What is a Legal Document Delivery Service?
A legal document delivery service is a specialized courier service that is focused exclusively on complying with the rules of the court for filing and serving of legal papers. Some examples of the types of documents that are most commonly filed and served by a legal document delivery service are: (1) summons and complaints; (2) notices of motions and motions; (3) orders to show cause; (4) affidavits of service after a defendant has been given personal service of a complaint; (5) proof of service after a complaint has been served upon a defendant via publication; (6) proof of service after a complaint or summons has been served upon a corporation; and (7) notices of appeal .
Ultimately, parties are given peace of mind that the important business of their legal proceeding is being handled both legally and professionally, in full accordance with the rules of the court. A legal document delivery service must be licensed, bonded, and insured, must keep accurate records of the date and time of the delivery, and should always use one person/persons for the purposes of filing, and a second person/persons for the purpose of service in order to avoid any claims of impropriety.
The Primary Benefits of Legal Document Delivery
In the ever-accelerating world of business and legal compliance, the significance of prompt and efficient document delivery cannot be overstated. Speed is often of the essence in law, and delays can lead to missed deadlines, financial penalties, and even loss of cases. While many firms opt to handle document delivery in-house, this practice can prove to be time-consuming and labor-intensive. Outsourcing document delivery to professionals can often save valuable hours.
Reliability is another key benefit of outsourcing. In-house couriers may be unfamiliar with the laws, rules, and procedures for legal document serving. Legal document delivery services are specifically designed to handle legal papers—everything from subpoenas and summons to entire case files. They have the infrastructure and knowledge to deliver documents in line with the very specific requirements of the law, which differ across jurisdictions and types of papers.
Thirdly, specialists have the capacity to handle your legal contract deliveries over all others. What happens if you get slammed with a huge load of contracts that need to be delivered in six or eight different jurisdictions? You may not have enough employees to meet the deadline, but a service does, as they likely work with several companies that need legal document deliveries at the same time. For example, if they have to deliver legal contract deliveries in one jurisdiction five times, that will free up one of their messengers’ time and resources to make three more deliveries in the remaining two jurisdictions to help you complete your project on schedule.
Fourth, you can count on the experts to track your deliveries. When working with a courier service, you have access to a tracking system that provides you with updates about the status of legal documents and whether they have been delivered. This is especially important for companies that need to document and establish proof of delivery. This information can also help you pinpoint other delivery-related problems that developers need to address.
Lastly, there’s compliance. A professional legal document delivery service will have the experience and understanding of the local law firms and the local lawyers and judges that they will encounter while out in the field, which is the backbone of your business.
Documents Delivered by Legal Document Services
There is a wide array of legal documents that are often run through a legal delivery service. These documents range from subpoenas to complaints, including interrogatories, requests for admission, interrogatories, requests for production, written discovery, as well as final papers in divorce, paternity and child custody matters. While a subpoena or summons delivered by a regular mail carrier or a process server will do the job for which it is intended, a complaint served by postal service is not the most ideal approach, because it increases the risk that the defendant never receives it, while also giving them a reason to question the credibility of the complaint itself. It’s just another element for the opposing counsel to latch on to. For similar reasons, we would not suggest that you use a regular mail carrier to deliver documents such as interrogatories, requests for admission and requests for production. Not only does it increase the risk of your opponent never receiving the documents, but it also opens the door for your opposing attorney to argue that there was never a legitimate exchange in discovery. In an adversarial system like ours, these small surrenders can readily add up.
There are many other reasons why the above-listed documents should be run through a legal delivery service. For example, a request for production, which is super important because it requires the production of potentially crucial evidence, is better off undergoing delivery by a legal delivery service. It ensures that your opponent not only received the request but does so in a timely manner so that they can be expected to respond to the request as a matter of course. That is vital, because if they fail to do so, a court order compelling compliance with the proper authorities can be sought against them. Meanwhile, with interrogatories, requests for admission, and requests for production, there’s another value to their delivery beyond ensuring they are actually received by the opposing attorney: it is also very much required that they be delivered by a legal delivery service, as it prevents any error in the requested time of production from being confused by the defending party with the date of service. Errors such as these, while extremely minor, can lead to the failure of a motion for summary judgment, so they should be carefully avoided.
