BEST PRACTICES FOR ELECTRONIC FILING: A PROPOSED PROTOCOL
Protocol in Word Format – Per Article In the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal – May 2007
Robert A. Guy, Jr.[1]
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP
511 Union Street, Suite 2700
Nashville, Tennessee 37219
615-244-6380
Part A: Filing Electronically By CM/ECF: 10 Steps
1.Attorney gives document and attachments to Secretary with clear direction to e-file (after hours, atty or paralegal handles it)
Caution:
- Case number? Related cases?
- What pleadings to relate back to (if responding to motion)?
- Anything confidential to be filed under seal?
- Proof of Claim? Make sure district allows e-filing.
2.Secretary checks for /s/ and saves documents to pdf for filing
- Look for /s/ in both signature block and certificate of service (add if not there)
- Make sure signature block complies with local rules
- Save pdf into “Electronic Filings Vault” subfolder on c drive (create subfile in “My Documents”)
- Use std name for the pdf (Atty initials client/matter document descrip)
Caution: Be sure name is suitable (no “response to meathead’s frivolous motion”)
- Do same with attachments
- Get attorney to sign printed copy over the /s/ for internal records, as verification for secretary (before filing if possible, but don’t miss filing deadline for this step); see Step 10
3.Secretary e-files documents with the court (using version in Electronic Filings Vault) and handles filing fee
Caution:
- When attaching each document, look at it to make sure correct
- Associate with correct pleadings in the case
- If in doubt about filing fee, put none (most clerks will call to discuss, but often amounts paid are not refundable)[2]
4.Secretary prints a copy of the confirmation for the paper file
5.Secretary saves pdf’s from the Electronic Filings Vault into document system. (Consider also creating a project folder for the case, and profiling pleadings so they appear in that project folder, making it easy to locate pleadings for that case.)
Save under name as follows: [(dkt#) client/matter document description]
example – “15 HTB/Serviceman Summary Judgment Motion”
6.Secretary empties the Electronic Filings Vault.
7.If expedited matter, Secretary calls or e-mails to alert clerk [some districts require; practice differs by district].
8.Secretary serves hard-copies on parties entitled to notice unless attorney determines ECF notice is sufficient. (The document used for paper service is the same one printed upon receipt of the ECF notice in Part B of the protocol (and many firms attach the filing receipt from step 4 above to the front or back upon serving).)[3]
9.Secretary prepares certificate of service (if not already part of original pleading) for review by attorney and filing by ECF (going through same steps as above).
10. Secretary maintains paper copies in office files
- printed copy of the ECF confirmation
- hand-signed document from attorney
- any original affidavits (to protect against later forgery allegations)
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Filing Electronically – 10 Steps
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Part B: Receiving Notices By CM/ECF: 6 Steps
1. Set up e-mail receipt addresses on each case.
a) Minimum address list is partner, associate, associate’s secretary, paralegal, and on the file. Partner’s secretary may be added as requested by a partner.
b) Add these addresses to court’s e-notice list on a case when (1) file first pleading or notice of appearance (secretary responsible to add them), or (2) when attorney requests that they be added.[4]
Caution: Consider whether online sign-up may be appearance and submission to jurisdiction
2. Create a consistent system for reviewing and saving ECF notices and pleadings.
a) Option 1 - Secretary will print all the pleadings (with ECF notices attached to the front or back) for the paper pleadings file, including documents that have been filed by ECF. (Index the pleadings using docket numbers, and using docket as table of contents).
b) Option 2 – Secretary will print pleadings only as requested by attorney, or if the pleading is a document filed by this law firm or its client, or an order regarding a pleading filed by this law firm or its client. All other pleadings DO NOT need to be printed any more. (Any pleadings which are printed will be filed in the pleadings file, with ECF notices attached to the back; indexing should be by docket numbers, with a printed copy of the docket used as table of contents).
c) Partner and associate will review the documents online from ecf notices they receive personally (and can print them, or can request a copy from secretary/paralegal)
Caution:Attorneys should consider keeping ecf notices in main inbox until reviewing them; do not delete them or move them to a subfolder until reviewed, and this makes it easy to track what has been reviewed. Hard copies of the pleadings will not be circulated as a default, unless you request in your case.
(1) Recommendation on what to do with attorney’s personal ecf notices for easy reference later (after they have been reviewed):
Create subfolders in e-mail inbox for each major case, and a subfolder for ecf notices under that. Example (where “HTB” is the fictional client):
Attorney’s Inbox:
HTB: (put all e-mails related to HTB which are not ecf's here)
HTB ecfs (put all HTB ecf notices here after reviewed by atty)
d) Copy going to will be kept in that mailbox as a chronological file of all e-mails received by law firm for all CM/ECF cases. Paralegal will maintain box and archive as appropriate.
e) Secretaries and paralegal can keep past ecf notices coming to their personal e-mail addresses, or delete as desired.
