Sure, you can eFile, but are you successful at it? Can you input all information in 6.5 minutes? Do you have a 95.9% acceptance rate? Do you know exactly where to find the information you need—or are you the source of knowledge throughout the office?
If not, then it’s likely that there are ways that you can up your eFiling game and take your electronic court filing to the next level. Here’s how you, too, can become an eFiling super user.
#1: Attend all the trainings
Whether your court has been eFiling for years or has recently transitioned to the new system, you and your team will benefit from training sessions and materials.
While there are more similarities between traditional paper filing and electronic filing than there are differences, there are always going to be questions that come up. Webinars, checklists, eBooks, and more can lay out the differences and most important considerations to keep in mind when eFiling. Don’t miss out on:
- eFiling webinars for your courts
- Checklists for your state
- eBooks and reports that deep dive into specifics
- FAQs about the process of eFiling
#2: Review past rejection reasons
First, take a look at the issues that have affected your court filings in the past. Have unredacted documents come back to bite you (hey, you’re not alone)? Did you forget to remove metadata correctly? Or has your filing come back due to missing information or incorrect case or document information?
Once you find out which issues your filings typically face, you can examine your most common missteps and know to look out for those in particular for future filings.
Have you not had any rejections yourself? Or are you brand new to eFiling? Stay ahead by reviewing our Top eFiling rejection reasons report for common pitfalls.
#3: Keep detailed notes about your local court
Every single court in every single county is different. And nowhere is that so true as in California. Given that every county has a slightly different approach to everything from document types to courtesy copy requirements to case naming conventions, the best way to ensure success is to keep track of what you find out.
Start by exploring the court’s website. Oftentimes preferences from specific judges and case types will be listed there. Bookmark the specific websites and web pages that you find most informative so that you can follow up later on.
Then, draw upon your experiences and the experiences of your colleagues to create your own understanding. Maybe your document got rejected for choosing the wrong type of Ex Parte document from the drop down provided by the court. Take this new-found information, share with others on your team, and keep your findings in mind for the next time.
Bonus: Bookmark our California court information pages and review stats about each county court.
#4: Be meticulous about deadlines
This is bound to be a career-long goal of any legal professional and one of the hardest to attain, particularly when so much of the process of preparing documents is beyond just one person’s control. eFiling allows so much more flexibility, with quicker access to the court, longer hours in which to file, and the ability to file right from your desk.
However, with these conveniences come more requirements around metadata removal, text searchability, electronic bookmarks, and more. As your team—and the clerks at your court—get accustomed to these new workflow steps, you will need to reassess the appropriate amount of preparation time needed to meet deadlines.
#5: Know your key processes
Brush up on the basics of where to look where and when. Know how to find:
Document preparation
You already know your way around Microsoft Word and other tools like it. Now it’s time to catch up on all the important steps to taking the editable draft and turning it into the final document. This includes electronic bookmarks, eSignatures, redacting, and all the other steps laid out on the eFiling checklist for your state.
Order status
It takes only a few clicks to get the latest update for your order. Our eFiling portal connects to each court’s case management system through their technology vendor, so the status of your document will be reflected in the One Legal platform.
Answers
From new documents to even the most familiar case types, you’re bound to have questions arise about eFiling and what the processes are. Take your questions first to the comprehensive database found in the Support Center. Here our experts answer the most commonly asked questions about eFiling and beyond for all to reference.
#6: Explore more resources
Need more ideas for resources to explore? There are more great places to start—no matter where you file—in this article written for Los Angeles eFilers.
Guides and training for every stage of the process, from document preparation to follow-up, can be found on our Resources page.
#7: Network with colleagues
What’s better than one person’s experience and interactions? An entire firm’s worth of earned knowledge.
What’s better than one firm’s knowledge? A community or association’s worth of insight, of course.
As entire counties and states implement eFiling (and other technical changes), the people around you will continue to be valuable assets in the quest for optimization and improvement. So, too, will you be able to provide useful information to them.
Become even more intentional about networking with your peers across the industry. Whether that’s through joining your local association, chiming in on threads in your local social media group, or hosting strategy and knowledge sharing sessions, seize opportunities to do more with your fellow legal professionals.
Go step by step through the eFiling process with a visual guide for how eFiling works.
