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Lawline Team Culture – Post 11 of 20

Culture Blog and Book

One of the most important parts of Lawline.com’s culture is showing the world what we are all about.

By creating a Culture Blog, Lawline.com employees have the ability to post anything affiliated with the company including their experiences, new ideas, and lessons learned through collaboration. Every morning during the Morning Huddle, an employee is assigned to give a 10 minute presentation on anything; Ted videos, personal interests or hobbies, or organize a quick activity. Following the Huddle, the employee posts a summary of their presentation on the blog. This allows the world a sneak-peak into the Lawline.com offices on a daily basis.

Some job candidates have asked me before, “Is your company really as cool as it seems on your Culture Blog?”

The answers is pretty simple. Once a candidate comes into our offices for an interview they get to witness it first hand and we let them be the judge!

The Culture Book is another example of how we document our company culture and environment. We ask all employees every six months to tell us what Lawline.com’s culture means to them. They submit a few paragraphs that go untouched into the culture book which is published semi-annually.

For us, the Culture Blog and Culture Book allow for a transparent view of the company. It also allows us to see where we can improve. In one of our more recent Culture Book submissions we had an employee say they loved working here but they wished the snacks in the Idea Room didn’t run out so quickly. In response to that, we installed snack jars on the wall which are filled daily!

To us it is simple: The more feedback we ask for from our employees, the more we can improve our business, culture, and company!

Posted in: Exuding Optimism | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/03/14/lawline-team-culture-post-11-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture – Post 10 of 20

Transparency

As an employee, what do you want to know about your company? What is it that management keeps from everyone else? What are the secrets they are talking about behind closed doors? What the hell does that revenue statement for Q3 look like?!?!?

These are questions most people have running through their minds randomly. Employees think about it, talk to each other about it, then wonder why there isn’t a free Red Bull dispensary in the break room yet.

Transparency is more important now than ever before. Employees HATE having to work and work and work, and never really know what the company, as a whole, is accomplishing.

At Lawline, we have set up a culture which includes honesty, integrity, and transparency. The company is often updated on the new records and milestones Lawline is hitting in terms of revenue by direct managers, CEO and COO. You can sense the camaraderie in the room when topics like this are discussed.

“I’m not afraid to let our company know how well we are doing. In fact, I have seen first hand that if you share this information you will have a company that buys into what you are doing because they see the results of their work,” says Lawline.com President, David Schnurman, “Giving our employees more information and a vision as to what we want to become makes all the difference in the world. I could never imagine not sharing our results and our vision with employees.”

Posted in: Driven to be better | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/03/07/lawline-team-culture-post-10-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture – Post 9 of 20

Accountability

Management is more of an art than a science. Every person is different, which requires a manager to understand each person separately rather than managing everyone in the same way. Saying something to an employee in one way can be interpreted by another employee in a completely different way.

One thing that does change when managing people is holding them accountable to their work.

While the style or approach a manager takes with people may be different, each employee must be held accountable for their work regardless of what part of the business they function in. This is very important in a small business where roles can often be shared, changed, and undefined due to the growing culture.

David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline.com, believes in order to make people accountable for their actions agreements must be in place. “I learned early on in starting my own company that people will do their best work on things they want to do or enjoy. This is why when I speak to my employees I want them to tell me they can do something or they will get the work done.”

David believes in asking people if they can complete tasks rather than telling them.

“If I say to an employee ‘Create 40 new CLE courses for us this month’ this is an order coming from me. They can easily tell me at the end of the month that I have set the bar too high for them and it was impossible for them to get the work done. But if I ask them ‘Do you think you can create 40 CLE programs this month?’ then it becomes an idea they are agreeing to. They have the choice to say no and suggest a different number, but now it has become their idea.”

This accountability and management style is what has allowed Lawline.com to grow with confidence to now 35 employees! (with more on the way!)

Posted in: Driven to be better | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/02/22/lawline-team-culture-post-9-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture – Post 8 of 20

Core Value Questions

Each candidate who goes through the interview process with Lawline.com is asked to answer a series of questions related to our Core Values. These questions allow us to get a better understanding of them and their values. They also provide a very good written sample.

See the Core Values and questions below:

Taking Time to Help Others
Can you think of examples in the pas six months of when you have taken time to help others? If so, what was the result? Also, what are some of the benefits you find when you help others without wanting anything in return?

Exuding Optimism
“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative though.” “Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can’t be done.” We all wish we were pure optimists in life as nothing would ever get you down. Do you consider yourself an optimist? If so, what percentage of your personality does it make up and why?

Learn
We all learn in different ways. Some people read books, others attend classes or watch online courses. What have you done to actively learn over the past six months? Maybe tell us the most recent books you read or a great documentary you watched. There are lots of ways to learn that do not fit the traditional view.

Seeking Creative Solutions
We love people who think on their feet and can find a creative solution to a given challenge. Most challenges come with little warning and need to be solved in a short period of time. It is a certain type of person who excels under these circumstances. What is it about you that we will love when it comes to seeking creative solutions?

Drive to Find a Better Way
When someone is driven to find a better way, they try to make a fundamental difference that will cause a long lasting change. Is there any issue or problem you believe can be done better? What solutions do you have to make it better? For example, cutting a six pack holder so it does not hurt dolphins is a creative solution to the problem. Finding a better way is not dumping them in the ocean in the first place.

After reading the answers to these questions each interviewer has a much better understanding for the candidate. During interviews at our office, we will ask questions pertaining to the answers to the Core Value Questions. This has impacted our hiring tremendously and allows for a more thorough interviewing session.

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/02/09/lawline-team-culture-post-8-of-20/

The Success Principles – Melissa from Production

Every new employee is given “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield. This book talks about the mental part of life and how the decisions we make are ultimately up to us. No one else can decide what we do, how we feel, or how we do things. Here is Melissa’s feedback on the book.

Before reading “The Success Principles”, by Jack Canfield, I considered myself a pretty positive person. I try to be fully supportive to those around me, and give encouragement and advice whenever possible. When I began reading this book, however, I realized something; I never payed any attention to my inner voice. Externally, I was offering positive thoughts and reassurance to others, while denying myself the very same thing.

In his book, Canfield talks about aggressively changing any negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones by affirming these new thoughts aloud. He says that by doing this you can actually change your moods and re-energize your own personal goals. By re-affirming these positive thoughts and visualizing yourself completing set goals, Canfield believes that you can actually draw successes to them- with a lot of hard work, of course.

Although I’m not sure if I buy into the idea of getting something you want by willing it to happen, but making daily affirmations like, “today is going to be a great day, I’m going to get a lot accomplished today”, really had made a huge difference. I find myself coming into work almost excited to make my statement come true. When you complete your goal, especially after you’ve said it aloud, you feel an extra sense of accomplishment and pride. When I don’t recite a morning affirmation and a lot gets completed I feel good about the work I did, but it doesn’t compare to being able to say to myself, “I completed a goal today”.

