As the pandemic comes to a close, the country’s increased reliance on tech tools to support corporate infrastructure will continue to grow. This is especially true for the legal system. Social distancing and quarantine have shifted the way that courts accept filings and hear cases.
Just as clients trust your firm to deliver exceptional legal counsel, you should trust your eFiling service provider (EFSP) to do their due diligence by delivering an exemplary level of end-to-end support for eFiling.
Here are some important points and features to look for when seeking an EFSP you can trust to support your firm in the litigation process:
#1: Experience in the industry
The company your firm works with should be well-versed in eFiling to a level that exceeds industry expectations. Go with a provider that works with multiple court systems and has experience supporting firms of different sizes. Beyond the technical support you need, your provider should understand every step of the ligation process.
#2: Integration with other tools
If your firm uses a case management system or a document management system, choose a provider with an integration for eFiling. This shows that your provider has done their due diligence to build relationships within the technology industry necessary to serve law firms’ needs better.
#3: Live training and support for firm employees and staff
Once your firm has implemented eFiling software into your workflows, your EFSP should be able to provide start-to-finish support. This means having a website that contains answers to frequently asked questions, thorough how-to guidance, and a support team that can provide live assistance and detailed resources to everyone at your firm.
#4: Automatic expensing of eFiling fees
When eFiling on behalf of clients, you want to automatically integrate the billing process as you move through your case. Burdening your accounting workload with the tedium of manual expensing for eFiling is an outdated way of doing business. Your eFiling software should help you simplify the process of litigation, billing, and accounting all in one convenient tool.
#5: Add-on services beyond eFiling
eFiling is a critical solution, but true success in your vendor relationships means doing more with fewer tools. Look for providers that allow you to serve parties, both electronically and physically, for true efficiency, in addition to things like electronic signatures, docket syncing, calendaring, and more.
#6: Minimized data entry
eFiling software can eliminate time-wasting data-entry tasks to give support staff the leverage to work on a broader range of tasks throughout the day. Increased productivity should be a primary focus of how your new software is built. Imagine the impact of having important case details that you’ve already entered into your CMS should be easily and accurately transferred as you begin your court filing.
#7: Designed to conform to local court eFiling rules
The varying rules, regulations, and technical requirements that exist from court to court need to be accounted for and regularly updated in your software and support materials by your EFSP. You want a provider on the pulse of the entire state court system you serve to ensure you avoid the risks of inaccuracies and errors in eFiling.
#8: Serving the jurisdictions you need
As a law firm, you want the services you provide to be limited only by how you choose to practice, not by the capabilities of your eFiling service provider. Look for a solution that has widespread access in the states and courts where you need it most.
#9: Court-returned document syncing
When the court system returns conformed copies, the best tool will be one that automatically saves returned documents to the corresponding case file for your review. eFiling software should support your team in version control and easy access to recent updates via the platform of your choice.
#10: No charges for rejected filings
The last thing you want to worry about when an important filing gets rejected is having to pay filing fees twice. Look for a provider that only charges you for successful filings.
This coming year is bound to bring almost as many shifts as the past year has. Your eFiling service provider should be at the forefront of these changes, updating their technology to reflect local court rules, regulatory requirements, and be able to empower your team with timesaving tools throughout the process of managing cases.
Are you looking for help in switching your eFiling software? Schedule a demo with one of our experts to get firm-specific information about making the switch.
