CALSPro - California Association of Legal Support Professionals

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Benjamin Franklin

Posted February 11, 2012 in Education

When the economy challenges you to find a worthwhile investment, wise men have said throughout the years to invest in yourself.  Your dedication to this noble profession can truly be augmented by a commitment to being the very best you can be.  That being said, this is a great time to enhance your education, and if appropriate to invest in further educating your staff and servers at a CALSPro CCPS Workshop.  While you are benefiting by absorbing knowledge that will return dividends in smarter servers, more efficient use of time, and ultimately more revenue; you can also bolster the positive light in which you and/or your company is viewed by earning your CALSPro Certified Process Server (CCPS) designation.  More and more law firms are seeking higher caliber servers handling their work, and you can meet that demand by becoming CCPS and encouraging your staff and independent contractors to do the same.

“There is no better investment that companies can make than in the education and development of their own people.” Tony Robbins

The 1^st CCPS workshop of the year will be held in San Diego on Saturday February 25, 2012.  The registration form is available here:

Workshop & Exam San Diego

Tentative Continuing Education 2012 Calendar (exact dates, when finalized, will be posted to our events page):

April 14 – Sacramento (Quality Inn – Natomas)

May 19 – Visalia

June 30 – Los Angeles

July 28 – San Jose

August 18 – Orange County

September 8 – Inland Empire

October 5 – 7 Anaheim (Annual Conference review and CCPS Exam only)

Nov 3 – Oakland / San Francisco Area

We are excited about the educational opportunities for you and look forward to seeing you soon.

Membership Renewal Due Now!

Posted January 26, 2012 in Membership

If you have not already submitted your membership renewal form, it became delinquent on 1/15/2012. Your renewal must be received no later than Wednesday, February 1, 2012 to avoid the possibility of your membership being forfeited.

There are two special offers for upgrading your 2012 membership:

1)         Individual members will receive a $100 discount when adding, or   upgrading to a Company Membership.

2)         Renewing Company Members will receive a $100 discount for each new Individual Membership added to their Company membership.  There are no limits as to how many new members you can add to your Company membership.

Enjoy the added benefits of a company membership and/or invest in your key personnel and your business by having them join and participate with the association.

Please consider upgrading your membership this year.

Special Incentive from CFC/Top Priority

You will be pleased to see new very affordable CALSPro pouch rates starting February 1, 2012.  As an added incentive to join the pouch program, all new* pouch participants in 2012 will receive an additional discount of 15% applied to their first months bill.

*  A Member who had discontinued pouch service prior to 2012 and re-starts pouch service in 2012 will also be eligible to receive the first month 15% discount, provided there was no balance due from their previous participation.  More Information About Our Pouch Program Here…

CALSPro Pouch Lowers Prices

Posted January 24, 2012 in Membership

The CALSPro Board of Directors is pleased to announce new, much lower pricing and added benefits for the CALSPro Pouch Service with our vendor, Top Priority/CFC effective February 1, 2012.  Please note that service charge prices have been substantially reduced, the daily weight allowance has been increased, and the overweight charge has been slashed by over 50%.

The new rates and weight allowances are as follows:

• Twice a day (AM-PM) Service will be decreased to only $375.00/month
• Once a day (Swap) will be only: $195.00/month
• There will be no charge for the first 10 pounds (up from 7 lbs. previously).
• The overweight fee is being reduced to only 64 cents per pound (down from $1.32)
• In addition, the fuel surcharge has been zeroed for the current market price of regular unleaded up to $3.85/gallon, and thereafter .0065 for every ten cent incremental increase.

This represents about a 35% savings over your current base price.  A typical company with one office, daily swap and no overweight will save a minimum of $1,000 per year. That is twice the cost of a CALSPro Company Membership.

With this kind of savings, once a day participants can now consider shifting to twice a day, company members can consider adding staff as individual members and also enhancing their listing and everyone can convert the savings into additional advertising for increased business in 2012.

Optional Tracking Feature

CALSPro members will also be able to print an individual bar-coded tracking slip online (as desired) and attach it to their envelope or zipper pouch instead of writing an E – Code.  At the 1^st sorting center, and each service hub along the line haul, the bar code will be scanned so that you can track the internal movement of your envelope online.  This is at no additional cost to the member.

