When Attorneys Should Not Serve Their Own Papers

Most states allow attorneys to serve their own legal documents provided they are not a party to the case. However, some attorneys have recently found themselves in hot water by using tactics that are beyond the industry standards or are, in fact, unlawful.

Case in point is the California lawyer who lost the tip of his finger when it became lodged in the door of a witness while serving a subpoena. The attorney (process server) later filed a lawsuit against the witness claiming that he closed the door without warning; thus injuring his finger. However, upon closer examination it is evident that the attorney caused his own injuries by allowing his hand to break the threshold of the front door as it was being closed.

The attorney admits that he “enjoys” serving witnesses who appear to be difficult to locate and serve. His zealousness to complete the subpoena may have lead to his downfall (injury).

The accounts of what actually differ widely by each party. First, the witness claimed that the process server (attorney) held the documents behind his back as the door was opened and then threw them inside onto the floor. Believing that the object might be a bomb or other destructive device, he shut the door. The process server claims that he asked for the identity of the witness and attempted to hand him the subpoena when the door was suddenly shut on his finger.

Experts have provided deposition testimony that dispute the process server’s account of the incident, relying on physics and other methods to determine that the injury could not have been caused as described by the server.

While the fact that the process server was an attorney does not affect the validity of the service of process, if he had followed proper service techniques and industry standards, the incident would not have happened. Properly trained process servers are the key to safety of both the server and the person being served.

Nelson Tucker of Process Service Network in California has trained over 1700 process servers in the past 24 years and has authored 3 books on service of process. Process Service Network can be found at http://www.processnet1.com/ or email at processnet@sbcglobal.net