Local administrative order 2007-05 requiries attorneys to file a form notifying our office of changes in contact information.  We are automating that process and also taking it to the next level by collecting e-mail addresses you will be able to access and use for service.

As we prepare for e-service and a variety of electronic communications, creating an electronic attorney contact repository seems essential.  Currently over 400 attorneys have signed agreements to use our judicial website. Those attorneys will be able to update their profile and comply with AO 2007-05 online and provide us with their e-mail addresses.

We will be creating a repository on our judicial webpage where participants can view the profiles including e-mail addresses of other attorneys. We are providing this as an enhanced service to assist you as we move into an electronic environment.

If you have not signed up to use the judicial website, we encourage you to consider it. 

Electronic Filing Changes Coming on August 17, 2012

Based upon comments and suggestions from filers and Clerks the Central Portal will have some new features beginning August 17, 2012.  Below is a listing of the major feature enhancements that will be made to the electronic filing portal.

1. ACH payment information will be saved and stored on the portal.
2. The Portal will send the filing ID# to the filer's bank along with the charge.
3. Adding Word Perfect for filing documents on the portal; namely, now Word (.doc and .docx), Word Perfect, and Adobe documents can be submitted.
4. Adding EST to the timestamp that indicates when a filing is received on the portal.
5. Adding a zip code field to the payment screen, beside the credit card number area.
6. Adding additional data element fields for Circuit Civil, County Civil, Dependency, Family/Domestic, and Probate.
7. Changing how the case number is entered for filing on existing cases; namely, now the year, sequence #, and court type will be entered to insure correct case number and case type match-ups.
8. Adding a pending queue so that documents can be returned to a filer for correction. Example: Filer submits a motion for summary judgment, but meant to submit a motion for continuance. Filer calls or emails our office and says, "Please don't accept that document; I didn't mean to file it." Our office can now return this filing to the filer with a reason. The filer is notified automatically of this "return" by email, and has 5 days to correct the problems and resubmit. Once resubmitted, the "new" filing will bear the same date and time stamp of the "original" filing. If the filer does not correct the "original" filing within 5 days, the clerk will process the document under normal business rules. 

Party Addresses in Civil Filings

An issue has recently come to our attention, given the increase in electronic filing in Leon County. If you aren't aware of electronic filing, please visit our website. If you are aware of electronic filing, you are aware of the various tabs on which you must provide information on the portal.

On the Parties tab, when filing a new case, you are required to list the party name, but the address fields are not mandatory. In training sessions, our office has stressed the importance of providing not only all parties' names, but also full addresses. Whether filing electronically or on paper, if you withdraw from the case and a party continues pro se, it is critical that our office have current addresses so that mailings can be sent to self-represented parties. Likewise, for defendants on new cases, even when you list the address on summons, it is important that the addresses are entered in the required fields on the Parties tab on the portal so that our office can match the party correctly to existing parties in our database.  

We seek your assistance in addressing these issues now and as we become more electronic. Please provide the addresses of all parties when you file a new case.  For example, if you file a new case and represent the Plaintiff, even though you sign the complaint as the Plaintiff's attorney, you could provide your client's address to us on a separate sheet of paper provided with your filing. Of course, on the portal, you can provide your client's address and the defendants' while you are on the Parties tab adding the parties to your new case.

Thank you for working with us to insure that we maintain accurate and complete data. Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.