So what sort of documents should you not have to worry about postage? Well, for one, you can usually safely mail demand letters between yourself and your ex-spouse or opposing attorney, because it is not delivered through the court system, nor is it guaranteed that the other side will make a timely response to it. Return receipts, for the same reasons, are also not normally sent through a legal delivery service. However, correspondence such as these still require discretion, as the opposing attorney might try to argue that the other side was not able to offer the letter at all, thus creating a conflict that complicates your case. The rule of thumb here is flexibility; it is important to remain flexible about the conditions and extent of legal delivery services, but it is equally important to be clear about when you should and should not be investing in such services.
How to Choose the Right Legal Document Delivery Service
Look for a legal document delivery service that is properly licensed to operate in all of the jurisdictions you deliver to. There are many legal process servers in California and other states that do not have a license or do not follow the rules, which can lead to wasted time and resources when it comes to having your delivery "thrown out" by the court. Reputation with the local Court System is an important factor to consider. Find out how many cases they have filed in the past. If the number is low, there may be a reason for that. How long has the legal document delivery service been in business? It is important to find a document delivery company that has established procedures that allow them to effectively and efficiently meet your needs. This comes from dealing with and overcoming obstacles that can arise when conducting legal document deliveries. How large is the territorial range of the legal document delivery service, and how quickly can the legal documents be delivered to a particular location. Delivering legal documents within a 100 mile radius of your office should be considered an immediate priority, as well as the ability to service out of state deliveries on short notice. Make sure the legal delivery service utilizes the latest technology to minimize unnecessary delays in getting the job done. You should be notified of any potential delays as soon as possible, so you can make other plans, if necessary. Technological know-how is important when it comes to legal document delivery services. Online tracking and payment systems should be available for your convenience, as well as automatic notifications when the documents are served and filed. This allows you to plan your week ahead of time and not have to contact the process servers every other hour to see if the job has been done. How will the legal documents be delivered, and what additional documentation will be provided? Will a hard copy proof of service be sent to you the same day via email, overnight delivery or fax upon completion? And how will you know if the process server went to the address? The legal process server should also take photos of the property he/she visited that day. It is important to consider that these processes servers may also have to deal with dogs and fences, or even closed gates at times.
Costs and Pricing Structures
The cost structure for legal document delivery services can vary widely, depending on a variety of factors, including the type of documents being delivered and the specific services rendered. In some cases, the level of service requested could significantly impact the final invoice, especially if additional services, such as notarizations, are involved. Per-mile delivery charges are common, but some companies will also charge by weight or size, regardless of distance. As a general rule, you can expect to pay somewhere between $50 – $125 for a basic order (for example, a single eight-page motion), plus mileage costs, which generally tend to add about 30-50% to the base fee.
Certain factors can increase the cost of legal document delivery services. For example, rush orders, which are generally orders requested on weekends, after hours or with less than 24 hours’ notice, can significantly increase the cost . Likewise, expedited service, which gets your documents delivered faster than standard service, may be charged at a higher rate per mile than standard service. Most companies will not deliver documents overnight without a surcharge.
The cost for certain services is standardized and will not vary. For example, many companies charge $75 for notarization; that is fairly standard. Others charge slightly less than double that price. Determining whether to go with a service that is slightly more or less expensive may depend on your relationship with the company, possible future referrals from the company and whether or not the company offers additional/more convenient services than other companies.
There are a couple pricing models for legal document delivery services. Many companies operate on a flat rate basis, charging per delivery (or semi-regularly for multiple deliveries). Others operate on a subscription basis, charging users a monthly fee for an unlimited number of deliveries.
Document Delivery Security and Confidentiality
For law firms and businesses that handle sensitive legal documents, protecting the information during delivery is a top priority. Clients trust you with their most private and confidential information, and if that information is compromised, the consequences could be devastating. The protection and privilege of documents during delivery is an absolute necessity for you and your client. Reputable legal process servers take several measures to ensure security and confidentiality.
First, look for a legal document delivery service that specializes in the type of paperwork you need delivered. For example, if your firm handles sensitive medical malpractice paperwork, you’ll want a service that has experience delivering such documents. Legal process servers are trained professionals, but all are not trained to handle all types of information. For example, a company specializing in circuit court and bankruptcy documents may not be the most qualified to handle a workers’ compensation case. Furthermore, they may not have the proper software to maintain a comprehensive database for more sensitive documents.
