Process Server Daily

Jessica Jester Saucedo is a certified Process Server in Texas and she is leading up the TXAPPS expo. She is an experienced Process Server and we have a great conversation. 

Michele Harris, Harris Investigations tells us about her business and how she has been able to get and keep her clients. 

Jason Burke is the President of DR Legal Process Service LLC is a pro at getting good reviews on Google. Listen to this episode and learn how a fellow Process Server dominates his area using google reviews. 

Rob Henderson from Austin Texas drops some major value on us in this todays episode. Give it a listen and tell me what you think. 

Dan is the President and CEO of Express Process, He’s the Training Director for the Texas Process Servers Association, and has been serving papers since 96 when he left the security police for the United States AirForce. He loves to teach and mentor and he has a great training in store for us! Show Sponsor: www.processserverdaily.com/servemanager

Celebrity Server Tells His Story and Pranks Some Fellow Servers! Brandon really brings some great tips for identifying the servee at the door and he is an ethnic word ninja with his different accents.  Our Guest Website: https://www.oncalllegal.com/  Who Did We Prank: Michael Santos: http://www.superiorprocessservers.net  Commercial Process: https://www.comproserve.net/  Show Sponsor: www.processserverdaily.com/servemanager    *The Views and commentary expressed on the show do not reflect the views or beliefs of PSD University and/or it's sponsors. This show is for educational and entertainment purposes only!     

Robin comes from a family of Law Enforcers and she has fostered and developed that in her own family. She is a highly accomplished Investigator that has worked on a variety of high profile cases and appearing on the news and various talk shows. Her story is amazing and her techniques for growing a brand and tactically finding information is unparalleled. Listen to the episode and tell us what you think.    Sponsor:  PSDUNIVERSITY.COM  

My conversation with Mr. Santoni revitalized my passion for wanting to become a private investigator. He and his team are doing things at a next level but It's important to understand the risk your clients incur can be minimized and even eliminated with the proper training. As a family and business man, Tim and I agree that the ROI on creating a podcast may not be Immediately evident to others but the networking power is exponentially valuable. 

