companies (i.e. CT Corp.) are open every day, albeit with shorter, curtailed hours. While delivery to a registered agent may cause some delay in the documents actually getting to your intended recipient, this method of service is tried and true. But wait. We have yet one more wrinkle. The Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act has made issuing an out-of-state subpoena for your in-state action much easier and far less costly than in the past, and almost all states have now signed on. That is all for the good. But our ‘new normal’ impacts these assignments as well. Keep in mind that in many states, you have to apply in the county in which your witness lives or by court order or statute we have only days in which to get the task done. Discovery deadlines are often just that: deadlines. Here is what I suggest to the many attorneys I am privileged to work with. Let’s go initially with the information you have. If we find a ‘new normal’ problem, then I suggest, for an individual, we immediately look for a home address and attempt there, if possible. That may mean more cost, but it is certainly less time-consuming and costly than making multiple trips to an empty office location. To serve a company, let us do the research and see if that company has a listed current registered agent. The good news is these registered agent itself. And, historically speaking, finding that suitable, authorised person has been rather easy. You show up at the business office and someone will come and greet the server and accept the documents. That is hard to do when the office is closed or the people you need to see are only in on certain days during the week. So let us be clear. Yesterday is gone. Today is all we have. By all accounts this ‘new normal’ is happening now and looks to continue to be our future. This means we need to adjust how we go about these assignments – if for no other reason than because nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to spend a dime more on civil litigation than is absolutely necessary. Nor does anyone want to waste precious time, especially when 64 LAWYER MONTHLY AUGUST 2023
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