiling and get started.
What is eFiling?
Electronic filing, or eFiling, is the method of electronically submitting your legal documents to the court via the internet and typically requires the user to select an approved eFiling Service Provider (EFSP) in which to eFile their legal documents. Federal, state, and municipal courts have varying rules and regulations for eFiled documents. In many courts, electronic filing is mandatory and they do not allow in-person physical filing. Thus, it is more important than ever to ready your law firm for the transition to eFiling.
How Does eFiling Work?
If you’re still doing traditional filing, depending on the size of your firm, the process probably looks a little something like this:
- Finalize and print the document.
- Get signatures and make copies.
- Draft cover letter, staple, and enclose everything into the package.
- Call clerk to confirm filing fees.
- Pay filing fees (this may require a call to accounting).
- Contact runner or courier for pick-up.
- Contact process server to serve papers.
- Wait for file stamp from the runner/courier.
- Scan and file hard copies of completed documents.
The average firm, depending on size, probably spends between 1-2 hours to file the old-fashioned way. That translates into tremendous staff time, the expense of hiring runners or couriers, and billable time lost. When you add in court filing fees and copying expenses, it is no wonder that a firm can spend $500 or more to file a simple 10-page document.
Now consider eFiling:
- Go to your preferred Electronic Filing Service Provider’s (EFSP) website and log into your account.
- Place your eFiling order and provide online payment.
- Upon hitting “Submit” for your order, the EFSP files your document directly with the court’s electronic filing manager (EFM) where the documents can be processed into the court’s case management system.
- The Court accepts or rejects the eFiled documents and then the EFSP delivers a confirmation of processing and the associated conformed documents straight into your account when ready. A copy is also sent via email.
- All along the way, the EFSP sends you order status notifications from submission to completion to keep you informed.
This diagram gives a high-level overview of how eFiling works:
As a certified Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) with the Court, Rapid Legal’s technology is integrated with the Court’s Electronic Filing Manager (EFM). This integration enables filers to electronically file documents directly with the court through Rapid Legal.
In summary, eFiling is a truly integrated, end-to-end data exchange solution, connecting law firms and EFSPs directly to the courts.
Advantages of eFiling
The biggest advantages of eFiling over traditional filing methods are that it is significantly faster to process and it reduces the amount of printed paper. Traditional filing meant that law firms needed to have a document runner to deliver multiple paper copies of legal documents and pleadings to the corresponding courts and parties. There is also less room for error as data entry errors will likely be caught before you complete the process.
Other advantages of eFiling include:
- eFiling takes half as many steps and likely half as many people over paper filing. This translates to substantial cost savings and frees your time to serve your clients and grow your practice.
- eFiling can be done at any time from any location, so you have the freedom to file documents whenever and wherever it’s convenient for you.
- eFiling deadlines are typically later, like 11:59 pm* in Orange County and Los Angeles County, than for paper filings which need to be delivered at the courthouse by the time the court closes that day. (*Note: Rapid Legal’s eFiling deadline is 11:45 pm, the buffer is to ensure there are no transmission issues).
- eFiling reduces the time effort needed to manage files, which ultimately allows you to serve your clients better.
- eFiling can reduce the risk of paper files being misplaced or lost. Additionally, the use of digital files reduces the likelihood of unauthorized tampering or modification of original documents.
How Do I Prepare for eFiling?
To get started with eFiling, here is a helpful checklist to guide you:
1. Make sure you have the right tools in place.
First, you’ll want to make sure you have a scanner with at least 300 dots per inch (dpi) resolution. You’ll need to be able to create crystal clear text-searchable PDF documents for your eFiling submissions. While most Electronic Filing Service Providers offer the ability to automatically convert your online documents directly to PDF, there may be exceptions like when your file is too large for their conversion capability which will require you to do the conversion yourself or seek assistance from their customer support team. Therefore, you’ll need PDF software, such as Adobe Acrobat Pro. This will allow you to easily organize and bookmark exhibits, as well as create text-searchable documents, so you can comply with the local court’s eFiling rules.
2. Start early and prepare for the unexpected.
Just like any new technology, adopting eFiling into your law practice can require some time and patience at the start. And the unexpected will inevitably occur at the worst time. Although you can theoretically file your documents at 11:59 pm* on your filing deadline for a court, you should allow at least a 30-minute buffer in case of the unexpected. (*Note: Rapid Legal’s eFiling deadline is 11:45 pm, the buffer is to ensure there are no transmission issues).
3. Be familiar with common eFiling rejection reasons and know how to avoid them. Here are the top 8 to watch out for:
- Party’s name does not match the name listed on the initial lead document
- For example: If the plaintiff’s name on the caption of the complaint shows “Jane C. Doe”, then it must be entered to match throughout the eFiling. If the defendant’s name is “John Doe, an individual”, it must also be entered to match, including “an individual”.
