Robin's Ruminations

Should we oppose e-service?  Can it be stopped?  Is there a middle ground?  How should NAPPS and the various state associations respond?  What should we, as individuals, be doing in advance of the onset of e-service?

E-service can't be stopped because it is already here.  It is a perfectly appropriate method of alternative service.

There is plenty of middle ground.  NAPPS's position is fine because it recognizes e-service's place in the overall system but emphasizes the importance of personal service.  This position should work well into the foreseeable future.

But, most importantly, we need to do anything and everything which will improve our image in front of our legislators and courts.  This means we do service by the book.  We've got to stop allowing our clients to push us into doing things which are wrong or outside the law.  We've got to stop working and associating with people who behave in that fashion.  Codes of ethics need to be strengthened and enforced.  Bad actors need to be ostracized.  

Process servers everywhere need to educate themselves.  We need to learn more about our chosen profession.  We must pay attention to what is happening around us.  More than once I have seen process servers express surprise and dismay at a change in the system which was highly publicized for months or years in advance simply because those servers chose not to pay attention to the world outside their own little bubble.

And, if there is no other way, government regulation needs to be embraced.  I'm generally not in favor of government regulation for regulation's sake alone.  But when activities are involved in which one person's behavior or actions impact another person's life or well being then regulation has an appropriate place in our society.  Service of process is one such place.  Process servers impact the life and well being of the person they serve, that of their client, and that of other process servers.  The laws of supply and demand simply don't act fast enough to prevent immense damage from being done by someone more interested in the fee than the service.

So with that, I'm going to take off my turban and give the title of The Great Karnak back to Johnny Carson.