Firefly Legal

Due to increasingly poor weather conditions, we have made the decision to close all IL offices, including our corporate office, early today (3:30pm). Normal business hours are anticipated to return tomorrow, 1/7/14.

INCLEMENT WEATHER CAUSES DELAYS & CLOSURES!

Due to the inclement weather experienced throughout Illinois and Ohio yesterday and today, many court offices throughout IL are closed. Additionally, Fed Ex has reported delays as well. In Northwest Indiana, all roads are closed  and a state of emergency has been declared for the state. As a result of these unforeseen circumstances, several of Firefly’s satellite offices will be closed.

Please contact us at the Corporate Headquarters should you need more detailed information regarding court closures and satellite office closures.

It is anticipated that the offices should resume normal business operations tomorrow, 1/7/2014.

Thank you!

Though the courts did not see much of an impact from the Will County strike, we’d still like to keep everyone in the loop and let our clients know that Will County and union negotiators have settled the contract issues, ending the 16-day strike.

Will County went on strike November 18th after over issues regarding raises and insurance. Many were concerned that the strike would  delay court filings and other legal procedures; however,  court procedures were not disrupted and no delays were reported.

For more information on the Will County Strike, click here.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Will County officials will likely be going on strike Monday, November 18th, 2013. Will County employees have been trying to strike a deal with union officials regarding healthcare and pay increases.

Despite the impending strike, the Tribune reported that “County officials said they plan to have county services available Monday even if employees strike. ” However, the article does not speculate what would happen after Monday if the strike took place and went unresolved.

Definitely keep a watchful eye on this topic and prepare for significant delays as a strike could seriously impact court proceedings, filings, and other matters.

Once again, Firefly Legal has made its yearly contribution to Trinity Services, a local non-profit organization that helps people with developmental  disabilities. The organization provides therapy, counseling and other support services, including educational programs.

Firefly makes a point to stay on the forefront of the latest technology, making upgrades and updating computer electronics regularly. This keeps our case management system, process server apps, and  other technology all running smoothly together and working better for our clients. This year’s donation included 3 Laptops, 25 Workstations, 7 Printers, and 38 Monitors. The value of these electronics is estimated at nearly $8,000.

Last year, we spoke with Tabitha Schafer,  the Director of Day Programs and Behavior Analyst at Trinity Services, and she explained that the donation will be immensely helpful for individuals at Trinity. We enjoy doing things to help others in our community, and we’re grateful that we’re still in a position to be able to contribute.

Firefly makes an effort to stay involved with our clients’ industries. By doing this, we understand the challenges they face and are informed about what’s going on in the industry. This also provides us with the opportunities to meet with our clients and interact with individuals who   This makes us informed and ready when our clients need us. This Fall, Firefly attended both the NARCA conference, which was held in D.C., and the NASP conference, which was held in San Diego.

Here are some of the highlights:

NARCA Fall Collection Conference – Washington, D.C. – October 16-19, 2013

Jennifer Dlugolecki attended the National Association of Retail Collections Attorney’s Fall Collection Conference on behalf of Firefly, arriving Wednesday and staying through Saturday.

Conference events included  multiple receptions, client meetings, and a myriad of education sessions. There was also an exhibit hall, featuring vendors and law firms alike.

 NASP 2014 Annual Conference – “Set Sail for Subro” –  San Diego, CA – November 3-6, 2013

Stephanie Irvine attended the National Association of Subrogation Professionals Annual Conference on behalf of Firefly. Firefly also exhibited at the conference. The conference was filled with exciting events, including a 5k walk/run, golf event,  and tennis tournament. The conference continued with multiple networking receptions, as well as a number of educational sessions that covered a variety of topics related to subrogation. When the education sessions were on break, attendees could walk the exhibit hall to meet vendors, experts, and law firms in the subrogation industry.

You may have noticed that over the last few months we have been sporting different awareness ribbons in our signature line and on our social media profiles. Firefly tries to make sure that we engage in some kind of a philanthropy project regularly to give back to our community, spread awareness about a cause, show support for our community, and to share some good news. In September, when we raised awareness about Childhood Cancers and Ovarian Cancer, we got the idea to use the ribbons in our social media and signature lines. With that first ribbon, we realized that we can show support to many different causes year-round. Ribbons have always been a great way to show support and raise awareness about a cause because. Wearing or displaying the ribbon encourages people to look to see what the ribbon means, in turn learning a little bit about the cause and becoming more educated.

November is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month – We’re doing our part to spread some knowledge and raise awareness about this devastating disease.

Some Facts from the CDC:

• Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in men, no matter your race or ethnicity.
• Prostate Cancer affected 196,038 men in 2010.
• Risk factors include age and family history
• Different symptoms occur in different men, and some men do not have any symptoms at all
• There are two screening tests available: Digital Rectal Exam and a Prostate specific antigen (PSA) test
• Talk to your doctor about your risk factors and if you should get screened.