Michael Santos is a career process server that knows how to tell a good story. He started as a young man in California and has recently expanded to Salem, Oregon where he is pounding the pavement and building the empire similar to what he has accomplished in California. Michael tells of his sad moments when the job can seem too difficult and how he wishes he didn't have to serve a person that was having a hard time but with a sense of duty he gets the job done. Every time. Michael Goes on to tell about his experience trying to get by the bouncer and how he ended up serving a headline stripper using some tough guy tactics that you have to hear for yourself. He tells us about the difference between California and Oregon for building a business and his plans for getting it done. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. You can reach Michael at his information below. You can read the show notes below: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in this industry? My oldest sister was a process server then ended up starting her own company. When I was 16 or so, I would go out regularly with my brother in law who also was a process server more so just to get out of the house and as such, he taught me the documents, what could be served in what manner, most importantly he taught me my navigational skills, this is back in the day before GPS where Thomas Bros. mapbooks were your co-pilot. So once I turned 18, I was quite able to hit the ground running. So in effect, I have more or less being in this industry my entire adult life and for a bit before becoming an adult. Tell me about your WORST experience working in the field? I went to serve a wage garnishment to this travel agency, and when I went in, I served the owner, who also happened to be the sister of the garnishee. I get that quite often and didn't think twice about it. What made this one odd, was the owner asked if she paid the sheriff's office the full judgment amount, would she have to still inform the garnishee of this order. I told her I can't give any legal advice, the law requires you to as it is stated on the order, but if the judgment is satisfied in full, I can't see anyone having any grounds to do anything and then I asked her why would she do that other than if for helping her sister. The owner stated that their mother had just passed away the week prior, and after the services, they were all back at the mortuary, and her father sat down...and died. It was as if his will to live after his wife died only lasted long enough to make sure she was taken care of and then gave up. At the time of service, she had just returned from her father's funeral. It could have been a story, but the look on her face, the tone of voice and body language gave it the ring of truth. I couldn't work anymore that day and wished I could have just shredded that order. Tell me about your GREATEST experience working in the field? Every day is a ticket to a new show. The freedom of schedule mostly is what I like most. As to an actual serving experience. I wouldn't call it the greatest experience, but it was without a doubt the funniest. I had the subpoena to serve on a stripper at a strip club. Basically, there had been a fight where big guy beat the snot out of little guy, and she witnessed it and was being called to testify at the civil trial that ensued from the little guy getting mud stomped. I had no desire to go in there, more so I had no desire to go back and back over and over again attempting service which was personal only. So I arrive at the location, I park down the block and I call the club. A man answers and I asked if she was working tonight, being "she's my favorite." The man answer yes, she's on stage right now. I'm like "Awesome" and ended the call. I then go up to the door and the guy taking the entrance fee and I start to talk when I asked for her by name, he notices my clipboard, and answers, she's off tonight. I told him, I know she's here. He responds, she isn't. I said I know she's here, because I just talked to you on the phone, I recognize your voice, and "she's my favorite". The look on his face was a hallmark moment. So he starts with that I have to deal with her on her own time. I tell him, look, we can do this one of two ways. The easy way or the hard way, but one way or another we will be doing it. He asks what the easy way, I said she comes up here dressed in something that would at least be suitable for the beach, I take 30 seconds of her time, and I am gone. He asks what the hard way means. I said I go back to my vehicle, put in a call for a civil stand by from the sheriff's office, being it's Wednesday night about 6pm, probably not much going on and considering where this is, entertainment is where you find it and I wouldn't be surprised if 3-4 units roll here. Do you want the front of your place looking like a first responder's convention? Imagine your customers coming here, pull up, see that, they are going to keep on trucking and how much do you charge per person? Well comprehension struck him finally and he had her come up, I served her, and left. Absolutely priceless. What are you working on right now that has you most excited? Recently I have relocated to Salem Oregon and have recently started the process of building a business here in Salem. The differences in the serving industry between California where I had served for 26 years and the 2 years I have been in Oregon are night and day different. I never thought I would say I miss the California court system, but I do. At least the code sections in California are pretty cut and dry, the code sections here in Oregon are exceptionally vague and open to interpretation. That said, I am glad I moved here and wish on hind sight moved here a very long time ago. ___________ Sponsor ____________ Rapid Fire Round What is your favorite skip trace tactic? I use IRB Search for online skip tracing, for in the field, I talk to neighbors, co-residents, etc. What is your favorite tool for defense? Sig-Sauer or H&K, whichever I decide to bring with me. Thankfully I have never had need to use it. How do you track your Serves? Favorite software? I have used a variety of different server databases, the one I use right now is WinservePlus from Tristar. The software is a little bit more expensive than others software packages, but like anything, you get what you pay for and the service support has been excellent. I am quite pleased so far. What book would you recommend? I like Tom Clancy, R.A. Salvatore, and pretty much anything that has to do with history, mostly WWII history. To pick a specific book, I would say "Without Remorse" by Tom Clancy. What is the greatest advice you've ever received? Be honest. First time and everytime. If you screw up, own it. What would you do if you woke up tomorrow, with all of the same skills and knowledge but you didn't know anybody and only had $100, a smart phone, and a car. How would you re-grow your business? Print some business cards at home, and start canvassing the local law firms, collection agencies, property management companies, and call all the other process serving companies in the area to see who needed a subcontractor. In a way, other than the $100 part, I have done that by my relocation to a new state. What is your parting piece of advice? The two biggest skills a server needs to to first, know your navigational skills, how to get from point a to point b, etc as well as know the area you operate in. Next would be learn how to talk with people and not at them. Treat them the way you would want to be treated and that will solve alot of your problems before they escalate. What is the best way that we can connect with you, and then we can say goodbye? Our website is www.superiorprocessservers.net which lists our services and contact information.

Working for 11 years in Australia government sector he decided to enter the field of Private Investigations and comes on the show to tell his story! Thank you, Olie for dropping some major value bombs on ServerNation! Follow him on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-laurence-72125b10a/

Retired FBI Special Agent in Charge. Former Kansas Gubernatorial Candidate. Host, Crimes and Times, and renouned speaker joins the program to tell us his journey, how to successfully manage a situation with Law Enforcement and he tells some really cool stories!  He tells us about his three books and then about his awesome show, "crimes and times." Crimes and Times is a weekly live stream talk show that airs at 8pm CST. It is hosted by retired FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Tabman. The show features expert guests such as forensic scientists, FBI agents and other law enforcement personnel as well as prosecutors, defense attorneys, subject matter experts and politicians. The show is centered around discussing the current hot topics in crime and politics across the country and around the globe.  

