CALSPro - California Association of Legal Support Professionals

The Tale Of Two CALSPros

Posted September 13, 2018 in Membership

As I was reading the latest version of our eNewsletter yesterday I could feel each author’s passion coming through their words.  I also noticed the genuine happiness expressed in the photographs.  This passion and joy comes from doing something you enjoy alongside people you love. This is the CALSPro I know from the inside.  The one I love.  The one I work so hard to support.

The other CALSPro is the business side. The cornerstones. The policies. The meat and potatoes of representing and educating our industry. Both CALSPros are important because the passion drives the effort that is required to fuel the business side.

What makes me a little sad is that many of our members don’t know the best side of CALSPro because they only see us from the outside. The irony is, the inside is where the true business value exists. The personal relationships that develop from participating directly translate into shared wisdom and business growth. It’s funny how much you get when you are willing to give.

It’s never too late to come inside.  The door is always open.  In fact, the annual conference is the first step.  Come join us.

Why CALSPro?

Posted August 21, 2018 in Membership

Have you ever wondered why you choose to continue to support CALSPro as a member? Or, maybe you are on the fence about joining? In a recent interview published August 13^th from the staff at ServeNow, our very own President of CALSPro, Larry Kirlin, has provided all of the information you will ever need to continue to support the association that helps protect your business.

CALSPro: An In-Depth Look with Larry Kirlin

We recently interviewed Larry Kirlin, the current president of CALSPro (California Association of Legal Support Professionals), for some insight on why associations matter for process servers. Read on for insight into CALSPro and their recent efforts to improve membership.

Association History / Background

What is the founding mission of CALSPro?

Our association was founded with the urgent mission to defeat a specific piece of pending legislation that would have allowed for the service of process via US Mail. Had our association failed in its mission, our industry would not exist today.

When was your association founded?

December 9, 1969

What are the benefits of membership with your association?

Benefits include Legislative Advocacy, Dispute Resolution, Education, Industry News, Interagency Pouch Network, Job Sharing, Mobile Application, Networking and Vendor Discounts.

Why should every industry professional in your state be a member?

The first and foremost reason every industry professional should be a member is because it is their personal responsibility to protect the industry from adverse legislation. All other reasons are secondary but that’s not to say our other benefits aren’t important. For instance, there is no better place to stay educated and informed about our industry than by being a CALSPro member. Additionally, the business-to-business (B2B) networking opportunities available through active participation in the association are key to building and growing your business.

Why should a professional NOT in your state be a member?

The primary benefit for non-California members is B2B networking. We encourage our members to use other members, both within and outside California. Our state is the single largest legal marketplace in the world and exports more jobs to more places than any other state. Being a CALSPro member gives you an advantage over non-members competing for work from our state.

What type of training programs does your association offer?

Our association offers live and online training on the laws and craft of process serving. The CALSPro Certified Process Server (CCPS) designation was established to acknowledge those process servers who have extended their professional education and successfully passed the CALSPro process server certification examination. The CCPS examination is administered by the CALSPro Continuing Education Committee and consists of a comprehensive series of questions relating to the law. The CCPS designation has become a mark of distinction and is proudly displayed by our members’ name in the member directory.

What makes CALSPro different from other associations?

Our legacy is our strength. Since 1969 we have developed policies and procedures that foster the open sharing of ideas. Outside of CALSPro, it is rare for industry competitors to work together so collaboratively to solve problems and give support. I don’t think most people realize that members from CALSPro, formerly known as CAPPS, originally formed NAPPS.

What does it cost to join?

The cost for a full, Active or Vendor membership is $350 per year. Independent Contractor and Associate membership are $100. Supporting members pay only $50. For detailed information about membership benefits and eligibility, visit CALSPro’s website.

CALSPro members also benefit from ServeNow discounts to bolster their online marketing.

Current CALSPro Landscape

Larry, tell us about yourself (background in the industry and the association, etc)?

My first job in the industry was as a Microfilm Camera Operator (aka Filmer) back in 1991. I worked my way up through sales and operations, eventually becoming a shareholder in an attorney service. I now work for the largest company in our industry, First Legal, as a Regional Manager. I joined CALSPro in 2008 and attended the annual conference for the first time that year. I was appointed as chairman of the Membership Committee in 2010 and elected to the board of directors for the first time in 2011, earning the Rookie of the Year Award. I was elected as Vice President in 2014 and 2015 and have been serving as president since being elected at the 2016 annual conference.

What made you want to be CALSPro president?

