Judgment Recovery: How
To Handle Court Clerks
Over the last 19 years I've
visited every court house in Los Angeles county and several
in the surrounding counties. For the most part, all of the
court clerks have been easy to work with. However, I have
met a few that were less than memorable.
In any event, the court house is
still a good way to obtain judgments to collect. This is
especially true if you have a court house nearby. Therefore
I'd like to give you a few tips on how to make your visits
as productive as possible.
Mail the court a letter of
introduction - Prior to visiting the court house, you
should to introduce yourself and your business to the court
clerk supervisor. This needs to be done in writing.
First, contact the court house
and obtain the name of the appropriate supervisor to send
the letter to. Your correspondence should be typed on
company letterhead and include a business card.
In your letter explain to the
supervisor that you are judgment recovery consultant and you
need access to the case files to do business. Additionally,
request a regular time to view the files. At the end of the
letter state that you will make a follow up call to the
supervisor to confirm the arrangement. Definitely make the
follow up call.
Judgment case files are public
record documents and the Freedom Of Information Act
guarantees your access to them. However, using this approach
displays your professionalism and ensures you won't run into
any roadblocks.
All the best,
Lance Shapiro
Legal Revenue Service
Legal Revenue Service,