Firefly Legal

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.

Being engaged in the industries that support civil process service is important beyond just the obvious reasons of networking and meeting with clients. When process servers participate in industry conferences and sit in on the sessions, there is an abundance of information available about the overall climate of the industry. Last week, Firefly attended two associated with our industry: The Legal League 100 Servicer Summit at the Five Star Institute’s Five Star Conference and the ALA – Chicago Chapter’s Business Partner’s Expo.

The Five Star Conference/LEGAL LEAGUE 100 Servicer Summit

Firefly Legal’s Jennifer Dlugolecki and Stephanie Irvine attended the 10th Annual Five Star Conference and Expo began on Sunday, September 8th, 2013. The Legal League 100 Servicer’s Summit also held sessions on industry topics such as the changes with the CFPB, servicing updates, case studies, and more. The conference was held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, TX.

The conference kicked off Sunday evening with a welcome reception that took place among the hotel’s three bars: Counter Offer, Gossip Bar, and Media Bar. With a free cocktail in hand, these venues offered an excellent space to network and meet up with clients and friends.

Monday started off Legal League activities with breakfast followed by round table sessions on Case Law and the CFPB. The CFPB session was led by Adam Wilde of Codilis & Associates who started important discussions on hot topics such as the 120 day rule, as well as the 37 day rule, and the unknowns that the ambiguity of recent regulation changes brought forth. Other conversation starts included Caren Castle of  the Castle Law Group, Michelle Gilbert of the Gilbert Garcia Group, Jennifer Monty Rieker of Weltman, Weinberg, and Reis, Co. LPA. This session allowed for servicers to answer tough questions. Servicers present included Freddie Mac, Weinder Brodsky, Kider, PC, JP Morgan Chase, and Green Tree Servicing.

Following the first sessions of round table discussions, a Legal Legaue 100 Member’s Meeting commenced, where board members and chairpersons announced multiple position changes. This opened up a number of vacancies as board members will no longer also hold chair positions; the call for involvement was clear. Additionally, the recent issue with the Colorado Attorney General’s inquest into the billing practices of several law firms was briefly discussed.

The Member’s Meeting was followed by lunch, where keynote speaker David Moskowitz of Wells Fargo discussed industry changes and fielded questions from attendees regarding how to handle the CFPB. He advised that attorneys should be wary of sharing information, discuss what you can and can’t share, and keep the lines of communication open. Responsible business practices will be published by the CFPB this summer. He also advised that any issues should be brought to the CFPB before they find them and bring it to your attention. Be honest, forthright, and transparent. He acknowledged that consumer protection has become paramount for the government. Other topics covered included making disclosures understandable for consumers, the potential for mandatory consumer education, financial literacy, among many others.

ALA Chicago Business Partner Showcase

Firefly Legal exhibited at the ALA Chicago’s Educational Conference and Business Partner Expo on Friday, September 13th at the Fairmont in Chicago. The Business Partner’s Expo allows business partners the opportunity to showcase their services to administrative legal professionals. There were several educational sessions open to ALA members that related to HR, Linked In, business intelligence, and diversity in the workplace. There were over 100 professionals in attendance with a number of exhibitors. Firefly Legal also held a raffle for a $100 AmEx gift card. The winner was Diane M. Brummel, Director of Office Services, at SmithAmundsen.

Check out some of our pictures from the events!

Photos from the Five Star

Photos from the ALA

The Fireflies are all back in the office after a very busy couple weeks of conferences. Check out where we’ve been!

Kicking things off was the ALA – Assocation of Legal Administrators Annual Conference, where Firefly’s Stephanie Irvine and Jennifer Dlugolecki attended and exhibited. As exhibitors, we enjoyed excellent networking opportunities and the education sessions. We were able to get out and we actually live tweeted during one of the education sessions led by Kerry Boll! The keynote from Andres Tapia did a great job at getting everyone excited for the rest of the conference. Tuesdays welcoming reception provided good food, entertainment, and the opportunity to meet ALA members from other regions. It was a lot of fun.

Check out some of the pictures from the conference!

  After the ALA Annual Conference, Firefly’s Jennifer Dlugolecki attended the Legal League 100 Servicer Summit, which took place at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas, Texas on April 18. Firefly Legal sponsored the event, which was geared at keeping industry professionals informed on the ever-changing rules and regulations. Check out the Firefly cocktails that were enjoyed during the evening reception!