You’re thoughts to yourself make a huge difference in your moods. Even though it seems strange at first, the more you reaffirm new positive thoughts, the less you have to consciously think about them. They start to become your new, supportive and positive inner voice.

Posted in: Actively learning, Exuding Optimism | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/02/08/the-success-principles-melissa-from-production/

The Success Principles – Andrew from Customer Service

Every new employee is given “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield. This book talks about the mental part of life and how the decisions we make are ultimately up to us. No one else can decide what we do, how we feel, or how we do things. Here is Andrew’s feedback on the book.

There are many times that we are faced with conflicts that occur in our private and work lives. Many people, including myself, have made the wrong decision about who we discuss the conflict with. Quite often, we complain to people who can not help us with the complaint. For example, people go to work and complain about their girlfriend to their co-workers.

When they come home from work they complain about their troubles at work to their girl friend. There is a simple reason why many of us approach conflicts in this manner. The reason is because it is easier and less risky. It takes courage and fortitude to talk to your girlfriend/boyfriend and tell them that you are not happy with the way things are working out. There’s an even larger risk when you’re asking for a behavioral change. For example, it takes valor and courage to be assertive to your boss and ask for better hours.

At the end of the day, your boss and you are the only people who can affect the outcome. Your girlfriend can be a great listener but she has no power to affect the situation.

Successful people learn to replace complaining with requests and take action to propel themselves closer to their goal. Successful people when they find themselves in situations that they do not like they either work to make it more to their liking or they leave. It is all about have the right attitude for the situation.

Taking this concept one notion further, author Jack Canfield of the book “The Success Principles” tells a quick story about Ty Cobb. Reporters asked Cobb when he was 70 “What do you think you’d hit if you were playing these days?” He replied, “ About .290 maybe .300” The reporter replied,” that’s because of the travel, the night games, the artificial turf, and all the new pitches like the slider, right?” Cobb replied “No, its because I am 70,” Now that is a fine example of self-belief.

This book is a great collection of many short stories that affirm success through a plan. I could have discussed many stories and many tenets but I felt the two that I discussed previously are the most relevant to my life. Although they may seem basic on the surface, proper attitude and self-belief are two principles that I am striving to infuse into my life to help me achieve my own success story.

Posted in: Actively learning, Driven to be better, Exuding Optimism | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/02/08/the-success-principles-andrew-from-customer-service/

Lawline Team Culture – Post 7 of 20

PLAID

During each interview Lawline.com employees will measure 5 core qualities of the candidate. These qualities are not something that will change or improve much if the candidate is brought on for the position. A sheet of paper with each quality is given to each interviewer to fill out following the interview.

PLAID is the acronym we use.

Professionalism
Likeable
Articulate
Intelligence
Driven

Each candidate is scored on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the highest score. Professionalism, likeable, and articulate do not have specific questions to rate each candidate. These are subjective to each interviewer and are scored based on the candidate’s performance during the interview. One question we put on each employee’s PLAID form to fill out during the interview is ‘Would you want to work with this person?’.

Intelligence is based off of the behavioral questions asked during the interview. We use many examples to see what the candidate would do in real Lawline scenarios such as assisting customers. Driven is very similar with behavioral questions, but it is also based upon a candidate’s resume (and extracurricular participation in college if an entry level candidate).

Through using PLAID, we have raised the quality of new employees. We also streamlined part of our hiring process to ensure there is a standard to go by.

PLAID has allowed our company culture to evolve and become stronger with the hiring of each new employee!

Posted in: Driven to be better, Seeking creative solutions | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/02/07/lawline-team-culture-post-7-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture Series – Post 6 of 20

Hiring Practice

The only way to build on top of the great company culture Lawline.com has created is to add more members of the team who will believe and be invested in the culture. That is why our Hiring process and practices are very rigorous and always evolving to find the best way.

The process will always start with a candidate answering a few questions based on our Core Values. These questions are graded by our hiring staff to decide the next step for the candidate. Soon after a phone interview is set up for the candidate. The preliminary conversation focuses around the candidates experience and job function.

Following the phone interview candidates will be given access to a trial account to view Lawline.com from a customer’s perspective and provide feedback on their experience. This gives the candidate a great chance to show their analytic skills. The feedback is reviewed and hopefully an in-person interview will be conducted. The main objective of the in-person interview is to go a bit further into the candidates resume and grade them on our Culture PLAID scale (Professionalism, Like-able, Articulate, Intelligence, and Driven). Each candidate is graded on a 1-5 system.

An assignment is then given to each candidate to complete, which differ depending on the department. It is a very simple task we assign, which let’s us take a peak at the person’s creative and driven side. These are graded and discussed by the hiring team, upon which references are checked.

One more in-person interview is set up to meet with management, which will look to ask behavioral and open ended questions to the candidate. These interviews are conducted in our “World Famous” Idea Room.

The final part of the interview process includes spending a day in the life of that position. The candidate is trained by an employee to get accustomed to the position, then the candidate performs simple tasks included in their potential job for a few hours. This gets the candidate to understand the company culture, the position, and co-workers. It also gives Lawline.com a chance to see how the candidate performs and transitions throughout the day.

Most importantly, Lawline.com is looking to add to its solid culture! And please, no typos!!!!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/02/03/lawline-team-culture-series-post-6-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture Series – Post 5 of 20

Culture of Discipline

Many think a great idea can turn into millions. This is true, kind of. An idea is only a piece of a larger puzzle which can create something great.

A large part of that puzzle is the structure of an organization. Within that structure is one characteristic which creates solitude: discipline.

Imagine, as an owner, trying to start your morning off with a meeting involving the entire company, in which everyone plays an intricate part in the meeting. Now imagine if only 25% of your organization showed up on time for the meeting, with the rest coming in a few minutes apart, until finally at the conclusion of the meeting everyone has arrived. Think of the same example, except only 50% or 75% show up on time.

If only 25% of the organization is on time, those in the meeting probably feel like outcasts for being the few in the office. At 50% the company is split between those who are there and those who are not. At 75% the outcasts become those who are not on time.

Now imagine if every morning 95% of the company was on time to the morning meeting. Maybe that 95% makes up 1, 3, or 5 people not on time. Those people are going to feel mighty awkward walking into that meeting late. They will also make sure if they are late, they will make sure it will be the last time.

Having everyone buy into this type of culture of discipline is a very important part of the Lawline Team Culture. Unless you get buy-in from employees, this is not possible. Leaders in the organization are expected to lead by example, and with that, followers are necessary to enforce these examples.

No one enjoys waking up to an alarm clock (or at least not many!), but discipline is all about doing what you don’t want to do, when you don’t want to do it. At the very least, enjoy where you work and what you do to put yourself in a position to succeed!

Posted in: Driven to be better, Exuding Optimism | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/02/01/lawline-team-culture-series-post-5-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture Series – Post 4 of 20

History of Lawline.com

Lawline.com has expanded its reach to accountants with the addition of CPELine.com.


Apple started in a garage. Facebook started in a dorm room.

Lawline.com started in a kitchen.

