LFVA October 2017 Newsletter

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LFVA On The Move
An Update & The Low Down 
From LFVA
Select, committed and service-oriented vendors serving the legal community.
October 2017
In This Issue

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President’s Message  

 

September in Washington can mean different things to different people. If sports is your thing, September means baseball playoffs are around the corner and Washington Redskins are back in action. If you are like me and still have younger children at home, September means back to school and the official end of summer. If you are involved in the legal community, then September means another awesome LFVA event. For some of us, it means all three and much, much more.

The Events Committee under the leadership of Stacy Fischbach, Kevin Ward and Peter Thaler organized an outstanding event at one of DC’s premier restaurants, RPM. The food was over the top, the setting was great and everything just seemed flow perfectly. For those of you that have hosted an organized event of this size, know how hard the “flowed perfectly” can be so I applaud the Events Committee for pulling this off.

As always, it’s so nice to see so many friendly faces and to have the opportunity to thank them for their support. In speaking to some of you, comments were made about how long you have been coming to the LFVA events and how they have changed over the years. The events don’t seem quite as wild, the food seems to be getting better and better and the crowds are getting larger. One thing that has been constant is the great fellowship these events provide. I know I’ve said it before but I speak for the whole group when I tell you how much we look forward seeing so many good friends and having the opportunity to catch up with everyone.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means the holiday season will soon begin. I look forward to seeing you all at this year’s Holiday event. 2018 is a big year with the ALA National Convention at the Gaylord in May and the planning has already begun for a huge LFVA event at National Harbor.

On behalf of the LFVA, thank you so much for all of your support!

Sincerely,
Craig

                                 
 
Upcoming Events
Oct. 18: Quarterly Networking Lunch
Oct. 26: Be a Better Boss Webinar Series Part 2
Nov. 2: The Headwinds of Leadership: a Blueprint for Resillient Leaders
Nov. 2: Networking Happy Hour & Silent Auction
Nov. 3: Capital Chapter Retreat: Leading Your Firm Into the Future
Nov. 15: Be a Better Boss Webinar Series Part 3
Dec. 6: Annual Meeting Holiday Lunch

                                                
LFVA Newsletter Committee 
    
Meghan Dunn, ADC Corp.
 
Brian Alvarez, MOI, Inc.
 
Debbie Sachs, MOI, Inc. 
 
Matt Vester, HITT Contracting, Inc.
 
                                                              
        
 

2017 RPM Fall Event
  

As summer came to a close and the kids headed back to school, it was time for all of us to get back to the swing of things. What better way to do so than with a cocktail party at one of DC’s best new restaurants and time to catch up on everyone’s summer.

RPM Italian has been described as offering a Milan modern menu that appeals to a wide variety of guests with dishes meant to be shared, including more than a dozen fresh pastas made in-house daily, wild fish and seafood and celebrated Italian classics. The overall feel is very chic with sleek furnishings and perfectly set mood lighting. The extensive wine list has more than 500 Italian and American vintners and the cocktails offered are blend classic and modern styles.

With a pasta bar, incredible seafood, and miniature cannoli’s the evening was a perfect way to send off summer and welcome fall! As always, we all enjoyed seeing old friends, making new ones and having a few laughs over great food and wine. When the evening came to a close we all bid farewell with the promise of seeing each other soon and a great bottle of cold pressed olive oil! 

 

Flickr

LFVA Member Spotlight

Document Security

How the modern law office is keeping documents more secure, while meeting space restrictions and budget requirements?

Many veteran legal administrators can probably quote the rule by heart. According to the American Bar Association, Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6, “A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.”

The consequence of a security breach can be devastating. The last two years have seen the first legal malpractice suit to allege gross negligence over a law firm’s security protocols, and even the notorious “Panama Papers” data breach which started with a law firm’s security leak. Today, more than ever, you need a document security plan — and a professional document security supplier.