Thanks for helping us to raise awareness about Prostate Cancer and support the cause!

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Firefly Legal does our best to stay on top of the biggest news stories affecting our industry and the industries we serve. Check out some of the articles we shared this past week.

• INSIDE ARM: “FDCPA Adds Unnecessary Layers of Collection Rules to Attorneys: Legal Panel”

Accessible online, Friday’s article from Inside Armhttp://bit.ly/1gqxT7Z took a look into the discussion on the provisions in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which took place at NARCA’s Legal Symposium  earlier this week. The legal panel asserted that the changes “prohibit[s] potentially productive communication.” Be sure to read the article for more information.

• INSIDE ARM: “‘Precollect’ Causes FDCPA Heartburn for Collectors and Creditors” http://bit.ly/16lrAZF

FDCPA prohibits “precollect” efforts. This is discussed in a podcast reported on by InsideArm.

 After cutting back litigation efforts back in 2011, JPMorgan Chase will shut down its debt collection litigation unit, which employs roughly 100 people.

• ACA INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Student Loan Debt Outpaces Auto Loans, Other Types of Credit http://bit.ly/18eml1z 

Student loan debt is up 61% in the last 5 years and are currently at the highest rate since 1995.

• BUSINESS INSIDER: Amid reports last week that foreclosures are down, @businessinsider reports 14 markets still rife with foreclosures http://read.bi/1708uOH 

Though many markets are still rife with foreclosures, overall foreclosure numbers are showing a steep decline since  this quarter last year.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest industry news from a variety of sources!

Firefly Legal’s Vice President Matt Massa just celebrated his 16th year with the nationwide civil process service company. Starting out as a civil process server, Massa grew with the company, moving from process server to management and to his current roles as the Vice President.

During the last 16 years, the civil process service industry has changed significantly. Perhaps the most notable changes include the increased use of technology and changes in compliance regulations. Massa explained, “I would say the advancement of technology and integration between firm and vendor is probably the biggest.  The ability to talk to each other’s systems thereby decreasing overhead costs and payroll, and double keying information, have been huge.”

Firefly Legal is one of the most technologically advanced civil process service companies. Right out of the gate, Firefly provided process servers with a mobile app that could log service attempts, pictures, and GPS. This was a great advantage to our clients as it showed that service from Firefly was reliable, high-integrity, and expeditious. Clients would not have to wait for these updates, nor would they have to question whether or not the service attempts were good.

Other changes throughout Firefly’s history include the creation of the secure client website. Accessible through the top tool bar, clients today can click login to be brought directly to the secure client portal. This provides them with 24 hour access to the job status, service attempts, affiliated documents/images, affidavits, and invoices.

These are just a few of the many changes that Massa has seen throughout his time at Firefly.

With Massa at the healm of Firefly, we’re excited to see what the next 16 years will bring us.

Thanks for your service, Matt!

Why hassle with multiple civil process service vendors when Firefly Legal can handle it all for you?

Our clients are among the best and brightest in the business– why? They’re keeping things efficient by using one civil process service company rather than using multiple servers. Firefly Legal offers quality service nationwide and locally- no matter where you need civil process service, we can handle it for you.

Excellent Service

Firefly Legal is a trusted name in the civil process service industry. Our civil process servers have the highest level of reliability, integrity, and excellence. With comprehensive, competitive pricing, we make sure that we’re meeting your needs– both with service expectations and our rates. Firefly’s servers go through a rigorous application process and are continually reviewed for their performance. Firefly doesn’t settle for less than the best process servers, and it doesn’t expect its clients to either.

Experienced

Firefly is a tested and mature organization, having been in business since 1996. It was founded in Chicago as a family business. That family character, and attendant commitments, continue to characterize Firefly’s business values. Beyond that, Firefly knows the process serving business, firsthand, and from the inside out. The members of its senior executive leadership all have extensive experience themselves as process servers. They incorporate this experience and perspective into every aspect of the business.

Comprehensive, Competitive Pricing

All of the following services are included in Firefly’s standard fees: due diligent preparation, service of process, affidavits and reporting, filing necessary documents with local courts, electronic copies of all documentation, electronic billing, access to online case management client portal, and access to a dedicated client services team.

Nationwide

Don’t scramble when you need a server in a count that’s not local to you. Firefly Legal has an extensive network of civil process servers throughout the US– and if our in-house servers aren’t in an area where you need service, we’ve got excellent relationships with vendors who have agreed to work with Firefly under our service requirements. You’ll get the same great service from Firefly without having to deal with a middle man.

We’ve got you covered; we’re nationwide process servers. Let us serve you while we serve your documents.