THE ART OF E-FILING
If you think this is a lot of paper, it's nothing compared to how it used to be in the Clerk of Courts office at the Ohio Supreme Court.
Before the court instituted e-filing two years ago, attorneys had to travel to Columbus from all over the state, park their cars, and head up to the 8th floor of the Clerk of Courts office to file paper documents.
"It would not be uncommon for it to be at the end of the day only to have someone either come through the door right at 4:59 or to unfortunately not make it in time and to be waiting at security at 5'clock when we closed. " said Steve Kahler, with the Clerk of Courts office.
But that all changed January 2015, when attorneys were able to file documents electronically.
That means doing away with the endless paper copies and binders, while replacing them with a fixed digital format.
So has it been a success?
74 percent of all attorneys' filings are performed electronically at the Ohio Supreme court.
"It's going great. We have a lot of good feedback. We hear out system is very user friendly, very intuitive, and people like, "said Sandra Grosko, Clerk of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
After the court approved e-filing in 2006, eight years later a pilot program was underway.
After that, it expanded to all registered lawyers in Ohio and then pro se filers, those who represent themselves in 2015.
40% of those that file with the Ohio Supreme Court are pro se filers and represent themselves. Sadly, only three percent take advantage of e-filing.
"I don't think that people who represent themselves know that we have it, "said Kahler. "And there's no way to individually get that word out. So when people call with other questions, we mention you can file this electronically and direct them to the place on the website where they can do that."
So how does it work?
To access the e-filing system, you need to create an account with the Ohio Supreme Court's e-filing portal. Attorneys can use their attorney registration numbers. Pro se filers, or those who represent themselves can use their email address. From there, they can choose what documents they want to file and start uploading them.
But remember. Paper or no paper, the deadlines are the same.
"Our filing deadline is a 5pm deadline and that is the same for people coming into the office or e-filing. So you can file in the middle of the night but the document won't be considered for filing until the next filing day, "Said Grosko.
The e-filing at the Ohio Supreme Court is all about convenience and efficiency.