Lawline.com started in 1999 as one of the first web-based CLE providers. In 2007 David Schnurman hired his first employees to turn Lawline.com into the nation’s leading online CLE provider. It started in the kitchen of the current Lawline.com offices.

In 2009 the company had grown to about 12 employees and the organizational structure was set up by David, forming a small customer support team, content development department, and web development team. David’s goal was to develop a workplace where employees enjoyed the environment, and a place where David could be creative 24/7. There were many lessons he learned in the beginning, most importantly, that he could not control what other people did or thought. It was up to him to set employees up for success, and allow them to take the lead and flourish using their resources.

The team has now expanded to over 30 employees and continues to grow. The support, content, and web development teams have continued to add members, and Lawline.com has added fully structured sales, retention, marketing, and accreditation teams as well. Lawline.com has also added its Core Values, Morning Huddles, and strict hiring process to the mix to help to continue to shape the company into an enterprise.

In 2011 Lawline.com expanded its continuing education reach to accountants with the addition of CPELine.com. It plans to grow CPELine.com as well as add other verticals to its repertoire including financial planners, engineers, and human resource professionals in 2012!

Posted in: Driven to be better | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/01/30/lawline-team-culture-series-post-4-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture Series – Post 3 of 20

Lawline.com Core Values

What makes Lawline’s Core Values unique?

Our Core Values were created over time and took many different versions to finally come up with the list of five. It began when we started developing our hiring and application process. We tried to brainstorm the qualities our top employees embodied which would then be used to recruit the same type of “A Players”.

David came back with an idea of using the acronym “LAIDS”, which stood for: Likeable, Articulate, Intelligent, Driven, and Sociable. Each of our top employees scored a 5 out of 5 on the LAIDS scale. This helped our recruiting process because after each interview, the interviewee would have to score the candidate on LAIDS.

After improving the hiring process with this scoring technique, we sat down and started brainstorming our Core Values from LAIDS. The goal of having our Core Values has been to hire candidates who we feel embody these values on a daily basis, even if they do not realize it. We finalized the following:

- Actively Learning
- Seeking Creative Solutions
- Taking Time to Help Others
- Exuding Optimism
- Driven to Find a Better Way

To make this official, new hires are given a Core Values Card with their name on it which they are to hold onto daily. We also have our Core Values hung up in our offices (in the Idea Room which is where the snacks and coffee are located) for everyone to see. Every month a Core Values Newsletter is printed up, highlighting employees who have gone above and beyond the Core Values.

Posted in: Actively learning, Driven to be better, Exuding Optimism, Seeking creative solutions, Taking time to help others | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/01/27/lawline-team-culture-series-post-3-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture Series – Post 2 of 20

The Team Huddle

As explained in post 1, Lawline.com holds a morning meeting, daily, at 8:30am. The entire company comes together for the brief Huddle. After a 5 minute presentation by one of the members of the team, the huddle begins with one person moderating the quick responses from employees. The basic structure of the Huddle is meant to provide high energy and efficient answers.

Every morning starts with good news. The moderator will ask everyone to share the news, typically being something geared towards recognition for a completed project or task. But good news can also be non-work related news such as someone getting engaged over the weekend.

Each member of the team will share within a 40 second response, “Yesterday, today, and what’s in my way,”. This allows everyone to be on the same page in each department with a summary of the last and next 12 hours.

The high energy environment allows everyone to participate and stay focused on the short meeting. It is something employees thoroughly enjoy being a part of, and helps to build a sense of community within the company.

Check out the people at 1-800-GOT-JUNK and their morning huddle here.

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/01/26/lawline-team-culture-series-post-2-of-20/

Lawline Team Culture Series – Post 1 of 20

On January 24th, 2012, President and CEO of Lawline.com, David Schnurman, presented “10 Keys to Creating an Amazing Team Culture” in New York City. The event turned out to be a great success with everyone in attendance participating and collaborating on ideas used by Lawline.com. Over the next 20 days I will be highlighting main points from the lecture and how it is used by Lawline.com.

The Jolt

Every morning Lawline.com holds a company “Huddle” to start the day at 8:30am. A different employee is assigned to present each morning for 5 minutes to get the day started before breaking out into departmental meetings. It is common for an employee to perform a Jolt to start the day and get their creative juices flowing.

A Jolt is a brief exercise moderated by the presenter prior to going into their presentation. Before presenting the “10 Keys to Creating an Amazing Team Culture”, David started by having everyone in attendance stand and face the person next to them. The Jolt he had everyone perform was “The 3 Handshakes.” The first step of the Jolt was to shake the person’s hand next to you as if you were the shyest person in the world. Next, you shook their hand as if you were the most arrogant person in the world. And finally, you shook the person’s hand next to you as if it were your best friend who you had not seen in ten years.

This allowed everyone to get acquainted in a much different way, got everyone laughing, and set the tone for the evening’s presentation.

Next time your giving a presentation, try a Jolt! To learn more about Jolts check out the book “Jolts! Activities to Wake Up and Engage Your Participants” by Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan and Tracy Tagliati.

Posted in: Actively learning, Seeking creative solutions | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2012/01/25/lawline-team-culture-series-post-1-of-20/

Lawline.com Wins HR-Leadership Award!

Lawline.com was nominated this summer as a finalist for the New York Enterprise Report 2011 Small Business Awards in the Human Resources & Leadership category. Last night the NYER hosted their annual awards dinner where hundreds of small business owners and employees gathered for the event.

We are happy to announce that Lawline.com was the winner in the Human Resources & Leadership category!

Lawline.com accepts the award for Human Resources and Leadership at the NYER 2011 Small Business Awards!

This award is thanks in large part to the one-of-a-kind company culture the Lawline.com employees have helped create and instill. By not only working but living by our Core Values (Actively Learning, Seeking Creative Solutions, Taking Time to Help Others, Exuding Optimism, and Driven to Find a Better Way) Lawline has created a positive and unique environment which promotes learning and innovation.

Lawline.com has attended the Small Business Awards the past three years as finalists for the Customer Service and Sales & Marketing categories, and we are excited that the third year was the charm!

Thanks to all of our great employees and customers who have made this possible for us!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/09/22/lawline-com-wins-hr-leadership-award/

Culture and Experience – Interns 2011

Summer 2011 has come and gone, and so have our Interns for this year. All four of them were able to exemplify our Core Values and carry them out on an every day basis. Working with students is one of my favorite parts of my job because I am able to share knowledge with people who have yet to experience what I have. Mentoring our interns and providing them with a great learning experience is our goal for every internship program.

Whether they are assisting our customers, preparing course materials, maintaining relationships with faculty, creating new courses, or assisting with recruitment, all interns are able to learn through real life experience. We would not have it any other way.

Lawline’s Internship Program normally requires a minimum of 20 hours per week for one reason: we want to make sure we are able to give this student enough responsibility that their job will be an important part of our company. Anything less than 20 hours can sometimes result in a person not being her often enough to depend on to complete assignments on a regular basis.

Our four interns from Summer 2011 (Brett, Brandon, Nadia, and Matt) share their experiences in the following videos. Feel free to check out what they thought of Lawline!