Our guest today is a high-level skip tracer that has years of experience verifying employment for the purposes or collecting a debt. He comes on this special episode to teach us the psychology behind the skip and why we need to care about skip tracing as process servers and private investigators. We talk about Skip Tracing celebrities and ex-girlfriends and what to watch out for as business owners in this industry.  

Tennessee Mom turned private investigator that solved her roommate's murder has helped to find answers for families in need. She has some great stories about her journey and is leading the way with crowdsource investigations with her new podcast. "Without Warning" Go check it out and see if you can help solve her case. She gives us some great tips and Shiela is genuinely an amazing person to share her experience and knowledge. After listening to her podcast, "Without Warning" you have any ideas that might help to solve the case, Call Her Hot Tip Line: 888-599-0008

The Windy City Server gives an insiders look at working in the corporate world and his take on moving to the cloud as a business looking to move forward.    Show Notes Coming Soon!   Sponsor: ServeManager: www.processserverdaily.com/servemanager 

From Repo to Pretext we get the Skip Trace Secrets you've been dying to hear from the skip trace goddess herself.   Show Notes Coming Soon...

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Mike: Welcome back, server nation, to Process Server Daily, the number-one podcast for legal support professionals. I am your host, Mighty Mike, the podcast server. I'm excited about today's episode, and I look forward to knocking your socks off. Let's get right to it. Mike: Welcome back to the show, server nation. We are joined by the owner of Alaska Investigation Agency, located in Palmer, Alaska. He started out his career in the Army Reserves and transitioned into private investigation in 2001. Since then, he has owned and operated numerous investigative agencies across the country. Luke Smith, welcome to the show. Luke: Thank you, Michael. Glad to be here. Mike: Thanks. So Luke, tell us a little bit about how you got started in the industry. Luke: About 15 years ago, 16, 17 years ago, a friend of mine was a police officer in Mississippi. He invited me to go do some surveillance with him on some private cases that he was doing, and I fell in love with it. The investigations morphed into process serving, and so now I do both. Mike: That's excellent. Do you remember your first job, your first investigation job? Luke: My first investigation job, I remember it very well. It was a cheating spouse, and I lost the husband in, like, the first block of trying to follow him. Mike: But you've learned a lot since then, right? Luke: I have learned so much since then. I haven't been burned in quite a while. Knock on wood. And I like to think that I'm pretty good at what I do now. Mike: That's awesome. So we don't like to focus on the negative stuff. As humans, we get a lot out of the negative and rising out of the negative and going into the positive, like finding your path in life. And so my first question always starts out with, tell us about your worst experience working in the field. Luke: My absolute worst experience, I was working a child custody case one time, and I was part of the team that located a mother, and I helped the troopers physically take the child away from the mom. Although it was what was best for the child, it absolutely broke my heart, and I realized then that child custody was not for me. Mike: How do you deal with that, Luke? Luke: You go home, and you hug your kids a little bit tighter and a little bit longer, and you move forward. I know it was what was best for the child, but it still was just heartbreaking, and I even tear up now sometimes when I think back to that child screaming and yelling and wanting his mommy. Mike: Yeah, as a parent we always relate it to our own relationships, and you want to be able to help them. But like you said, it was probably what was best. If the mom spends a few weeks without her kid, a few months without her kid, she might turn things around. You know? Luke: Absolutely. Mike: Luke, what do you want server nation to take from your story? Luke: What I want server nation to take from that particular story is just do right by your kids. Yeah, just be good parents. Mike: That's awesome. Yeah, being good parents is a great thing, and so you can ... Being in this job, one of the beautiful things about this job is you get to see the worst of the worst and you know where things could go. I don't know. In some respects, it makes you happier. You know? Luke: It does. Mike: Let's go to the positive now, Luke. Tell me about your greatest experience working in the field. Luke: I tell you what. I did a job a couple of weeks ago, and I followed a gentleman to a restaurant, and I sat down at the bar two people away from him, and I videoed him eating lunch. And then I followed him to his hotel. Six hours later, I followed him to another restaurant, where I sat right next to him at the bar, and we had dinner together. Mike: Wow. Luke: And then I followed him back to the hotel, and I rode up the elevator with him to find out which room he was in in the hotel. In that particular job, I think I pushed it to the limits just to see how far I could go, and it was such a satisfying feeling because he never had a clue I was even there watching him. Mike: So I'm going to sound like a total new, but did you feel like a CIA agent or something? Luke: Every day. Mike: Oh, that's awesome. Luke: No, I feel that way every day. Mike: What I take most from your story is enjoy what you're