Several years ago, we started a series of jurisdiction-specific posts outlining the Hague Service Convention and options for serving in each place. How to Serve Process in England and Wales was first published in 2017 and has been periodically updated since– including some of my favorite travel pictures from my CLE adventures every other summer. That post lays out general information about the Convention, the UK’s allowable means of service, and a short description of the benefits and drawbacks of each. Rather than make you read up on the whole thing, I want you to have my quick and to-the-point advice:
Link to Just do it privately. Just do it privately.
My rationale is very simple. Going this route works, it doesn’t take very long, and it doesn’t require a herculean effort on the part of plaintiff’s counsel. The act of service itself over there looks exactly like it does in New York or Chicago or San Francisco. You just have to do it the right way, and that’s where it can be challenging.
Yes, mail service is valid, but I contend that it’s a bad idea.
Yes, you can Request (that’s capitalized intentionally) that service be directed by the Foreign Process Section at the Royal Courts (the UK’s Hague Central Authority), but that takes a while– usually several weeks, if not months, until proof comes back. And at that, the FPS sometimes uses registered mail, which often fails for lack of a signature.
But if you rely on the right process server, there’s no need for hand-wringing over strategy. Just make sure the process server is directed by a solicitor, and make sure the proof is written up to reflect the proper Article of the Hague Service Convention.
So how do you go about it?
- You can do it yourself. Find English counsel to direct their own preferred agent and apply the correct English law.
- Or just let my people handle the whole thing for you.
Good luck.