Matt Gold – Human Resource Internship Program – Florida State University

Nadia Tariq – Production Department Internship Program – Brooklyn Law School

Brandon Glantz and Brett Hirsch – Content Development Internship Program – Cardozo Law School and New York Law School

Posted in: Actively learning, Driven to be better | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/08/15/culture-and-experience-interns-2011/

Shark Week

With Discovery Channel’s Shark Week upon us, Lawline wanted to give everyone our favorite Shark Clip. Shark Week is just one of the many ways in which Lawline employees are Actively Learning! (Core Value #1)

Shark Week

Posted in: Actively learning | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/08/02/shark-week/

Lawline Runs the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge!

On June 16th, 2011 Lawline participated in the 35th annual JP Morgan Corporate Challenge along with 940 other companies in the NYC area. It was a great opportunity to bond together as a team and accomplish a goal of finishing the 3.5 mile race and raising funds for the Central Park Conservancy, which restores, manages and enhances the park.

Lawline gears up for the 3.5 JP Morgan Corporate Challenge on June 16th!

The Lawline Team (well, some of the Lawline Team) trained for weeks prior to the event in preparation for race. The top finishers were Micah and Jeff, who came in with impressive times under 27 minutes. Micah and Jeff are both experienced runners with marathons on their resumes!

Kyle is another Lawliner with marathon experience, completing the 2010 New York City Marathon, and sprinted out ahead of Dave and Frank F in no time!

After the race Lawline enjoyed the night life at The Gin Mill on Amsterdam Avenue, and re-hydrated ourselves after the long race! We are all looking forward to participating next year with even more participants!

Here are the race results!
Micah – 26:30
Jeff – 26:41
Gamal – 31:18
Kyle 31:52
Mike R – 32:27
David – 32:57
Frank F – 33:59
Mike K – 34:28
Nick – 37:31

Last minute phone call to clients before the race!

Jake – 39:34
Rob – 39:36
Hillary – 39:58
Chris – 42:42
Jon – 46:51
Mike S – 48:33
Christie – 48:50
Frank B – 51:30
Joey – 56:31

Great job by everyone!

Click here to check out more pictures of Lawline at the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge!

Check out the JP Morgan video from the 2011 NYC Race!

Posted in: Driven to be better, Seeking creative solutions, Taking time to help others | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/06/20/lawline-runs-the-jp-morgan-corporate-challenge/

Matt’s Three Month Review

Matt was hired in February to work in Lawline’s Sales Department and has done a great job in helping the company expand to new markets. He took the time out to reflect on his first three months on the job:

Not all sales jobs are created equal. This is something I’ve found out in the few months I’ve been here at Lawline. I used to think that telemarketing was telemarketing regardless of what you were selling and what company you worked for. At Lawline, this is definitely not the case. I have had countless jobs since I was little. Whether it was, mowing lawns, umpiring little league baseball, working as a security guard at my university’s art museum, to sales for large and small companies, I feel like my work experience has been relatively balanced. One thing that sets Lawline apart from all the others, is the sense of teamwork and impact each individual employee has on the company’s success and achievement.

At Lawline, you are not just another number. You are an individual who plays an important role on the success and progression of the company. We work closely and directly with management, other sales reps, and all aspects and departments of Lawline to ensure that this company succeeds. Each individual has a voice and everyone here listens. Creativity is encouraged, feedback is appreciated and ideas are implemented. This is something very few companies still do today.

One thing I really like about Lawline, is that their chain of command is flat compared to all other companies I have ever worked for. I don’t feel a sense of a “totem-pole hierarchy”. I don’t feel like just because I am a sales rep, who has only been here for a few months, that I am any less important than any others. We are a team, a group of individuals collectively working together to achieve a goal. Each individual plays an important role in achieving this goal and without each specific individual, our goals cannot be achieved.

The most important thing I have learned since being here at Lawline is that things aren’t always giving to you on a golden platter. If you want something, you have to go and get it. Hard work and determination are the keys to success here and in life. Reaching a goal through effort is the most rewarding way to achieve success. You get out what you put in and hard work and determination will pay off greatly. Lawline provides you with the resources and tools to achieve greatness.

Sales is cyclical and has countless ups and downs. It is a roller-coaster, but Lawline does all that it can to keep each individual on the up. We have happy hours, have gone rock climbing and consistently have contests to add a little friendly competition. If you want to work in a work-hard play-hard environment where you can play a major impact in individual and collective success, then Lawline is for you. Here you’re not just another number but a key component in the success of a fast growing company.

Posted in: Actively learning, Driven to be better, Exuding Optimism | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/05/26/matts-three-month-review/

Lawline Team Building Event

Lawline stepped out of the office early on Friday afternoon to tackle some of the tallest indoor rock climbing walls in Brooklyn!

Lawline scaled the walls of Brooklyn Boulder Friday for their latest Team Building Event!

The company’s latest Team Building Event featured employees pairing up to take part in a race up the wall for a $200 gift certificate. While only one team came away the prize, everyone had a blast and got to enjoy a day of laughing and climbing.

“When we were trying to figure out what our next Team Building Event should be, we wanted to do choose something that was different,” said David Schnurman, President of Lawline, “We are a different company. We are always looking to find a better way. And this type of activity makes you think outside the box as you figure out the fastest way to the top of the wall.”

All Lawline employees were given a Core Values card, individualized to each employee, which described the meaning behind the company’s mission: To become the universal standard for continuing education – one market, one state, one course at a time.

The company also shared with everyone the very first Lawline Core Values Newsletter. Five employees were highlighted in each category of actively learning, seeking creative solutions, taking time to help others, exuding optimism, and driven to find a better way.

“It is an honor to be put into the very first Core Values Newsletter,” said Christie LaBarca, Director of Customer Relations, “Building a team that has revolved around our customers had helped us to grow into what we are today, and will propel us in the future.”

What’s next up for Lawline and Team Building? Stay tuned to find out!

Posted in: Actively learning, Driven to be better, Exuding Optimism, Seeking creative solutions, Taking time to help others | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/05/09/lawline-team-building-event/

Dave Talks About the NFL Draft

I know how anxious everyone is for the royal wedding which will air at 4 am Friday morning, but let’s touch on the important issue right now; the NFL draft. Last season had many storylines: Michael Vicks comeback, the emergence of Peyon Hillis (who was crowned this year’s Madden cover) and the Green Bay Packers forgetting Brett Favre as a household name and welcoming Aaron Rogers with open arms. The most important, however, was the talks of the potential lockout for 2011. This seems like more and more of a reality with each passing day.

How loud will the boos be for Goodell tonight?

I get sick to my stomach to even think that we have billionaires fighting with millionaires over who should be getting paid more. We have more important issues facing our economy the last time I checked. But rather than get into a political discussion I want to touch on how important this year’s draft is. Carolina was awarded the number one pick for being the worst team in the NFL, and my money says they select Cam Newton. He may have character issues but you can’t deny the guy is a freakish athlete. Carolina scored 16 TD’s in 2010. They need a playmaker who can open up both the pass and the run and that is exactly what Newton brings to the table. Carolina is in a division with the likes of Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman. In order for them to be a contender they need a quarterback, since their lofty expectations for Jimmy Clausen seem to have gone by the wayside.