While we were at the ALA Annual Conference and Legal League 100 Servicer’s Summit, Firefly’s Randy Mucha, Civil Process Supervisor, attended the NAPPS conference, which is a conference held by the National Association of Professional Process Servers that was held in Phoenix, AZ this year.  This conference provided a great opportunity for Firefly to network with other process servers, but more importantly, to stay abreast of all the changes in the industry. Here’s a photo from the event when at the NAPPS conference, ILAPPS was given some recognition!

On Monday, April 22, 2013, Jennifer Dlugolecki attended a fundraiser for State Representative Mike Zalewski. Attendees included Lou Freedman, Bob Markoff, Fred Blitt, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. Representative Zalewski is committed to serving Illinois and specifically the southwest suburbs, and has worked on legislation in the collection industry.

Jennifer Dlugolecki was also busy attending the Mercy Housing’s Live In Hope Breakfast, a non-profit organization that Firefly Legal sponsors.  The separkers included Tom O’Brien, Leonard Moscicke, Tomeka Spring, Sister Margaret Johnson, Bill Godlsmith, and Cindy Hoiller. Together, the attendees produced $21,650 in pledges and gifts. Mercy Housing helps to provide affordable housing to low-income families, seniors, and people with special needs. Firefly was a sponsor at this breakfast, which took place Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 at Maggiano’s in Chicago.

Where are we going next? Stay tuned to find out…

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Firefly Legal is back home after travelling to Bastrop, TX for the NASP Litigation Skills and Management Conference and to Jacksonville, FL for the USFN conference. Both conferences provided infinite amounts of knowledge for attendees, of course a little entertainment, and definitely plenty of networking opportunities.

At the USFN conference, Firefly Legal’s Jennifer Dlugolecki showed that process servers care by participating in the Second Harvest Community Service project. Firefly Legal was the only process server that participated in the community service project, which works to fight hunger in Central Florida.  Participating in the Community Service project included both a monetary donation and a time donation, as volunteers worked together for the cause. It’s important to Firefly, especially as process servers in Florida, that we are working to help out the local communities of the areas we serve.

Check out the pictures below!

Here’s the whole crew who stopped by to help with the community service project at Second Harvest.

Check out the healthy food at Second Harvest.

Volunteers work at Second Harvest.

Lots of healthy food was packaged and ready to help fight hunger!

Meanwhile, in Texas, Firefly Legal’s Stephanie Irvine was busy working the booth at the NASP conference. The conference provided a lot of informative sessions, with both property and auto tracks, on subrogation topics. Legal Humorist Sean Carter was the Keynote Speaker, providing both tips and laughs for attendees. Jeff Ricke of Hiday & Ricke and Susan Benson of Susan Benson and Associates also provided a great general session about pretrial tactics,strategy, and managing a high volume practice. There were a lot of great tips for those with a smaller firm as well as those with a larger one.

Check out some pictures from the NASP conference, which was held at the Lost Pines Resort:

Attendees enjoy the welcome reception.

Lost Pines hotel view– with horses!

Chicago, IL — March 12, 2012

Firefly Legal’s Director of Client Services Jennifer Dlugolecki and Marketing and Communications Specialist Stephanie Irvine attended the ALA (Association of Legal Administrators) Greater Chicago Chapter’s Casino Night, which was held at Hotel Allegro in downtown Chicago. Firefly Legal  was also an event sponsor.

The ALA is a great organization for those in the legal industry. It offers countless networking opportunities, support, education, and a myriad of resources. They often hold conferences, networking opportunities, and other events for both members and business partners.

The Casino Night event this year featured a huge raffle, scrumptious buffet, a nice bar with two complimentary drink tickets, a DJ, and a door prize. The proceeds of the sponsorship went to benefit the Israel Idonije Foundation, which is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in under-served communities around Chicago, Winnipeg, and Africa. For those of you who don’t know, Israel Idonije is a starting defensive end for the Chicago Bears.

Israel Idonije showed up in person for the event and spent time taking pictures, signing autographs, and helping with the event. One of the raffles was a dinner with Israel Idonije with two of your friends to one of his favorite restaurants in Chicago.

The night was fulled with fun and laughter as ALA members took to the casino tables for a few spins and hands at the blackjack, roulette, craps, and poker tables. Participants were provided with $100 of play money to be able to play the games. It was a lot of fun, and it allowed me to brush off my poker skills at a wonderful fundraiser for a great cause!

Check out some photos from the event, and be sure to stop by our facebook page to check out the rest!