Having served in the military, I have a strong sense of duty and responsibility. I felt it was appropriate to share my time and abilities with the association and industry that has given me a successful career. Without the willing volunteers at CALSPro, our industry would have failed back when I was a mere toddler. I owe it to our members to give back to what has given me so much.

Who’s on the board?

A group of amazing professionals. Seriously though, the current Board of Directors includes Chad Barger, Tom Bowman, Andrew Gowing, Ken Hastings, Mark Manchester, Robert Porambo, Anita Pasillas, Kristian Pujol, Jay Roll, Lauri Rowland and myself.

How have you (or your company) benefited from CALSPro?

Prior to working at First Legal, I worked for a smaller company that based a large portion of their business on work from CALSPro members. Now that I work for a much larger company, the personal relationships and industry information are the key benefits.

Any other scenarios you can share where a company or member (or the industry) has benefited significantly from CALSPro?

It’s hard to overstate the benefits that companies and members receive from CALSPro. The list of legislative achievements alone can fill a book. If you are a member and you can’t immediately identify the benefits, it is simply because you aren’t paying attention. Being involved and informed is the way to turn a $350 investment into a thriving business.

What are the current legislative initiatives the association is involved in?

We are currently working on a legislative change that will expand the hours that notice can be delivered to the home of a self-represented litigant. If adopted by the legislature, this change will be a significant benefit to our members and the entire legal community. Outside of this initiative, we are watching for the effects of the Dynamex decision on our industry. If you aren’t familiar with Dynamex, it is a recent decision by the California Supreme Court that could effectively eliminate the ability for companies to utilize independent contractors, and in our specific situation, independent process servers. This is the hottest topic in our industry today and sure to change the way our members do business here in California.

What are the current initiatives that you, your board and committees are focused on?

In the summer of 2017, CALSPro held a Strategic Planning Session to reset the direction of the association and ensure its survival for another generation. Out of this meeting, a dozen large and small recommendations were made. Our leadership team has spent the last 12 months implementing these recommendations. The most significant of these include a restructuring of membership categories and dues, remote electronic voting, improved marketing/communications, a mobile application for process servers and a webinar option for the CCPS course. The implementation of these changes has resulted in membership growth and a tremendous shift in momentum. We are now a more modern, vibrant organization with a bright future ahead of us.

What are some new initiatives that the current administration has prioritized?

Legislation continues to be our priority but membership growth and financial stability are always standing nearby. We continue to look for ways to attract new members and give our current members a reason to renew. We are also working to leverage our unique position in the industry to attract sponsors, which will result in financial stability without raising our annual dues.

Meet CALSPro Board Member, Anita Pasillas

Posted August 7, 2018 in Membership

Anita, far left, with her three children

Anita Pasillas is a true native Californian — born and raised not too far from where she works today at Rapid Legal.  She has three wonderful children Jonathan, Marissa and Brittany, along with a grandson, Isaiah. Guarding the house is their dog, Lulu. Anita says, “What Lulu lacks in size and ferocity, she makes up for with cleverness and a loud bark.”

In her spare time, Anita loves to garden, hike, play the guitar and cook. Should she ever decide to leave the legal business, she’s been been told she could make a fortune selling her chicken tacos!

Anita started in the legal industry with Rapid Legal in 2010 with just enough knowledge to get her foot in the door. She began managing their nationwide service of process orders back when they were printed and hand-endorsed. After a few years, Anita felt that she needed more in-depth knowledge so she pursued her Paralegal degree. This helped provide an understanding of not only the documents, but the different case types, she would be dealing with on a daily basis. She enjoys having opportunities every day to help someone new and meet people.

Looking to be more challenged and involved in the industry, Anita decided to attend a CALSPro board meeting. After attending many CALSPro board meetings and seeing what a difference the association and all the dedicated individuals had made to the industry, she decided to accept the nomination to the Board and run.

Although at first, Anita felt somewhat intimidated by all the knowledge and experience on the CALSPro board, she still felt it was important to volunteer and help where needed and is very glad of that decision. Anita says,

“Even though the part I currently play as a board member is small, it has provided me the opportunity to meet new people and help the industry I am proud to be a part of.”

CALSPro Is Growing! A Message From The President

Posted July 17, 2018 in Membership

By Larry Kirlin, CALSPro President

It’s official.  Our association is growing again.  We have more members today than we had last year. While that may not seem like a big deal, it certainly is. I was the membership committee chairman back in 2010 and I know we weren’t growing then or any year since. In fact, associations all over America have been contracting for more than a decade and many are still heading in the wrong direction.

So what happened to us?

