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IPS--
Independent Paralegal Services
As defined by the National Federation of Paralegal
Associations (NFPA), a Paralegal is a person, qualified through
education, training or work experience, to perform substantive legal
work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but
not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or
employed by a lawyer, law office, government agency or other entity or
may be
authorized by administrative, statutory or court authority to perform
this work. Substantive shall mean work requiring recognition,
evaluation, organization, analysis, and communication of relevant facts
and legal concepts.
The term "paralegal"
in previous years was synonymous with legal secretary, whereas persons
having those titles were of considerable assistance to attorneys on a
day-to-day basis, but did not exactly work independently of the
attorney. That has all changed.
The services provided by most paralegals and
legal secretaries are quite distinguishable in the current day.
Paralegals are now proficient in conducting investigations, legal
research and the preparation of pleadings, discovery demands, motions
and briefs, without the assistance of an attorney. Courts throughout
the United States are cognizant of this and, as a result, fees for
paralegal services may now be recoverable in most cases wherever an
award of attorney's fees or costs is available.
In Massachusetts non-attorneys may even
represent people in Small Claims actions pursuant to the Uniform Small
Claims Rule 7(e), which states: "non-attorneys shall be
allowed to assist parties in the presentation or defense of their cases
when, in the judgment of the court, such assistance would facilitate
the presentation or defense." Depending on your case, our
paralegals may assist you in this capacity.
In conclusion, retaining an independent
paralegal is profitable to law firms, furthers public policy and
provides quality legal services to the general public at a fair rate.
Please note, however, that if you decide to use an independent
paralegal, you must remember that we ARE NOT
attorneys licensed to practice law and cannot give or accept fees for
legal advice.
At IPS, we offer the
following paralegal services:
Need
to conduct a search for criminal, bankruptcy, death, UCC or other type
of public record? Our paralegals are experienced in conducting public
records searches. Each search is $69.00 with a 24-hour turn-around
which includes a copy of the results. Or, for an instantaneous
response, $99.00. The following public records searches are available: 
- Death Index /
Death Record Searches
- Massachusetts
Criminal Record Searches
- Social
Security Number Verifications
- Massachusetts
Litigation Search
- Real Estate
Searches
- Phone Number
& Utility Record Searches
- Massachusetts
Sex Offender Records Search, etc.
We reserve the right to charge additional for
extraordinary circumstances (for example, you need to search a common
name like "John Smith" and you have no date of birth or social security
number to enable us to do the search in a time effective manner).
Please note that we are not private
investigators or detectives. We perform public records searches
directly for members of the public except for the following (unless if
you're an attorney who has delegated these tasks to us):
- A
crime or wrong done or threatened or assumed to have been done or
threatened against the Government of the United States of America, or
any State, Territory or Possession of the United States of America;
- The
identity, habits, conduct, movements, whereabouts, affiliations,
associations, transactions, reputation or character of any person,
association, organization, society or groups of persons, firms or
corporations;
- The
credibility of witnesses or other persons;
- The
whereabouts of missing persons;
- The
location or recovery of lost or stolen property;
- The
causes and origin of, or responsibility for, fires, libels, accidents,
damage, injuries or losses to persons, firms, associations or
corporations, or to real or personal property;
- The
affiliation, connection or relation of any person, firm or corporation
with any organization, society, association, or with any official
member or representative thereof;
- The
conduct, honesty, efficiency, loyalty or activities of employees,
agents, contractors and subcontractors; and,
- The
securing of evidence to be used before any investigating committee,
board of award, board of arbitration, or in the trial of any civil or
criminal case.
(Go
back up)
A Massachusetts Notary Public
has the authority to issue subpoenas in accordance with Rule 45 of the
Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure. A subpoena may be issued to
order a person to do any of the following:
1. appear at court to give testimony (subpoena ad testificandum);
2. appear before a notary public, justice
of the peace, or other officer authorized to
administer oaths, at the taking of a deposition (deposition subpoena);
3. produce books, papers, documents, or
other tangible things that may be used
during a
trial or hearing (subpoena
duces tecum);
4. appear at a court or at a deposition
AND produce books, papers, documents, or
other
tangible things that may be used as evidence.
A Massachusetts Notary Public may also issue subpoenas that can command
a person to appear before a hearing officer who is working for a state
agency such as the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA). DTA
subpoenas are issued in accordance with 106 CMR
343.360(B).
Pursuant to
M.G.L. c. 233 § 1, a notary public, justice of the peace, or
clerk of court, may issue summonses for witnesses in all cases pending
before courts, magistrates, auditors, referees, arbitrators or other
persons authorized to examine witnesses, and at hearings upon
applications for complaints wherein a person may be charged with the
commission of a crime. However, a notary public or justice of the peace
shall not issue summonses for witnesses in criminal cases except upon the request of the
attorney general, district attorney or other person who acts in the
case in behalf of the commonwealth or of the defendant.
