Posted by Mark Schwartz on Wed, Feb 22, 2012 @ 12:59 PM
As a long time legal support professional I've seen a lot of changes over the last several decades. As a young man I was a court runner and a process server before there were cell phones, computers (at least portable ones) and GPS. I spent many a day, night and weekend working those papers and did my navigating via Thomas Bros. mapbook (now called Thomas Guides and owned by Rand McNally). Last Christmas I was relating a little bit of my history to my nephews, one of whom said "you mean one of those fold out maps?" I had to clarify that no, I was not that old fashioned. I was using the cutting edge technology of the time!
Photo credit: KayVee.INC
Going back even farther... I was a paralegal student back in the early nineties and I wrote a research paper about service of process in England in the 1500's. In those days, the sheriff would serve the documents, take an article of clothing as proof of service, and then proclaim service on the steps of the church on Sunday. I can just imagine that sheriff taking a piece of that future debtors tunic and then waving it around on Sunday saying something like "I served Mark Schwartz on Tuesday and here is his tunic to prove it."
Current day...This morning, I read an article in the San Jose Mercury News (by Raphael Satter of Associated Press) entitled "Facebook, the process server." A High Court judge in England recently approved the use of Facebook to serve process and I had to chuckle at how far we've come: From taking pieces of clothing as proof of service to effecting service via social media!
Those of you who have attended our MCLE course "Who's at the Door, Successfully Serving Summonses and Subpoenas" have also heard me talk about a Minnesota case, In re the Marriage of Mpafe (May 2011), where the judge said "Technology provides a cheaper and hopefully more effective way of finding [the] respondent." To me, the holdings in England, and Minnesota, and other jurisdictions I have not mentioned in this post, are signs that we are moving forward (see my colleague Jeff Karotkin's blog "Service of Process Looking Forward" too) and embracing technology where it makes the most sense. If a professional process server cannot find and serve a party the traditional way, why not allow them to serve the documents "outside the box?"
What do you think?
Posted by Mark Schwartz on Thu, Feb 16, 2012 @ 11:52 AM
We've recently updated our page with items for Los Angeles and Merced Superior Courts. Click here to take a look, especially if you have a court filing for one of these jurisdictions!
We've also done a bit of clean up and removed many outdated items. If you have any questions about any items that have been removed, please email me at mschwartz@onelegal.com.
Posted by Mark Schwartz on Mon, Feb 13, 2012 @ 11:24 AM
Last Thursday, February 9th, I had the privilege of joining the Hon. Jeffrey Barton (Superior Court of San Diego County), Sharon Bristow (E-Filing & Imaging Project Manager), Celeste Schwartz (Chief Information Officer) and approximately 100 members of the San Diego Bar Association for the first of many discussions about the court's upcoming Imaging and eFiling deployment.
We at One Legal have been chosen by the court (after a rigorous rfp/bid/selection process) to assist with this project, and are excited and honored to have been selected. Judge Barton spoke to the timeline, challenges and benefits of the project from the courts perspective and I presented information about the benefits of eFiling and eService, as well as some ideas about possible features that could be included.
During both presentations, and afterwards, there was great back and forth amongst the panel, members of the bar, other members of the court's project team, and other One Legal personnel on hand. We all (the court and One Legal) believe strongly that the success of this project depends heavily on participation from members of the local legal community and in that light we've formed an advisory board that already includes 17 members of the San Diego Bar, 2 members of the court and a supervising paralegal. Working together with our customers, as we have on many past projects, ensures that we build what you want and that it works the way you want it to!
Over the next few months my team and I (and other members of the One Legal project team) will be spending a lot of time in San Diego working with all of the project stakeholders and I must admit, I could think of worse places for a big project! So, stay informed on the project progress, sign up for training (when it's available), and get updates on related local events, by watching for future posts in this blog, reading OneSource, our monthly newsletter, and watching for updates on our San Diego Superior Court eFiling and eService website. And if you are interested in joining the Board, or our Customer Council, email me at mschwartz@onelegal.com.
Posted by Eric Winkler on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 @ 04:32 PM
The California Judicial Branch has posted a video outlining the impacts to several courts of the Branch's budget cuts made by Governor Jerry Brown and the California Legislature.
You can view the newly-posted video on the Judicial Branch's website by clicking here.
If you don't have time to view the whole piece, then here are a few take aways that you may find of interest:
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Though the Judicial Branch budget was cut by $660 million (including $310 million taken from the court construction fund) last year, Governor Brown said on January 5th that more cuts are likely.
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The Los Angeles Superior Court has laid off 329 people.
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The Sacramento Superior Court has reduced its staff by 285 in two years and the court executive officer says the remaining staff are, "hanging on by their fingernails."
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23 of the state's courts have shut down courtrooms.
"Our passion and commitment lies with the public," said Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye at the end of the video. "When we're closed, when our hours are reduced, when those with causes popular and unpopular can't get into the court, what we see, I think, is the diminution of the rule of the law which is our legacy, our foundation, and I submit, our birthright."
Posted by Lili Daniel on Thu, Jan 19, 2012 @ 12:40 PM
Last Tuesday, I attended the annual meeting with the Los Angeles County Court Administrators hosted by San Fernando Valley Legal Secretaries association and Conejo Valley Legal Professionals Association. The theme of the meeting was, “The Island: Surviving the 2012 Court Changes”.
