E-filing and E-service have been topical subjects at our
last two conferences, with e-service dominating as the
major topic at our meeting in Scottsdale. Everyone
seemed anxious to learn what lay ahead for our
industry. What is the projected size of the market? How
would e-service be accomplished? Who would be
capable of handling these services? When was all this
going to happen? These were just a few of the
questions being asked.
NAPPS is profoundly involved and acutely aware of
what is going on in the industry pertaining to e-service.
We can thank Jeff Karotkin for this. As chair of the
NAPPS E-Technology Committee, Jeff has a full plate
of duties and obligations. He is a member of the ABA
E-Filing Committee (that also develops standards and
specifications for electronic service of process)-which
gives him the opportunity to report on NAPPS
proposals and concerns at its meetings. He also is stuck
with reading voluminous reports and studies, some of
which are as dry as Death Valley sand, in order to stay
current on the subject. We are indeed fortunate to have
him on our side because he is one of the few people
who understands the threat (from the NAPPS
perspective) and can articulate our options.
To say this is a complex subject is the understatement
of the year. There are various companies that have
been jockeying for position for some time, and they are
already out of the gate and forming alliances and joint
ventures. What really makes this a perplexing problem,
at least in the writer’s mind, is that there is simply no
way that all NAPPS members will benefit from this
new technology, no matter what form a solution may
take. Participation is not a viable option for some small
operators. They don’t have the finances or the interest
to radically change the way they do business. Keeping
them in the game will be a formidable challenge.
CAPPS and Nsite/Lawdex Solution
Many legal support companies in California derive a
substantial part of their income from services other
than process service such as photocopying, court
filing and document delivery. The survival of these
companies is dependent upon their ability to
compete with the large national and multi-national
companies that are barking at the door of
California’s lawyers.
Last October N/site/Lawdex Solution, a joint
venture composed of a software developer and a
provider of e-filing for the courts, forged an
agreement with the California Association of
Photocopiers & Process Servers (CAPPS) to give
CAPPS members access to its system which routes
and tracks documents electronically via the Web.
According to a recent news release, 31 legal support
firms in California—all members of CAPPS—have
chosen Nsite/Lawdex Solution for their electronic
document delivery and e-filing work. It is estimated
that CAPPS members service approximately 90
percent of all California attorneys.
LexisNexis File and Serve
LexisNexis is the leader in the electronic exchange—
filing and service—of legal documents. It claims to
have over 67,000 judges, clerks and attorneys currently
registered who file “about 17 million documents” each
year through LexisNexis File and Serve. In fact, it just
surpassed the one million mark in cases processed,
according to a news release. LexisNexis File and Serve
is used in jurisdictions in 25 states, including statewide
in Colorado and Delaware. It’s an enormous profit
center for LexisNexis because once the document is in
the system for e-filing in court, the cost of
electronically serving the document is minimal. Note
that these are secondary services to lawyers, not
services of initial process to give the court jurisdiction
over defendants.
LexisNexis Service of Process
There is no program yet in progress by LexisNexis or
any other provider that offers electronic service of
process of initial pleadings. Those states having laws
pertaining to e-service have all excluded application to
service of a summons and complaint. So LexisNexis,
until e-service becomes a profitable reality, is left with
two choices to serve initial process: 1) get into the
bricks and mortar business of serving process, or 2)
contract the work out to an existing process service
company that will forward the work to other process
servers.. LexisNexis chose the latter.
On its website www.lexisnexis.com the company
explains how the system works. Basically, the lawyer
fills out an online work order with detailed instructions
which is electronically transmitted to the contractor
along with the documents to be served. The lawyer
receives a combined monthly billing from LexisNexis
for all services (filing, process service, research, etc.).
Who will actually serve the documents is not
mentioned other than a comment that service will be
provided by “our nationwide network of reliable
process servers.” LexisNexis does not publicly identify
who will manage the distribution and forwarding of
work assignments to its “reliable process servers.” The
name of the contractor, however, should be fairly
obvious to most NAPPS members.
The LexisNexis pricing sheet provides the following
fees for service of process: I can see your eyes widen
as you say to yourself, “Wow, and my clients think my
fees are high?”
Normal service fee (10 plus business days)
$ 95.00
Quick service fee (5-9 business days)
$115.00
Fast service fee (2-4 business days)
$145.00
Expedited service fee (less than 2 bus days)
$175.00
Needless to say, at these fees—especially when
handling a Quick, Fast, or Expedited service—there
should be enough spread for the foot soldiers actually
doing the work to be adequately compensated.
The LexisNexis time definitions are in stark contrast to
the definitions for certain words regarding the service
of process that were adopted at the 1984 NAPPS
Annual Conference in Houston. They are:
Do Today--service attempted the same day received. Rush—the paper must be attempted within 48 hours. Routine—first attempt must be within 4 days.
In summary, The NAPPS Do Today and Rush papers
become Expedited services at an 83% premium under
the LexisNexis pricing, and a Routine service becomes
a Fast service at a 50% premium. NAPPS members are
forewarned to make sure they understand the pricing
structure should they undertake to serve these
LexisNexis papers.
2006 UIHJ Congress in Washington, DC
As reported in the last issue, the International
Association of Huissiers, founded in 1952 in Paris, will
be holding its first Congress in the United States on
Tuesday, April 25 – Friday April 28 at the DoubleTree
Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA. All NAPPS
members are invited to attend the lectures at no charge
and also the Wednesday night cocktail party at no
charge. However, there will be a per person charge for
attendance at lunches on Wednesday and Thursday,
and the Thursday night banquet. Visit the UIHJ
website at www.uihj.com. Call the NAPPS office at 1-
800-477-8211 if you have any questions or wish to
attend.
2006 NAPPS Conference in Austin, TX
Be sure to read the convention info in this issue
carefully so that you coordinate your flight plans with
the activities. As reported in the last issue, President
Perez is extending the seminar to Sunday from 9 a.m.
to 12 noon. So those planning to attend will have to get
mid-afternoon flight departures. Two very important
items to take note of: 1) Hotel checkout time is 12 noon
and they’ve told us they will not grant extended
checkout times. 2) Since our contract was signed prior
to deciding on the Sunday program, we have no special
room rate for Sunday night. Anyone staying Sunday
night will be charged the regular room rate of between
$219 to $239..
It would be most appreciated if those who plan
attend the Sunday morning seminar would call or email
the NAPPS office. It will help us in our planning.
