Today was a very difficult day for us. We laid off about 50 of our good friends and co-workers as part of a re-organization around our product offerings.
Many companies making the jump from start-up to enterprise have experienced the same pain. History has shown that it is nearly impossible to manage growth perfectly during this transition and we are no exception. The people leaving us today have made tremendous contributions to our products and services, our discourse and our culture and we will be sad to see them go.
This has been my most difficult decision in 8 years as Founder and CEO. I explored every alternative and poured over spreadsheets until my eyes blurred. I've come to the conclusion that this is our best path for continuing to be an effective and efficient enterprise that drives the greatest value to our customers and employees.
We wish a speedy transition to successful new careers for all of our former Totalites.
Total Attorneys employees had some interesting thoughts on what 2010 would bring for the company. Check out the video to see some of these crazy predisctions!
On May 21st, 2009, over 30 Total Attorneys runners laced up their running shoes and raced to the finish line to promote fundraising for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Overall, more than 60 employees attended the event and showed their support. With drinks, games, and catering by Sweet Baby Rays, the Total Attorneys tent was the envy of the Grant Park crowd.
Over 17,000 runners and 500 companies participated in the 5k race through Grant Park in the heart of Chicago, IL. See our recap video below:
Have you ever had a story to tell that was so big, that you couldn’t decide on where to begin? Well over the last few weeks we have made numerous improvements to the Total Attorneys case management system. Our goal was to remove the extra content and information that was bogging down the user experience and making it difficult to navigate to critical information. We have indicated a few of the changes below, please send us your feedback at: support@totalattorneys.com
Bankruptcy Case Support has evolved considerably during its first year. As we’ve learned from experience and from our clients, we’ve tweaked our processes to improve service and flexibility. What we’ve learned during that process is being carried forward as we develop new products and services. For example, when we started bankruptcy case support, it was a full-service program only. While many of our clients appreciated the start-to-finish service, some of you told us that you wanted to choose your own credit counseling providers or had a special need for a certain piece of the process. So, we unbundled our offerings to allow our customers to choose the services that best helped their practices.
One of the benefits of offering various services to similarly-situated customers is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Having learned that small firm attorneys and solo practitioners using our Bankruptcy Case Support services wanted the flexibility to purchase only the services important to them, we carried that knowledge forward as we developed our Virtual Receptionist program. Virtual Receptionist clients determine whether they want straight answering-service-style services or would like to add call screening and routing, hot transfers and appointment setting. And, they have the ability to turn those services on and off with just a quick email or telephone call.
The same transparency that allows us to learn as we go and develop our services in tandem with our clients is built right into our products, so that our attorney and law firm clients can monitor our work in real time. For instance, Bankruptcy Case Support clients will soon be able to log in to their accounts and check the progress at any time and be assured of up-to-the-minute information. Our goal was to make it as easy for an attorney to fulfill his ethical obligation to supervise our paralegals as it would be paralegals in his own office, but it turns out that we’ve gone one better: clients tell us that it’s actually easier to monitor our cases, since there’s one convenient place to log in and track all pending case files at once rather than having to pull multiple files.
Keep the feedback coming! We’re looking forward to taking the next steps with you.
On a sunny and beautiful Saturday, September 19th, Total Attorneys employees set out to compete in the annual golf tournament. Hosted by Marovitz Golf Course in Downtown Chicago, IL, 40 golfers competed in teams of 4 using the “4-ball scramble” style tournament rules. The event also featured catered food, drinks, and a bags game. Congratulations to Andrew, Larry, Jay, and Karl for being this year’s Total Golf Champions! Check out the video below to catch the action!
“I don’t think anything is more critical to the future of this company than those that we hire tomorrow,” – CEO and Founder Ed Scanlan.
Tremendous growth in the past three years has required us to find innovative ways to keep our employee pipeline full and find the best candidate for the job. All qualified candidates are required to participate in an in-depth behavioral interview that helps uncover traits and behaviors required to be successful in each position. Total Attorneys believes in spending the time up-front to find individuals with not just the right skills but also the right chemistry. Our recruiting process leads to smarter hires, a stronger organization, and positive growth.
“Total Talent Throwdown” was a 21+ show and featured five musical acts from our very own talented base of employees. The acts served up something for all musical tastes, including Classic Rock, Punk, and even Bluegrass Rap (yes, that’s right).
The event helped to raise money for the Chicago Youth Centers’ Fellowship House.
You definitely know by now that we’re always looking for ways to grow, expand and adapt our services to improve the legal industry for consumers, small law firms and solo practitioners. We make those changes every day, in small ways and sometimes in larger, more dramatic ones. Today, our acquisition of Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC (VLOTech) is one of the big ones.
Like Total Attorneys, VLOTech has dedicated its efforts to helping small law firms grow through technology. With VLOTech software, an attorney can practice law anywhere there’s an Internet connection. The software affords amazing possibilities to attorneys and consumers.
VLOTech makes it possible to build and maintain a full law practice with or without a physical office location. It allows consumers who live in rural areas or are unable to get to an attorney’s office to retain legal services online. For both virtual and brick-and-mortar practices, it allows clients to log in 24/7 to securely upload and download documents, complete legal forms, update personal information, review invoices, make payments, and more.
And, of course, we’re not stopping there. We’re all very excited about the many ways this software integrates with existing Total Attorneys products and our plans for the future. VLOTech Co-founder Stephanie Kimbro will assume the title of Total Attorneys Evangelist, while continuing in her virtual law practice. Co-founder Benjamin Norman will be joining us as a Senior Developer and will continue to expand VLOTech features.
The addition of VLOTech to our product line is a significant step in our ongoing effort to revolutionize the delivery of legal services, and we expect both attorneys and clients to benefit from the flexibility and efficiency it offers. Consumers and legal professionals will see the quality of representation and access to legal services improve as we integrate our two innovative companies into one.
As one of the fastest growing companies in the country, a prevalent issue we must constantly address is how to grow–literally. Each week, we are adding more and more very talented employees who are crucial to our business, but where do we expand, where do we put them?
In July of 2009, Total Attorneys purchased the adjacent office space on the 4th floor. After some much-needed renovations, the new space finally opened on Friday, September 25th, adding nearly 8,000 sq. ft. and over 100 new desks. Also added is a third kitchen area, a new conference room, and bike storage for our eco-friendly employees.
Desks were claimed. Teams reorganized. Entire departments changed floors. And yet, somehow, mass hysteria was avoided. We now have some room to grow into. For now…