Process servers in New York seem like they might have a pretty easy job. You take some papers, you find the person that they need to be served to, and you serve them. But the truth is that it takes a lot of work to serve legal papers. New York state law requires process servers to fill out a significant paperwork as well as keep electronic records, and of course the people you’re looking for can be a bit evasive as well.
Organizational Skills
Being a process server means being extraordinarily organized. We handle hundreds of documents on a daily basis and attempt service at hundreds of addresses per day. The best servers organize their routes using a sophisticated mapping program enabling them to get the most work done as possible each day.
Flexibility
We have an in-joke in the field of process serving that says “A law degree comes with a minor in last-second changes.” It’s perfectly normal to get a call in the middle of serving a paper that says the address has changed, or the paper no longer needs to be served, or can you print up this additional document add it to documents we already have to serve on a person.
Persistence
When a defendant or witness knows you’re coming, they can get very tricky. Sometimes process servers have to perform stake outs at a house from to catch the intended recipient coming or going and confront them then.
http://liarcatchers.com/process_service.html
Affidavits
A service isn’t complete until you write out a sworn affidavit attesting to the fact that you delivered the papers, including when and where you did it and whom the papers were delivered to. The affidavit can break a case if it’s not meticulously reviewed for accuracy before being submitted to the court. Even if you can’t complete a service, you must still complete an Affidavit of Due Diligence describing the efforts you took to deliver the papers.
No, process serving isn’t easy. It’s a mix of private investigator, office assistant, and courier. Those of us who are professionals in the business understand that it is not easy and make every effort to ensure the service of legal documents is made to the recipient in the correct manner and the process is completed effectively.