Reputable legal document services will have a clear and rigorous protocol for handling and managing sensitive information. This protocol can include aspects such as verifying your identity, having you provide a signed waiver and a written delivery request, and requiring delivery, pick-up, and drop-off details, including the client’s address, date, and time. The company may also ask you for the information about the recipient and their location to determine if the documents can be hand-delivered or if other means of delivery should be employed.
Keep in mind that in order to further protect the documents, the server should obtain the client’s permission before releasing the documents to anyone else.
Technological Advancements in Document Delivery
As the legal landscape has evolved, so too have the tools that lawyers and law firms use to manage the intricate logistics of the modern legal process. Rapid advancements in technology over the past decade have completely revolutionized the way in which a legal document is processed and delivered. Electronic filing systems have become increasingly popular, significantly reducing the amount of paper and ink needed to complete a case file. GPS tracking increases accountability and efficiency among legal couriers across state lines, while instant delivery notifications keep everyone in the loop, no matter where they are in the world. The life cycle of a legal document can be tracked from the moment it is emailed to your courier service to the second it is placed in the hands of the ideal recipient. Greener options make it possible to save paper and increase processing speed. The best couriers use technology that will not only transform your document flow process, but will streamline your workflow process as well.
Legal and Regulatory Implications
The rules governing document delivery in the legal industry are designed to ensure accountability, expert handling, and the protection of privileged information during transfer. Legal professionals are beholden to both federal and state laws when it comes to security of their documents. As electronic discovery (e-discovery), the use of eFiling, and the transmission of privileged information become a crucial part of every litigation, understanding legal compliance and regulatory considerations is paramount.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern the use of written discovery throughout all federal courts. For instance, Rule 34 allows for any request to produce documents and tangible things within the control of the responding party to only concern materials that are relevant to the scope of discovery, as applied to current applicable case law. In addition, any legal professional submitting an order under Rule 34 must separately "separately serve each person who is to produce documents" (emphasis added) for the requesting party.
Additionally, under the California Code of Civil Procedure § 2031.010 the broad scope of discovery is "any party may obtain discovery within the scope of Section 2017.010." Under § 2017.010, Author’s Comments, the discovery may occur where the "party propounding the discovery has a substantial need for the discovery in the preparation of that party’s case and the party is unable without undue hardship to obtain the substantial equivalent of the discovery by other means." Further, the comments seize upon the use of electronically stored information (ESI). California defines ESI as "any electronically stored information contained in or on any medium and that is recorded or retained on any medium in or upon which electronic or magnetic forces are capable of storing, retaining, or reproducing written, pictorial, or graphic materials . " This definition encompasses a broad range of data from the typical word document to full blown databases.
The California and Federal rules complement each other and bolster the requirement that parties employ the utmost discovery methods when handling electronic information. When it comes to eFiling, section (b) of both the California Rules of Professional Conduct § 1.0.1(b) (1) and § 1.6 require attorneys to "explore, analyze, and remain current concerning changes in technology" in order to properly advise and counsel clients. These rules further require attorneys to "reasonably safeguard" electronic files and emails that are transmitted for purposes of representation irrespective if the electronic crime is "unanticipated" or "unexpected." Even the most secure communications can still be subject to interception, misdirection, or even technology specific glitches, for example a "glitch" that results in a blind cc or cc email that is sent to all "cc’d" parties. This is true even when using "secure" emails over the internet.
While the Ramifications of non-compliance with these rules can be severe, they are preventable. For instance, failure to provide documents pursuant to (b) of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 34 to a requesting party can incur sanctions. Federal courts have broad discretion in fashioning sanctions. Potential remedies range from serious fines, issues with admissibility of evidence and even the striking of pleadings. Although rare, extreme sanctions can take the form of a default judgment. Similar state court provisions allow for the imposition of reasonable monetary sanctions but focus primarily on monetary repercussions, including non-compliance with paper discovery requests, California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 2019.030, 2024.020 and 2025.450.
Whether you are eFiling or sending out an order under Rule 34, the importance of ensuring that your documents maintain the tightest security cannot be understated.