Amended Texas Rule Allows Lawyers to Serve Court Documents by Email

As of January 1, 2014, amendments to Texas rules TRCP 21a(a)(2) and TRAP 9.5(b) now permit service of court documents by email.

Plano, TX – Jan 28, 2014– Lawyers who practice in Texas stand to save a lot of time and money starting this year. As of January 1, 2014, amendments to Texas rules TRCP 21a(a)(2) and TRAP 9.5(b) now permit service of court documents by email.

The amended rules allow certain court documents traditionally served by courier or certified first class postal mail to be served by email. Examples of documents that can now be served electronically include discovery notices, dispute notices associated with discovery requests, meet and confer notices and requests, and emergency motions.

Lawyers who take advantage of the recent rule changes can reduce administrative time and costs when serving documents to opposing counsel and costs associated with couriers and certified first class or express mail.

Before these benefits can be realized, lawyers need to understand two critical things:

1. 1. When service by email is deemed “complete” by law
   2. How to prove service of documents (served by email) when opposing counsel claims non-receipt

Many lawyers understand that it is good practice to retain a mailing receipt when serving paper documents using FedEx or another method, so that proof of completed service is available if needed. This concept applies to electronic documents, too. Because standard email does not provide proof of delivery or receipts, lawyers who serve documents using standard email expose themselves to claims of non-receipt. For this reason, savvy lawyers are using RPost’s Registered Email service to obtain automatic receipts proving successful delivery of their electronic documents.

Today, RPost published a best practices guide discussing the amendments to TRCP 21a(a)(2) and TRAP 9.5(b). In the guide, RPost presents an opinion on what constitutes “complete” service for documents served by email and describes how lawyers using RPost’s Registered Email service can easily, legally and reliably prove completed service of documents by email.

The Registered Email^® service provides email users with a Registered Receipt™ email record that contains delivery status, time of delivery, and the email’s actual SMTP dialog for court admissibility purposes. The Registered Receipt record has been used successfully in state and federal courts on many occasions as evidence of email delivery and includes a method of authenticating the message content and any file attachments, as well as time of successful delivery.

RPost’s patented Registered Email service is available commercially as part of RPost’s RMail® solution for high-value email and electronic document delivery, which many users access using RPost’s add-in for Microsoft Outlook.

RMail also includes email encryption, electronic signatures (e-contracting), and large file transfer services as part of its all-in-one offering. RMail pricing plans start at just $6.99 a month per user.

To sign up for a low volume free account allowing 10 messages per month, click here.

About RPost
RPost has set the global standard for email delivery proof, encryption, and e-signatures with its patented Registered Email^®technology. RPost services enable email users to track, prove, sign, encrypt, and collaborate across desktop, mobile, and web platforms. RPost services speed contract execution, increase data privacy and compliance, and reduce risk with court-admissible records. Founded in 2000, RPost operates from six global business centers, is in use in countries throughout the world, within governments and Fortune Global 500 companies, and has been endorsed and marketed by influential bar associations throughout the United States. Winner of the World Mail Award for Security, RPost holds 50+ patents worldwide. For more information, please visit www.RPost.com

Press Contact
Aaron Williams, RPost Marketing, awilliams@rpost.com.