Serving process abroad touches virtually every aspect of civil litigation.
It happens all the time. I’ll give a lecture or mention what I do at a bar association event, and the colleague I
Serving Overseas: Divorce
The Huissier de Justice and the Gerechtsdeurwaarder– civil law bailiffs’ role in U.S. litigation
(As of 2022… French Huissiers are now called Commissaires de Justice…)
To most American lawyers, service pursuant to the Hague Service Convention means filling out an inscrutable Article 5 request form, putting a jumble of paperwork into decipherable order, and mailing it off into some
Brexit and its effect on Hague Service… meh.
A frequent scenario of late (I really do get this frequently): I’ve just met another lawyer at…
- an alumni association event,
- dinner at a friend’s place,
- in the lobby of the Kauffman Center during
How to Serve Process in Australia (updated 2026)
Many of us have a certain image of Australia pressed into our minds because of Hollywood. It’s either Crocodile Dundee or The Crocodile Hunter or… hang on, is there just something about crocodile guys with Down Under accents that make Americans part willingly with cash? There’s so much more to this curious country continent that
How to Serve Process in Singapore
[This post was rendered moot on December 1, 2023 with the entry into force of the Hague Service Convention in Singapore. For updated procedures, simply click here.]
At the far south end of the Malay Peninsula lies a tiny city
How to Serve Process in Finland
I say all the time that we ain’t building rockets here. But we are communicating. And if your phone doesn’t work correctly, you have problems. The sturdiest cellphone I ever owned was a decade ago– in the pre-smartphone days. It was a
Germany, Hague Service, and Punitive Damages
An interesting Catch-22 sometimes faces U.S. lawyers when they try to serve a complaint with punitive damages on a German defendant. Germany’s public policy disdains punitive damages– indeed, until recently (that is, until the last couple of decades), they didn’t even conceptualize punitives in
How to Serve Process in Denmark (updated 2024)
I say all the time that we aren’t building rockets here. But we are building a ship, and a leaky ship means that your people could not possibly reach North America from Europe. Do it the right way, and you’re the FIRST EUROPEANS TO REACH NORTH AMERICA. That’s right, I said it.
The Hague Service Convention doesn’t just apply to process.
I hate to be the guy who breaks this to you, I said to the client, but there is no chance that you’ll be able to get that notice of hearing served in time. Not properly, anyway.
Poor fellow was a first-year associate, trying to get a notice of a guardianship hearing served on
How to Serve Process in Norway (updated 2026)
I say all the time that we aren’t building rockets here. But we are building a ship, and a leaky ship means that your people could not possibly reach North America from Europe. Do it the right way, and you’re the FIRST EUROPEANS TO REACH NORTH AMERICA. That’s right, I said it.