doing and go after it. What do you want server nation to take from your greatest experience? Luke: Take a few risks, ask that person that you're following to hold the elevator for you, and if you're trying to find someone and serve someone, ask questions. People love to talk, and they will give you just about all the information you need if you sound like you are supposed to have that information. Mike: Interesting. So I've heard it said before that you ask a question, not a direct question, but a related question that some stranger might actually ask. Luke: Absolutely. Mike: That's a pretty cool ... Do you guys still call that sub rosa? Luke: Yes. Mike: Okay, cool. Look at me knowing all the terms. Okay. So Luke, tell me what you're working on right now that you're most excited about. Luke: I guess probably one thing that I love that I have coming up is I'm adding a canine unit to my business. Mike: That's definitely something worth being excited about. Are you getting German shepherds or ... Luke: I'm getting Belgian Malinois. And actually, I have the opportunity to hire a handler that already has two Mals that are already trained. Mike: Wow. Luke: So I'm super excited about that. Mike: So Luke, tell me, why would you need a canine unit? And I think I know the answer, but could you just tell the audience, as a private investigator, what would you use a canine unit for? Luke: There's so many different uses for a canine. Here recently, Alaska has become one of the states that marijuana is now legal. However, you have a lot of corporations up here that it's still against company policy. So we can run the dogs through the companies to ensure that the employees are not breaking policy. There's no law enforcement side to it, but we are not law enforcement officers, so that's okay. The other area is we found that there are a lot of real estate agents that will have us run the dog through a house to make sure that there's no drugs in the house or there was no meth lab in the house or anything like that, just to limit their liability. Mike: Oh, I never thought about that perspective. Just the civil service. Luke: Sure, yeah, absolutely. So we're really excited to get that up and running. We've already nailed down a few contracts, and so we're really excited about that being a part of our business. Mike: Well, that's definitely worth being excited about. I am excited to hear about how you go and serve people on a snowmobile. How does that happen? Luke: Yeah. So Alaska offers unique challenges to the lower 48. Where are you from, Michael? Mike: I'm from New Mexico, but I'm based in Chico right now, in Chico, California. Luke: We're the largest ... obviously, the largest state in the United States. Here's a good comparison. Denver, Colorado, has one and a half million people. Alaska, there's 700,000 people. So we're the largest state in America, but we have the fewest people per acre or per square mile even of any other state. And so of course, if you call me and say, "Hey, what counties do you serve?" we don't have counties. We have boroughs. And we're statewide, but let's say, for instance, I serve the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is the size of West Virginia, so we have maybe 300,000 people that live in the borough. And so if you could imagine West Virginia and 300,000 people, they're pretty spread out. Mike: Wow. Luke: So there are tons, I mean, hundreds of villages across Alaska that are only accessible in the summertime via plane or boat or a four-wheeler. In the wintertime, you either take a plane or a dog sled or a snow machine. I mean, that's just part of what we do, and we have planes and snow machines and four-wheelers all at our disposal for serving papers and working cases. Mike: That's why you feel like a CIA agent when you're out there because you're in planes and ... You ever jump out of a plane to go serve someone? Luke: No. Mike: Come on! Luke: No. I did jump off of a four-wheeler once. Mike: Wow! And then I heard something about a moose chasing you. Luke: We have wildlife scattered across Alaska. And inside the city of Anchorage, there's a very large population of moose. I've been chased by moose. I've turned corners and been staring a moose face to face, and you just slowly back away. You don't need that 1,800-pound animal trying to trample you. We have bears that you have to deal with sometimes. Luke: So obviously, everywhere we go, we're armed to the teeth, ready for really the wildlife, not the people. But yeah, I've been chased by moose. I've never been chased by wolves, but I've felt them kind of breathing down my neck, if you will. That one was interesting, a little bit scary. The moose aren't really scary. You just know what to expect from them, and you respect them. This was their land first, so we're just visitors on their land anyway, and they believe that. Mike: It's the truth. Luke: Yes. I have video of moose walking down the street in Anchorage in the middle of traffic, and they just do not care. Mike: That is awesome. Server nation, Luke has been dropping some major value bombs on us today, telling us all about Alaska and the crazy private investigation stuff that he's got going on, from the canines to the planes and the quads, you name it. But prepare yourself, because we're headed into the rapid-fire round right after a word from our sponsors. Recording: Server nation, I know you're with the times, and you want to do whatever you can to have all of the resources for your client. That is why I created 123efile.com. As a process server, attorney, or even an [inaudible 00:10:59], you can visit the website and file your documents in any of the Tyler courts in Ca