The
average notary public will never be asked to issue a
subpoena or summons because it's a task that should
be completed by a legal professional who is familiar with the court
rules that detail how a subpoena or summons shall be issued. If the
subpoena or summons fails to comply with a court rule or agency rule,
the court or agency may invalidate it.
Since our
Network has degreed paralegals and licensed attorneys at our disposal,
we can issue your subpoena or summons that will comply with the
applicable laws/rules. This Network considers our notaries public to be
"legal
notaries"
and not just "bank
notaries"
because our notaries public also work as legal support
professionals (i.e., paralegals) and have been trained in the law. (Notice:
the two titles above are not official titles. They are used by our
Network members only.)
If you need
a subpoena or summons issued, please
click here
and fill out the form. We will promptly respond to you and arrange for
your subpoena or summons to be issued and served.
Failure by any person without
adequate excuse to obey a subpoena
issued and served upon him may be
deemed a contempt of the court
in which the action is pending.
We utilize a law enforcement database that can
track people. This database also gives us marital status, physical
location, employer information, etc. of those we are searching for. A
'basic' people search will cost $19.95 per person.
VIDEOGRAPHY OF RENTAL PROPERTY
LANDLORDS:
Document the condition of your property before, and/or after, you rent
to tenants. Have tenants ever damaged your property? Well now you'll
have proof, should you have to take them to court to seek damages.
TENANTS: Have you
ever been accused of damaging property by a spiteful landlord? Well now
you'll have proof that you didn't, should you have to take action
against the landlord in the court of law.
- Flat Fee = $75.00
- Hourly = $50.00 per
hour
POLICE MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION:
Our
head service providers have been approved to assist the Police
Complaint Center(PCC)
in investigating police misconduct cases. The founder has contacted
agents of PCC and has already established a volunteer relationship with
them.
Such investigations
include, but are not limited too:
Citizen complaint
process check: Police
Departments are required to document and establish a policy for
internally investigating citizen complaints. We will see how an
ordinary citizens' complaint would be handled in the absence of
authority.
Racial
profiling tests: Do you think
an officer or department is engaging in racial profiling? If so, we
will secretly test the officer and/or department to see if your
accusation is right.
Individual
officer conduct tests: A police
officer is trained and required to keep his/her cool in almost every
situation. If an officer is known to act out when angry, our paralegal
investigators will perform a test to see how the officer will react.
Advocacy:
A paralegal
is permitted to assist individuals before government agencies,
including police departments. If you'd like to address your concern to
the officers supervisor(s), we will tag along with you and make sure
your rights aren't violated at meetings.
Our network has acquired contacts from the
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, as well as the U.S. Department
of Justice. Should you wish to file a complaint against an officer
and/or a Police Department, we can set you up with our contacts that
may be able to assist you further.
Our
network does not get involved with minor disputes (i.e., speeding
tickets, etc.). Rather, we get involved with pattern's or practices of
alleged misconduct being done by individual officer's or an entire
police department. We acknowledge the fact that most complaints of
alleged misconduct by the general public is not actual misconduct
punishable by law. For example, many people feel that it is against the
law for a police officer to raise their voice and yell at them. This is
not misconduct punishable by law. In fact, such cases aren't even a
violation of an ethical duty because police officers, like you and I,
are allowed to yell.
Serious cases of
police misconduct should be reported immediately to an attorney, public
officer, or the Department of Justice. For more information, please contact
us.
LEGAL
DOCUMENT PREPARATION:
It's legal to handle your own legal matters
using self-help law books, products and services. Independent Paralegal
Services offers clients with affordable access to the overpriced legal
system. We are a non-attorney self-help legal form preparation service.
We work under the direct supervision of informed clients. We offer
competent, quality service. Our clients make all their own legal
choices and call their own legal shots. We simply type out legal forms
following the client's instructions. We are not lawyers. We do not
offer legal advice or practice law. We will immediately refer the
public to an attorney we contract with, if necessary.
Divorce:
Simple.......................................
$200.00
With
Property........................... $275.00
With
Child................................. $300.00
Property &
Child....................... $300.00
Name
Change:
Individual................................
$175.00
Child........................................
$175.00
Family......................................
$350.00
Wills:
Simple....................................
$100.00
Joint.......................................
$165.00
Living
Wills............................ $75.00
Other
Documents:
Prenuptial.............................
$175.00
Power of
Attorney................ $100.00
All
others*............................ $25.00 (single
page forms/documents)
*The
actual fee is determined by the complexity, length and turn-around
time. The minimum fee is $25 per single form/document.
Hundreds of attorneys exist in the
Commonwealth. Which one is good? Which has a better track record for
winning cases? Let us screen an attorney for you. We will research
their history and let you know if they have had any disciplinary
actions against them.
If we take on a case that eventually involves
the practice of law, then we will automatically call upon one of our
network attorney's who will assist us with your case.
COURT
FILING:
If you're busy and can't file your
time-sensitive documents on time, or just simply don't know how to
file, our legal support professionals will do it for you. We charge
$50.00 (per court appearance) regardless of how many papers need to be
filed. A confirmation from the clerk of court will be made available at
the conclusion of service.
