Accident and Injury Lawyer E-filing for Clients in San Francisco Bay and Burlingame
Shapiro Legal Group handles litigation cases in numerous courts throughout the State of California with special concentration on the greater Bay Area. We routinely file cases in the counties of Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Therefore when court rules change we often see the effects first-hand.
We are now approaching the one month anniversary of mandatory e-filing in San Francisco. While Federal courts have required e-filing for some time money is charged for searching records not for filing documents. Using amendments to the Civil Code and California Rules of Court effective in 2013, San Francisco Superior Court now requires attorneys to use e-filing and pay money to file every single document. This is in addition to any filing fee required by the State of California. Not only is this a revenue generator for the City and County of San Francisco through a double digit "service" fee in addition to a nominal "transaction" fee but it will likely reduce staffing requirements with fewer clerks needed at in-person counters and to process mail. Courier jobs, bicyclists who routinely deliver documents to the court, will also take a hit.
Fortunately at Shapiro Legal Group we are well equipped to handle the change as we scan, title, and email court documents often. But only time will tell if mandatory e-filing spreads to the many other courts in counties throughout the Bay Area.