The Jets and Giants need to make their picks count. The Jets have drafted quite a few busts in recent years, selecting Vernon Gholston and Mark Sanchez to name a few. The position they need to address most is defensive line, since Shaun Ellis clearly cannot get the job done. If the Jets can get lucky they may be able to grab Jabaal Sheard, a DE out of Pitt or Cam Jordan a DE out of Cal. Either one would give them a more formidable defensive line. As for the Giants, they need to get younger on the offensive line which is why I’m hoping they can nab Derek Sherrod, a tackle out of Mississippi State.

This draft could make consensus overall pick Andrew Luck look like a genius for staying at Stanford another year if this lockout talk persists. Let’s hope the players and owners can work out some sort of compromise before the start of the NFL season because I won’t know what to do with myself come Sunday afternoons or Monday nights!

Are you ready for a lockout?! Let’s hope not!

Written by our in-house sports guru who is also one of our best salespeople! Dave

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/04/28/dave-talks-about-nfl-draft/

Reality Television Gone Lawline

We spend a lot of time on our Culture Blog dissecting the do’s and don’t's we learn from business, books, and experiences. One thing we rarely cover that helps give a great perspective on life in general is Reality TV. With Jersey Shore’s third season coming to a close and Real World Las Vegas getting a face lift, I figured I could review RWLV in an attempt to make sense of it all.

While watching the first two episodes of Real World Las Vegas last night I noticed a new style of production, as well as a new style is choosing cast members. Due to the standard that has been set by Jersey Shore, the people at MTV must have looked at this season as make or break: We either fall short of Jersey Shore again, or we go all out picking the most ridiculous group of 20 year olds. They chose the latter.

Las Vegas Strip

I am trying to figure out when Adam is going to get arrested or fight someone. He is the belligerent of the house, and destined to break up the relationship of Nany. You have no choice but to scream at the TV at her saying, “HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE SO DUMB AS TO FALL FOR ADAM’S ANTICS!” But, that is what makes MTV great.

I am not sure if Dustin should be ridiculed for holding back from fighting Michael, or if he would have been committing Reality TV Suicide by taking action. The rules of Real World are if you fight you are out. Maybe if realized, “I probably shouldn’t risk getting kicked off the show for fighting a kid a third my size, and for a girl who I have known for 72 hours.”

I am really excited to see Leroy get angry with Adam to the point where one of them will get kicked off. That’s right. I am throwing a Real World prediction out there that one of them will eventually make their way off the show. I’m not going out on the limb by assuming Adam will get the boot, but Leroy is the kicker.

All in all, episodes 1 and 2 were a success. Only two more episodes left of Jersey Shore before they head to Italy! I can’t believe I actually watch this stuff!!!

Posted in: Actively learning | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/03/17/reality-television-gone-lawline/

What Lawline Thinks of the Melo Trade

The news of the morning was all Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks. Being located in NYC, plenty of Lawline employees are Knicks fans, or at the very least, basketball fans. I decided to get some opinions on the blockbuster trade that ruined the dreams of any New Jersey Nets fans out there (could not find any here at Lawline, maybe they have turned to the Knicks!).

Jessica (sales) – It is kind of hard to say. I think a lot of people wanted him here to get a big name to become part of the Knicks. But only time will tell to see if it was a good trade or not. I’m just happy they did not trade Landry Fields.

Rob (sales) – I like it. I think Danilo Gallinari is going to be injury plagued throughout his career. Plus I like Billups bringing some veteran experience to the team.

Carmelo Anthony is officially a Knick

David (president) – ha

Chris (CS) – I like it.

Marcus (Celtics Fan) – I think they gave up a lot for him, but the NBA is a league of superstars. They just got a top 15 player and a top 7 point guard for a bunch of solid rotation players, but they still can not beat the Heat, Celtics, or Bulls.

Kyle (program attorney) – I think it is awesome. They are going to be a force now. Yes, we gave away a lot, but now it is a much better team. Billups is old, but still very good.

Hillary (Nuggets Fan) – It is the only place he wanted to go. He is going to do great especially with Amar’e Stoudemire and Billups. I was sad to see him go (Nuggets 4 Life). I secretly think LaLa forced him to come to New York because she works here.

Michael (accreditation) – I love it. He was not happy with the Nuggets and the Knicks can really use him.

Joey (only Nets Fan) – If they share the ball, definitely a perennial playoff team. It is a better deal for the Knicks. And the Nets have 5 first round picks in the next two or three years so its a different way to build their core.

Jonathan (sales) – I think it is great for New York. I hope I can see a game in the future. I’ve never actually been to a basketball game.

So there you have it. Most of us love it. I do as well. That team was not going very far, and it is definitely an upgrade. Let us know what you think!

Posted in: Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/02/22/what-lawline-thinks-of-the-melo-trade/

Zendesk and Mobile Sites!

Lawline has been busy adding a few new features to our site to create a more user friendly experience.  Two new additions headline our new features: Zendesk and our Mobile Site!

Our salespeople are jumping for joy as they now have an additional feature to pitch to customers.  With our Lawline Mobile Site, users can view courses on their smartphones and receive credit.  This makes Lawline the first Online Continuing Education company to provide streaming video courses on mobile devices!

Lawline has also launched a new Customer Support platform, Zendesk.  This will allow our great Customer Support team to resolve issues even quicker.  With capabilities to handle Customer Service over the phone, email, chat, through iPad, and through iPhone, Lawline can handle any issue at any time.  Customer Support Agents have just finished their training, and can’t believe how useful this software is.

“I am very happy with how useful Zendesk is for our Customer Support Team,” said Patricia in CS, “This is definitely going to enhance our user experience with support and make it easier for customers to resolve their issues.”

Lawline plans to develop an App as well to go along with the Mobile Site so stay tuned as we continue to raise the bar! Check out our Mobile Promo video below?

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/02/14/zendesk-and-mobile-sites/

The Need for Warm Weather

Like most of us at Lawline, I am sick of this snow.  Not only is walking through it making my cold morning commute even worse, but my socks are soaked by the time I get to the office.  When it comes to wanting a touch of spring to hit the air we are all in agreement.

This is why I decided to write a quick entry on a couple company activities we have to look forward to this spring and summer.  We’ll see what we decide on, but some of these we have tried in the past with success.

1) Yankee Game

Notice how I didn’t say “Mets Game.” And for good reason (the best is it is closer to the office, I think).  Last year there were about 20 of us at the time.  This time around there

Just trying to think to myself: I will be here in a few months!

should be about 45!  Needless to say, it is sure to be a great time regardless of who they are playing.

2) Cruise around NYC

This has often been talked about in the office but we have yet to pull the trigger.  Here’s how it goes; rent a boat, throw a bunch of Lawline employees and guests on it, sail around the river, great food, great drinks, and of course a good time.