3. Create a consistent system and identify a responsible person on each team for docketing deadlines.
a) Associate’s Secretary will calendar in outlook or the firm’s electronic calendar (and invite the whole team to) any deadlines or hearings indicated on pleadings
Format for calendaring: [“Deadline”or “Hearing” -Case Name-Description of Deadline]
(1) schedule as all day event unless deadline is specific time (i.e., noon, 4 pm, etc.)
(2) if a different time zone, convert to central time and note other time zone time in title. Example – “Hearing-HTB/Serviceman–Motion for Summary Judgment–2 pm est” - enter at 1:00 central in Outlook calendar [Modify as appropriate for time zone in which office is located]
(3) set the reminder as follows:
2 days before for a hearing
1 week before for a motion
2 weeks before for a proof of claim/statute of limitations
b) Paralegal acts as (informal) back-up when doing weekly e-mail of upcoming hearings and deadlines, by calendaring dates that were not calendared by secretaries within 1-2 business of days of pleadings being received.
c) Associate is responsible for double-checking to make sure that all deadlines are correctly calendared and team members invited, and can direct Secretary (or paralegal) to remove irrelevant deadlines (matters not affecting client, etc.). Associate should also make sure other deadlines are calendared that may not have shown up in a pleading (agreed deadlines in correspondence, etc.).
Associate will calendar a tickler (and invite team) for any deadlines that involve filing out of town (where we can’t ecf and must overnight), proof of claim, or statute of limitation:
(1) Format for tickler: [“Tickler” – Case Name – Description of Deadline or need to overnight]
- schedule as an all day event
(2) Ticklers will be calendared as follows:
- For any out-of-town courts requiring a day to overnight a pleading, one day in advance.
- For any proof of claim or statute of limitation, 3 months in advance, and set to recur monthly (so that it recurs 2 months and 1 month in advance)
(Reminders for the tickler appointments are not important and can be set to standard 15 minutes in advance)
d) Note: Anyone uncomfortable with the uniform system can calendar the deadlines on his/her personal calendar individually without circulating, and then delete the entry when the group appointment is sent.
4.Save Important Pleadings and Create Brief Bank Projects For Remote Access.
a) Paralegal will create a project folder in document system for each case (unless case too small), providing access to everyone in group and anyone else in firm on that team. Folder will be located in the brief bank in the “case specific files” folder.
b) Documents that we file electronically will be saved into this folder in .pdf form automatically as part of the filing protocol, for easy reference later (see Step 5 of Filing Documents By CM/ECF).
c) Important pleadings in the case that will be used numerous times (summary judgment motion, significant orders or opinions, etc.) can also be saved into that project for easy reference when desired.
d) Received documents will be saved into that folder only upon request (unless attorney requests that all be saved). Notify paralegal or secretary after receiving the ECF notice, and they can pull the document and save into the project folder.
e) Documents will be saved into the project as [(dkt#) client/matter description];
example – “15 HTB/Serviceman Summary Judgment Motion” so that they appear in order of docket.
5. Consider the four options for locating pleadings later when needed: the project folder for the case, the court’s website, the ECF notice received, or the paper copy (if the firm chooses to maintain paper copies).
6. Determine what to do with pleadings received by mail.
Continue to circulate as typical to the attorney to whom addressed, then to Secretary. If the document is already in the paper pleadings, mailed copy may be thrown away. Caution – Check documents very carefully, because often documents look similar but are different.
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[1]Bobby Guy is a partner in the law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, and is based in the firm’s Nashville, Tennessee office. Mr. Guy practices in the areas of business bankruptcy, corporate restructuring, and commercial litigation, and he is certified as a specialist in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification and the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. He can be reached at , or (615) 244-6380. Nothing in this document constitutes legal advice, and as always, readers should consult an attorney for guidance on specific factual situations.
[2] This may vary by district, so modify rule according to local district.
[3] F.R.C.P. 5 still requires hard-copy notice. Some courts deal with this by requiring attorneys to waive the right to hard-copy notice in CM/ECF cases when obtaining a CM/ECF password.
[4] When signing up multiple attorneys, try to enter each one as a separate lawyer on the list, rather than as different addresses for one attorney. As for secretaries and paralegals, they should be signed up as an additional address of the lead attorney. It appears that in the Middle District of Tennessee in a bankruptcy matter, when you sign up an secretary and paralegal like this, they will be signed up for all cases the attorney is in, not just the instant case. This is good. The only time there is an issue is when there are two associates on a file, because only one associate’s secretary should be charged with the filing. In that situation, designate which secretary is in charge of all the filing.