About Harlin Parker Harlin Parker has been a respected investigator, researcher and litigation specialist for more than 30 years. After spending four years as a paralegal and managing clerk with a law firm in New York, where he specialised in estate settlement, civil litigation and commercial transactions, Harlin started his own service company in 1983. Since then, he has built a reputation as an efficient and capable investigator. Harlin serves clients in both New York and New Jersey. About Target Legal Process Worldwide Corporation Target Legal Process Worldwide Corporation handles process service assignments across the United States and is affiliated with Target Research & Investigation Corporation. A licensed process serving company, the firm’s executive team possess more than 60 years of combined investigative and security experience which they bring to bear on behalf of private law firms, private business entities and government agencies. Contact Harlin Parker President Target Legal Process Worldwide Corporation 100 Church Street, 8th floor, New York, NY 10007, USA Tel: +1 212-227-9600 +1 646-765-3355 E: harlin@targetlpw.com www.targetlpw.com Service must take place in a short amount of time, so we may not have the luxury of coming back ‘next week’. Well, we may have no choice but to identify officers of the company, then locate a residence for them and attempt service there. Yes, at additional cost and additional time – and something we would really rather avoid, as having to serve someone at their residence is never the first choice. Information on service in any of the member states of the Interstate Depositions and Discover Act can be found at www.subpoenacentral. com. There you will find a trove of useful information, forms and links, including a witness fee calculator that will make your life infinitely easier when arranging these out-of-state services. So make no mistake: this ‘new normal’ matters. We all feel the impact. Remember, service of process is fundamental in any litigation. Failure to serve, or to serve properly, can grind everything to a standstill. Civil litigation is already so often an arduous, costly, time-consuming process. Getting these service assignments accomplished properly is always paramount. Doing so as quickly as possible at the least necessary cost remains a concern to litigants and attorneys both. The ‘new normal’ just adds yet another realworld complication. works. Today, that individual witness may be working from home, which may be in a different county from where their office is located. For service to a company, you apply in the county where it maintains its office. Remember that there is generally a return date on these subpoenas. Service must take place in a short amount of time, so we may not have the luxury of coming back ‘next week’. Individual state laws may prove an additional hurdle. Here in New York, when serving a business entity, one option is to serve via delivery to the New York Secretary of State office. We can serve this way, among other conditions, only if the court or tribunal of venue is one that is actually situated in New York State. Unfortunately, the New York Secretary of State does not accept any subpoenas issued under the Act because it does not consider the action to be venued in a New York court. That becomes another hurdle when the company you want to serve is either small or for some other reason is making itself difficult to serve and does not have a readily available registered agent. If we cannot serve at the company’s listed address, and with the Secretary of State’s office out, then what? THOUGHT LEADER 65
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