Today, Blumberg`s offers blue-covered envelopes as well as linen and manuscript envelopes for use in litigation and transactional documents. Over the years, the word blueback has also opted for certain legal documents whose cover is not necessarily blue. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for example, requires a document called “The Standard Blueback Contract” for services that exceed $19,100, but does not require it to have blue coverage. Many litigants understand what blue notes (also known as “legal backs”) are, but transactional attorneys (and lawyers in some states) may not know what this common legal paper product is. A blue back is a heavier, longer piece of paper that is usually stapled to the back of legal documents. A blue note usually contains standard language that refers to the exercise of law in a particular jurisdiction and contains information about a particular case (and the document to which it is attached). I don`t know why blue backs are still used. Maybe it`s because they make papers less likely to be damaged, or maybe it`s because the blue backs make the papers look more professional. Regardless, many individual court rules and practices in some jurisdictions still require that blue backs be stapled to the back of legal documents. Many lawyers use red line paper (also known as “red ruling” or “pleading” paper) for pleadings, certain contracts, and other documents.
Red paper is so called because a red line extends vertically on the left side of the paper. Often, lawyers use special red-line paper for the first page of a document that contains the firm`s contact information, and then simply paper with a red line that extends over all the other pages. Today, many federal and state jurisdictions require the use of a blue document envelope to distinguish a particular type of document. For example, Los Angeles Superior Court Rule 9.2(f) requires that each “attorney-generated document be appended to a `blue back` that serves as a register of documents.” The tradition of associating legal documents with the color blue was born in England a few hundred years ago. In the United States, it began in the 19th century, when in jurisdictions like New York, the word blue back referred to the blue envelope of legal documents. Technically called litigation, the blue note is printed with the title of the case and contains several blank forms for proof of delivery, certification and verification, which can be used as needed in each case. It is usually personalized with the map of the law firm or the prose part that presents the documents it contains. Audiences got to know Bluebacks by seeing the blue-covered documents in courtrooms or by being used as props in movies and TV dramas. As many lawyers know, legal-sized paper measures 8.5 inches by 14 inches, which is much longer than standard paper. Lawyers should definitely abandon legal-sized paper altogether for the standard paper we all know and love.
Longer paper in legal format does not fit into most files and other accessories related to legal practice, and paper in legal format makes it extremely difficult to digitize articles. Legal-sized paper is so old-fashioned, and I almost exclusively see legal-sized paper when I check old wills, deeds, etc. In fact, the use of legal-sized paper seems to be very intergenerational, and in my experience, old-school lawyers use this paper much more often than younger lawyers. However, we should be more consistent with how we use paper in the legal profession, and if there is a good reason why paper should be used in legal size (outside the rules in some jurisdictions), please contact me, I am interested! Using blue backs is extremely annoying. When I started my own business, I had a case in a jurisdiction that required blue notes for many types of legal documents. I had to order bluebacks from a legal supplier, and they cost around 50 cents per pop, which (not to sound cheap) sounds a lot for a piece of paper! I couldn`t find a form to fill out for online bluebacks, so I had to create one in Word to fill in the fields on the blueback. (And I wasted a lot of bluebacks to get the right formatting!) Also, when you pin the blue back to the papers, you need to be very specific to make sure you`re aligning everything correctly. Papers look a little more professional when they`re “blue-backed,” but I don`t think it`s worth it. Over the years, the meaning of Blueback has been expanded to include any document coverage that includes legal documents such as contracts, powers of attorney, wills, and more. Some lawyers, however.
Use colors other than blue for their legal covers to distinguish their documents from those of other lawyers. Now that courts and litigants are rolling out electronic deliveries and e-filings to address the challenges of COVID-19, I think it`s time to abandon Bluebacks forever. In fact, one of the states I practice in (New Jersey) doesn`t have widespread use of blue backs, suggesting we can survive without a blue back. The only advantage of blue backs that I can see is that some companies adopt their own colors other than blue for their legal back, so you can tell if the papers of these companies are just by the color of the back. I don`t want to name names, but many New York lawyers know which well-known law firm often uses pinkbacks! Either way, blue backs should probably be thrown away as legal practice becomes less dependent on printed material. As some readers close to my articles may know, to overcome the monotony of quarantine, I`ve seen The Office just about every night for the past six months. There`s something reassuring about watching the events of the employees of a fictitious paper company that made quarantine a little more bearable. Watching this show repeatedly (and listening to The Office Ladies podcast) strangely made me think of paper, especially stationery and paper products that people use in the legal profession. With all due respect to the Dunder Mifflins and the real paper companies of the world, many lawyers still cling to outdated paper products that can be done without to take advantage of the increasingly paperless way most lawyers practice law. In any case, lawyers should abandon certain types of paper products in favor of efficiency and cost savings, especially since many companies have recently processed and filed most documents electronically due to COVID-19.
Coronavirus, COVID-19, Jordan Rothman, Paper, Small Law Firms, Technology Printed Linen Finish Plain Linen Finish, No Plate Plain Linen Finish, No Panel Corner Cutting Although many lawyers have recently stopped using certain paper products, many lawyers are still clinging to outdated paper products. Nevertheless, lawyers should abandon certain types of paper products to take advantage of the increasingly dematerialized and standardized world in which we practice law. .