It appears that I am going to be drug into the 21st century and have to choose an e-filing provider. Any recommendations from anyone out there?

I have had several positive reviews of prodoc efiling and one positive one negative on myfilerunner.

We signed up for prodocefiling yesterday.

Okay, so I went with ProDoc Efile. We successfully efiled our first brief on Monday. I managed to break our account somehow, but they were able to fix it over the phone.

Update: we have now filed 3 briefs without any issues. I have been through telephone and email support for other items and received good responses. Suggestion if you sign up for this vendor: as soon as you sign up as tax exempt, email customer service about sending in a copy of your tax exemption. They will give you a ticket number and take care of it quickly.

A bad thing about efiling... we often file one brief or motion under several cause numbers... it looks to me like now you have to efile under each cause number, incuring the provider and court efiling fee. So, I just spent 8 bucks efiling a letter that used to cost me one forever stamp plus some copies.

What did we ever do without computers?

I've expressed these concerns to the clerk's office here at the 2nd court. As of yet, there seems to be no provision on the horizon for allowing the State to free e-file in cases.

I have one defendant right now w/ 15 different criminal appeals. He also has 15 civil appeals arising out of the same underlying criminal cases. So our office has 30 appeals on this same guy. (He's also pro se and loves to write.) Do you think we're e-filing our stuff in these cases? Not on your life. The court can just deal with the paper copies.

Until we all complain to CJ Jefferson at the Texas Supreme Court, I don't see any incentive for SCOTX to modify the rules before costly e-filing becomes mandatory at the intermediate appellate level.

For a brief in a single cause, it seems to be a wash as far as cost, although I wish the Fifth Court didn't required paper copies. But this letter today was an eye opener. On a side note, I hear the CCA is working on efiling as well.

More e-filing headaches. We had been efiling motions for extension with briefs from time to time. Now we are told the motion and the brief must be separate e-filings. Anyone else run into this? Also, we have tried eserving via efiling, but the lawyers all say they dont receive that, so I'm dropping eservice.

Prosecutors' offices need to join together and establish their own approved efiler, that will run non-profit. Fight fire with fire.

I kinda like that idea. As the State moves to all efiling, all the time, you would think they would have to do that.

Sounds like a service TDCAA could provide.

I believe the problem is solved, in part, by new section 72.031(e)of the Government Code, which provides a special fee structure for governmental entities. (HB 2302)

So are they setting up a rival to the commercial firms?

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us...Sess=83R&Bill=HB2302

(b) The office as authorized by supreme court rule or order may implement an electronic filing system for use in the courts of this state.

If so, that would be great. But I'll believe it when I see it.

The fee that bugs me the most is the $18 charge by our e-filing company to e-file waiver letters at the Supreme Court. The presumption ought to be that we're waiving a response to a petition for review unless a response is requested.

We have been using ProDoc efiling. It has generally worked well, and they have been helpful with the handful of problems. I balk at the $5 cost of efiling letters at the court of appeals, but that is better than $18.

It sounds like TexFile will take care of the filing fees, but my local court of appeals still wants hardcopies of stuff. I want OCA to kill that.

Changes coming in September

It looks like TexFile will offer a free EFSP option. http://www.texfile.com/texfile-efsp.htm

http://texaslawyer.typepad.com...le-on-roll-out-.html

Major Appellate E-filing update.

All but two Texas courts of appeals will be live on TexFile Monday, November 25. The other two are scheduled to go live December 9.

link

JohnR, I just did and appeal in the 1st COA and noticed they wanted FOUR hard copies mailed even with efile. That's kinda asinine Lets either efile or not.

Oh, I so agree. Where is the like button on this thing?

Is anyone else using TexFile as their free EFSP? Have you been able to make it work? I am unable to see any cases at the COAs to file into...

I wish Apple was doing the design. This stuff would make sense.