SMALL
CLAIMS INFORMATION:
Pursuant to the Uniform Small Claims Rule 7(e),
which states: "non-attorneys shall be allowed to assist
parties in the presentation or defense of their cases when, in the
judgment of the court, such assistance would facilitate the
presentation or defense," our paralegals are willing to
assist you with your small claims matter.
We can guide you through the entire process.
Just remember, paralegals are not attorneys licensed to practice law
and cannot give or accept fees for legal advice. In order for you to
win, regardless if you're the plaintiff or defendant, you need to have
the preponderance of the evidence. Let us help you!
Witnesses are crucial to your case. We at IPS
know the importance of "friendly" witnesses. If you give us information
about your case, we will send some paralegal investigators out to try
to find potential witnesses. Keep in mind that it is always best to
have a disinterested and experienced individual do this for you. If you
go out and try to find your own witnesses, it's going to look like you
influenced their testimony.
Hypothetically let's say somebody punched you
and broke your nose in the Main Street area. As a result of the person
unlawfully touching you, you suffered financial loss in the form of
medical bills, and loss of work. Now you want to regain your finances
and want to sue the assailant. You have no actual proof. You have no
witness(es). The only thing you have are medical reports proving that
you've had a broken nose, and the name of the attacker. Do you consider
this a great case?
The paralegals will go back to the incident
scene and determine where potential witnesses might lurk. They will
interview people to find out who's a witness. If witnesses are found,
IPS will send one of their Notaries Public to take the written
affidavit (witness statement) of the witness(es). In accordance with
the law, the notary will record the identification information of all
affiants.
After you file your lawsuit against the
assailant, our paralegals can then assist you with additional
services. If you need the witness(es) subpoenaed, for example, then we
can draft and issue everything for you. One of our process servers may
then serve the order upon all witnesses to whom it is directed.
Mediation is simply the process of reaching a
mutual agreement amongst two or more people. IPS offers out of court (not
court related) mediation. We'd arrange a time to meet with all parties
and allow the parties to try to work out their disputes. We would
listen and guide each side on reaching a conclusion.
Types of disputes or decision-making that often
go to mediation include the following (though use is not limited to
these areas):
-
Family:
- Prenuptial
agreements
- Financial
or budget disagreements
- Separation
- Divorce
- Financial
distribution and spousal support
- Parenting
plans (child custody and visitation)
- Adult
sibling conflicts
- Disputes
between parents and adult children
- Disputes involving the following issues:
- Landlord-Tenant
- Builders/contractors/realtors/homeowners
- Contracts of any
kind
- Non-profit
organizations
- Faith communities
- Other:
- Youth
(school conflicts; peer mediation);
- Violence
prevention
- Victim-Offender
mediation
Mediation commonly includes the following
aspects or stages:
- a
controversy, dispute or difference of positions between people, or a
need for decision-making or problem-solving;
- decision-making
remaining with the parties rather than being made by the neutral third
party;
- the
willingness of the parties to negotiate a positive solution to their
problem, and to accept a discussion about respective interests and
objectives;
- the
intent to achieve a positive result through the facilitative help of an
independent, neutral third person
Keep in mind that we are neutral. We do not
make decisions or issue any type of binding contract, outcome, etc.
Furthermore, we do not give or accept fees for legal advice. We are not
attorneys and have no authority to do so. Mediation service cost ranges
from $200.00 -$800.00.
NOTICE
OF TRESPASS SERVICES
If
you're experiencing a problem with a person you can legally ban him or
her from your property [or business] pursuant to M.G.L.
c. 266 § 120 by
giving them a Notice of
Trespass.
In accordance with the aforementioned law, the person must know, either
by a sign or direct notice, that he or she is forbidden from
entering
in or upon your property before an arrest can be made by a police
officer or constable.
Our paralegals can draft the Notice
of Trespass (N.T.P.)
and arrange to have it served by a certified process server or
constable. Once a copy is served in-hand to the person you are banning,
the original notice and proof of service will be given to you. In the
event that the subject violates the order after it was served, you can
call the police and have the subject arrested.
The fees for this service will vary.
If
your property is located in the Town of Ayer, Shirley or Groton, the
following fees apply:
- Draft
N.T.P.
= $10.00
- Notarize N.T.P. =
Free
- Serve In-Hand =
$20.00
If your property is not
located in any of the above mentioned Towns, please call for a price
quote. The drafting fee will be $10.00; however, the process server fee
will be the amount shown on our Process Server page and is
determined by the amount of miles traveled.
LEGAL
DISCLAIMER: We
are not attorneys licensed to practice law and cannot give or accept
fees for legal advice. If you need legal advice, please consult an
attorney. If you need help finding an attorney, then we can help you.
Nothing in this website should be considered legal advice. Most
paralegal services are offered only to attorneys or can only be done if
we work under the direct supervision of one. Services are only intended
for Massachusetts residents.
Website and all contents © Copyright
Korey Humphreys 2002-2010, All rights reserved.
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