*1. Fold the top of the blue sheet so that the white space is now folded down and the lines with the first lines typed are in the top 6. Scroll down the blue sheet. It should now cover the top of all pages and on the BACL with the printed words facing outward. A particularly stupid local rule for Los Angeles County is that each submission must have a BLUE SUPPORT, meaning that a piece of light blue paper must be stapled to the top half inch of paperwork, folded on top, and beyond the papers, go down about an inch down and have typed what the papers are for. The use of blue backs is extremely annoying. When I started my own business, I had a case in a jurisdiction that required bluebacks for many types of legal documents. I had to order bluebacks from a legal supplier, and they cost about 50 cents per pop, which (not to sound cheap) seems like a lot for a piece of paper! I couldn`t find a blueback form to fill out online, so I had to create one in Word to fill in the spaces on the blue back. (And I wasted a lot of bluebacks trying to get the formatting right!) Also, you need to be very precise when pinning the blue back to the papers to make sure you`re aligning everything correctly.
The papers look a little more professional when they`re “blue-backed,” but I don`t think it`s worth it. 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 regarding the practice of law in a particular jurisdiction and contains information about a particular case (and the document to which it is attached). Most often, blue or black ink is used to sign documents. The reason for this is that the color between the black text walls stands out on the document, while being dark enough to read. The blue ink also indicates that the document is an original and not a copy. Technically called process bribe, the blue back is printed with the material label and contains several blank forms for proof of delivery, certification and verification, which can be used in each case if necessary. Today, many federal and state jurisdictions require the use of a blue document cover to distinguish a particular type of document. For example, Los Angeles Superior Court Rule 9.2(f) requires that any “lawyer-generated document be appended to a `blue back` that serves as a document tab.
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 blueback referred to the blue cover of legal documents. Technically called process bribe, the blue back is printed with the material label and contains several blank forms for proof of delivery, certification and verification, which can be used in each case if necessary. It is usually personalized with the card of the law firm or the pro-se party that presents the documents it contains. The public became familiar with the blue backs by seeing the documents covered in blue in courtrooms or being used as props in films and television series. Over the years, the meaning of Blueback has expanded to include all document covers that include legal documents such as contracts, powers of attorney, wills, etc. Some lawyers, though. Use colors other than blue for their legal covers to distinguish their documents from those of other lawyers. Any loan document involving a borrower who is not a resident of the United States has an appropriate legal form under the law of the jurisdiction in which such borrower is arranged, constituted, or registered for enforcement against such borrower under the law of that jurisdiction.
Today, Blumberg`s offers blue-coated envelopes as well as linen and manuscript envelopes for use in litigation and transactional documents. Use blue paper in legal size, enter the case label. For example, in the United States, it began in the 19th century, when in jurisdictions like New York, the word blueback referred to the blue cover of legal documents. Learn more about Bluebacks here. Many lawyers use red-coated paper (also called “red paper” or “briefing document”) for briefs, certain contracts, and other documents. The red lined paper is so named because a red line runs vertically on the left side of the paper. Often, lawyers use special red-bordered paper for the first page of a document containing the firm`s contact information, and then simply paper with a red line down for all other pages. Many litigators understand what bluebacks (also known as “legalbacks”) are, but transactional lawyers (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 regarding the practice 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 the papers less likely to be damaged, or maybe it`s because the blue backs make the papers more professional. Regardless, many court rules and individual practices in some jurisdictions still require bluebacks to be pinned to the back of legal documents. As some readers close to my articles may know, to get through the monotony of quarantine, I`ve seen The Office pretty much every night for the past six months. There`s something reassuring about watching the events of employees at a fictional paper company that made quarantine a little more bearable. Watching this show repeatedly (and listening to the Office Ladies podcast) was eerily reminiscent of paper, especially the 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 obsolete paper products that can be dispensed with in order to adopt the increasingly paperless way in which 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 businesses have recently provided and filed most documents electronically due to COVID-19. A blue book defines the technical specifications of a technology or device. A yellow book is a document that contains research results that have not yet been officially accepted or published in a scientific journal. It is synonymous with the more widely used term preprint. Now that courts and litigants are embracing electronic service and filing documents en masse to address the challenges of COVID-19, I think it`s time to drop the blue backs forever. In fact, one of the states I practice in (New Jersey) doesn`t use bluebacks extensively, which apparently suggests we can survive without bluebacks. The only advantage of blue backs I can see is that some companies adopt their own colors like blue for their legal backs, so you can tell if the papers are from those companies, just by the color of the back. I don`t want to name names, but many New York lawyers know which remarkable firm often uses pink backs! In any case, bluebacks should probably be discarded as legal practice becomes less dependent on printed materials. As many lawyers know, legal paper is 8.5 inches x 14 inches of paper, much longer than standard paper.
Lawyers should completely abandon legal paper in favor of the standard paper we all know and love. Longer paper in legal format does not fit in most files and other accessories related to legal practice, and paper in legal format makes it extremely difficult to digitize items. Legal-sized paper is so old-fashioned, and I almost exclusively see legal-sized paper when I check old wills, deeds, and the like. In fact, the use of paper in the legal format 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 in how we use paper in the legal profession, and if there`s a good reason why paper should be used in the legal size (outside the rules in some jurisdictions), feel free to contact me, I`m interested! I am voluntarily dissolving a non-profit organization. I have forms and exhibits (certificate of incorporation, amendments, etc.) that must be inserted on the blue back for the court record; How do you attach items to the blue back and label them? (staples, pins, others, etc.) Is there a reference/instructions I can get? Thank you.