Key Leadership Personnel Pick Case Management Software in the Public Sector

The pressures of doing business in today's economic and social environments are becoming tougher by the day. No matter what industry your business is in, you are still expected to improve on the previous year's trading figures; no mean feat when most business owners have ruled out any increase to the wage bill. But in the legal sector, there is one way of getting more out of existing resources, which means increased productivity, at no extra cost - legal case management software.

Key leadership personnel are of course the ones who come under pressure in terms of improving staff performance. It is on their shoulders that the weight of responsibility falls, and in the public sector in particular, where cut backs are rife and capping is the norm, improving efficiency is proving to be more of a challenge than ever before.

Case management software manages to tick all of the boxes when it comes down to resourcefulness. The legal profession is perhaps more heavily dependent on paperwork than any other type of business. Consequently, as the number of cases that are being taken on increases, so does the volume of paperwork. It's rather like s self-fulfilling prophesy of doom. The pressure is on to process as many cases as possible in order to make more money in what is now a very competitive marketplace, but at the same time there's a squeeze on keeping staffing levels down. But by using the right system support software, you can improve not only the rate at which documentation can be handled, but the ease of filing and finding that information too.

Information is of course vital, no matter what sector a business works within, be it manufacturing or retail; but in the legal sector, and especially the public legal sector, information is the very oxygen that organisations must have at their fingertips in order to be able to function. Getting into a paperwork logjam just because of the sheer volume of documentation that's generated just isn't an option.

Key leadership personnel need to ensure that the right documentation is in the right place, and is easy to find and access whenever anyone needs it. That's exactly what these new programs provide. Case management software comprises of range of various programs that have been developed for the legal business world to facilitate best document management practice across the various legal disciplines, from probate to real estate, company law and tax law. No matter what specialist branch of "legal beaglery" an organisation may be concerned with, there is a software package to suit. But the best is yet to come. Only some systems are compliant with best practice across the range.

The programs are available either as standard packages, or as bespoke products tailored to the needs of the individual organisation. Standard programs are available from stock, whereas a specially adapted program can take up to a maximum of 6 weeks to prepare and install. Good case management software firms will also attend site at your premises to train your staff and help to ensure that you get the optimum benefit from your new software.

Key leadership personnel have been able to show improved staff efficiencies of up to 20% by installing certain case management software packages. No wonder it's becoming the management software package of first choice across the legal industry.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   

Nonprofit Judgment Debtors

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, and not legal advice, based on my experience in California. Laws vary in each state. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

Judgment recovery against a (judgment debtor) large nonprofit company, is done with the same tools as with any other corporate entity or business.

This article is about recovering judgments against (judgment debtor) small nonprofit entities. What if your judgment debtor is a nonprofit organization, or an officer in a nonprofit organization?

Whether a nonprofit organization is large or small, the process for levying an employee's wages at the entity remains the same. If an employee works for a nonprofit company, their wages can usually be levied.

If the nonprofit employer does not respond to the Sheriff's wage levy notification, one can sue the nonprofit employer for the amount that they should have withheld, when state laws permit.

Whether a nonprofit organization is a corporate entity registered with the Secretary Of State's office, or not; nonprofit organizations are less likely to pay salaries or dividends. Can their assets be levied to satisfy a judgment?

Nonprofit companies have no stock shares, and most small ones do not pay their officers with conventional incomes.

While one could pay a sheriff to levy a judgment debtor's office furniture, that is a very expensive way to recover a judgment. It could cost more than will be recovered at the Sheriff's auction sale.

It is usually very difficult to levy nonprofit asset distributions or dues, to recover a judgment, unless they could be proven to be fraudulent transfers. If that is the case, recovering would merely be difficult.

The term "nonprofit" means only that the structure of the entity is not for profit, and there are no shares or stock certificates. In almost every other way, a nonprofit company is run the same as any other business.

Some nonprofits, for example, Sesame Street, have a spin-off (for profit) corporation, which is where the money goes when one buys an Elmo doll.

Some larger and more "profitable" nonprofit organizations pay competitive wages, and sometimes offer matching with saving accounts funds. There could be a lot of money inside a nonprofit company.

One-person nonprofit organizations are sometimes used as a personal tax shelter, and occasionally there is some sort of scam going on.

In small nonprofit organizations, there might be a co-mingling of funds between the president of the nonprofit company and their personal checking account, treating the company as their personal piggy bank.

As with for-profit companies, nonprofits must keep their company minutes, have meetings, be registered with the Secretary Of State, keep separate business bank accounts, etc.

