Process servers are a vital part of the legal system, ensuring that legal documents are delivered on time and in compliance with the law. However, the most successful process servers go beyond their traditional role—they become trusted partners to law firms, helping streamline operations and increase efficiency.
For process serving businesses looking to grow, establishing trust with law firms is critical. This article explores best practices to help process servers demonstrate their expertise, accountability, and strategic value, ultimately earning them more business.
The Process Server Everyone Trusts
As a process server, you already know that legal professionals value your reliability because it lets them spend more time working on client matters and less time worrying about whether documents are being properly served.
But you can use your reliability to build trust on other levels. Here are three industry-proven ideas that show you how.
Demonstrate a Mastery of Local Rules for Process Serving
A legal assistant may not always have the time to properly research or manage the nuances of local court rules. You can make a strong, positive impression on law firm staff by demonstrating they can rely on you to understand the intricacies of the local courts—including timing requirements, service methods, and local regulations.
Set up a consultation to show your law firm clients’ staff members that you know the local rules “like a local”. Highlighting this expertise will go a long way toward instilling confidence.
This can also be the perfect, face-to-face opportunity for you to demonstrate your familiarity with the cities or areas where you provide service.
Why Process Servers Need Digital Tools
Law firms increasingly are embracing technology for everything from legal research to appointment setting. A process serving vendor who shares that ethos has already established common ground with tech-forward law firms.
Use that common ethos to demonstrate that you keep pace with technology—just like they do—with the process serving technologies you use.
Explain to them why the digital tools you use to schedule and track your serves helps make your service responsive and reliable by having up-to-the-minute data at your fingertips.
For example, if you’re using LegalConnect’s online portal technology, make sure your law firm clients know you can provide serve status updates, GPS timestamping, and automated proofs of service.
These features reflect your own commitment to leveraging technology for prompt, reliable service.
Success Metrics Are a Court Delivery Document Specialist’s Friend
Share key performance metrics, such as your high success rate for timely serves. If you’ve successfully defended challenges in court, use those stories to underscore your thoroughness and reliability.
You might even try showing them how you can fill a need they didn’t know they had.
| Trust me when I say… | “Rather than putting down others, find the gap in satisfaction and figure out how you can fill it in where others aren’t able to.” – Michael Kern, President & CEO, Direct Legal Support |
How Process Servers Turn Challenges Into Trust Builders
If building trust is your goal, then openness, honesty, and taking responsibility are what you’ll need to achieve it.
In other words, show your accountability.
Accountability done right is a culture. It’s also a must-have for your trust-building toolbox, and these four ideas can help demonstrate this crucial characteristic to law firms that you want to impress:
• Customer Testimonials: Share stories from satisfied law firms that highlight your value as a partner.
• Transparent Pricing: Be upfront about fees.
• Proactive Reporting: Provide performance reports that objectively demonstrate your efficiency and reliability (LegalConnect Reports can help with this.)
• Satisfaction Guarantee: Not a must-have but a nice-to-have.
The Process Server as Chief Problem Solver
Everyone loves a problem solver who works quickly; a fact underscored by 90% of customers in a survey who said an immediate response is “very important” when a customer support issue arises.
A process server who has strong problem-solving skills will be on the fast track to building trust. That’s a good reason to help customers recognize your ability to anticipate problems and address them.
For example, you could explain to your customers that if you’re unable to locate a party, your standard operating procedure is to send a due diligence affidavit quickly so the firm may use it for a motion of alternative service.
Pair those responsive solutions with equally responsive communication that keeps your customers in the loop.
Every Process Server Needs Epic Customer Support
Be easy to reach through phone, chat, or email, and minimize wait times. To a busy paralegal, prompt customer support that returns more time to her day essentially amounts to a cost reduction for the law firm.
And, as an experienced process server, you already know that attorneys who manage law firms are always interested in lowering costs.
Address Process Serving Challenges Proactively
Your experience tells you not every serve goes smoothly. Law firms understand that, too, and are more likely to place their trust a process server they know can work through a challenging serve.
You can stand out from competitors by showing your expertise in dealing with difficult cases. For example: serves that involve avoidant parties.
