Filing a lawsuit without making provision for process service is incomplete. A legal proceeding’s success is dependent on process service.
Many law firms outsource this service to ease the burden on them. Besides reducing their workload, outsourcing enhances efficiency and proficiency.
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What Is Legal Process Service?
Legal Process Service, otherwise called Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO), refers to the procedures involved in receiving legal support services from private legal experts, law firms and establishments, or legal process outsourcing (LPO) providers. Besides legal support services, document servers like the legal process server in Dublin, California also offer services like apostilles in the legal documentation for approval by other jurisdictions.
Furthermore, legal process services are outsourced to external law firms. Where legal support providers are based in another country, the practice is referred to as offshoring. Here, all activities except those requiring physical presence are outsourced. When the provider is in the same region, agency work, legal research and writing, document analysis, patent services, and other activities, including face-to-face negotiations and court appearances, are outsourced.
Some legal process services include:
- Legal research
- Document analysis and review
- Key agreements drafting
- Notary reports
- Contract reviews
- Transaction support
- Legalization and addition of apostilles
- Joint ventures and agencies
Advantages of Legal Processing Service
Low Cost
Legal processing service through outsourcing requires a low cost and can help you save money. Likewise, you won’t have to spend money to hire a professional legal process server and still provide the needed training.
It also reduces the amount of money spent on document review, contract management, legal research, skilled labor, due diligence, and infrastructure. Legal processing service reduces the total cost by half, and this cost reduction allows for investment in other core areas of practice in your law firm.
Access to Technological Advancement and Innovation
Lawyers involved in the service get free access to emerging technology and research tools through legal processing services. It aids the protection of vital and sensitive documents.
This access allows your law firm to stay up-to-date with the latest technology and evolving trends. It will provide your law firm with an added advantage in the legal field.
Access to Trained Experts
This service provides access to well-seasoned experts. If you’re faced with a complex issue, you could outsource the work to a firm with well-trained legal support providers who are experts in that niche of law and be assured of beneficial results.
Time-Saving
It also helps in saving time. When the workload gets too much for the in-house workers, they could outsource to outside firms to hasten the work delivery and meet the deadline.
Reduced Turnaround Time
Putting together the efforts of the in-house and offshore teams allows for the completion of projects within a workable timeframe. This makes delivery of pressing projects easy and less pressurizing.
Higher Flexibility
Outsourcing legal services to an outside firm minimizes the in-house firm’s workload and allow them to focus more on more critical and demanding issues. With the help of in-house and offshore teamwork, the demands of clients are met easily. By outsourcing legal work, firms quickly increase their availability for more projects, competing with other top-tier firms.
Learning Opportunities for Legal Practitioners
Since most of the Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) providers work for top-tier law firms, it provides the lawyers with a learning platform. This learning is made possible by training foreign instructors hired by the firm, and the training helps employees be more acquainted with the work ethics of other countries and get exposed to the best resources for the firm.
Project Control
Outsourcing projects allows you to have control over it since you have the power to draw the guidelines for the project execution and the project requirements and timeline for delivery.
24-hours Support
Legal processing service offers 24-hours customer service and support. This provision helps to promote customer satisfaction and a higher advantage over your competitors.
Flexible Staffing Models and Scalability
The flexibility of staffing models helps to boost business growth. This service also helps to increase clientele and recruit top talents by offering flexible staffing and scalability.
Disadvantages of Legal Processing Service
Lack of Confidentiality
Some law firms lack systems and policies to protect client confidentiality, threatening customer relationships, and this breach demotivates them from outsourcing their projects. However, some process servers have well-outlined policies protecting clients’ sensitive information.
Hidden Costs
Another disadvantage with legal processing service is that some hidden costs may be included that go against customer ethics. Such scenarios occur by adding the hidden costs to the total costs (profit margins, employee turnover, operating costs, and quality control) of outsourcing. To avoid overpaying, you can request the whole cost list from your service provider.
Communication Hitches
Offshore outsourcing requires a high management level to fill the communication gap between the law firm and the service provider. Poor communication in legal process service results in a lack of understanding, poor responsiveness, unachieved goals, and poor governing.
Differences in Interest
While outsourcing legal processing services, you may realize that there is a difference in the interests of your firm and the service provider. This can lead to a decline in the quality of services, thereby hampering your business and its reputation.
Why Is Process Serving Important?
Process serving is essential for diverse reasons. The fundamental reason is to ensure that due process of law is upheld as process servers serve legal documents to all the parties involved in a lawsuit.
Another major reason process serving is vital is that all the necessary legal papers are served in a timely, effective, efficient, and appropriate manner. This service will allow the court to pass judgment on a case swiftly. A prompt decision may be impossible if an individual sued to court has not been served legal papers or is being served in court.
Modes of Legal Processing Service
There are four modes of legal service, including:
Substituted Service
This service has to do with serving legal papers to another individual who meets the specified requirements when the intended individual to be served is not available. In this case, the individual must pledge to give the papers to the intended individual to ensure notice is effected. However, not all countries permit substituted service. Therefore, when you hire someone to serve papers, ensure they’re professional well versed in legal processing services.
Service by Mail
As the name implies, this service involves sending a notice in the mail to a specific email address. This service is primarily available in the United States.
Waiver or Acceptance of Service
This service is otherwise called voluntary acceptance of service, and it involves the served individual voluntarily agreeing to acknowledge receipt of notice without engaging the services of a process server.
Personal Service
This service model is made directly to the individual named on the notice. In most court cases, personal service is required to prove that service has been made.
Conclusion
Legal processing service outsourcing has diverse benefits that make it necessary for the top-tier firms and the infant industries. It widens the pace for growth, expansion and offers so many opportunities. Therefore, if your firm does not hire someone to serve papers, consider adopting that medium. It’s fast and hassle-free.
