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n the not so distance past, I was responsible for the maintenance of all the official court and agency forms used by the law firm in my previous career. We stored hundreds of paper forms from the local courts and agencies most widely practiced in by the attorneys. Any kind of form you can think of was included in those drawers, even forms that were copied from ineligible copies and ended up crooked. Everyone relied on those forms to be accurate and up-to-date. We had the latest and greatest typewriters to accommodate typing on those forms.
I used to send a clerk to the courthouse on a monthly basis to get samples of every form that existed. That clerk would then compare every paper form in our drawers with those obtained from the court for the revised date. That method took days and weeks to accomplish because we were always busy and interrupted with questions from the internal clients we supported. Needless to say, by the time we completed comparing the forms, it was time to go back to court and get more samples.
Then one day I was told that the floor I resided on would be renovated and updated to a more modern look and feel. I was also told that my department space would need to be decreased due to the new design and to accommodate more attorney offices. I immediately embraced the thought of getting rid of all those forms and storing them electronically instead. Oh, the resistance I received with that idea. How could I take away their need for typewriters and rely on electronic forms monitored by a vendor? I know those electronic forms will not be as accurate as the paper ones from the court. I spent weeks convincing the resistors and office leaders that the electronic forms were more accurate and monitored daily for revisions instead of monthly (snicker) like we used to do. Finally, everyone gave in and we adopted electronically stored forms and got rid of three large cabinets filled with outdated and useless forms. That was one of the best decisions I ever made as a manager and it only took about three to six months for the complaining and threats to stop. Not only did I reduce the firm’s operational costs and risks, but I also increased workflow efficiencies dramatically.
The days of sending someone to court to get updated forms are over. Most courts and agencies store their forms digitally on their web sites. Many even provide them in a fillable format to use and reuse. If you are still storing court and agency forms in paper format please know that you are likely creating a risk to the firm and a disservice to the attorneys. On any given day, one of those forms could have been revised without your knowledge, especially by statute, and its use could render your firm’s services ineffective and cause prejudice and harm to your client. For example, when filing and perfecting a mechanic’s lien in the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is located, if the claimant uses a form lacking the required wording for the notice in compliance with the statutory requirements, the penalties can be severe.
What about the forms available on the court and agency web sites? Surely those forms must be accurate and timely updated. They are, in fact, “official” forms provided to the public by governmental employees. NOT SO. Take a look at the courts’ web sites and review any disclaimers related to their forms. You may be surprised to see the wording of their statements. Plus, I have on three separate occasions heard stories of legal professionals that used the wrong or outdated form downloaded from the court’s web site and faced repercussions for assuming the form was current.
Here are just several disclaimers I found searching the Internet:
- “Due to the changing nature of the law, the forms and information contained on this web site may become outdated. Therefore, you should review and research statutes and rules of procedure referenced in the instructions to ensure that they are accurate and current.”
- “In no event will the State Court Administrator’s Office or anyone contributing to the production of these forms and instructions be liable for any indirect or consequential damages resulting from their use.”
- “These forms may or may not be appropriate in your particular case. Any desired outcome from your use of the forms cannot be predicted or guaranteed.”
- “Forms available on this website should not be considered legal advice, and are provided only for reference purposes. These forms are provided only as a guide in developing a form for a particular case and set of facts. The content and format of forms not specifically determined by statute or court rule may require modifications to suit the specifics of a given case.”
So as you can see, even the courts want you to know that their forms are not always updated as regularly as they would like to be. Even more so now with court budgets hurting so desperately and drastically reduced staff. The forms get updated when they can.
Maintaining forms is a laborious and costly effort. That’s why there are only a few vendors in the country that provide official forms that truly benefit and protect the law firms and users. Furthermore, there are even fewer vendors that offer integrations and plugins that automate the process of filling out forms.
The following scenarios are further proof that using an automated forms solution that integrates with a firm’s document management system greatly benefits the firms and its clients. The risks to the firm of using an outdated form outweigh the price of the forms product.
- Having to retype an entire form just to revise some language or make room for a lengthy caption. That took over an hour when it could have been performed in less than 3 minutes.
- Reusing the same fillable form obtained from the court web site for over a year because it was easier to do that than check the web site each time and start all over. Unknowingly, that form was recently updated and published by the court and you filed an outdated one. You did not realize that until the attorney came back from a hearing and shared his concerns over your abilities as the hearing was stricken due to using the wrong form.
- You need to send out by mail a real estate transfer declaration form and realize the only way to get that form is by sending a runner to the local agency. It is 4:30 local time and the agency is now closed. The agency does not store that form on their web site. You scramble calling friends from other firms trying to get them to email it to you. No one is available to assist you.
- You need a form that you never heard of before and realize it is not in paper format anywhere in the firm’s file cabinets or stored electronically in the document management system. You search the Internet and find that exact form available for purchase for $29.99 in fillable Word format. You end up purchasing it using your own personal credit card. Bummer.
Using a reputable vendor that provides not only court forms but also agency, corporate, real estate, UCC, and many other types of forms, is the only way to reduce risks and create greater efficiencies. Having a toolbar plugin in Microsoft Word with auto-fillable capabilities by storing profiles that can be reused with information for the attorney, firm, case, parties, court, etc. further reduces data input errors. Being able to save those forms automatically to your document management system just tops the cake and makes it more valuable.
American LegalNet has proudly offered Forms Workflow (FWF) to over 50% of the AmLaw 100 firms since 1996. To this day, we continue to improve the workflow that firms require to “do more with less.” FWF provides easy access to over 80,000 official forms by using a dedicated web site or a toolbar plugin in MS Word. Not only can you save commonly used information in the profiles, but you can also unlock the forms to modify them as needed, even change their font. Plus, we can even convert and publish your internal forms for easy navigation and use. Don’t wait until you file an outdated form and jeopardize your career, visit our web site and get started now. For more information, please contact me at cgierymski@alncorp.com.