Let your law firm customers know up front that you can handle this type of situation by communicating the avoidant party issue promptly, and offer solutions such as skip tracing or stakeouts.
Having a solution in hand sends a strong signal that you can be trusted to get the job done.
| Trust me when I say… | “You should always go the extra mile. It goes a long way in this business and your reputation will reflect that. Our unofficial motto is to do more for clients than you need to do.” – Kristy Thornton, CEO, Bay Area File |
Why Data Security Matters for Process Servers and Law Firms
If building trust is your goal, then openness, honesty, and taking responsibility are what you’ll need to achieve it.
A data breach today costs law firms an average of $4.47 million. For Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, a 2023 data breach cost that firm an $8 million settlement payout.
No wonder law firms are more interested than ever in data security.
With that in mind, it’s a good move for process servers to implement stringent data security measures to demonstrate integrity, and that they take data security seriously—for themselves and their law firm clients.
If you’re thinking about adding a litigation support service platform to your process serving business as a way to expand, make sure that platform provides:
• A highly secure, SOC 2 certified infrastructure.
• All web traffic encrypted with 2048-bit RSA TLS/SSL.
• Payment-related information passed directly to the payment processor and never stored on local servers.
The Best Process Servers Go Beyond Delivery
Exceptional service of process is job #1 for any process server, but to become the go-to vendor with the law firms you serve, think beyond the nuts and bolts.
Be the Process Server with Comprehensive Solutions
Law firm staff at every level are interested in controlling costs. One way you can help is to provide data and analytics about the services you deliver.
A litigation support service platform such as LegalConnect, for example, equips you to provide regular reports about service of process performance. That includes turnaround times for documents served and proofs of service returned.
Staff can review this data and see where they may need to improve their own training or processes.
If you expand your process serving business into eFiling by using LegalConnect’s Court eFiling Portal, you’ll be able to provide data about turnaround times and eFiling rejection rates, which any law firm will appreciate.
You can provide even deeper value for your law firm customers with LegalConnect Reports.
Use Reports to provide Case Fee Reports, Invoice Payment Reports, Order Fees Reports, and Order Summary Reports. This demonstrates an exceptional level of transparency—a key element for building trust.
How Process Servers Can Grow Their Footprint
If your law firm client wants service of process in an area currently outside your range, look at it as an opportunity.
You can help them meet that need by establishing relationships with process serving professionals nationwide—a move that enables you to serve court documents well beyond your own backyard.
You’ll not only grow your footprint but you’ll demonstrate your commitment to meeting your customers’ needs. Why shouldn’t the process server they trust locally be the same vendor they trust everywhere?
For more growth ideas, check out How to Attract Customers to Your Process Serving Business.
Trusted Process Servers Are Easy to Do Business With
Law firms notice the details, and error-free billing makes a good impression by demonstrating that you pay attention to the details.
If you want to manage the details of your billing securely and efficiently, look to the LegalConnect Operations Portal. This is where you can centralize order data, advance check information for vendors, make payment disbursements, and create finance reports.
You can also use LegalConnect Payments to save money on payment processing transactions and receive next-day funding for better cashflow. It enables your business to maintain compliance with credit card company regulations and reduces your financial risk.
With LegalConnect Payments you have all the tools you’ll need to process online customer payments, and can allow your law firm customers to use multiple credit cards and ACH bank accounts.
| Trust me when I say… | “LegalConnect’s autopay and direct deposit features helped alleviate our cash-flow challenges, which was a big advantage for us.” – Justin Kaul, Director of Operations, Swift Attorney Service |
In Process Servers We Trust
Becoming a trusted law firm partner requires process servers to prioritize reliability, accountability, and responsiveness while demonstrating expertise and integrity. Leveraging a tool like LegalConnect helps you meet those requirements and raise your process serving business to a level of excellence law firms can depend on.
So, whether you’re looking to grow trust—or grow your business—contact LegalConnect today. We’ll show you how we can quickly equip process servers to win over law firms and become a preferred, trusted provider. Call (800) 909-6859 for a demo or contact support@legalconnect.com for more information!
Because growth isn’t just a goal—it’s the game.