age of 18. I liked what I was doing and started to assist my dad with other things he needed done, which included court filings. Before we knew it, I had 70 clients in 1973. Today, women make up a significant portion of legal process servers, taking their place among the most successful and respected companies in the country. I am proud to be one of them. Every day we make conscious decisions to expand our profession; continued growth is an important step. It is also important that we surround ourselves with winners who appreciate our achievements and who can bring skills to our company so that we may offer the best of the best customer service and receive satisfaction when a job is well done. We are flexible and able to offer solutions for difficult serves. We like the hard-to-get ones! What are your proudest achievements to date? I have always known who I am. I did not change when I saw others running their companies differently. Challenge seems to be something I do not mind leaning into. Compliments were few and far between, but I persevered. In 1976 I was interviewed by a local television station, pregnant with my first daughter, running the office, and doing a ‘walking route’ in downtown San Diego. This consisted of pickups and deliveries from law firms, going to court and back twice daily for 25 clients. I planned on bringing her to work with me, which I did, along with two other children over the next 10 years. To this day, I allow employees to bring their babies to work. I am a strong believer that motherhood and careers can successfully co-exist. I take great pride and satisfaction in providing a positive workplace environment, boosting company morale and fostering individual growth. I have had many employees who came to me not knowing anything about the legal industry and then went on to have successful careers at the courts or as paralegals. I hate to see the good ones prides itself on is not ‘nickel-and-diming’ law firms. Our office staff try to identify good addresses for service before we even send the documents out with the server. Getting the defendant served correctly the first time saves the client money. There is no need to attempt multiple addresses if we do not have to. This also allows the attorney to proceed quickly with the next steps required in the litigation process. JUNES holds our process servers accountable for returning all work in a timely manner. Time is always of the essence. Beyond process services, what other third-party support services can help a law firm’s operations? This is a great question. Since 1973, JUNES has offered many legal support services to clients including court filings, messenger and mobile notary services, copying of records, binder and document prep for courtroom proceedings, nationwide skip tracing and asset searches. Another recently added service includes evictions. The law recently changed in Nevada, in which eviction notices must be served or posted by a licensed server, constable, or agent of attorney. We assist many property management companies and law firms in the state with their monthly evictions. Even the private sector uses JUNES to assist with evictions . How have you seen the field of legal support services change and grow during your career? When I started JUNES in 1973 in downtown San Diego, I did what we called a ‘walking route’. I had about 25 clients downtown and I would walk to all 26 LAWYER MONTHLY AUGUST 2023 of their offices, pick up their documents and take them to the appropriate government buildings. Everything was handwritten. Everything. There was no email or cell phones or even fax machines or computers. We finally got pagers, facsimile machines using thermo paper and typewriters with carbon paper. Wow, have the times changed! That is so very true of the legal profession. Service rules and legal requirements are always changing. One thing I have always said is that “nothing stays the same – however, I am consistent”. Taking a step back, looking at how the industry has changed, I ask the question: what would I have done differently? I was young, in my first year in college at 19 and learning the importance of that firm handshake, eye contact and demonstrating good character. It all came with life experiences. I had to learn on the fly, but 50 years later, I think I got it right. With your firm’s 50th anniversary this year, can you tell us a little about your career journey so far? In a profession that was historically dominated by men, I started serving legal documents for my dad who was an attorney in La Mesa, California at the I am a strong believer that motherhood and careers can successfully co-exist.
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