CALSPro - California Association of Legal Support Professionals

Legislative Committee Report

Posted December 21, 2017 in Legislation

by Chad Barger, Chairman

At the beginning of November, the Legislative committee began meeting to discuss a potential legislative agenda for 2018. After lengthy discussions, we narrowed our focus to the following items that were approved by the Board of Directors at the December 2^nd board meeting in San Jose, California:

• Obstruction of Justice ‐ Review existing statutes and/or begin to draft language to make it a crime for interfering or obstructing civil process — along with potential penalties.
• CRC 2.257(a) ‐ Develop language to allow eSignatures and how to affix an eSignature — along with the requirement to store the original signed document.
• Limited Liability Company ‐ Codifying a manner of service into the CCP 416 section for service of an LLC, perhaps grafting or cross‐referencing Corp. Code sec. 17701.16.
• CCP 1011(b) ‐ Expanding the hours of service on a person, other than a pro se party, at the litigant’s home, currently from 8 AM to 6 PM, and lengthening the hours from 7 AM to 9 PM

The Board also approved CALSPro’s membership for 2018 in the Coalition for Improving Court Access (CICA).  The coalition has been instrumental in addressing the issues with eFiling and eService since 2015 and we’re happy to have a seat at the table.

The committee is excited about the agenda and has already started working on several of the items.  I look forward to updating you on our progress in the months to come.

Three Essential Elements Of Service

Posted December 19, 2017 in Process Service

By Andrew Gowing

In Re: Ball (2 Ca. App. 2d 578)

Always remember the 3 Essential Elements of Service when attempting to serve any paper. These 3 Essentials are an absolute must when properly affecting service.

1. IDENTIFY the person being served

2. Inform the person of the GENERAL NATURE OF THE PAPERS 

3. Leave the documents in CLOSE PROXIMITY of the person being served

For more reading on the case that set the precedence for these 3 essential elements for service, checkout the link below.

In Re: Ball (2 Ca. App. 2d 578)

PLEASE JOIN US IN SAN JOSE ON JANUARY 27^TH FOR OUR FIRST CCPS WORKSHOP
AND EXAM OF THE NEW YEAR!

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE REGISTRATION

2018 CALSPro Membership Renewals Have Been Sent Out!

Posted December 14, 2017 in Membership

By Kristian Pujol, Chair, CALSPro Membership Committee

Attention all members: your membership renewal packets have been sent out! All current members should have received a membership Renewal Letter this week. If you did not please contact our main office. Here’s what’s in the packet:

Renewal Letter

The Renewal letter explains the new membership rates and categories and urges everyone to step up to the plate and enroll more members this year, as the dues for our new “active members” have decreased! Please be sure to read the Renewal Letter and take advantage of the new membership categories, rates and financing options available in 2018.

Enhanced Membership Listing

Along with the Renewal Letter, an Enhanced Membership Listing Application was also sent in the mail. It gives your company an opportunity to have an enhanced listing on the CALSPro website for only $100.00. So please fill it out and submit this form to headquarters as soon as possible! A self-addressed envelope was provided for your convenience. We accept checks and all credit cards.

Membership Renewal Invoice

The final document you should have received is the actual Membership Renewal Invoice. Please fill it out accordingly and review this form carefully for updated company information such as contact names and email addresses.

Please note there is a correction to be made on this form: if you sign up for an enhanced listing, the fee is only $100.00 (NOT $200.00). Simply cross it out and/or write in the correct total amount you are paying for your 2018 membership(s). We appreciate your continued support!

This is a pivotal year for CALSPro and we are very excited about the future possibilities. We have new membership categories for companies and Independent Contractors, lower rates and affordable financing solutions, more benefits like online voting, the new CALSPro App, a thriving and robust Continuing Education program, and of course, experienced legislative representation with a vigilant eye on all upcoming bills.

Remember, beginning 2018 we are no longer required to go three times to CMRAs to sub-serve Summons type documents! O Triumphant Joy!

So please get in the Holiday Spirit and sign up additional active members for your business, and/or an enhanced website company listing, and/or an extra branch office location listing. Let your independent contractors and out-of-state associates know about CALSPro. Give as much as you can!

This is what your directors on the board do all year, what our committee members do in their committees every week, and what our lobbyist and administrators do every day for all of us at our state Capitol.

A World Without CALSPro Would Mean A Quick End To Our Businesses And Industry!