How did we reverse the trend this year? First of all, it wasn’t easy. Brute force by the individuals on the membership committee is the biggest factor but they couldn’t do it if the association wasn’t offering a good value to the members.

What changed is our focus.

We rallied the industry leaders together for a strategic planning session (SPS) last summer to determine the cause for our perpetual decline and a plan to change course.

I have written about the outcome of the SPS in previous articles so I won’t rehash old news. What I will say is that we purposely asked our members for their opinions and put as many suggestions into place as possible. I have kept the list of recommendations on my desk for the past year and refer to it any time I’m confused about my direction. By staying focused, our leaders have implemented 90%+ of the recommendations already.  As evidenced by the growth in membership, I can proudly proclaim the changes are working.

One of the most significant changes we made last year was the creation of the Independent Contractor category.  This new, lower-priced, option reduced the barrier for entry for smaller companies and sole proprietors.  A predicted side effect of this lower rate was lower revenue.  We knew we would have to make up the difference in volume.  We are still a little short on revenue this year but we have a plan for bridging the gap:

1) Continue to recruit new members in all categories

2) Sell advertising and sponsor packages

3) Make 2018 the best annual conference in CALSPro history!

How can you help?

Refer to 1, 2 & 3 above.  Especially #3. The theme for our conference is our 50^th anniversary but the hot topic will be the effect of the Dynamex decision on our industry.  Plan on being in Sacramento on October 5-7 so you can be a part of this historic event.

Legislative Committee Update

Posted July 10, 2018 in Legislation

By Chad Barger

CALSPro bill, AB 2286

Sponsored by state Assemblyman, Phillip Chen, R-55^th District, which amends the service hours for a CCP1011(b) is still working its way through the legislature, but is expected to be signed by the Governor soon.  After negotiations with the Senate and Assembly judiciary, we agreed to the hours of 8 AM to 8 PM.  This is an improvement over the current hours of 9 AM to 6 PM and will give process servers additional time to complete this type of service.

Dynamex, Dynamex, Dynamex!

Since the California Supreme Court decision and our recent blogs, blasts and newsletters, I’ve received numerous calls from concerned members.  This has become one of the biggest issues we’ve faced in recent years regarding independent contractors.  If you’re unfamiliar with the case, you can navigate to the Blog we published to our site by clicking here.  We’ve also secured Amber S. Healy from Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romp as a special speaker at our 50^th conference to discuss this in depth and help guide our members through this difficult time.  Please join the discussion by attending conference this year in Sacramento from October 5-7, 2018.

Greater Access

Lastly, the committee is moving forward with our plans to create greater access to guarded/gated multiple commercial business complexes and multiple residential buildings. We’re always looking for member feedback and ideas.  If you have something you’d like us to address, or to voice any concerns you may have, please contact me at cbarger@attorneyscertified.com to discuss.

Stay tuned for more legislative update in the months to come.

Meet CALSPro Board Member, Kristian Pujol

Posted July 3, 2018 in Membership

Kristian Pujol grew up in the attorney service industry as the second eldest son of Sal and Sheila Pujol, founders of Commercial Process Serving, Inc.  Originally from Costa Rica, his parents moved to California in the late 60’s to pursue the American Dream. He laughs reminiscing about his childhood having to always make frequent stops in the car with his parents in order to serve papers oftentimes on Sundays before mass or after school.  He was then forced into labor as a teenager working in the afternoons at the courthouse, filing and researching legal documents for the growing family business.

Kristian said his schooling and love for reading made a big impact on his life early on, not just intellectually, but socially and culturally. He had big dreams of becoming a writer, attorney, or working for the United Nations; but as they say, God had other plans. After a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Air Force, Kristian went on to UCLA and earned a Bachelors Degree in Political Science with an emphasis on Business Administration. At that point in time, he decided to set his thoughts of law or business school aside and concentrate his efforts on further developing the family business and helping his parents make the transition to retirement. The rest is history. Commercial Process Serving, Inc. grew and expanded into three offices in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties, has statewide and nationwide clients, and is a current California Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP).

Kristian enjoys many aspects of his career such as the blessings of working with family; the many challenges and learning experiences in managing a corporate business; and the civic satisfaction in helping people seeking justice with their constitutional right to due process and discovery. He finds meaning in the legal field. Kristian said his participation on the CALSPro board comes from his innate drive to understand and influence the world a little further through direct participation and personal touch rather than solely philosophical reflection.

“The fact that legal parties, attorney and courts have to abide by the rules and procedures we sometimes help shape, draft, prevent or come to pass, makes me proud of our democracy and legal system. It’s fascinating that anyone can make a difference, even myself, if we just volunteer and sacrifice the time.”