- Incorrect case type has been selected
- The case type must match the selection on the Civil Case Cover Sheet.
- Incorrect document type has been selected
- If the document is for a “judgment,” then that specific category must be selected.
- Following that selection, choose the document title within that category.
- Wrong case number has been listed somewhere on the filing
- The case number appears in multiple locations, and it must always be listed correctly, or the document may be rejected.
- Wrong court location has been selected
- For example, on its website, San Diego Superior Court provides a Filing Court Locator that can help you determine which courthouse they should be using.
- Issues with the filing itself, like uploading the wrong filing, submitting the filing in the wrong format, having the wrong name on the saved filing, improper scanning, or not including the required attachments
- Some of these issues can be fixed through higher levels of diligence. Others are more technical, especially when it comes to scanning documents — ensuring you’re saving scanned docs in black and white, and that these documents are being scanned exclusively in PDF format. Your printer settings should also be set to a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi) to make your scanned documents clearer and easy to read.
- PDF is not text searchable
- California state law requires that electronic filings be text-searchable, although historically not all courts have been enforcing the requirement. PDFs are not automatically text searchable. They can be made text-searchable using tools such as Adobe Acrobat
- Keep file size limitations in mind
- File size limitations may vary by court and EFSP. In general, 25 megabytes per document and 60 megabytes per e-filing transaction is a good guideline. The majority of filings can be submitted with ease through the EFSP.
4. Carefully choose your Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP).
Your EFSP is the provider who connects you to the court and allows you to electronically submit your court documents, whether it’s through a third-party electronic filing manager or directly into a court case management system (CCMS). Essentially, an ESFP is an intermediary that sits between the filer and the Court and provides value-added services, training, and support for eFiling.
When selecting your EFSP, some things you’ll want to consider are:
- Customer Support Coverage
- Consider the hours during which you can call; what are their hours of operation?
- How helpful and knowledgeable is the customer service team? Is there a variety of ways that you can reach them such as via email, chat, phone, or a dedicated support line?
- Is there a dedicated Account Manager who you can readily speak to versus having to wait on hold contacting a call center?
- Reliability and Experience
- Research what is their average system uptime and success rate.
- Find out how you will be notified when your document has arrived at the court and when it has been accepted.
- Do they have in-depth experience of filing in California and have extensive knowledge of the Courts?
- Accuracy of Service
- Research what is their average eFiling rejection rate (for reference, the average eFiling rejection rate is between 10-15% for California courts).
- Range of Service Offerings
- In addition to eFiling, consider other services you currently need and may also need in the near future. Some examples of services include: physical filing, process servicing, records retrieval, courtesy copy delivery, Secretary of State Filing, and county recording.
- Valued added services. Some EFSPs offer Expert Review and Concierge Service where they will handle your submission from start to finish.
- Court eFiling Coverage
- Equally important, if not more, is understanding what courts, and how many, they can eFile into. The cost to eFile can be a tenth of the cost to paper file so an EFSP that has the capability to eFile into many courts will be a good choice eliminating the need to select multiple EFSPs because they have limited court eFiling coverage.
Helpful Links
- United States Courts Glossary of Legal Terms
- Listing of all California Superior Courts
- California Courts Newsroom
- California Courts Reports & Publications
- California Courts Research & Statistics
- California Courts FAQs
- LA Court – Tips for an Effective Electronic Filing
- Rapid Legal’s California eFile Courts Guide
Glossary
eFiling: Electronic filing, or eFiling, is the method of electronically submitting your legal documents to the court via the internet.
Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP): Any company that handles the submission of documents to a court through an online portal. Rapid Legal is an example of an EFSP.
Electronic Filing Manager (EFM): The EFM acts as an intermediate system on the court’s side. This is the system that takes in filings and processes them for the courthouse clerks to view.
Case Management System (CMS): The stage following the EFM is the Case Management System. After your filing has been accepted, your documents become a permanent part of the court record. (Sometimes also referred to as “Court Case Management System” or “CCMS”)
eService: After a case has been accepted into the CMS, the electronic exchange of additional litigation documents between the parties is referred to as eService.
Dots per inch (dpi): This unit of measurement refers to the quality of the scanned image or document that will eventually be printed. Courts typically require a minimum of 300dpi to ensure the readability of the printed copy.
Envelope: In the context of eFiling, an envelope refers to a group of filings that are submitted together as part of a single transaction.
Lead document: In the context of eFiling, a lead document is any document that requires its own file stamp. Combining lead documents in one PDF file will result in a rejection of the filing transaction.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR): OCR refers to the scanning and subsequent translation of printed and written text into machine-encoded, searchable text.