If they fail to comply with the requirements to be or stay a nonprofit company, they may lose their liability protection, and owe a lot of taxes.

If the nonprofit dissolves, maybe the creditors will get paid something upon the dissolution.

Judgment debtor exams and post-judgment document production requests, served on the nonprofit entity and perhaps third-parties, may turn up many clues to finding assets, that might be used to satisfy the judgment.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   4 Civil Summons Mistakes to Avoid   Introduction To Learned Treatise For The Rookie Expert Witness   

The Real Truth About Judgments

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer.

Through vast experience, I know the cash up-front value of most judgments is very small. Almost every day, I talk with at least ten judgment owners, and trade emails with at least ten more.

Far too often, when I tell people their judgment is not worth a lot of cash up-front, they think I am wrong.

It is as if they are listening to the truth about their judgment, for the first time in their life. Many judgment owners do not believe the reality about their judgment situation.

There are web sites that brag about buying judgments for "up to 50%", that will not pay even three cents on the dollar for average judgments.

The old statistics found all over the web, assert that about 80% of judgments are never recovered.

I have been enforcing judgments for a decade, and have been a judgment broker for three years. I have first-hand experience with thousands of judgments, and I know this:

These days, about 95% of judgments not paid quickly, are never recovered, at least not for more than 10% of what is owed.

When I assert that 95% of judgments are not recovered, I am not including judgments that were settled or dismissed. The reasons for my 95% estimation is:

1) The economy is awful, and most debtors have far less money now than in recent history.

A judgment is not cash, and only the judgment debtor can repay a judgment. When the debtor is poor, not much can be done, and the judgment remains almost worthless.

2) Laws and courts are changing, becoming more expensive, and getting slower. Judgment recovery is more expensive, slower, and occasionally impossible in some courts.

3) Debtors are much more likely to file for bankruptcy protection these days. Almost always, bankruptcy kills judgments.

4) Judgment enforcers and buyers are going out of business faster than ever before.

5) Enforcers, contingency lawyers, and judgment buyers, have become very picky about which judgments they will consider.

When a judgment debtor has lots of available assets, it is easy to sell a judgment, or to find a contingency enforcer. These days, very few debtors have even an average amount of available assets.

For the 99% of judgments where the debtors have few or no assets; it seems that either few people tell judgment owners the truth, or judgment owners are consistently refusing to believe the truth.

The reality is, it is now almost impossible to sell judgments for more than 1-9% of their face value, depending on the judgment debtor.

The average future-pay recovery charge averages 50% when you do not pay or risk anything for a judgment recovery. When the debtor has substantial assets, or if you pay all expenses, you may find a lower future-pay recovery charge.

Most judgment buying and auction sites are now out of business. The one judgment buy/sell/trade site left, has few successful transactions, because most judgment owners price their average judgments far above 5%, so nobody buys them.

Amazingly, many creditors cannot accept the reality about the low cash upfront value of most judgments. Some contact hundreds of judgment experts.

Over the years, I have observed a repeating pattern. For example, a judgment owner called me a year ago with their $100,000 judgment, they wanted to sell for $30,000 cash up-front.

I explained that nobody pays that much of a percentage, for a cash up-front sale. Also, that they would be far better off with a future-payment recovery, where a recovery expert would pay them an average of 50% of what might get recovered.

When the creditor heard that, they said they would pay 15% to get their judgment enforced on a future-pay basis, and not a penny more. I told him nobody can help them, and good luck.

What happened during the following year, was that I received leads from about 50 judgment experts, from that exact same creditor, who had persistently and aggressively shopped their judgment all over the nation.

About a year later, the creditor called me again. He explained that he had contacted 300 judgment experts during the previous year, trying to find a match for his requirements.

He still had not found even one buyer or enforcer, with his unrealistic terms. He then asked me if I had any new buyers now, who would pay his price. I said no, nobody will pay him $30K cash up front for his judgment.

An irony is, his debtor seemed to have some assets. The 100K judgment owner, remained no closer to getting any money for his judgment; and he wasted so much time for himself and others.

Some people think that with the economy down, judgment enforcers and buyers will compete for their business. This is not reality, because the expense and difficulty of recovering judgments has dramatically increased. Judgments are not commodity items subject to supply and demand price rules.

Many people think they can get a much better price by shopping their judgment. They are wrong. The truth is a judgment is only worth what someone will pay for it based on the debtor, not for what someone brags they will pay "up to".

A judgment sale price, or the percentage fee for a future recovery effort, does not depend on the creditor's needs or wishes. It usually does not depend on the enforcer or buyer, and almost always depends on the situation of the debtor.