The meeting was hosted by Gregory Drapac, court administrator of the Central District and the Central Civil West courts. Guest speakers also consisted of Ana Maria Veiga, court administrator for Central ADR, Diana Gallo, court administrator for Central Family Law, Penny Sterris, court administrator for Northwest district, and Nancy Bullock, court administrator for West District. Each speaker had a lot to say about 2012 court changes. The general message from each court administrator is that there are more filings coming in than filing clerks can handle due to the budget cuts.
All court administrators mentioned these three key points on surviving 2012 court changes:
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Use the Los Angeles Superior Court website as a resource, http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/. The court website has a multitude of resources including court calendar information, accessing court forms, case summary information, and more!
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They are requesting that pleadings should be no thicker than 3 inches for civil pleadings. Due to the extensive handling with large civil pleadings filed, documents larger than 3 inches thick must be separated into volumes, with each volume requiring a separate cover page. The reason for limiting no more than 3 inches thick per documents is to ensure the court has the ability to review all filed documents in a timely fashion.
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Please be patient. The court is doing their best to keep up with the filing work load with fewer resources. There will be delays, but they hope to file your documents in a timely manner.
With these pointers, do you think you can survive on the island?
Posted by Mark Schwartz on Fri, Jan 06, 2012 @ 11:55 AM
Updates were posted today for Los Angeles and San Francisco Superior Courts. Click here to take a look, especially if you have a court filing for one of these jurisdictions!
Subsequent Filing Line at San Francisco Superior Court
We'd like to remind you too that a new California Superior Court Fee Schedule is available. Click here to download a copy.
Happy New Year to you all! Here's hoping that this year brings some good news regarding our struggling California court system.
Posted by Mark Schwartz on Fri, Dec 30, 2011 @ 09:38 AM
We've recently updated our page with an item for Solano Superior Court. Click here to take a look, especially if you have a court filing for this jurisdiction!
We'd also like to remind you that several California Superior Courts (Calaveras, San Mateo, Ventura) are reducing hours effective Tuesdsay, January 3rd (Monday the 2nd is a court holiday). At least two other courts (Riverside, San Luis Obispo) are making logistical changes effective the first business day of the year too. Accordingly, some of our deadlines will be changing and we've noted those where applicable. Our "important information" box, visible when placing a California court filing order, will also advise you of any changes to court hours or deadlines.
Posted by Eric Winkler on Thu, Dec 29, 2011 @ 10:56 AM
If you have an old traffic ticket, the Judicial Branch of California says, "Come on down. Let's make a deal!"
Okay, all references to 1980s gameshows aside, next week begins the six month Traffic Amnesty Program. The California Legislature mandated that all 58 counties must implement a one-time amnesty period that allows a lump sum payment of 50 percent of the outstanding balance on certain violations to fully satisfy that court ordered obligation, according to an announcement posted yesterday by the Judicial Branch.
Amnesty is available for drivers with outstanding traffic tickets that were due to be paid in full before January 1, 2009. All of the following also must apply:
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Driver either failed to appear in court or failed to pay in full.
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The last date the driver made a payment was on or before January 1, 2009.
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The driver does not owe restitution to a victim on any case in the county where the traffic case was filed.
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The driver has no outstanding misdemeanor or felony warrants in the county where the traffic case was filed.
Other eligibility requirements may vary from county to county. Parking tickets, driving under the influence (DUI), and reckless driving cases are not eligible.
The Traffic Amnesty Program begins January 1, 2012 and ends June 30, 2012. Those interested in participating in the program are encouraged to visit their local superior court, which can be found at www.courts.ca.gov/find-my-court.htm.
Photo Credit: Albert S. Bite
So, if you have a traffic ticket that qualifies, now is the time to hop into your 1969 Dodge Charger, put the pedal to the metal, and burn rubber all the way to your local courthouse to settle up. On the other hand, you might just want to take public transportation for this trip.
Posted by Eric Winkler on Wed, Dec 28, 2011 @ 04:03 PM
The Superior Courts of California have made the 2012 Fee Schedule available.
One Legal has set up a website to allow visitors to conveniently download the new fee schedule.
If you would like to download the new fee schedule that is effective January 1, 2012, please click here.
Posted by Eric Winkler on Fri, Dec 23, 2011 @ 11:27 AM
Photo credit: Chromatophobe
Twas two days before Christmas and all through One Legal, we eyed the fruitcake in the lunch room hoping it might not be lethal.
Our servers were out delivering their unwelcome papers, to the innocent and not-so-much caught up in attorney-driven capers.
The branches were buzzing assembling last-minute filings, while director Steve Vann entertained them with his cool vocal stylings.
The phones in Customer Support kept a steady ring-ringing, like holiday cash registers at Wal-Mart with their persistent cha-chinging.
Our researchers were huddled deep inside the courts' basements, searching for documents with care even when clerks knew not of their placements.
Our runners at court spreading courtesy copies with cheer, hoped their papers would be welcome in judges' chambers austere.
At SF Superior, they worked through the night to remove their boxes for dropping, so filers would queue up in a line, one angry and whopping.
In Sacto, the lottery determined an urgent filer's likely fate, pick a token, pick a winner, or your filing just might be late.
Our trainers were out there showing the benefits of eFiling, even with paper-loving filers greeting them with faces unsmiling.
To our friends at Docket, LSI, CAPA and the ALA associations, we look forward to another year of fun and camaraderie with your welcoming delegations.
As Santa loads his sled and readies for a night of deer flying, we're thankful we're the ones that you keep on relying.
So whatever holiday you celebrate be it Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, we wish you the best, a warm time with family and friends...a downright celebratory extravaganza.