KERN LEGAL SERVICES INC

What KERN LEGAL SERVICES INC does

KERN LEGAL SERVICES INC operates as Direct Legal Support, Inc., a six-employee legal support services firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company provides skip tracing, process serving, e-filing, e-recording, records retrieval, physical court filing, writ levies, and out-of-state subpoena services to law firms and legal departments on a strictly B2B basis. Skip tracing and ancillary background searches are restricted to legal industry buyers, underscoring a vertical go-to-market strategy.

The core product is a Standard Skip Trace priced at $195, which aggregates database searches, USPS address verification, property data, credit header data, social media, and Secretary of State records. The firm bundles specialized add-ons including criminal and civil history searches ($75-$95 per county), DMV and real estate searches, a Basic Liability Search at $395, a Post Office Box 'Bust' service at $35, and a Due Diligence Declaration for service of process by publication at $175. The technology stack is a multi-source record aggregation workflow rather than a proprietary platform; no API, SDK, or AI capability is disclosed.

Revenue is generated entirely through per-transaction fees with no subscription or recurring component. Distribution is direct via the directlegal.com website portal and an 800-number enterprise phone line. Geographic reach is claimed nationwide for service of process, with e-filing capability concentrated in California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Texas. Despite the broad service footprint, the firm operates from a single Los Angeles office with minimal disclosed headcount, partnership activity, or capital structure, indicating a small-scale, founder-operated services business.

Name

KERN LEGAL SERVICES INC

Legal name

Direct Legal Support, Inc.

Website

https://losangelesskiptracing.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Direct Legal Support, Inc. (operating as KERN LEGAL SERVICES INC) is a six-employee Los Angeles-based legal support services firm providing skip tracing, process serving, e-filing, and records retrieval exclusively to law firms and legal departments across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Support Services

NAICS

Other Legal Services (54119), All Other Legal Services (541199)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Litigation Support & Civil Investigations (Witness/Asset/Skip Tracing) (BPAKAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Skip Tracing & Locate Services (Address/Phone/Employer Discovery) (BPAAAEAF), eDiscovery, Litigation Support & Legal Hold (BPAEAPAE)

Keywords

• Legal support services
• Skip tracing services
• Process serving
• E-filing services
• Records retrieval

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Skip Tracing Services: One-time fee-based skip tracing services including standard traces, extensive traces, and specialized searches. Fees vary by service complexity, information availability, and urgency level.
2. Background and Records Searches: Individual search services including criminal history, civil history, entity searches, real estate searches, DMV searches, and basic liability searches, each charged as discrete one-time transactions.
3. Additional Service Fees: Fees for out-of-state service, priority/rush processing, service of process (separate from skip trace), and remote/rural area surcharges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Direct Legal Support, Inc. (DBA of Kern Legal Services Inc.) provides skip tracing, process serving, e-filing, e-recording, records retrieval, physical court filing, writ levies, and out-of-state subpoena services exclusively to law firms and legal departments. The core skip trace offering combines database, USPS, property, credit header, social media, and Secretary of State searches to locate defendants, witnesses, debtors, and companies for service of legal process.

Product overview

Direct Legal Support offers a suite of legal support services primarily focused on service of process and skip tracing. The core offerings include process serving across the United States, e-filing services in California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Texas, e-recording, records retrieval, physical court filing, writ levies, skip tracing, and out-of-state subpoena services. The main product is Standard Skip Trace at $195, with various add-on services for additional searches and priority handling. The company serves law firms and legal departments, providing defendant, witness, and debtor location services along with related court and legal document handling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard Skip Trace

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DueProcess.com: DueProcess.com is a process serving and skip tracing company serving attorneys, law firms, and pro se litigants. It is a direct peer in skip tracing and process serving, with similar transaction-based pricing to law firm customers.
• ABC Legal Services: ABC Legal Services is a national process serving and court filing company offering skip tracing, e-filing, and records retrieval to law firms. It is a direct competitor with broader geographic coverage and a more developed technology platform than Direct Legal Support.
• Accurate Serve: Accurate Serve is a nationwide process serving company serving attorneys and law firms. It is a direct competitor in the legal process serving category, with comparable offerings in skip tracing and document retrieval.
• ServeNow (ServeManager): ServeNow operates a process serving and skip tracing marketplace that connects law firms with local servers nationwide. It is directly comparable in target customer (law firms), core service (process serving, skip tracing), and pricing model (per-job transactions).
• One Legal: One Legal is a legal support services provider offering process serving, e-filing, court filing, and records retrieval to law firms. It overlaps directly with Direct Legal Support's e-filing states (CA, IL, IN, MD, TX) and serves the same B2B legal customer base.
• Network Click Skip Tracing: Network Click Skip Tracing is a dedicated skip tracing provider serving attorneys, debt collectors, and investigators. It is a direct peer in the skip tracing category, offering similar multi-source database searches for legal clients.
• MasterTrace: MasterTrace is a professional skip tracing firm focused on locating individuals for legal, financial, and investigative purposes. It is a direct peer in skip tracing services, with comparable turnaround expectations and law firm customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Epiq Systems: Epiq is a large legal services and litigation support company offering eDiscovery, managed document review, and court services. It is a broad incumbent that competes indirectly through its e-filing and litigation support offerings, though it does not specialize in skip tracing.
• LexisNexis Legal & Professional: LexisNexis provides legal research, public records, and people-search data used by law firms for background and due diligence checks. It is a broad incumbent supplying underlying data infrastructure for skip tracing and is a potential upstream supplier or substitute for law firm background searches.
• Tracers (a TransUnion company): Tracers is a people-search and skip tracing platform owned by TransUnion, serving collections, legal, and investigative professionals. It is a broad incumbent with proprietary data assets and is a direct competitor for higher-volume skip tracing and background search work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kern-legal-services-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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