Imagine contacting 300 people and companies over a year, and not learning the problem. The problem is, the judgment owner was not accepting a reality, that judgments are not cash, and are usually not worth much cash upfront.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   

Court Reporting Firms: The Services You Can Expect

When it comes to legal matters, everyone knows that there is much more involved to having a successful case or experience than meets the eye. There are generally tons of people behind the scenes in court cases that many people do not see, but they perform a lot of work. No one knows this more than legal professionals themselves. These individuals also know that it can be difficult to find the right people to perform all of these behind the scenes legal services for you. These reporting firms can provide many of these services with quality personnel.

These companies screen all of their reporters to make sure that their abilities are exactly what you need for your case. These expert reporters can provide your case with accurate transcription, which can be crucial to the success of any legal endeavor. Knowing exactly what was said in any legal meeting can make or break a case. These reporters are also trained in speed. Having accurate transcriptions quickly means that you will not waste any time waiting on the information that you need for your case.

The personnel for hire in court reporting firms also provide legal videography services. This legal service can be used to capture important interviews and meetings that can be used as a part of the evidence in a case or for personal records. Being able to use video as a reference ensures that you have the most accurate information and direct quotes so that you know that in your case or legal matter that you have everything right. Also, video is easy to capture and easy to playback since virtually everyone has the capability to do so. This makes it possible for anyone to use this great resource for essentially any legal matter that they might have, and these videos can also be transcribed into text to make them easy to reference and read.

Another great service that court reporting firms can provide is server access to their documents and materials. These legal service associates can be paid to scan all of your documents and items so that they can be secure and also very easily accessible for anyone on your team. Having all of your documents in one place makes things easy and hassle free. Cross-examining your documents is easier when you can pull them all up on a screen and flash them back and forth versus sifting though papers until you find what you need.

Court reporting firms are the best way to find personnel to take care of all of your legal service needs. These firms can provide any legal professional with all of the different types of services that these firms need. Whether you need simple reporting or more complicated services such as videography and the use of a server, these companies are a one-stop shop for all of your legal needs. Everyone desires their court experience to be easy and successful, and outsourcing these services can provide this for you.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   4 Civil Summons Mistakes to Avoid   

Vehicle Levies

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment Broker. This article is my opinion, based on my experience in California, and laws vary in each state. If you ever need legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

One tool to recover judgments is paying a Sheriff to levy a judgment debtor's vehicle, which could be a car, truck, motorcycle, etc.

Levying a judgment debtor's vehicle can be risky and difficult for several reasons:

1) It requires a lot of money to have a Sheriff seize and sell a judgment debtor's vehicle. If you do not have thousands of dollars to gamble, it is best not to try.

2) The sale may not make economic sense. The judgment debtor's vehicle may not have enough equity in it because of previous leases or loans.

Other expenses and considerations are State exemptions, the imperfect market (a forced sale) at Sheriff auction sales, and the costs involved with paying the Sheriff to tow, store, and sell at auction, the judgment debtor's vehicle.

Especially if you do not calculate all these factors first, you can easily lose money attempting to levy a judgment debtor's vehicle.

3) The Sheriff usually will not look for hidden vehicles, and will not pick locks or break into a locked area, without a separate court order instructing them to do so.

You have to describe the vehicle to the Sheriff in detail, supply the license plate number, and exactly where it is parked. Usually, the Sheriff will make just a few attempts to secure the vehicle for your initial fee.

4) Legally, one cannot threaten anyone. Due to laws, especially in California, usually you should avoid communicating to judgment debtor that you plan to pay a Sheriff to take their vehicle.

In California, the safest legal way for a judgment creditor to pay the Sheriff to seize the judgment debtor's vehicle, is by surprise.

Losing a vehicle can cause a strong reaction in the judgment debtor. Ideally that reaction would be to pay you or the Sheriff to stop the levy.

There is also a chance their reaction might be irrational. Most judgment debtors rely on their vehicles for transportation to work, to go shopping, or to take kids to school.

Before you attempt to levy a judgment debtor's vehicle, try a bank or wage garnishment first.

After you do your homework, you may decide to buy a writ of execution, and then pay the Sheriff to levy the judgment debtor's vehicle. The judgment debtor may respond by filing a claim of exemption.

If the debtor files for bankruptcy protection, the money you spent will likely go down the drain.

You may hear from the judgment debtor, after they try to file a vehicle theft report, and find out what happened, or if they see the Sheriff towing their vehicle.