Portal Document Format (PDF): PDF is a file format developed by Adobe in the 1990s to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems.
XML: Extensible Markup Language (XML) is used to describe data. The XML standard is a flexible way to create information formats and electronically share structured data via the public Internet, as well as via corporate networks. In the context of eFiling, XML is how the ESFP exchanges data with the court’s EFM.
About Rapid Legal
For more than 25 years, Rapid Legal has helped to define and transform the legal support services industry with its vision and commitment to customers, the courts, and a party’s right to due process under the law.
Trusted by thousands of law firms, government agencies and companies, Rapid Legal leverages its deep industry and technology expertise, and a best-in-class legal services cloud management platform, LegalConnect®, for delivering premium legal support services including electronic filing of court documents (“eFiling”), physical court filings, and service of process.
If you would like to get started with eFiling, you can create an account here or schedule a 15-minute call with a Rapid Legal Account Manager for a demo!
Will COVID-19 Accelerate a Digital Transformation in the Legal Industry?
The legal industry is one of the last bastions that has yet to fully transform its business processes digitally like other industries such as health care, finance, and media. Why has it taken so long?
As a litigation support service provider that completely digitized its business model in 2004, we continue to be perplexed by the delay. But it is not all bad news. Practice management solutions like Clio, eDiscovery, case research powered by artificial intelligence, and other areas have certainly been transformative to the industry.
Additionally, in California, 36 counties and counting have implemented some level of digital transformation (i.e., electronic filing). With a total of 58 counties in the state, however, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Enter the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that this virus, and its ensuing impact – courthouse closures, furloughed staff, shuddered offices, remote working and more – has finally spurred the legal industry to consider how to transform broader and deeper throughout its ecosystem with more urgency than ever. More courts, certain client industries and other legal services areas are now being considered too.
eFiling Gets Accelerated
While some superior county courts made the transition to eFiling pre-COVID-19, we are witnessing others accelerate their eFiling implementation during this time period as a solution for maintaining court operations.
For example, San Diego Superior Court went live with permissive eFiling for Family Law on May 26, 2020 and San Mateo Superior Court shifted to mandatory eFiling for Civil and Small Claims on June 1, 2020.
We’ve seen other developments like San Francisco Superior Court enable eFiling for Subsequent Limited and Unlimited Unlawful Detainer (UD) cases, as well as Placer County Superior Court commencing mandatory eDelivery for all case types on May 11, 2020.
Other Areas of the Legal Industry are Transforming Too
And while we know that the legal industry’s digital transformation doesn’t start and stop with eFiling, it’s a strong indicator of how ready the courts are to adopt the digitization of their processes and workflows.
When the courts invest in this area and modernize the way they operate, it brings the rest of the legal industry with it – as other market constituents such as law firms, attorney services, the Public, legal tech vendors and more – follow suit to ensure they are meeting the court’s rules and requirements.
As such, legal tech is being heavily invested in areas like eDiscovery, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, legal analytics, and contract management to seize the opportunity of the burgeoning digital transformation happening throughout the larger legal ecosystem.
Are You Ready?
Where is your law firm or legal department on the digital transformation spectrum? Some questions to consider:
- Are you eFiling today?
- Is it a priority to automate your organization’s workflows and processes? How many of those require paper and manual effort? What’s stopping you from changing?
- How comfortable is your staff with leveraging new technology to streamline processes?
- Do you need the same number of people to do the work with automation?
These are areas you or your staff will want to be thinking about to prepare for the inevitable change that will come.
Looking to get started with eFiling? Schedule a brief 15-minute call with an Account Manager here.
San Diego eFiling Cheat Sheet
COURT WEBSITE: www.sdcourt.ca.gov
Superior Court of California – County of San Diego Rules of Court
MANDATORY EFILING CASE TYPES: Provisionally Complex Case Types (One Legal only)
PERMISSIVE EFILING CASE TYPES: Civil Limited, Civil Unlimited, Probate
EFILING DEADLINE: 11:59 p.m.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS: Bookmark documents with exhibits. All documents electronically filed must be in a text searchable format, i.e., OCR. The court is unable to accept documents that do not comply with these requirements, or documents that include but are not limited to digitized signatures, fillable forms, or a negative image. eFilers are required to enter all parties listed on the document being filed, if the party is not already a part of the case. (If the filer is submitting a new complaint, ALL parties must be entered.) If all parties are not entered, the transaction will be rejected.
COURTESY COPIES:
- If a hearing is set within 48 hours of documents filed, litigant to provide hard copies of documents in court with the eFiling Transaction ID noted in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the document.
- Exhibits to be considered via a Notice of Lodgment shall not be attached to the electronically filed Notice of Lodgment; instead, the submitting party must provide the assigned department with hard copies of the exhibits with a copy of the Notice of Lodgment that includes the eFiling Transaction ID# noted in the upper right hand corner.
