STATSERVE Helps Arizona Businesses Respond to Important Legal Notices

    PHOENIX / MESA, AZ, May 05, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Arizona businesses can receive the full benefit of their corporate status through the use of STATSERVE , a new statutory agent service offered by Mesa law firm Gibson Ferrin & Riggs, PLC. The new service helps businesses avoid default judgments and revoked corporate status through the use of proprietary systems that ensure the legal notices to the company are handled properly.

Arizona law requires that every corporation or limited liability company identify a statutory agent authorized to receive legal notices. Companies that fail to properly respond to service of legal documents risk serious legal exposure, including having a default judgment entered against the company or having their corporate status revoked, which could lead to devastating and expensive consequences. STATSERVE allows companies to meet the legal requirements, while ensuring that legal notices are handled promptly, professionally, and confidentially.

Many business owners unwittingly create avoidable problems for themselves when they act as statutory agent for their companies, noted Scott Gibson, Managing Partner of Gibson Ferrin & Riggs, PLC. Problems can arise unintentionally if the owner fails to update his address with the Arizona Corporation Commission when the company moves.

Other problems can arise through mistake or inadvertence. "If documents served on a company get misplaced or ignored, the results can be devastating," Gibson said.

Gibson related an instance where the receptionist at a company had a judgment entered against her when she failed to pay a creditor. When the creditor sought to garnish the woman's wages, she accepted service on behalf of the company and promptly discarded the garnishment papers. Because the employer did not respond to the garnishment, the creditor had a judgment entered against the employer. The business owner did not learn of the garnishment or the judgment until the creditor garnished the company's bank accounts.

"The business owner thought that he could get by without an outside statutory agent," Gibson said. "We were able to set aside the judgment against the company, but it cost the owner quite a bit of money and some sleepless nights while we resolved this avoidable problem."

Under STATSERVE, Gibson Ferrin & Riggs, PLC serves as statutory agent for the company, handling all legal requirements in a professional and timely manner. The firm has developed proprietary systems and procedures to ensure that documents served during normal business hours are reviewed by an attorney, who promptly assesses how to respond to the documents and recommends a plan of action to the business owner. Because the services are provided by a law firm, the documents are handled in a dependable and confidential manner.

"In difficult economic times, business owners should not have to worry about avoidable problems," Gibson said. "STATSERVE will help business owners preserve, protect, and promote their business interests."

As a leading Phoenix/Mesa law firm, Gibson Ferrin & Riggs, PLC concentrate their practice on serving small business owners and their families with business related issues, estate planning and family law. They can help identify and assess the things that matter most to you and work to preserve, protect and promote them. The firm's expertise in family law, business law, commercial litigation and estate law is recognized throughout the Phoenix/Mesa area. For more information on how Arizona business owners can preserve, protect and promote their company, please contact Frankie Conway at 480-633-8100 or visit the website at www.gfrlaw.net.

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