Sometimes the judgment debtor will contact you, to make arrangements to get their vehicle back ASAP, and that might be your best opportunity to work out a deal. Remember, whatever you paid the court and the Sheriff, is not refundable.

For every three judgment debtors that say they will file for bankruptcy protection, usually one actually does. Listen to them, then go back to the office and check with PACER.

If the Sheriff auction goes through, be sure to contact the Sheriff's office to learn what is required. In California, the Sheriff usually sends you a notice of the auction sale, with the cost of the opening bid.

Show up at the auction, to protect your position. If you are not there, someone could purchase the vehicle for the price of the opening bid. If that happens, you would get nothing toward your judgment - and you will lose what you paid for storage fees.

In California, one goes to the auction with certified funds (see CCP 701.590), for the minimum opening bid, which is the total of the liens, plus the debtor's exemption.

You can credit bid for anything over the opening bid (which may include the debtor's claimed exemption), to help keep the bidding prices up, up to the amount listed on the writ of execution for your judgment.

Unlike eBay, fierce bidding is extremely rare at Sheriff auctions. Usually, there are only a few bidders at each sale.

Sheriff's sales are not well-advertised. The law only requires the Sheriff to post a flyer at a public place, for instance a grocery store or a post office. You could do your own advertising to try to attract more bidders.

If you are not the winning bidder, the Sheriff does the math, takes their cut, deducts expenses, and will eventually send you a check.

If you are the winning bidder, you can keep the vehicle or sell it. If you sell it, you must spend more, to make the vehicle ready for sale.

If you are the assignee of record, you have to decide if you will split any potential profit with the original judgment creditor.

Many enforcers do not split any vehicle levy profits, because they do not get to split the costs of the vehicle levy, or the risk of losing all the money they spent; with the original judgment creditor.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   4 Civil Summons Mistakes to Avoid   Introduction To Learned Treatise For The Rookie Expert Witness   

Stepwise Guide To Find The Best Lawyer For Your Case

Most of the people, or you can say the common man, usually live inside the law. They try to live by the law and don't have much knowledge of dealing with police, judges and lawyers. The problem occurs when they need legal help and have no clue where to go, whom to approach and how to find it.

You should know that attorneys study one particular area of law in detail and get specialized in it. They chose the area for which they have a strong craving for and have some knowledge of other segments of law. If you ever require legal help or legal services for personal or any other reasons then you need to first understand the type of law that you face and then find a lawyer who is reputed and has proven capabilities in dealing with that law section.

Here is a step wise guide that will help you to find a lawyer who is most suitable for your requirements:

Step 1: Find out your requirement: The first and the foremost step should be research about your requirements. You don't want to get a divorce lawyer if you require help with a car accident case. You can always search the phone book for listed legal services and make a proper decision. However, these listings do not provide an explained description of their services. Another thing you can do is ask in your family, relations and friends as there would probably be someone who had dealt with lawyers or legal services in the past and could help you in choosing the right type of attorney. Further, you can always search the internet or ask online questions or search the frequently asked questions on the internet to find the answer for your requirement.

Step 2: Research about the lawyer: Now that you know what kind of lawyer you require and have a few options in-front of you, you can start assessing them to determine the best choice for you. Inquire a little about the lawyer of your choice in legal circles and find out whether he is capable or not. You can always find a lawyer who is capable and well reputed by searching the internet or by directly going to the courtroom and enquiring there.

Step 3: Get consultation: Visit the lawyer and see the reality with your own eyes before making any final decision. Read the diplomas that are mounted on walls or table frames and search for any civic citations that he may have received. Ask the lawyer about his experience in the relevant law, win- loss record and about any financial recoveries that he may have done for his past clients. The attorney should be a very good listener and provide satisfying answers to the questions. He should ask deep and penetrating questions about the situation that made you seek legal help and legal services.

Talk to the attorney: The last step would be communicating with client regarding the case where he gets to ask all the questions and prepare a solid case for. You ask a client should ask for any information that should be mutually shared and the case strategy of the lawyer in your case. Further, just make sure that it is easy to reach the lawyer and talk to him as it is important to find a lawyer listens to you with sympathy and is easily assessable.

It is not so difficult to find a lawyer who is best suited for your case. All it takes is some initial research and little knowledge about legal services. Further, a good lawyer would definitely have high reputation in the market and word about his skills and capabilities would be easily heard. It is always better to get the best legal help and go full armed into the court if you want to make sure that you do not lose the case.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   

501C3 Application and Process

What is 501c3 Status? Typically what individuals are referring to are organizations that have applied for and recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code. (26 IRS § 501(c)(3))

Individuals mistakenly use the terms 5013c or 503c1. As you now know these descriptions or names are incorrect. The term "501c3" comes from the IRS Code section. Section 501c3 of the IRS code identifies purposes for which an organization can be organized and operated to order to qualify for federal tax exempt status.