- For Construction Defect cases assigned to D62, refer to the department’s Policies & Procedures on the court’s website for further details regarding courtesy copies.
LIMITATIONS ON FILINGS: Notwithstanding any other provision of law or this rule, the following may not be eFiled:
- Name Change Petitions (Safe at Home).
- Civil Harassment TRO/RO
- Workplace Violence TRO/RO
- Elder Abuse TRO/RO
- Stand-alone exhibits
- Transitional Housing Program Misconduct TRO/RO
- School Violence Prevention TRO/RO
- Out-of-State Commission Subpoenas
- Undertaking/Surety Bonds
- Requests for Payment of Trust Funds
- Notice of Appeal of Labor Commissioner
- Abstracts, Warrants
- Settlement Conference Briefs (to be lodged)
- Confidential documents lodged conditionally under seal
- Interpleader actions pursuant to CC2924j
Note: Notices generated by the Court’s case management system are mailed via U.S. Mail rather than electronically served to all parties.
This information is up-to-date as of January 1, 2020
Strict eFiling Requirements Enforcement and What It Means for You
Courts have recently begun strictly enforcing the following rules regarding electronic filings.
Documents Must be Electronically Filed in PDF, Text-Searchable Format
Under California Rule of Court 2.256(b)(3) and California Rule of Court 8.74(b)(2)(a), a document that is filed electronically with the court “must be text-searchable while maintaining original document formatting.” The County of Los Angeles published General Order of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, wherein section (c)(2)(A) further provides that documents must be electronically filed in PDF format. This includes Declarations, Proofs of Service, and Exhibits to documents.
The County of Los Angeles, Civil Department has begun rejecting order submissions if the documents are not text-searchable. Not all courts currently enforce this requirement, however, it is a state requirement for eFiling.
Documents Must be Bookmarked
California Rule of Court 3.1110(f)(4) and the General Order published by the County of Los Angeles also provides that documents must include electronic bookmarks. A bookmark is a PDF document navigational tool that allows the reader to quickly locate and navigate to a designated point of interest within a document.
Self-Service Tools
We understand that compliance is of the utmost importance with regard to minimizing the rejection rate of electronic submissions. As such, here are some tips and links to help you ensure your next electronic filing will be compliant.
- Making Text Searchable: Adobe Acrobat provides this guide that helps users OCR a document. OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, which is a method of digitizing text so that they can be electronically searched on a computer.
- Bookmarking: For Adobe users, this guide will help users create bookmarks in a document.
eFile with Less Worry Using Our Expert Review Service
Finally, we provide Expert Review as an add-on service to help clients reduce their eFiling rejection rates when clients are unsure whether they are in compliance with new requirements regulating electronic filings. Under Expert Review, a Document Specialist will personally examine the key components of an eFiling in three distinct areas:
- Filing Basics (e.g., case number, parties, signatures, dates, court location, case type, document type)
- Electronic Assembly (e.g., font style, searchable text, pagination, file size, layout, scan readability)
- Jurisdictional Requirements (e.g., confirmation the filing contains locally required information such as bookmarks, and mandated forms)
Want to save time, and minimize eFiling rejections by the court? Check out our Concierge Service.
Our program has a proven successful track record in minimizing rejection rates. Contact us today at (800) 366-5445 to learn more about how we can help you scratch one less worry off your list.
eFiling Insights and Tips
Courts across California are steadily migrating to eFiling for all types of cases.
Most recently in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Superior Court (LASC) began mandatory eFiling for most Civil cases with over 50,000 case transactions processed in the first 60 days. Clearly, it’s a trend that legal professionals need to be aware of and prepared for.
While the majority of eFile cases are successfully filed on an initial attempt, Rapid Legal has noticed the following pattern of rejection causes that Law Firms and Legal Professionals should give particular attention to when attempting an eFiling:
Party’s name does not match the party’s name listed on the initial lead document
For example: If plaintiff name on the caption of the complaint shows “Jane C. Doe”, then it must be entered to match throughout the eFiling. If defendant name is “John Doe, an individual” it must also be entered to match, including “an individual.”
Incorrect case type selected
The case type must match the selection on the Civil Case Cover Sheet. (When eFiling in LASC, also note the need for the Civil Case Cover Sheet addendum)
Incorrect document type selected
If the document is for a “judgment,” then that specific category must be selected. Following that selection, then choose the document title within that category.
California Court’s currently offering eFiling include Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. A more extensive list of eFile Courts supported by Rapid Legal can be found here; California eFile Courts
Rapid Legal’s Concierge Service is also available as a “white glove” solution for any order you would prefer to not have to compliance check, digitally process and/or troubleshoot on your own.