Additional services at very competitive rates provide extra savings throughout the year

Let the power of your CALSPro membership provide additional benefits and savings throughout the year on all of your shipping and delivery needs.   Top Priority/CFC offers overnight courier service from CALSPro pouch participants to any California business address the next day (some zip codes are excluded). That’s right, not to just other CALSPro members, but to most business addresses throughout California, eliminating your need to use higher priced overnight services.

You will be able to overnight envelopes and boxes at rates that you will really love.

Envelopes ship for a $5.49 flat rate; which is much less costly than FedEx or USPS overnight.  Top Priority/CFC will issue pre-paid, bar-coded stickers for you to take advantage of this special pricing.

Boxes up to 20 lbs. are shipped for only $7.99 ($0.49 for each additional lb. over 20).

For boxes, Top Priority/CFC will issue pre-printed tracking slips (like Fed-ex or UPS) and bill your account monthly. When you have items ready to ship simply call the pouch company for a special pickup or just place the items beside your outgoing bag.  The item(s) will be delivered the next day.  This program is planned to start mid February allowing for setting up each participant with on-line access.  More details will follow in the weeks to come.

eFiling in Orange County

Posted January 23, 2012 in Membership, Technology

e-filing. Just hearing the word is enough to make some court runners and attorney services get nervous; especially those attorney services earning a significant portion of their revenue from physical court filing. That being said, the demand for e-filing with the superior courts is on the rise.

When e-filing began in June of 2010, a single Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP) provided an interface for attorneys and individuals to electronically file documents directly with the court in Orange. Attorney services had to build their own e-filing interface to e-file with the court, or refer their clients to the Court’s website for them to access the existing EFSP and obtain e-filing capability. As of January first of this year the types of cases that are required to be e-filed in Orange County has grown, and as such, so has the concerns amongst attorney services that cover Orange County that they would lose out on this portion of this business.

The concern can now be eased as there are additional EFSP’s now available for electronic filing in Orange who allows third parties (attorney services) to e-file on behalf of their clients.

Now, if an attorney service has a document that needs to be e-filed with Orange County, they can set up an account and e-file through an EFSP by manually entering the information into their system. For some attorney services, this is another option, rather than building their own  e-filing system or turning their clients away.

We have heard that other companies have built or are currently in the development stages of efiling systems where the law firm clients of an attorney service might have the option of doing the data entry and submitting it through their attorney service’s site or a possibly a site with their attorney service’s name and logo will be on it.

The CALSPro Technology Committee will be keeping a careful watch on the progression of efiling, and will continue to keep our membership informed of any new developments.

What is the CALSPro PAC?

Posted December 17, 2011 in Legislation, Membership

What is Dispute Resolution?

Posted December 9, 2011 in Membership

The Dispute Resolution Committee (formerly Arbitration and Grievance) is here to serve the membership. We have reworked and simplified the process, but as the title indicates, our primary focus is to help members resolve differences. If someone were to ask me what I find to be the most common dispute between members, hands down my response would be non timely payment for services rendered. This subject is specifically addressed in our Code of Ethics:

“Prompt payment of all statements is mandatory. Unless you have made other arrangements, all bills should be paid no later than the tenth of the month following presentation of the statement. Do not expect other firms to carry you on their books beyond the normal thirty (30) day period. Late payments can work financial hardship on other firms. Do not forget that credit is a courtesy and should never be abused”.

In this day and age, times are tough for many members and bills can stack up quickly.   If you find your company in a position where making payments is difficult, I would suggest to take an open and honest approach. Don’t ignore emails or dodge phone calls. Oftentimes, this is the basis for the complaint made to our Committee, a lack of communication. More often than not, if you let your affiliate office know that money is tight, but that a payment will be made by a certain date and then you actually pay as you promised, your fellow CALSPro members will work with you, continue to complete your work in a timely fashion and by doing so, a true dispute may be avoided.

Jeremiah Jones
Dispute Resolution Chairman

44th CALSPro Conference. Get ready!

Posted December 2, 2011 in Conference, Education, Membership

Get ready for CALSPro Conference 2012 and bring along the family to enjoy Disneyland. Remember – The CALSPro Conference returns to its usual date of Columbus Day weekend – October 5-7 and will be held in Anaheim next year.