3) Company BBQ

This one requires a little more planning on our part.  We put all of our employees in the park, light up the grills, and “chill”.  Frisbees, footballs, and hot dogs.  What can get any better than that?  (Just make sure there is some shade somewhere!)

I feel a little better now.  Makes me think spring is right around the corner (until I go out for lunch and see a pile of snow 6 feet tall).  At least we have plenty of time to plan!

Posted in: Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/02/04/the-need-for-warm-weather/

One Yam at a Time!

Lawline recently gave employees access to a unique “business” social media site, Yammer.  It allows employees to update their statuses throughout the day while seeing other employees statuses and giving them the ability to add pictures, links, polls, and events.  It has turned into a breeding ground for meetups, conversations, and ideas.

Managers are also able to give employees updates on projects and figures in a casual environment.  Employees are encouraged to keep Yammer up on their screen or continue

Stop and take a second to Yam!

Yamming throughout the day to follow the creativity or debates that are produced on it.  But everyone always gets a kick out of the funny Youtube videos that are shared.

As recent as yesterday one employee asked the other Yams on Yammer who was interested in joining the Lawline Central Park Softball Team.  My favorite part of Yammer is coming up with ideas worth sharing.  Other employees can hit the “Like” button on posts they are interested in, and it is much more open and collaborative than Skype.

So if you are ever touring the Lawline offices and you see some crazy, new Social Media website distracting everyone in the office….it is just us Yams, Yamming up a storm on Yammer!!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/01/14/one-yam-at-a-time/

Fantasy Football….A Lawline Tradition

This year’s NFL regular season has come to an end.  And that means thousands of fantasy football managers all over the country won bragging rights over friends and coworkers.  There were plenty of ups and downs for teams in the league, but only one would come out with a trophy.

In the Lawline Fantasy Football League that person was one of our talented salespeople, Dave.  His 8-5 regular season record secured him a spot in the playoffs where he won by

Arian Foster helps lead Team Otis to a Lawline Fantasy Football Championship!

3.5 points in round 1 and by 85 in the championship.  Otis celebrated with a victory lap around the office, high-fiving other Lawliners.

“My strategy going into the draft was to holdout for Arian Foster because I knew he was going to have a monster season, which proved to be true,” said Dave on his draft strategy, “Stacking up on running back talent is the key to winning a championship.  A key trade was dealing for Aaron Rodgers while parting ways with Michael Turner and Vincent Jackson.”

Team Otis was led by the NFL rushing leader, Arian Foster.  His 346 fantasy points were the best out of all running backs in 2010.  Aaron Rodgers worked under center while Roddy White, Dwayne Boew, and Owen Daniels served as receivers and tight end.  Joining Foster in the backfield were the up and coming LeGarrette Blount and the high profile Ray Rice.

Otis ended with, “I look forward to defending my Fantasy Title in 2011, and may the best manager win!”

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2011/01/07/fantasy-football-a-lawline-tradition/

Customer Service Conquers Blizzard 2010

December is one of our busiest times of the year.  So when the snow started falling on Sunday, I started worrying we would not be able to get to the office to handle inbound Customer Service calls.  Below is my account of Sunday night and Monday during Blizzard 2010, from a Customer Service point of view.

On Sunday night I really thought I would make it into the office at the regular time, until I went outside to shovel at about 10pm and saw the snow was coming down faster than I could move it.  I was on the phone with Jake, one of our salespeople, and he was on a 7 hour journey from the Poconos to Brooklyn in the blizzard.  I offered to have him stay at my house in NJ because he was going past it but he had already gone too far so there was no turning back.  He wound up getting back at 4am, shoveled his car into his driveway, then got a text from me at 6am not to come into the office.

I called Michael, Head of Accreditation, at 3pm yesterday and said we need our key guys in

Lawline didn't let the blizzard stop their Customer Service team!

the office tomorrow because who knows how many people will be able to get in, in case we needed more Customer Service people.  He took the initiative by sleeping by his sisters house just down the street from the 61 offices and played a key role in our CS today.

I woke up at 5am to find out no trains, buses, or subways were running.  I then called our Messaging Service to see if anyone was answering phones there.  I waited for five minutes on hold then emailed Christie, Head of Customer Service.  She got the same thing.  Not knowing what exactly to do, Christie set up a “Blizzard” voice mail greeting telling everyone to to wait 5-10 minutes and we would call them back.  Perfect because we could not pick up calls directly from home.

Micah, Director of Video & Content Production, texted me at 8am saying he was going to get to the office or die trying.  I told him he was nuts.  But he texted me an hour and a half later saying he made it!

Jake woke up around 10am and called every salesperson to tell them what was going on and to get them on the phones.  We gave access to the CRM and Admin.  Jake then

100% of inbound calls were resolved on Monday. All remotely.

forwarded all calls to people’s cell phones in case they weren’t already.

Christie, Trisha (CS), Rich (CS), Dan (CPE) and Rob (Sales) fielded the messages from home and got back to every customer today within 10 minutes.  Not to mention taking care of all emails and live chats as well!

Monday was an epic day in Lawline history.  To think we could have such a great day considering everything that was against us is phenomenal.  Thank everyone for doing their part today and helping us to be successful.  It is days like today that remind what a great company I work for.

Posted in: Exuding Optimism, Taking time to help others | 1 Comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/12/28/customer-service-conquers-blizard-2010/

Lawline Office Basketball League

Last month, the California Room had the inaugural Lawline Nerf Basketball Association (or LNBA) tournament.  A grueling season was played between Jake, Joey, Pat, and Training.  Standings went back and forth for most of the season, though during the last couple of weeks Pat and Training pulled away (with Training locking up a first round bye), leaving Jake and Joey to fight it out for the final playoff spot.  It came down to the lastgame of the year, a quintuple overtime affair where both contenders missed their first 4 of 5 shots (“pulling a Shaq”, as Jake would breathlessly saying with a shrug after the game concluded).  Jake hit his last shot, but Joey was not about to go home quietly,

He shoots....he scores!

hitting nothing but net and beginning overtime.  Back and forth they went, each hitting their next 4 shots.  Jake then bounced one off the rim, giving Joey the opening he needed.  In went his 5th straight shot, and out went Jake from the playoffs.  When reached for comment about how such a promising season went south so fast, all Jake could muster was “We’re going to come back strong next year.  I feel very strong about our draft prospects.  Training’s getting old, I don’t think he has it in him anymore, so you’ll be hearing from me again soon”.

The first round of the playoffs featured Joey taking an early lead on Pat, but the big man from the Hamptons dominated on his home court from then on and sent the scrappy young team home, a Cinderella story with no glass slipper.  A sweaty Joey said “I have nothing to be embarrassed about.  I left it all out on the court, and I’m just going to come back and work twice as hard next year”.

