Process Serving: Is Rushed Service Worth the Price?

In today’s fast-paced world, time is money. This is especially true in the legal industry where clients expect law firms to resolve their cases as quickly as possible but at a cost-effective price. As a result, litigation support services that promise supersonic process serving are often seen as paramount, but are rushed services worth the price you pay?

In this article, we’ll explore the true cost of rushed litigation support services and help you evaluate whether the urgency you think you need is worth the price you pay. We’ll also show you how reporting data can help you identify where you’ve been losing money on difficult serves or unnecessary on-demand services, and help you decide whether it’s really worth it.

A Need for Speed

Before we dive into the cost of speedy litigation support services, let’s first define what we mean by “speed.” In the legal industry, speed is typically measured by the time it takes to serve legal documents or the time it takes to complete a legal support task related to a case.

Litigation support services that promise faster turnaround times and more efficient processes are often more expensive than those that offer slower service levels.

Not Every Matter Is Urgent, And That’s Okay

However, not all legal cases require ultra-fast service. For example, a routine document retrieval task may not require expedited service, and choosing a slower service level could save you, and thus, your client, money. On the other hand, urgent matters such as restraining orders or emergency motions may demand immediacy requiring you to pay a premium for expedited service.

Different circumstances call for different levels of urgency, so it’s important to evaluate your needs and determine whether the exigency you think you need is worth its steeper price tag.

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

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What to Look for When Hiring a Process Serving Company.

To help you evaluate your options, we’ve included a table that shows how Rapid Legal’s service levels differ and what a law firm can expect to pay for each. This table can help you determine which Rapid Legal service level is right for your needs and budget.

*Prices are based on services up to 50 pages. For services over 50 pages, Rapid Legal charges a document set-up fee of $.50 per additional page.

** Attempt must be received by 1:00 PM PST within California and 10:00 AM PST outside California.

Please note: Services, prices and deadlines are accurate as of this posting. For the latest information, please visit our prices and deadlines page.

As you can see, the cost of litigation support services increases significantly as the attempt’s timeframe decreases. While faster service levels may be necessary for urgent legal matters, it’s important to evaluate whether the cost is worth it for routine tasks.

Things to Keep in Mind

It’s also important to understand that the level of service does not guarantee the process server will complete a process serving order on their first attempt.

While selecting a rush service means the process server will attempt to serve the legal documents sooner, a host of variables exist that can slow down service, from providing the case participant’s incorrect address to the defendant evading service entirely.

However, on average, legal professionals should expect their litigation support service provider to complete a service of process order and deliver the proof of service back within a week.

In addition to evaluating your service level needs, you should also analyze your reporting data to identify where you’ve been losing money on difficult serves or unnecessary on-demand services.

Rapid Legal conducts Quarterly Business Reviews with our clients to share service of process success rates, proof of service turnaround times, and other insightful user and order data to help you manage the productivity of your staff as well as the performance of our services.

While speedy litigation support services may be necessary for urgent legal matters, it’s important to evaluate whether the urgency you think you need is worth the price you pay. In many instances, your firm may be overpaying for a service that doesn’t require rushed service.

By analyzing your needs, evaluating service levels, and tracking your expenses, you can make more informed decisions about how to allocate your resources and save money on litigation support services.

If you would like to learn more about Rapid Legal’s superior process serving performance or reporting and analytics that deliver transparency and accountability to our law firm clients, schedule a call or book a demo today.