Here is an excerpt of IRC 501(c)(3):

Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.

Organizations with purposes listed above are by far the most commonly recognized type of tax-exempt organization. In fact, in 2010, approximately 65% of tax-exempt trusts and organizations listed in the IRS Master File were 501c3 tax-exempt organizations.

How can an organization get 501c3 Status?

To apply for 501c3 tax-exempt status an applicant must complete and submit IRS Form 1023. In technical terms Form 1023 is the form required by the IRS for "Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code." Form 1023 is comprised of 11 parts, 26 pages, and typically requires a user fee between $400-$850 to apply.

Form 1023 was last substantively revised in June 2006. Additional updates were made to Form 1023 by IRS Notice 1382 in November 2010. One of the initial hopes in revising IRS Form 1023 was that with more detailed and substantive questions on the Form would prevent or reduce the amount of correspondence between the IRS and the 501c3 applicant and would result in faster IRS processing.

How long does it take for the IRS to process a 501c3 Application?

This is a very common question for applicants that spend weeks or months preparing IRS form 1023 for tax-exempt recognition. Applicants often incorrectly believe that once they submit IRS Form 1023 to the IRS they will get a response and be granted tax-exempt status within a couple of months. Unfortunately the IRS tax-exempt recognition process can take longer.

The exact amount of IRS processing time depends. Some of the factors that can affect the IRS processing time of an application include: the type of exemption application the client is submitting, completeness of the application, and current workload of the IRS reviewers.

Getting Help with your 501c3 Application

There are many professionals that can provide assistance when completing your 501c3 Application. Choosing to work with a CPA or an Attorney to complete your application is typically a good choice and these licensed professionals can legally represent you in front of the IRS (see Form 2848). Using a CPA or an Attorney is increasingly more affordable. Law Firms such as Nonprofit Foundry even offer flat fee packages to assist clients. The IRS also offers substantial resources for applicants at http://www.irs.gov/charities/index.html.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   

Should You Give Up Ownership Of Your Judgment?

I am a Judgment Broker, and am not a lawyer. My articles are my opinions, and not legal advice. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

It's your judgment! You were the person who was done wrong by your legal adversary. You were the person who had a legitimate complaint, and took your problem to a court. You are the one that the court agreed with. It was you who were awarded a civil money judgment, to help make right the wrong that you suffered.

Nobody should pressure you to do anything with your judgment, because it is your judgment. If you do nothing, nothing will happen, and that is your right. You can wait a few years, or try to do something now; it is your choice and decision.

Most people want to get money from their judgment, and the laws and the economy make that challenging. Your plan or decision not to try to turn your piece of paper into cash is up to you. Most people would feel a whole lot better if they recovered some money from their judgment.

Judgments do not last forever, most of them expire after a certain number of years, although usually they can be renewed. There are many things you can do with your judgment, while waiting for it to expire. You can store it in a filing cabinet. You can frame it and hang it on a wall. One thing is certain, if you want to try to use your judgment to get money, it will cost you.

Even if you recover your judgment yourself, and do not share its ownership with anyone, you must spend time and money trying to recover money from it. Because only your debtor's available assets might be used to recover judgment money, nothing is guaranteed, and there is no guarantee what you spend is not just good money tossed in after bad.

It is your choice to retain ownership of your judgment when you hire a lawyer to recover it. Usually, you must pay them by the hour, unless you have a big judgment and your debtor is rich.

You might find a buyer for your judgment, however that usually gets you just pennies on the dollar. If you do not want to spend money, you can get an average of half of whatever is recovered, if you assign your judgment to a judgment enforcer.

It is your judgment and it belongs to you, so why do judgment enforcers want you to legally assign your judgment to them? Because anyone who is not an attorney cannot represent anyone else on any legal matter including a judgment recovery.

To recover a judgment, one (who is not a lawyer or a collection agency) must own it completely. After you assign your judgment, the enforcer will own your judgment, and have the legal right to enforce the judgment according to what is possible, and how they decide. Ultimately, whatever you do with your judgment, is absolutely up to you.

Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   Legal Support Services: What Can a Business Gain From an Experienced Provider?   4 Civil Summons Mistakes to Avoid   Introduction To Learned Treatise For The Rookie Expert Witness