by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
Beginning today, all attorneys filing a bankruptcy case in Jacksonville will have to file their cases electronically.
According to an order issued in June by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida, bankruptcy cases filed by an attorney via paper documentation will no longer be accepted after today. Individuals without legal representation may continue to file their bankruptcy pleadings on paper.
Mike Shadburn, deputy in charge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Jacksonville division, said attorneys will have to complete a mandatory training course to use the new filing system.
Though the recent run of hurricanes postponed some of the one-day training sessions, Shadburn said the order will go through as planned.
“We did lose some training days due to the hurricanes,” he said, “but we will get them back within a reasonable about of time.”
Shadburn could not say whether the new system is easier or harder for participants, but he did say that “some attorneys have been using it for quite some time now.”
Jo Elsea, a paralegal for Jackson and Mason, said her firm was one of the first to use the system, beginning last October when it was first available.
“There have been some changes along the way,” she said, “but we have found it extremely helpful.”
Because the firm has been using the electronic system since its inception, Elsea said other attorneys are asking them for help with the new filing method.
“As this deadline approaches, we have received a lot of phone calls from other firms,” she said. “They are a little hesitant when they first get on the system and I kind of walk them though it.”
Ch. 13 Trustee Mamie Davis said she is pleased with the new system, which she has used since February.
“It is a change and right now I am really enjoying it,” said Davis. “As a trustee, I am filing in big volumes with the court. Now, I can do it all from this office so I don’t have to physically go over to the courthouse.”
Besides not having to make daily trips to the courthouse, Davis said the electronic method offers more convenience than before.
“When you are filing electronically, all of the documents are right there, too,” she said. “It really is a great system.”
Davis said courts around the country have been using electronic filing systems and she expects the trend to continue.
For Brandon Beardsley, an attorney with Upchurch and Esposito in St. Augustine, the new mandatory electronic filing system will simply mean less time on the road.
“Traditionally, I have prepared my proposals and drive to Jacksonville to file them,” he said.
Beardsley said because bankruptcy cases only represent about 5 percent of his caseload, the mandatory electronic system will not have much impact for him. But he anticipates some problems for larger firms.
“The only concern I have is that computers are not foolproof,” he said. “I don’t anticipate any major problems, but I worry about what could happen when you transfer a file electronically.”
Beardsley said he went though the training for electronic filing but continued to file his cases manually because the option was available.
“I have been trained to file electronically, but I don’t feel comfortable doing it that way,” he said. “I guess I am old-fashioned and would rather do it in writing.”
But now that the option to file manually is gone, Beardsley said he isn’t worried about the change.
“It is just something that I will have to deal with. It is just a change.”