Legal courier service for law and financial firms
When a signed contract, court bundle or original deed has to be somewhere today, we send one driver to collect it from your office and hand it to the named recipient, with a signed, timed record of every handover.
- Hand delivery to a named recipient
- Signed and timed at every handover
- Out of hours for urgent matters
Deadlines that don't move
Legal and financial work has a habit of producing documents at the last minute that must arrive by a fixed time. A court filing deadline, a tender closing at noon, a completion that can't happen until the signed transfer is back, a set of accounts that a lender wants before the board meets. Post and next-day networks were not built for that, and DX is a next-day service.
We approach this from your firm's point of view. One driver collects from your reception, carries the documents directly to the destination and hands them to the person you name. You get live updates while they are on the road, and a signed, timed proof of delivery when they arrive. For general information on how we handle documents of all kinds, see our document courier page; this page covers the work that law firms, chambers, accountants and financial firms send us.
Typical legal and financial consignments
Exchange and completion
The undertakings given on exchange typically commit each firm to despatching its signed contract that day, and a courier is the most direct way to do it. Around completion, signed transfer deeds, original title documents and sometimes keys need to reach the other side's solicitor quickly. A driver who collects at 3.30 pm and delivers by hand that afternoon removes one of the variables from a day that already has plenty.
Court bundles and filing deadlines
Many courts now take filings and bundles electronically, but paper bundles are still required for some hearings, and they are heavy. Ten lever arch files for a trial in the Rolls Building, or a set of hearing bundles for a county court in Leeds, are better in a van than in a taxi boot. We deliver to the court building, but the court's counter hours and its rules on paper filings are what matter, so check them before you book a late delivery.
Original deeds and wills
Originals are often irreplaceable. When a client moves firm, when firms merge, or when a will is needed for probate, boxes of deeds and wills move between offices. A dedicated vehicle keeps the consignment together, and the signed record shows exactly when it changed hands.
Tender bids and signed agreements
Most public tenders are submitted electronically, but some still ask for hard copies, signed originals or samples by a fixed time. A bid for a contract with a council in Birmingham that must be at reception by 12.00 noon needs a delivery planned for mid-morning, not one that leaves at 11.00 am. Our guide to organising time-critical business deliveries explains how to build in a margin.
Accountancy and year-end papers
Accountants collect client records before year-end, return them after the accounts are prepared, and move signed accounts and engagement letters between clients and offices. A van can collect a dozen archive boxes from a client's premises in one trip, and the proof of delivery confirms when the originals were returned.
Evidence and expert material
In civil disputes, original documents and physical items often need to go from your firm to an expert, or from one firm to another, with a clear record of who held them. That might be a failed component in a product liability claim going to an engineer. We carry these items directly, record the collection and delivery with names, times and signatures, and, where you use numbered tamper-evident bags, record the seal numbers you give us on the job. We do not provide police or forensic evidence services.
How a legal collection works
A legal collection is booked with your matter reference, deadline and named recipient, collected from your reception in a sealed envelope or tamper-evident bag, and driven directly to the destination with no other stops. The named recipient signs for it, and the proof of delivery comes to you straight away.
- Book with the details that matter
Give us the matter reference, the collection contact, the recipient's name and phone number, and the deadline. Tell us if the documents are originals or if a wait and return is needed.
- Seal and hand over
Put the documents in a sealed envelope or tamper-evident bag. The driver collects from your reception and records the time and the name of the person handing over. Where you use numbered tamper-evident bags, give us the seal numbers and we will record them on the job.
- Direct delivery
The driver goes straight to the destination with no other stops. You receive live updates, and we contact you if anything could affect the deadline.
- Named recipient signs
The documents are handed to the person you named, or an alternative you have approved. Their name, signature and the time go on the proof of delivery, which we send to you straight away.
Our guide to proof of delivery explains what the record contains and how firms use it on the file.
Get a quote for this jobor call 020 4525 2039, any time
Out of hours, confidentiality and urgent applications
Injunctions, freezing orders and urgent applications do not wait for office hours. We run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including bank holidays, so we can take papers to counsel's home late in the evening, deliver signed undertakings first thing on a Saturday, or collect instructions from a client's house on a Sunday. Our urgent courier service covers short-notice bookings, and we confirm an estimated collection time when you book, based on where the nearest suitable vehicle is.
We deliver documents; we do not act as process servers. If documents must be formally served, follow the court rules or instruct a process server.
Whatever the hour, keep anything that identifies the client or matter inside the sealed packaging rather than on the outside, and give us only the details needed to deliver.
For firms that send regularly
Firms with a steady flow of court runs, client deliveries or inter-office transfers usually open a business account, so fee earners can book against matter references and costs can be recharged. Daily runs between offices, or between your office and a regular court, can be set up as a scheduled courier route. We collect and deliver anywhere in mainland UK, from chambers in London to client offices in Edinburgh or Cardiff.
FAQ
Common questions
Can your proof of delivery be used as proof of service?
Our proof of delivery records where the documents were delivered, the time, and the name and signature of the person who received them. It is a useful record, but it is not a certificate of service. Whether a delivery counts as valid service depends on the court rules and any order, so your fee earner should decide the method. Where personal service is required, instruct a process server.
Can a driver wait at a client's office while a contract is signed?
Yes. Tell us at booking that you need a wait and return, who will be signing, and roughly how long it should take. The driver waits, collects the signed documents and brings them back to your office or takes them on to a third address. Any waiting time is included in your quote, so a realistic estimate helps keep the price fixed.
We need papers at counsel's home tonight for an urgent hearing. Can you help?
Yes. We run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so late-evening and weekend collections from your office or a fee earner's home are routine. Give us the address and a mobile phone number for counsel or the clerk, and we will send you live updates and a signed proof of delivery once the papers are handed over.
Is a courier better than DX for legal documents?
They do different jobs. DX suits routine correspondence between member firms where next-day arrival is fine. A dedicated courier is the better choice when the documents must arrive the same day, at a specific time, at a non-member address such as a court, client or expert, or when you need a signed record of who received the originals.
How do you handle confidential client documents?
The driver carries your consignment from collection to delivery without opening it, and nobody else handles it on the way. We recommend sealing documents in an envelope or tamper-evident bag before collection. Where you use numbered tamper-evident bags, give us the seal numbers and we will record them on the job. If delivery must be to the named person only, tell us in writing at booking, and the driver will hand it only to that person or an alternative you have approved.
Can we set up an account for regular work across several fee earners?
Yes. Approved firms can open a business account with invoicing, which lets fee earners and secretaries book jobs against matter references so costs can be recharged to clients. Credit checks apply. See our business accounts page for how to apply.
Last updated