Mighty Mike: What's up, Server Nation? My name is Michael Reid, the Podcast Server. You are listening to Process Server Daily. On this podcast, we interview the top legal support professionals and get the tips, tools and tactics that they use to get the job done and build a successful company. I'm a big fan of storytelling and I'm excited about today's guest. Mighty Mike: Before we get started, let's give a big shout out to my new sponsor, ServeManager. They have a special gift for all of my listeners at the end of today's episode. Mighty Mike: Okay, Server Nation. We are joined by the owner of On Time Process Services, located in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He specializes in skip trace investigation and serving hard to find individuals. Gary Clayton, welcome to the show. Gary Clayton: Thank you. Mighty Mike: It's good to have you on. Gary, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in this industry. Gary Clayton: So I started in 2014, as kind of a just a side gig as I worked for Sears for approximately 10 years. I went through a divorce myself and during the processes of the divorce, I had to hire a process server to serve my ex-wife. It took him about five minutes, cost $125 that was the moment that said I was in the wrong industry. Mighty Mike: That's so funny, because that's exactly how I got started. Except for he got paid ... Actually, I'm the one who got served and he told me he got paid 50 bucks. How funny. It's crazy. Gary Clayton: Yeah. Mighty Mike: Some of the saddest moments in our lives end up giving us the greatest joys, so that's pretty cool. And so, how about now, you got a family? Gary Clayton: Yeah, so I got five kids, a wife. Being in this industry and being a business owner, sometimes it's got its ups and its downs, and I like the idea of being able to make my own schedule to be with the kids more or with the wife more. Mighty Mike: Yeah, family's definitely the most important and that's one of the reasons I started my own business because I didn't someone to tell me that my life would be turned upside down because I missed one day to go to my daughter's dance recital or something like that. I didn't want anyone to have that kind of control over me and so I'm with you there, brother. Mighty Mike: So Gary, there's a reason why you're on this show, as I always say, you know everybody's got different things going on, but I noticed you over the last doing a lot of really cool things, and so sometimes in the most tragic things come out the greatest triumphs, and so what is your worst experience working the field? Gary Clayton: So probably our worst experience was doing a serve for a divorce party kind of like that are what a majority of our serves are. And we were actually, there two of us servers out there, me and a colleague and we had actually gotten held at gunpoint by three individuals, two males and a female, for about two hours before we had actually gotten rescued. Gary Clayton: That was probably our worst experience as far as serving goes. Mighty Mike: Wow, so tell me more about that. And I don't wanna take you back to you know, much trauma, but take me back to the moment when they were ... did they just pull the gun out, you were at the door, knocking on the door? How did it happen? Gary Clayton: Yeah, so we walked up, we knew it was gonna be a difficult serve, and we were warned that the defendant actually had firearms and was hostile. So we went in a team. We knocked on the door, as soon as we knocked on the door, the defendant opened the door and had had a pistol in his hand right, both me and my colleague. Gary Clayton: We proceeded just to back out of the situation, but as soon as we backed out, two individuals come around the side of house, and both of them had pistols as well. So we were kinda trapped. I was able to reach down and hit real quick on my phone for dispatch, and I threw the phone into the bed of my truck and it took them a little while to get out there to us. Gary Clayton: But we were pretty well trapped, they had us go around to the back of that house and we were stuck there. Mighty Mike: Oh my gosh, what do you think they were gonna do? What were they saying? Gary Clayton: Well there's so many things that go through your head at that time. We were both confident that we were gonna get out safe, but when you're in the moment, five minutes turns into five hours in a couple of seconds. You know it's just crazy how fast it goes. Gary Clayton: When the sheriff's department pulled up there, and finally got us out of that situation, it felt like a ton of bricks off of your shoulders. Mighty Mike: Wow, so tell me about when the sheriff arrived. I mean, they had to have came out guns blazing, right? I mean, hey, "Put your guns down," this type of thing, or? Gary Clayton: Well, actually what happened was, because they didn't have any communication back and forth through the phone, it was just an open line, they didn't really know what was going on. So