The Steve Nash of Lawline

The finals were a match for the ages.  Pat and Training stayed close the whole way, but age came before beauty and soon Training “Training” Training was crowned the first LNBA champ.  The beaten down Pat had nothing to say, a single tear forming in his eye, but the champ was downright chatty.  “It was a hard fought battle.  There was a lot of controversy and a lot of doubt.  A lot of people saw me and thought I was too old, I was too slow, I was too dumb, and that it couldn’t be done.  But I fought through all the adversity, prevailed, and sit on top of the world.  This one’s for all the doubters”.

Camp is just now beginning for Season 2, with a scrappy young team led by Jason “Drama” Dion hoping to make some noise.  Will he?  Stay tuned to find out!

Joey is a Salesperson with Lawline.com.  He is also a film critic.  You can see some of his posts at awardscircuit.com.

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/12/22/lawline-office-basketball-league/

Lawline Celebrates at Holiday Party 2010!

Lawline celebrated its annual Holiday Party for the second consecutive year at The Smith!  It was a blast to have all of the employees hanging out, partying, and celebrating together.

COO Frank Bastone and Jordan enjoying the party

For the first time, we set up a Secret Santa, with gifts ranging from bottles of whiskey, to t-shirts, to caffeine gum!  Company President, David Schnurman, and COO, Frank Bastone, addressed employees on goals for 2011.  One goal everyone at Lawline is excited about is growing the company to provide continuing education for accountants through CPE courses.

It was also announced that Lawline will be providing live courses throughout 2011.  This will allow Lawline to work two channels, live and online, with the possibility of live streaming courses as well!

Dan and Jake enjoying some drinks

The menu included a delicious tomato soup, ribs, and ice cream sundaes for dessert!  DJ Drama and DJ Kings of Dion were on the 1′s and 2′s (aka the iPod) during dinner to mix in some great beats.

Lawline continued promoting health and exercise by giving a gift to all employees at the party; a Lawline Gym Bag!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/12/17/lawline-celebrates-at-holiday-party-2010/

Practice Makes…well…Perfect!

The old adage, “practice makes perfect” never meant too much to me when I was a young girl growing up. However, now that I am older and wiser, that simple phrase is something I live by every day.

Growing up an athlete, my father always preached to me, the more time and effort you put into something, the more you are going to get out of it. Truer words have never been spoken. I spent my adolescent and teen years playing soccer and basketball. I had practice every day of the week and spent hours upon hours perfecting my soccer and basketball skills. The more I practiced and trained, the better I saw myself getting.

You are not going to get on a bike and just start riding…you have to fall and pick yourself up time and time again. I dealt with a lot of let downs in my career on and off the field. However, I knew that with all the hard work and dedication I put towards achieving my set goal, the more likelihood I was going to achieve it. The more time you spend on succeeding, the better chances you will have to succeed.

Like athletics, this holds true in the corporate world as well. Upon completion of college I started working for a sales company. The owners were extremely strict and taught me the ins and outs about sales. Once I left that company I was lucky enough to stumble upon Lawline. All the things I learned at the previous company, I was able to utilize at Lawline. Although, working at Lawline for the past six months has taught me so much more.

You can never have enough knowledge about a certain practice area. I was never the best player on the field, but I was always the hardest worker. This is a  skill you can not be taught, it has to come within. I am not the best sales-man, however, I know from experience the more I put into each call, the more I will get out of it.

I also know that the more calls I make, the more sales that I will get. I don’t know if one can be perfect at something, but I do know that one can be good or great at something. That is a choice you have to make on your own. The difference between good and great is the dedication and motivation you have to go the extra mile and force yourself to go above and beyond to become great. It is hard to become perfect at anything. However, I do know that from years of being in sales and playing sports, the more you do something, and the amount of effort you put into it, the more success you will have.

(Jessica is a member of our sales department and constantly a leader in the department!)

Posted in: Driven to be better, Exuding Optimism, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/12/07/practice-makes-well-perfect/

Micah Travels the Southwest

Micah, Director of Video & Content Production, just returned from a trip unlike any other you have heard of!  Micah traveled to Salt Lake City, rented a car, and drove south through Utah and Arizona, camping out in national parks in his solo adventure!

“I’ve seen plenty of jungles and mountains in my time,” said Micah in regards to his decision on where to travel, “but I’ve never checked out the desert.”

Micah visited the major tourist attractions, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Grand Canyon, as well as lesser known stops, Canyon de Chelly, the site both of Anasazi ruins and present-

Micah at Monument Valley

day Navajo settlements.

Micah decided to go because he had never been to the desert.  ”I’ve made a point to explore as much as I can of the country I live in, in addition to my travels abroad. I think it’s important to be acutely aware of your backyard, in addition to the house across the street. The Southwest was a part of the backyard I hadn’t checked out.”

Originally from Alaska, Micah has also traveled abroad to places such as Vietnam.  What makes his trips so interesting is Micah plans all of his routes with little or no help, and actually ventured to Utah and Arizona solo!

What was Micah’s favorite part of the trip?  ”I’d have to say that Monument Valley was my favorite, as predicted. You can only access the park via a 17-mile, chuck-holed, beat-to-

Sunrise in the Navajo Nation

heck mountain road, which lent a real sense of adventure to the experience. Also, its location within the Navajo nation, and its identity as a Navajo Tribal Park, offered an interesting counterpoint to the more tourist-friendly National Parks, of which I’m more familiar.”

Micah compared this trip to working at Lawline because it was filled with a sense of having no boundaries.  It was also up to him on where to go next, much like his position at Lalwine that allows him the freedom to set his own goals and go to places he may have never thought possible.

It is great to have Micah back in one piece!  And glad you enjoyed your trip!!

Natural Bridges National Monument

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/12/03/1119/

Lawline Runs 5k

Three Lawline team member participated in the Hudson Catholic High School 5k Challenge in Jersey City, NJ this weekend.  Proceeds went to the high school, and it was a great time for all!

While it may have been a long race, all three Lawliners did very well in the race!  Dan came in first overall out of the company at 24:16.  Dan also placed 5th out of the 19 to 29 male group.  Frank came in at 27:39, good for 9th in the same group.  David came in right behind

Frank, Dan and David get ready to run the Hudson Catholic 5k!

Frank at 28:20.

The race has inspired Lawline to start its own “Lawline Running Club” and it will participate in 5k’s in the area throughout the winter and into the spring.

Fortunately for the group this race started down hill for the first half mile.  Unfortunately, the last half mile back to the finish line was  a complete incline.

All were proud of their performance, vowing to improve in their next 5k Challenge!

Posted in: Driven to be better | 1 Comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/11/22/lawline-runs-5k/

Having Trouble With Your Inbox?

There is one website I go for my tech news (besides Google); Mashable.com.  They do a great job of delivering the most important news to me, and it usually has something to do with Apple or Google.

But this weekend I was surveying the site while lounging around when I came across an article on an email reminder system.  Mashable proclaimed a headline of “Turn Your Inbox into a Robust Reminder System.”

I thought, “Oh, I’ve tried this before.  So let’s see what they are suggesting now.”

NudgeMail email reminder service is free.....for now.

