NY commission requests reform of court procedure to assist solo

In February, the Commission to Examine Solo and Small Firm Practice published a new report calling for substantial reform in court procedures that could make life easier and less costly for solo practitioners and small-firm lawyers.

The commission was created by New York State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and is chaired by local solo practitioner June Castellano.

According to the commission, the recommendations propose changes and enhancements in court services and processes to improve the practice of law by solo and small firm practitioners, and in the process, enhance the quality of representation to their clients and make more effective use of court resources.

The hope is that implementing the recommendations will lead to improvements for solo and small firm practitioners and will also promote public confidence in the legal system.

The report states the vast majority of attorneys practicing law in New York State work in solo or small firms. Over 83 percent of attorneys are solo practitioners, 14.7 percent work in offices between two and nine attorneys, and only 1.8 percent of attorneys work in large firms having 10 or more attorneys.

The commission held three public hearings, in New York City, Albany and Rochester to gather information and exchange ideas. The commission disseminated a survey directed to solo and small firm practitioners through the assistance of bar associations.

According to Castellano, the commission did extensive data gathering, and the surveys generated passionate and thoughtful responses.

Individuals were pleased to have been asked for input, said Castellano.

The commission identified the most significant issues affecting solo and small firm attorneys and created five subcommittees: Case Processing and Scheduling; Attorney Regulation; Technology; Strengthening the Profession; and Law Office Economics. These recommendations seek to streamline the practice of law and make systems more efficient.

The common theme was if you save the attorney time, you save the litigants money, noted Castellano. This is a broad issue. It is not what will make life easier for attorneys; it is what will make the court system more efficient to ... the public.

Streamlining Court Procedures

Many of the recommendations outline how the court system can structure calendaring, docketing, case management and court appearances to enhance productivity for practitioners. The common goal for case process and scheduling is to bridge the divide between the large and small firms by making the court system work the same for any sized firm.

These recommendations include:

u In civil cases, making preliminary conferences more productive and reducing the overall time devoted to attending such conferences;

u Parties should attempt to agree on a discovery plan as soon as possible;

u The court system should allow attorneys to e-mail and/or fax consent discovery schedules to the court; and

u All rules and forms should be available on the court system's website together with detailed descriptions of the filing procedures for each locality.

Technology As A Tool

Many of the commission's recommendations are geared toward taking advantage of new technology. For example, Filing by Electronic Means (FBEM) exists in several courts and could result in saving time and money.

We proposed when the court system looks at electronic filing, they make sure they do so with an eye toward how such radical change will impact a solo or small firm, said Castellano.

Education and training are essential to the success of FBEM. According to the report, the court system should be responsible for providing appropriate and accessible training on FBEM to attorneys and the court system should adopt uniform statewide standards and guidelines for the system.

Also, the Legislature should extend e-filing to pretrial conference orders, stipulations, orders to show cause and other specified filings in all types of actions. Courts should generate and file orders, judgments, notices and other documents electronically, and practitioners should be able to check on orders to show cause via e-mail.

The report also suggests that case records should be available on the Internet. However, the case records should not be available to the public because they are deemed confidential.

Costs Of Litigation

The cost of expert fees and disbursements are major factors of law office economics. The commission suggested two programs designed to hold down costs and save time.

In the Non Jury Initiative, the parties must agree to waive costs and disbursements as well as the right to appeal from the determination of the matter by the presiding judge. The judge's decision is binding however, in personal injury cases, the plaintiff's recovery is limited to the defendant's insurance coverage.

In the Summary Jury Trial, the trials are non-binding unless the parties stipulate to be bound by the verdict. These trials follow strict time constraints.