they came in being cautious, but they didn't bring nearly enough manpower with them. And so it was one officer that came out and once he kinda realized what was going on, he retreated back to his car and then that's when they just started coming in from every angle. Gary Clayton: The defendant and his team, the two individuals that was with him, they came to their senses fairly quick, put their guns down, and surrendered. Mighty Mike: Oh, okay, good. Yeah. That's a pretty ... man that's an intense situation. I've actually never had something that intense. Mighty Mike: You know, I gotta tell you, being able to have ... in the pre-show, we had a little conversation about, you know, being connected to dispatch and stuff. You guys have that privilege I guess you could call it, to be able to speak directly to dispatch, right? Gary Clayton: Yeah, so we all have radios here, where we had to go to actually a pretty extensive training class, each one of us, to be able to connect with dispatch. And when we're out in the areas where cell phones don't work, that's our only communication and so dispatch is pretty good at making sure we're checking in with them and they're checking in with us. Gary Clayton: And if we need backup, depending on what it is, they'll send a sheriff out. We had the incident last week that you had seen online about me following an individual down into California. We had actually radioed to dispatch to see if they would assist us in stopping the vehicle and they were like, "Nope, it's civil, follow them until he stops or you run out of gas." Mighty Mike: Wow, that's crazy. And then, in that story, you followed him down there and then the, what is it, CHP, the state police? Gary Clayton: Yeah, we were originally at the individual, the defendant's house, and as soon as we'd seen him pull in, we pulled in behind him and he was able to wedge his self around my car. And so I pulled out, followed him through town, he jumped on Highway 97, which a highway here, and he started heading towards south. Gary Clayton: A lot of the individuals here Klamath, since we're so close to California, they think that if they go into California, that they can't be served. So as soon as they get on 97 South, we automatically know that they're heading into California, so we contact the Department of Agriculture down there, 'cause they have the transfer station, the bus station we call 'em. Gary Clayton: And they'll typically assist us in stopping 'em, however this day, there was a CHP officer that was actually passing through about ten minutes before we were coming through, and the transfer station supervisor actually stopped CHP and asked him if he would hang out to assist with that. And they did, they were really good at helping us with it. Gary Clayton: However it ended up being a pretty serious situation, they did step in and help us. Mighty Mike: So, a couple things I want to say about your worst experience. First of all, do everything you can to be prepared, because when you think, "Oh, it's probably just one guy, and we got this handled. You know, I got my gun, if he has a gun then we'll handle it," right? Mighty Mike: I know that's a very simplified version, but you know, in this case there were multiple people and then if you did have a gun, now you're having a shootout with three guys. I mean, it's insane what can happen if you're trigger happy. That's one thing. Mighty Mike: It's insane, I mean, did anyone end up getting shot that day? Gary Clayton: No, there was no gunfire and actually we don't carry here. Each one of my process servers, I allow them to make the decision, however, I strongly discourage my individuals or my process servers from carrying, maybe keeping it in a vehicle or something like that. Gary Clayton: We've seen in the past with open carry or concealed carry if the defendant or the individual we're serving sees it, it brings a higher threat. And so we were seeing a lot of pushback from it, so without having a firearm ... Gary Clayton: And yeah, it's a dangerous industry, but we were able to eliminate a lot of problems just by taking the firearms out of the equation. Mighty Mike: Yeah that's, I mean, each business has to make the decision based on their area, based on their ability to handle different situations and I think that's commendable that you made that decision. Mighty Mike: I think maybe too, another way could be to have a concealed weapons permit so that ... I'm not familiar with Oregon's laws on that. Are you able to, is it a law where you can conceal carry? Gary Clayton: Yeah, you can conceal carry. And my process servers, they do conceal carry. We just try to keep the intensity between a firearm and open carry at a bay. Mighty Mike: Well what I get from your story most is be prepared, and be cool and calm and collected and then to be able to get your phone like that and hit it and throw it in the back of the truck the way that you did, I don't know that I could have or would've done,