Posted December 12, 2017 in Membership

By Larry Kirlin, President CALSPro

What will our industry look like without CALSPro?  Who will be our industry’s watchdog against adverse legislation? CALSPro has defeated “mail bills” (advocating service of process via mail) 11 times in the past 50 years! Who will be there to fight against bills proposing Electronic Service of Primary Documents or against greedy ROI companies in the medical records field? How will we represent ourselves collectively as legal professionals? Who will facilitate advertising and education of new laws and new rules? How will we maintain our professional networks and vitals without a central nervous system?

Where Things Stand Today

At the Board of Directors meeting on December 2^nd we approved the budget for 2018. During any budget discussion, the focus is on balancing revenue and expenses to meet financial goals. For a non-profit association, our goal is to break even or show a small surplus. Makes sense, right?

It’s one thing to sit in a room and massage numbers on a spreadsheet until you achieve your theoretical goal. It’s another thing entirely to meet that goal at the end of the year.

Good news:  We have more than met our expense goals over the past several years.

The challenge: For the past several years, our association hasn’t met our revenue goals and has been pulling funds from our strategic reserve to remain afloat. Why? We need more members!

Making Improvements

Last summer, at the Strategic Planning Session, our primary solution was the elimination of the Company and Individual membership categories in favor of a hybrid Active member category and new Independent Contractor member category.  With this new structure, we can grow our roster by providing more value and benefits to a wider audience by making it more affordable and accessible.

While I firmly believe we have taken the right approach, it is not without risk. Because the new Active Membership dues are lower, simply converting 100% of our current members over will actually widen the budget gap. Thus, we need your support today more than ever!

What Can You Do?

• Renew your membership now as an Active member!
• Enroll an additional person or employee as a new Active
• Encourage your Independent Contractors to join the association as IC
• Sign up for an enhanced listing on our website and/or add an additional county location.
• Remind your out-of-state affiliates that you are a CALSPro member and let them know it’s only $100 per year for them to join our association.
• Forward this message to a colleague
• Are you a past Company member with an overlapping Individual membership?

We are asking these companies to use the savings from the new dues structure to add a member of their staff as a new Active member. (Old: $500+$200=$700; New: $350+$350=$700).

Our goal is to increase our members by 40-50 in 2018! Rally up boys and girls. It’s go time!

CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP

Meet Your CALSPro President, Larry Kirlin

Posted December 7, 2017 in Membership

CALSPro President Larry Kirlin began his professional life when he enlisted in the Navy’s delayed entry program shortly after his 17th birthday. He left for boot camp after graduating from St. Pius X High School in Pottstown, PA. During active duty service (1985-91), he was trained as an aircraft electronics technician and traveled the world repairing the Navy’s aircraft.

The second chapter of his professional life began when he left active duty to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering at California State University, Fresno. While going to school he continued with the Navy as a reservist and began working in the legal support industry with Attorney’s Diversified Services (ADS). Along the way he also helped establish Digidex, the digital division of ADS. Eventually he reached the rank of Master Chief in the Navy and Co-Owner of ADS.

The current chapter of his career began in June 2012 when he was recruited by First Legal to open offices in the Central Valley. Within the first year he helped open offices in Fresno, Bakersfield and Modesto. His region eventually expanded to include several other offices in Central and Northern California.

On a personal note, we asked Larry what career he would be in if he wasn’t in this one. Here’s his response:

If I wasn’t in this industry I’d probably be an Electrical Engineer, since that’s my degree field. My real dream job would be working for the State Department or some other sort of foreign service duty. I have a deep respect for other cultures and would enjoy working with small governments to improve their relationship with the United States.

Performance Reviews That Matter

Posted December 5, 2017 in Membership

By Larry Kirlin

For all of my adult life I’ve groaned at the mention of the words “Performance Review.”  Whether it’s a request for my own “self-review” or writing one for a team member, it always pokes a part of my brain that wants to hit the snooze button one more time.

Having lead a team for over 30 years, I’ve learned that your employees shouldn’t have to wait until their annual review to know where they stand with you.

As mentioned in a recent article,

“Frequent, timely and individualized coaching discussions” are the key to developing top performers.

With more and more millennials on our teams, we may need to adapt our traditional policies to attract and motivate the upcoming generations.

Accenture believes this so much that they have moved away from performance reviews all together.