You are your best asset and need to stay informed. There are not many people today that make wagon wheels or fix typewriters for a living, and by not participating and learning about current and future industry developments, you risk standing next to the covered wagon.

It’s not too early to start planning! So please mark your calendars and remember to invest in yourself by attending next year’s conference.

As we get closer to conference time, information and updates will be posted here: http://www.calspro.org/events/annual-conference/

Words of Advice on Preventing and Dealing with Assault

Posted November 18, 2011 in Education, Membership

First, it must be made said that the Association does not provide representation in or out of court.  Instead, we hope to impart some advice to you all based on our experience.  Part of being a member of this Association is that you, like me, get to talk to people who have “been there, done that.  Like most people who have been in this profession for any length of time have experienced those rare, scary events that make anyone’s heart beat faster.

A quick bit of advice before I proceed and I must confess that 25 years ago, I did not heed this advice (of course I had an excuse-I was not as wise then! J) and it got me into trouble sometimes.

• Don’t think you are always serving the bad guy.  Sometimes the person being served is the good guy.  Approach every serve with respect and friendliness but also firmness.
• Not everyone is evading service.  Contrary to a somewhat popular belief (Process Server Rule #1 “They are all evading!”), some people are just not home.  Don’t think otherwise until you have the facts.
• Don’t jump fences, go into backyards etc.  I’m guessing you would get slightly irritated if someone did that at your home or business.   I would.  The Penal Codes that allow some exceptions to trespass for members of our profession (P.C. 602 (n) and P.C. 602.8) do not allow trespass in all instances!
• Do your homework.  Know the law (start with reading and re-reading the Code Sections mentioned in this article), know the area, know the documents, know the parties if possible (it always is in Family Law or Unlawful Detainer cases), have good tools (GPS or maps, cell phone, camera, tape, etc.).
• If the situation gets out of control, or if you don’t like the look of it when you arrive, leave!  No serve is worth your safety.

Second, even if you do it all right, sometimes things happen.  After all, for the most part, people are not happy to see us.  If something does goes awry, then be sure to write a narrative of what happened; as soon as you can.  Events fresh in your mind are more likely to be remembered.   If law enforcement responded to the scene, then obtain the responding officer(s) name and badge number and report number (if one is available).

Keep in mind that Penal Codes 241 (Assault) and 243 (Battery) state that if a Registered Process
Server is assaulted or battered, the guilty party may be punished “by a fine not exceeding two
thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by
both the fine and imprisonment.”  Of course, there are certain requirements (a.k.a. elements)
that must be met and the battery statute allows for even more severe penalties.  You can read
these code sections, as well as the trespass statutes mentioned above, in their entirety, at
www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html.

You must be your own advocate throughout (including at the scene) this process.   Should you ask for citizen’s arrest?  Should you take pictures?  Should you get names of witnesses at the scene?  It depends!  For example, in one event recently related to me, the server asked to press charges but the officer told her that if she did, the subject probably would, and they would both go to jail.  She declined.  If officers do respond, stay calm and don’t raise your voice.  Your demeanor while talking to the officers will be perceived as your overall demeanor.  If you are a hothead, it will do you no good.  Worse, it will hurt your cause.

Perhaps you have other ideas.  I for one cannot comment or advise you on what you should do in any given situation and the Association would certainly want me to say that neither me, nor our officers, directors or any other member, are not advocating any particular response or advice.  Every situation is different and every company or person has their own ideas of how to respond to these issues, so if nothing else my hope is that this article will at a minimum generate some discussion with your boss, employees, contractors etc.  Be safe out there!

CALSPro Assault Advisor
Mark L. Schwartz
mschwartz@onelegal.com

San Francisco Court Update

Posted November 4, 2011 in Legislation, Membership

As most of you know the San Francisco County Superior Court recently modified their hours of operation for the clerks’ office now closing at 4:00PM every day.

Please note that the clerk will not file any document other than the one the clerk is currently working on at the filing window. Any other document(s) you need filed will have to be brought back the next business day. We, our customers, and the public currently have no other options as the court no longer provides a drop-box to submit filings at closing.