Coming Soon...

Mighty Mike: What's up Server Nation? My name is Michael Reid, the podcast server. You are listening to Process Server Daily. On this podcast, we interview the top legal support professionals and get the tips, tools, and tactics that they use to get the job done and build a successful company. I'm a big fan of storytelling and I'm excited about today's guest. Mighty Mike: Before we get started, let's give a big shout out to my new sponsor, Server Manager. We have a special gift for all of my listeners at the end of today's episode. Mighty Mike: Okay, Server Nation. We are joined here by the owner of Love to Serve Them, LLC. He has 20 years of experience serving papers both privately and for Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He has covered Los Angeles County and surrounding counties in Southern California since March of 2012. Dave Luce, welcome to the show. Dave Luce: Thanks Mike, glad to be here. Mighty Mike: Awesome, Dave. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in the industry? Dave Luce: Well, I started serving papers in 1996. What had happened is the company I was working for ... The Northridge Earthquake happened and basically imploded the owner's house. So that business went away. And I was in the bar one night talking to one of my high school friends who had an attorney service. He was like, "Why don't you go come work for me for a while?" I was like, "Yeah, I'm not doing anything else right now." Dave Luce: And within a couple of months I started noticing that these attorneys were asking, "Hey, we want this Dave guy to go serve it." And probably about six months later, that business went belly-up. So I'm like, "Well hey, I'll just go get the license and bond." And then I went back to all these attorneys and was like, "Hey, I'm in business for me now. I just do the process service. Let the attorney service do your other stuff." So I already had a built-in clientele. Mighty Mike: That's awesome, Dave. Do you have a family? Dave Luce: Yeah, I have a family. One daughter. Was a single parent for her. We moved back in with my mom a couple years ago to help take care of her. She's 83 now. Mighty Mike: That's really cool, yeah. Family's really important. How old's your daughter? Dave Luce: She's 21. Mighty Mike: Whoa, that's cool. Adult kids. I look forward to that day. Dave Luce: Cherish the time now. Mighty Mike: That's what I hear. So, Dave, there's a reason why you're on the show. You have a lot going on. You're ... I watch you on Facebook and the different things, hearing your posts about the different awards that you've won and things like that. So I'm really excited to hear your story. Lots of good stories, I'm sure, that you have. But we always start here at Process Server Daily, we start with your worst experience working in the field. Tell us a little bit about that. Dave Luce: My worst experience definitely has to be with the Sheriff's Department. In 2003, I was serving a criminal subpoena on a lady for probably the 300th time in three years, and she sicked her 70-pound Chow on me. And I ended up putting two fractures in an ankle, 20 fractures in my knee, unit broke my wrist and got a nerve disease that spread body-wide from there. They were going after her for 8-10 for assault with intent, and she pled out to a year and a half in the state. But that's gotta definitely be my absolute worst because that ended that career. I was not able ... Because I had nerve disease, I could not return to active duty. Mighty Mike: Oh my gosh. And that was while you were with the Sheriff's Department? Dave Luce: Yes. Mighty Mike: Oh man. So it was a Chow Chow, the black ones with the purple tongue? Dave Luce: Yeah, yeah. I was about halfway back to my unit and I heard her open the door and was like, "Sick him." I used to carry a little micro cassette recorder in my pocket, because people would call in and say I said a derogatory name or whatever. And even though it's a he said-she said, something will go on my file. So I'm like, "Oh, no, no, no, no. This ain't happening." So I turn that on, radio in, and then continue on serving case number so-and-so on such-and-such and let it run. And then when I would get one of these complaints, I'd play that tape for my sergeant and my lieutenant. There's my proof that none of this happened, so nothing goes into my file. It's not for legal reasons, it's more just to CYA for me. Mighty Mike: Yeah, no. That's smart. Dave Luce: And you hear all of that on that tape. Mighty Mike: Yeah, that's smart. So you were able to hear the, "Sick him?" Dave Luce: Oh yeah. Mighty Mike: Okay. Dave Luce: And the funny thing is, is she came out and she's laughing because I couldn't get up off the ground. I couldn't even reach the microphone on my shoulder. I just had to hit the red button, what we call the EPIRB button, which as far as the department's concerned, I've just been shot. And you hear her laughing and then all of a sudden you hear her stop and