March 29, 2021

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E-filing legal documents has become a part of attorneys’ daily life. All 50 states have established e-filing technology and portals for their court systems. Some, including California and New York, mandate that all case documents (with a few exceptions) must be filed and shared electronically.

It’s tempting to view e-filing as an easy, convenient process. After all, it helps you avoid last-minute trips to the post office to drop off certified mail five minutes before closing; or avoid the tedium of printing, proofreading, printing again and then stuffing envelopes or wrestling with a fax machine. It also saves you the step of copying opposing counsel on filings and sending along with courtesy copies.

Do not view e-filing as “easy,” however. While automation can lend a tremendous assist in streamlining document creation and putting you in a position to e-file successfully, it can’t cover human involvement entirely. Therefore, be careful to avoid the following (more common than you’d think) mistakes:

1. Not examining your court’s rules on e-filing—or your judge’s.

Different courts have different rules. In which types of cases must you e-file? Do you need to purchase your index number through e-filing? Under what category do you file a particular motion? What are the fees and how are they to be submitted and process? These are all important considerations. Do not merely skim these guidelines. The same applies to judges and their personal policies. For instance, does your judge require a courtesy copy of an e-filing? Does the judge require his or her physical signing on a document such as an order prior to the e-filing? Disregarding your judge’s protocol is just bad etiquette. Consult with your judge’s law clerks and seek out any rules chambers-drive early in your relationship.

2. Failing to train yourself on the e-filing system properly.

You need to understand e-filing basics: accessing the system, signing up and signing in, navigating the website, categorizing filings properly, uploading documents in the proper formats, paying, and retrieving and retaining notices of e-filing. If you have not already trained yourself, you need to do so as soon as possible, for ethical reasons as much as procedural ones.

3. Not preparing your practice adequately for e-filing.

One benefit of e-filing is that it buys you extra time to complete motions, reply briefs and other documents due to the court. In theory, you or your associates can log in 15 minutes before the deadline and complete everything. Yet, if you forget your username or password, or can’t find them, then you’re in trouble. If you want an associate or a paralegal to file on your behalf, it’s a bad idea not to set them up to use the system or to not train them. If your office has been having Internet issues, 15 minutes before a deadline is a bad time for everything to go down. Try explaining that one to your client. Before you e-file your documents, anticipate any challenges and be ready as the deadline approaches.

4. Not double-checking your deadline for e-filing.

Can you quickly answer these common questions? When does the deadline day for your e-filing end? When the courthouse closes for the day? Or at midnight? If the answer turns out to be the former and you are unaware, then you may find yourself in a jam. Always double-check the date and time of critical deadlines.

5. Failing to remove or redact sensitive information from filings.

This one is simple. Double-check every part of your filing—notices, motions, affidavits, exhibits and anything else–for social security numbers, bank account numbers, confidential medical information and other confidential information. These days, data privacy rules, laws and client-related expectations are of premium importance. Make sure none of this protected information is accidentally disclosed. Remove or redact where necessary.

6. Misfiling exhibits.

Exhibits should be labeled and filed as attachments to the main document you e-file. Many courts in fact require that exhibits be filed as attachments. Make sure you aren’t classifying those exhibits as their own documents unrelated to their parent e-filings. Also, if an exhibit exceeds the maximum file size or page count allowed, be sure to divide the exhibit into parts to upload and file as separate attachments.

7. Filing to the wrong case.

E-filing is an exercise in attention to detail under pressure. If you have multiple active cases open, they’ll often all be accessible and organized in a pulldown menu or a clickable list. Even if you’re in a rush, or you’ve been multitasking all day, double-check that you indeed selected the correct case for the specific e-filing.

8. Getting dates wrong in the e-filed document itself.

One of the advantages of using a legal document automation system like Motionize is increased accuracy and consistency. The same date can populate a field in your document template across each instance it appears in the draft. Make sure those dates are correct, though. Before you put opposing counsel and the court on blast through your e-filing, check your work (or information sources) to avoid unnecessary confusion.

9. E-filing incomplete document sets.

Does your filing require an affidavit, or a points and authorities section, or other components? If so, have you actually compiled all of those parts? Do any of those parts need to be filed individually rather than as attachments? Any of these elements of a document-set e-filing you miss may lead the court to reject the whole packet and require you to re-file or amend. Again, be careful and deliberate.

10. Failing to correct e-filing mistakes, correctly.

If you make a mistake in the course of e-filing your document, you’ll need to report the mistake and then fix it. How, though? Many courts require you to notify the court of a mistake in a timely manner and to send along any corrections to a specific e-mail address. Some courts, as in Los Angeles, may require an application to the court for a corrective order.  Internalize these procedures for if and when mistakes happen. Don’t make your situation even worse. Technological innovation can create a more efficient process for your practice. Use machine learning, workflow automation, document portals and other tools as guides that lead to better work. If you treat e-filing with the utmost respect and care, then you can avoid these embarrassing missteps.