CALSPro is actively working to find a solution to help our members who are in the clerk’s office before closing time. Mike Belote has made contact with the Executive Clerk, T. Michael Yun through his connections at the AOC and Judicial Council, but as of now San Francisco Superior Court is sticking to their current policy as they are technically in compliance with the California Rules of Court and there is no code or provision to require them to do anything beyond what they are currently doing. Although, we understand the fiscal impact that the budget reductions have had on courts, all court users, including the public will be harmed severely, some irreparably, by this policy.

Our President, Chad Barger, recently sent a letter to Mr. Yun with a request, that a drop-box or some other method be available to people who are properly in line at closing time so that any applicable statutes will be protected.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Brett Peters
Legislative Committee Chairman

Bert Rosenthal Award Recipient

Posted November 4, 2011 in Conference, Membership

The Rosenthal Committee meets yearly (eight of us met in June) and in a rigorous, sometimes emotional process, nominates those who it feels have given the utmost of service and dedication in promoting and protecting our industry.  The committee consists of the current president, past presidents (who are still members) and all past recipients.

The first Bert Rosenthal Memorial Award was awarded to Bert himself, In Memoriam, in 1978.  Bert was one of the founding members of CALSPro and as such, is represented by one of the thirteen diamonds in the pin that hopefully will be presented to one of the below nominees at this year’s Conference.  In 1979, the tenth anniversary of our Association, his wife Dorothy wrote:  “During Bert’s initial years in the process serving industry, he dreamed of the time there would be an Association of Professional Process Servers.  Certainly his dream was realized, and gratefully, he did live to see its emergence as the prestigious organization that it is.  Bert truly loved the industry and he put so much of himself into it.  Were he here on this 10^th Anniversary, he would be so proud of all of the accomplishments of CAPPS.  For Bert, I can only say “Congratulations CAPPS for a job well done.”  Dorothy wrote those words over thirty years ago, yet they still ring true today, don’t you think?  Bert would be oh so proud of us, and what we have become, and I’m not referring just to the Association, but also to the individuals he befriended and mentored.  Today, due to the legacy of those individuals, and their legacy, Bert’s legacy is even more impressive.  Jerry Topolos summed it up nicely in his 1978 award speech.  He said:  “We are not only honoring a man.  We are honoring those who will be recipients in the future.  The Association has come along way, and we feel it’s about time the energies and contributions of certain members were recognized and recorded for posterity.”

The following individuals were nominated for this prestigious award:

Mike Belote

Robert DeFilippis

Steve Janney

John Perez

Brett Peters

At the banquet on Saturday night, September 23^rd, 2011, the award was presented to Steve Janney!  Here is a bit of information about Steve:

Steve was born into a “legal support service” family in 1951.  His dad, Jack Janney, was an early member of the Los Angeles process serving community (and was also a recipient of the Bert Rosenthal Memorial award).  Steve served his first paper on January 23, 1969, his 18^th birthday, when he finally conformed to the civil code of procedure by being “over the age of 18 and not a party to the action.”  No Business and Professions Code for process servers existed back then.

Steve graduated from high school in 1969 and Biola University in 1980.  He likes to say “I squeezed 4 years into 11.”  He graduated with a degree in Education and a minor in Theology.  After a year in graduate school, he joined his dad and brother Doug as the process manager of Janney & Janney Attorney Service.  In 1983 he married Dana Walker, and they have 3 children, Linda, Matt & Paul.

Steve has served in a variety of positions in CALSPro.  He was the newsletter editor, has served several terms on the board of directors, was elected twice as secretary-treasurer, chaired the Strategic Planning Committee and has served 3 terms as President of our association.

When asked about his life in the legal support industry, Steve said, “I think back over the past 40 years and I never would have imagined being where I am today.  After 40 years, I would describe myself as a blessed man.  I have had enough joy in my life not to be overwhelmed by sorrow, and enough sorrow to appreciate the joy.  I have a life filled with purpose for today and hope for tomorrow.   I have learned the difference between knowledge and wisdom, valuing the latter over the former.”

I was honored to present Steve the award in September.  Notably, he received the first CALSPro version of the trophy and pin, which was appropriate as it was Steve who guided our Association through that change.  Congratulations to Steve and his family!