literally every point on the compass sirens are screaming in. I'm right on the border of Altadena, so I've got Altadena sheriffs coming, Pasadena PD coming, fire, ambulance, helicopter. Mighty Mike: Wow. Dave Luce: Yeah. Mighty Mike: Oh, man. And now, did you already tell me? Did she do jail time? Dave Luce: She pled out to a year and a half. So I was like, "Welcome to the family." That's why I served her so many times. She wasn't a criminal, but her all her family and relatives were. And in LA County, only the Sheriffs can serve criminal subpoenas from the DAs and public defenders. And so at least once a week for three years, sometimes two or three times a week, just where she lived, I'd be banging on her door about 10 after five in the morning with one of these subpoenas. And she just went crazy that morning. Mighty Mike: I can't tell you how many times I've interviewed people and the response I got was, "You know, I served her a bunch of times," or, "I served him a bunch of times and I thought, it's gonna be fine. It's been fine every time before. And then this one time." Mighty Mike: And I gotta tell you, dogs are my biggest concern when I'm out serving. I carry a little taser. I don't carry it as much anymore. Maybe just I think I can handle myself more by having a gun and things, but I try not to ... I really don't carry very often. And as far as tasers go, have you ever carried a taser, Dave? Dave Luce: No. No. When needed I'll take a weapon with me, or I have body armor. I'll wear my body armor. But for the most part I just try to keep very low-key. And I've gotta say, I've had way more problems serving for the Sheriff's Department than I've ever had serving privately. Mighty Mike: So what I take privately from your story Dave, for the most part, is to CYA. Having that recorder on you allowed you to be able to prove that she wanted her dog to do that. In some circumstances, the dog could have bit you and she could have gotten in no trouble at all. The dog broke out of the gate, or whatever, depending on what her defense might be, so that was a really good thing. So this was an audio recorder, or a video recorder? Dave Luce: No, no, an audio. It's one of those little tiny cassette recorders where the cassette is maybe an inch. Totally old school. This 2003 when this happened, but I started doing it in 2001. Mighty Mike: Oh, okay. Dave Luce: Well no, 2000, because I started with the Sheriff's Department in 2000. Mighty Mike: But that's the technology that they had at that time and you guys were utilizing it, luckily, so that's a great story. What do you want Server Nation to get from your story? Dave Luce: Well for me, I think the best thing for any process server is to have total situational awareness. Be aware of what's going on around you, what's going on in front of you and what's going on behind you. Because I have some areas that I go into, covering all of Los Angeles County, that are really nasty areas. I've served down in Watts and Compton. I've never even felt fearful down there. Mighty Mike: Wow. Either that's because it's not as bad as they say or you're just a bad mamma jamma... Dave Luce: It can be as bad as they say, but like I said, I keep situational awareness. I see what's going on when I first pull up in front of the property. And if there's stuff going on that I don't feel safe doing it, I'll call for backup. I'll call LAPD or I'll call the local PD and say, "Hey, I'm a registered process server. I'm here to serve eviction papers. I just need some backup to keep the peace." And they respond. Mighty Mike: I was gonna say, do they ... Because in a lot of counties they're like, "Well, we'll see if we can send someone out." And you're there for an hour. Almost doesn't make sense to even sit around, because sometimes you wonder if they're even gonna show. So they were pretty supportive down there? Dave Luce: Yeah, they're very supportive. And you just tell them not, "I'm just here to serve this." It's, "I'm registered LA County." I give them my number. "And I'm here to serve such and such. This is what's going on. I just need some backup." Or, if I show up at say a private community, which as you know here in California, they have to allow us access when there's a guard at the gate. There have been some times where the guard doesn't want to let me in, and it's like, "Here's the deal. Either you let me in or I'm gonna call the PD. One, you're required by state law, and two, you could end up getting arrested for obstruction." Dave Luce: And every now and then they'll be like, "Yeah. No, go ahead and call." I had one, it was hilarious. I waited probably an hour, hour and a half for them to come. It was right up at the top of the mountains in Mulholland in the Hollywood Hills. The unit they dispatched was from Santa Monica, and it was a sergeant and a senior officer. And I said, "Yeah, I'm here. I showed them my ID and the papers and he wouldn't let me in. I even showed him the statute." He's like, "Wa