With his precious spare time, Kristian enjoys listening to music, reading, writing and playing indoor soccer. He is the proud father of two young boys and enjoys taking them to Karate, playing outdoors, and reading to them. Kristian and his wife, Kristi, are celebrating their 15^th wedding anniversary this year and both still enjoy dancing to Latin rhythms and stargazing the nighttime sky. He is part of the lector team at his local church and enjoys reading and attending mass with his family on Sundays, but spares his kids from serving papers on the weekends.

When asked if he had the opportunity to have any other choice in career, he said probably a writer, astronomer, or meteorologist.

“My wife said a weatherman would have been the perfect job for me because I am not afraid of being on camera, enjoy speaking publicly, and love the weather.”

Kristian did earn his Master’s Degree from UCSB and teaches when he finds the opportunity and time. He currently sits on most committees of CALPro, chairs Membership, and was awarded Member of the Year in 2017.

Meet CALSPro Board Member, Tom Bowman

Posted May 15, 2018 in Membership

Tom Bowman has a long and storied career in process serving. He told us that he served his first paper in April 1965; happily serving papers for 53 years. As with so many process servers, Tom began serving process as a side job. He was working at the Kodak processing lab in Palo Alto and needed extra income. He sorted papers at his kitchen table for a number of years before becoming a full time business owner. Tom has had an office in San Jose for 45 years.

Tom enjoys being out in the field and finds that proper methods for service of process result in a positive experience with parties being served. Tom credits his membership in CALSPro for being the most valuable resource to him as a process server and business owner. Tom joined CAPPS in 1975 and quickly became an active member. He served his first term as a board member in 1976. He has held the office of President, Vice President, Treasurer and two terms as the Legislative Chairman. Tom currently serves as the Assault Chair. Tom is also a founding member of NAPPS.

Tom with his son, Will.

Tom’s father was in the Air Force, so Tom’s early years included many moves from one place to the next. By the time Tom started high school, he had attended 11 different schools. Talking to people and making a new set of friends became of big part of his life as a kid. Tom relies on his ease with conversation out in the field and still loves talking to people. His family teases him for being the guy who starts a conversation in an elevator instead of looking up at the floor indicator in silence “like you’re supposed to” and for always having a story that starts with “I was talking to some guy in line today…”

Tom enjoys spending time with his family and getting to put his feet up on the weekends.  He tries to catch as many Sharks and Warriors games as possible and enjoys NASCAR as well. Tom collects and occasionally gets out to ride one of his vintage Cushman scooters. He is a member of the Northern California Cushman Club & is a past president of that organization. He is also a member of the national club.

Tom and Wendy celebrate their 25^th wedding anniversary this month. Their kids are now college age, so they are adjusting to a lot more peace and quiet these days. To put a stop to that, they adopted Millie, a lab/mixed up mutt, who was in a shelter in Houston when Hurricane Harvey hit. She and 300 other homeless dogs were flown out to California to make room in the Houston shelters for dogs displaced due to the storm. The newest Bowman is enjoying long walks with Wendy and starting to settle in pretty well.

Tom feels very blessed with a wonderful family and many lifelong friends. He is grateful for good health and being able to get out each day to see where the road will take him.

A Message From The President: Have You Decided This Is Your Career Yet?

Posted April 24, 2018 in Membership

By Larry Kirlin

Who are we?  I mean, who is CALSPro and who are our members?  Let me start with the latter.

The way I see it, our members are the people who have decided to call the legal support industry their profession. Just because you work in the profession doesn’t mean you’ve accepted it as your profession.  Although some of us were born into a family business, most of us came into it from another door.

I started in the business as a microfilm camera operator, a.k.a. filmer, while going to college. By the time I graduated years later, I was fully entrenched in the business. I didn’t exactly decide to make this my profession — it kind of just snuck up on me and next thing you know, here I am. There was a point, however, that I realized I was part of the profession and decided to make it a career. That’s about the time I joined CALSPro.

The truth is, there have been many, many times when I wanted to throw in the towel and look for a different career. This mostly happens when a client decides to push my every last button and I say to myself, “They don’t pay me enough to deal with this crap!”  Then a day later I get a call from a different client thanking me for pulling off a miracle and it reinvigorates my spirit. Anyone know where I’m coming from?

So, back to the other part of my original question, who is CALSPro? CALSPro is an association of people who have decided to be part of the legal support profession. Not only do they want to be part of it, they want to initiate change and ensure the profession thrives for future generations.  The members of CALSPro appreciate the work that comes to them because of their membership but it is not the primary reason they are members. The primary reasons they join are to protect, promote and educate.