Secure Document Destruction
Document destruction (shredding) is ultimately the single best way to ensure the security of your written information. The benefits of document destruction include:

 Reduced storage costs
 Absolute safeguards against information leaks
 Assured compliance with state and federal document destruction regulations.

There is a reason you were storing hard copy documents in the first place. Savvy legal administrators use a document security protocol that combines document destruction with secure digital archiving.

Secure Digital Archiving
This comprehensive solution is the choice of a growing number of law firms that value document security and access. With 24/7 online access to your records, you can easily access, share and collaborate instantly. You can also control access to your records by designating who should, and should not, have access to which files). Your archiving supplier may even offer an indexing process which will allow more rapid searches of your digitally archived content.

Ensure your digital archiving supplier meets these security criteria:
 Trained and vetted employees: including background checks, drug screenings, and e-verify validation
 A dual-layer quality control process
 Accurate, high-speed production scanning equipment and indexing
 Document management procedures and protocols
 Proprietary indexing to eliminate mix-matches

After determining that a digital archiving vendor meets your security criteria, review the files you have, how often you’ll want access, and how you’ll want access controlled. You may find that digital archiving offers you a cost-saving solution that provides higher security, lower cost, and faster access to documents than paper files ever could.

Company Profile:
JK Moving Services is an independent, professionally trained global relocation company that utilizes full time background checked personnel. We are in the business to provide you with a low stress relocation for residential, commercial and international relocations.
We earn our reputation for customer satisfaction through on-time performance, accurate pricing and complete professionalism. Our size, and strong financial position, allows us to properly maintain our fleet and regularly add resources, as necessary, to ensure unsurpassed capabilities.

Website:
jkmoving.com

 

SERVICE DOGS BY WARREN RETRIEVERS

For over seven years, Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers (SDWR), a 501c3 non-profit organization, has been breeding, training and providing service dogs to people with disabilities that may not be apparent, such as diabetes, autism, seizure and PTSD. Their mission is to provide as many high-quality bred and well-trained service dogs as the need demands.

This wonderful organization was the Law Firm Vendors Association charity selection for 2017. Our contribution will help defray some of the costs for the training and care of these specials dogs. To completely prepare one of these special animals for a family the cost is approximately $50,000.00 per dog. One of the priorities of Warren Retrievers is to be able to keep the cost of a dog for families as low as possible. Families enroll as volunteer ambassadors and in this role will raise awareness, donations and advocacy. The families work with the organization’s Client Services Department and Resource Center to raise funds. These efforts help the families raise the goal of $25,000.00 as their contribution toward the cost of the service dog.

Every case is different and the SDWR program is specifically designed for each client’s unique needs. The clients share details and a program is created that targets their primary concerns. Around the DC area there are approximately 30 families who have received a service dog from the organization.
The organization’s Puppies in Training Program is one of the initiatives. The puppies in training are with families or are provided foundational training by college puppy raisers. SDWR has established partnerships with 15 colleges throughout the United States where college student raise the pups on the campuses. When the pups are approximately 18 months old, they then go live with a SDWR trainer for about three to four months to refine their skill set specific to the disability they have been chosen to assist.

Recently LFVA members Lori DiCesare and Joanna Davis went to University of Maryland College Park campus for the FOPP/Puppy Raiser Program. At this event the organization delivered approximately 4 puppies to students. These college students will be raising some of these special puppies, giving them the foundation they need before the next step in the training process. We also had the privilege of meeting some of the students that received the puppies and will be involved for a phase of the training. They receive initial training for about 4 hours when they initially receive their dog and continuous support and guidance from the organization throughout their time raising the puppies.


Another special part of Warren Retrievers is the Fallen Officer Program. This program was developed in 2016 and is the organizations way to pay tribute to the officers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to the community. The puppies are named after fallen officers and a way to honor the individuals and is also the organization’s way of saying “thank you” for your service. We met two of these wonderful puppies named Diamond and Carmen.Warren Retrievers is a wonderful organization and these well-trained service dogs provide both life saving techniques and peace of mind to those managing a disability or disease.