SUBPOENA RESPONSE
MACU & Logix Credit Union
Transforming subpoena response at financial institutions
“Better be careful he doesn’t hand you a subpoena.”
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
The warning may be sound, but most financial institutions can’t
avoid being handed a subpoena—often many times a day. Each
one requires intake and assessment, then collecting and securely
delivering responsive documents. Requests proliferate, and it
becomes a challenge to respond properly and on time.
THE CHALLENGE
Working with disjointed processes
that rely on outdated technology
Like most companies, Logix Credit Union
and Mountain America Credit Union
were doing the best they could with manual
processes that relied on 1990s technology. No
purpose-built system was available to manage
their responses, so the only options were to
either invest in expensive, custom-developed
software or make do with their existing
programs and resources.
Both Logix and Mountain America tracked requests with
manual entry in spreadsheets, created folders
to collect and vet responsive documents, and
delivered responses using email, couriers or
SFTP. To try and get their costs reimbursed,
they had to manually create invoices and
then track down payment from issuers. For
Logix, pursuing a small response fee wasn’t
worth the effort unless they used a courier
for delivery. Mountain America billed more often, but
collection results were mixed and following
up on payment created more work.
CLIENT PROFILE
COMPANY
Logix Federal Credit Union
HEADQUARTERS
San Diego, California
OLD PROCESS
Tracked with spreadsheets
OLD DELIVERY
Email or FedEx package
OLD INVOICING
Manually, and only for responses delivered via FedEx
COMPANY
Mountain America Credit Union
HEADQUARTERS
Salt Lake City, Utah
OLD PROCESS
Tracked with spreadsheets
OLD DELIVERY
SFTP file transfer
OLD INVOICING
Quicken payment request
Safari SOP
Transforming subpoena response at financial institutions
“We weren’t looking for a subpoena response system and didn’t know that a system like Safari existed. It’s worked really well for us. It’s easy to use and the ability to audit the entire process is important.”
Jonathan RuppGeneral Counsel,
Mountain America
THE SOLUTION
Simplifying with updated technology
In response to these challenges, Logix and
Mountain America both discovered a better way with
Safari SOP. They’ve identified at least five
major benefits.
SIGNIFICANT TIME SAVINGS
Using Safari to automate previously manual processes, both credit unions estimate that they are saving 30-45 minutes per request.- Quickly routing for attorney approval within the system
- Auto-generating standard documents and communications (e.g., custodian declaration or acknowledgement to issuer)
- Making responses available using the built-in ServePort™ portal, eliminating separate setup and payment for delivery
- Auto-generating invoices and presenting them in the portal rather than sending them
- Collecting credit card payment in the system when the issuer downloads the response, so there’s no need for follow up
“Our motto is ‘smarter banking,’ and our legal process team is working smarter with Safari. We’ve eliminated tracking in spreadsheets and automated our subpoena response processes. And because invoicing and payment are so simple, we’ve also increased collections.”
Nick MitchellVice President, Legal Affairs,
Logix
SECURE, INTEGRATED ONLINE DELIVERY
- Safari’s built-in portal automatically sends login credentials to the issuer and makes responsive documents available for download
IMPROVED COST RECOVERY
- Logix previously sought cost recovery only if a response was delivered via FedEx (versus email). Now, with consistent invoicing, their average recovery has increased by 50%.
- Mountain America increased average cost recovery per info request from $24 to $96.
“Prior to Safari, we were recovering about 60% of what we invoiced. As part of our implementation, we learned we weren’t billing enough to cover our response costs. And now that we’ve automated collections, we’re recovering nearly 4 times as much.”
Amanda SundellLegal Processing Specialist,
Mountain America
Safari SOP
Transforming subpoena response at financial institutions
AUTOMATED TRACKING AND REPORTING
- Within each request, every action is captured in the audit history, including what documents were provided, when the issuer accessed them, and when the invoice was paid
- All information is reportable (e.g., request types, costs recovered, and trends).
“It’s not like you need training. Setting up Safari was a breeze. After a short walk-through call, we started processing subpoenas right away.”
Christina DiBiancaLegal Support Analyst,
Logix
Hear how ServePort streamlined Mountain America's subpoena response process.
QUICK IMPLEMENTATION, IMMEDIATE BENEFITS
- Logix completed the entire process—technical review, contract review, system setup, and training—in 3 weeks.
- Mountain America’s roll-out of single sign-on involved a 30-minute technical meeting. They then went live following a 90-minute implementation and training call.
CONCLUSION
Safari SOP makes it possible
Safari is the first system designed specifically to meet the challenges of routine information requests. It’s a simple-to-deploy alternative that is providing quantifiable benefits to customers. In fact, Safari might be your law department’s easiest opportunity for process improvement.
“Last month we used the Safari ServePort portal to deliver over 1,100 responsive files. It was so easy, and we have a built-in audit record of everything. I can’t imagine going back to our old system.”
Amanda SundellLegal Processing Specialist,
Mountain America
NEXT STEPS
- Schedule a conversation with a Safari workflow specialist or live demo of the system over Zoom: SafariSOP.com/demo
- Contact Safari Sales at sales@safariSOP.com or 425.298.3620
- View more resources in the Safari Watering Hole