My question to non-members is, have you decided this is your career yet?  If you like what you are doing and want to keep doing it, then jump on board.  Make the decision to join CALSPro and be an active participant in your future.

Meet CALSPro Vice President and Advertising Committee Chair, Robert Porambo

Posted April 19, 2018 in Membership

Robert Porambo was born in New York and after the Vietnam War, his parents moved the family to California (great move Mom & Dad!)  He has been married to his lovely wife, Liz, for almost 8 years and they have four amazing children, two amazing step-children and two great dogs.  They also have four grand kids and five grand dogs.

In his spare time, Robert loves to camp, ride ATVs, fish, play softball, and golf. He always looks forward to Sunday dinners with his family.

He began his attorney service career in 1981 and has been at Knox Attorney Service ever since.  In fact, he spent his 18th birthday serving papers, which was a great rite of passage. Robert originally started in Knox’s accounting department and then transferred to the process department in 1987.  In 1989, he was named the process manager, became a shareholder in Knox in 1995, and was named CFO in 2013.

“I truly love everything about  legal support industry — people I work with, my clients and also other legal support professionals. This may sound crazy, but  I also look forward to the challenges that we’re faced with every day.”

Expanding on this thought, Robert feels he has been truly blessed with an opportunity to work at Knox over the years and feels the best way to pay this forward is to give back to this amazing industry by serving on the CALSPro Board and hopefully next year, serving as the CALSPro President.  He fully understands that it’s the amazing and dedicated group of  people that formed CALSPro, and those who followed, that have protected and preserved our industry.

“Without these people, who knows what I would be doing,”

___________________________________________________

An Overview of 2017 Tax Legislation

Friend of CALSPro, Blake Murphy, Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley, has provided us with the following important information:

Click HERE for a summary provided by PwC for Morgan Stanley clients on how to navigate the new tax landscape.

Feel free to reach out to Blake, however please consult with your own Tax Advisor regarding any potential tax or legal issues as Morgan Stanley does not provide tax or legal advice.

Blake Murphy
Financial Advisor
CA Insurance Lic. #0L06486
NMLS #1549183
Morgan Stanley
1111 Prospect St, Suite 200 | La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: 858-729-5000 Direct: 858-729-5032
Blake.Murphy@MS.com

Meet CALSPro Secretary-Treasurer & Chairman of the Board, Ken Hastings

Posted March 20, 2018 in Membership

Kenneth “Ken” Hastings was born on Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California.  His father was stationed on the installation along with his best friend K. Paul Wysong — the K stands for Kenneth. His father and Paul shared a special bond so his father was insightful enough to name him after this amazing man.

He wasn’t raised anywhere per se… He lived in California his entire childhood but never in one spot for too long — so much so that he went to 13 schools in 13 years (K-12).

Ken is a Disabled U.S. Army Veteran who served between 1994 and 1997.  He was injured in an accident in the motor pool which damaged his spine. He was deployed to the former Yugoslavia on a peace keeping mission with the United Nations in a region now known as Bosnia Herzegovina. He was honorably discharged after a 3-year enlistment in 1997.

Ken is married to Wendi Hastings and they are celebrating their 15th anniversary this April by taking a cruise to Mexico, Belize and the Island of Roatan off the coast of Honduras.

They have three children — Alyson 18, Cameron 18, and Emilie 14 (2 freshmen in college and a freshman in high school). They also have 2 shih tzu puppies named Maverick and Roxy.

In his spare time, Ken likes to go to the the wineries around Temecula or take his Harley up to Julian for a nice ride.

Thanks to the support of Paul Wysong, Hastings Professional Process Servers was established in late 2010.  Ken joined CALSPro in early 2011 and has been learning about legal support services ever since.

“I enjoy getting people served — plain and simple but that is our job. We are hired by people to provide “legal notice” and that has always been what I strive to do.”

Ken enjoys participating on the CALSPro Board of Directors.  In his earlier years, his focus was making sure that the “little guy” had a voice of reason and thought that he was a good candidate to speak for them. Over the past several years, he has maintained that voice but has grown some. Now he can be found speaking up for CASLPro members as a whole — what is best for everyone.

When asked what other profession he would have chosen if he didn’t have this one, here’s his answer:

“That’s too hard to answer because I’m a big kid at heart.  A fighter pilot, Navy SEAL, Army Green Beret, race car driver, or professional baseball player would have all made the list.”