Firefly is back in the office and things are finally starting to return to business as usual. We had a great time at the conference, and in case you’ve missed it, we have the highlights below:

Conference Theme: Be Prepared

The conference was centered on the theme of preparation for changes in the mortgage and servicing industry. Bringing in well-known authorities, the MBA’s National Mortgage Servicing Conference and Expo aims to educate, inform, and answer questions so that no one in the industry

Location

The conference was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, located in Grapevine, Texas. The giant hotel (and I mean giant; you could easily get turned around trying to find a place within the hotel) stretched out over 10 acres. With plants filling every walkway, the majority of the hotel was enclosed within an atrium, which made for beautiful and temperate walks to and from meetings. For this time of year, it was relatively cool in the Dallas (high 60, lows 40 degrees F) area, so this was a great feature.

The location was good, with downtown Grapevine just a short drive away. For a bit of a longer drive, Dallas and Fort Worth were also accessible. Considering that it was rainy and chilly for Texas, I doubt anyone minded that there was not really anything outside the Convention center that was within walking distance!

The Exhibit Hall

The convention was definitely packed with exhibitors. The hall was organized into carpeted rows (100 row, 200 row, and so on through 800), with plenty of walkways in between. Large, memorable exhibitors such as Equator, Core Logic and QBE stole the show with over-the-top exhibit booth setups that could be seen from anywhere at the conference.

And don’t forget about the giveaways! There was plenty to grab before heading on to the next session. From cake pop goodies, stuffed animals, bags, and energy drinks, there was plenty to take home.

I manned the booth, and I can definitely say that the conference was well attended.

The Sessions

Plenty of informative sessions took place, including a great speech from Billy Beane. The Oakland A’s General Manager, whose speech Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game  shared his experience and definitely challenged the audience to think in new ways. He explained the similarities in business and in baseball. His insight certainly proved to be useful to those who attended. The opening general session definitely kicked off the conference with a bang and set the precedent for the rest of the speakers and sessions.

The Meetings

Off-site meetings galore! This conference was definitely valuable, as we at Firefly were able to meet with our current clients. It also provided many opportunities for us to meet new faces as well.  This conference was exceptional at allocating time to network.

The IACC 42nd Annual Convention was a fantastic conference held January 16-18 2013 by the International Association of Commercial Collectors. The convention took place at the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach Resort & Spa in Miami Beach, Florida. The conference was attended by Jennifer Dlugolecki, Director of Client Relations, and Stephanie Irvine, Marketing + Communications Specialist of Firefly.

Aside from the tropical temperature and resort atmosphere, this conference was packed with networking opportunities and informational sessions, as most conferences are. However, the convention organizers truly did an exceptional job. Check out some of the highlights!

Welcoming Reception/Meeting

The welcoming reception started the convention off on a great note with a fresh cocktail hour followed by a three course meal. The meeting was brief and introduced the award winners, new members, new conference attendees, and the president-elect. A couple humorous speeches were given and the meeting was adjourned. Again, a great opening session that held everyone’s attention, wasn’t too long, and got the conference off to a great start.

The Exhibit Hall

An intimate convention room allowed for attendees to grab a bite to eat and speak with vendors and other attendees. The small setting was fantastic and allowed the vendors to get great attention. The conference was the perfect size to allow for true interaction.

Check out our booth! A lot of the chotchkies we brought had already been snagged up at the time of our picture.

Meet the Attorneys

This session was fantastic. It allowed the vendors to meet and connect with the IACC attorneys. There are so many conventions and conferences where there are few opportunities to actually meet and talk with the attorneys at a conference. This allowed for a quick meet and great, which set the tone for a personalized conference with true networking possibilities. Later, exhibitors were introduced and allowed a few minutes to introduce themselves. I loved this part– it allowed us to reach a wider audience that might not have known who we are.

Client Customer Service Session

This session provided great tips for garnering a true relationship with your clients and prospective clients. This session was helpful not just for the attorneys, but also for vendors. Everyone benefited from the advice provided. Also, social media and it’s importance (or lack thereof) in the legal world. This was a riveting discussion that included opinions from both sides. Projections for what would happen with social media and law firms in the future were also discussed. This was absolutely an engaging session.

Special Event: Floridian Princess Dinner Cruise

The special event on Thursday evening encouraged attendees to get on board The Floridian Princess for a sunset cruise and dinner along the intercoastal waterways. The weather was perfect for this event, a live band played until 10:00 pm, and the sights were amazing.

Overall, this conference proved to be a great conference, and we will definitely be attending in the future.