NudgeMail is a reminder system that works more simpler than any filter or label ever will.  Simply forward any email that you want to be reminded of to one of hundreds of commands (tomorrow@nudgemail.com or even 6pm@nudgemail.com) and you will get that email set back to you with a reminder.

Commands can get as specific as certain dates (November 12, 2011 would be 11122011@nudgemail.com).  This has to be one of the most innovative ideas I have seen in a while.  I have already started using the service (which for now is free).

Lawline will certainly be taking advantage of this.  Let us know what you think!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/11/08/having-trouble-with-your-inbox/

A Great Case Study in Customer Service

Late October is always a busy time for Lawline, especially the Customer Service team.  Calls and inquiries are coming in and non-stop, but this late October was unlike any other.

Lawline finds a way to get around PayPal down time.

PayPal API systems were down for over an hour on October 29th, and this proved to be a challenge for us (no one could order anything from our site because it is powered by PayPal!!).  In the end, Lawline persevered and was able to right the ship, and continue without a hiccup.  Lawline President, David Schnurman, sent out this email to the team at the end of the crazy day.

Date: 10/26/2010
Time: 8:45PM
Subject: A Great Case Study in Customer Service

Hey Guys,

To those of you who do not know for almost two hours today the PayPal systems were down worldwide and we were not able to take any orders online. This happened on one of the busiest days of the year during the busiest time of the day.  Looking back how we handled the situation was really special and something I do not think most companies could have pulled off so seamlessly.  Within minutes we had a message on the checkout page for customers to call us so we could take their order over the phone.  When someone called, instead of having to go through 5 minutes of recordings or wait time to complete their order, they got through to someone on the first ring.  Even though we could not charge them at that time, we gave them access to what they wanted to order right away, and took down their information to process later.

In addition to our stellar Customer Service/Retention team Michael, Jeff, and Frank Jr. chipped in to answer any call overflow because volume was very high. Right away we created a Skype chat room with people from both offices so we could easily communicate and get a handle on the call flow and status updates from PayPal. Lastly, we created a google doc so we could easily share any information of customer orders that we could not put through for one reason or another.

What were the results? During this time we took 25 orders over the phone. We turned this into an opportunity and to talk to our customers and thanked them for choosing Lawline.com for their CLE needs. Not one call went to voicemail. Not one customer was upset.  Things break all the time and customers understand that…it is how you handle those situations what makes you stand apart as a truly stellar company.

So I just wanted to thank everyone for amazing team work. See you guys tomorrow!

Posted in: Seeking creative solutions, Taking time to help others | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/10/30/a-great-case-study-in-customer-service/

Pumping Lawline Iron

Lawline employees can often be seen coming to work and leaving with their gym bags, just like any other company.  We decided to ask around and see why people go to the gym.  Is it to look better?  Get stronger and faster?  What we found out was most people go for the simple fact that they want to be healthy.  The most popular answer, however, was that the gym was a great stress reliever and actually made people more energized at work

“My favorite thing in the world is ending a day at the office with a workout at New York Sports Club.  Not only do I get energized, but I can release all stress there.  Of course one downside is not being able to go to bed, so the entire company is getting bombarded with my emails until 4am :-) ,” said David Schnurman, President of Lawline.com.

Lawline employees can enroll into a corporate membership with New York Sports Club!

As an employee benefit Lawline provides a corporate membership to New York Sports Club.  This allows Lawline employees to go to any NYSC gym with their membership.

Salesperson Melissa M. feels going to the gym a few days a week is vital to any person.

“I truly believe that there is not a problem that a little sweat can not solve. I am training to be a yoga teacher and practicing has changed my life. Through exercise, we can all relieve stress and keep our energy levels high to keep us going through our long work week!”

Melissa is also planning to implement a weekly yoga class for the Lawline staff!

Hillary F., also a Lawline Salesperson, agrees with Melissa and says, “Working out gives you energy, so that will only help you in your work life.”

Hillary joined New York Sports Club very recently, so she is now a member of TWO gyms!  Go Hillary!

Posted in: Driven to be better, Exuding Optimism | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/10/28/pumping-lawline-iron/

Lawline One of Crain’s 2010 Best Places to Work

Lawline is proud to announce its nomination as one of Crain’s 2010 best Places to Work in New York City!

At Lawline we pride ourselves on exceptional customer service.  When someone calls us with a question, comment or concern, we want that customer to get off the phone satisfied and with their question completely answered.  With that said, why not treat our employees as well as we treat our customers?

Craim's Best Places to Work in NYC

The goal for hiring anyone at Lawline is to make sure they will add to our positive work environment.  The team comes first in every department, and enjoying sitting next to your coworker you will only bring the best out of an employee.  At Lawline we hire for attitude first, before anything else.

We also believe that self-improvement is an every day process.  Our 1% Challenge was an initiative to encourage employees to improve themselves in some way every single day.  The idea is if you improve yourself 1% every day, it will add up in one year.  Employees can pick out books from our library and then do a report on it in a departmental meeting.  Once an employee does three reports on three books they are given a $25 gift certificate to the store of their choice!

The bottom line is Lawline wants employees to enjoy coming to work, the people they work with, and what they do.  It makes things better for everyone, and why not do it?

Posted in: Driven to be better | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/10/22/lawline-one-of-crains-2010-best-places-to-work/

Lawline Celebrates at SpinNYC

Vas Gets Ready to Play at SpinNYC

The Lawline team went out on Thursday night to celebrate COO Frank Bastone’s birthday at SpinNYC, a mix of table tennis club/lounge on East 23rd.  It was a great event for all, as they saw who could master the skills of ping pong!

The team presented Frank with an array of gifts, ranging from a “Bastone Book” (a play off of Lawline’s Culture Book) to a Weight Shaker (As Seen On TV!!).  Two tables were used to compete for the bragging rights of “Best Ping Pong Player at Lawline.”

Frank Bastone reading the "Bastone Book"

From our Sales Team, Peter, Jessica, and Rob, proved to be in the top tier of tennis players, while Dan did not win a game all night.  Better luck next time!

Lawline will venture out next month for its annual “Faculty Awards Night” on November 17th at Hudson Terrace.  Lawline’s faculty will be honored and it is sure to be a great night for all!

Check out the video below to see some of Lawline’s best in action on the ping pong tables!  (Just kidding, we found this video on YouTube)

SpinNYC

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/10/15/lawline-celebrates-at-spinnyc/

Lawline Poker Stars for Charity!

Lawline at Lucky Strike Poker Event

On Tuesday night 8 determined Lawline employees entered the AOL.com Spot at the Table with Beth Shak poker event to help raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation.   All 8 employees sat at their respective tables looking to work their way to the final few players.

Joey , more of a movie guru than a poker guru, went all in 5 hands into the competition, only to watch the remainder of the event from the sidelines, rooting on his coworkers.  Allen was the next to go, but did not regret one move he made the entire night.  “I went all in with Queens, and I was met by someone with trips Kings.  What can I do?  No regrets,” said Allen.

The final table consisted of three Lawline employees; salespeople Hillary and Jessica, and COO Frank.  It came down the wire as Jessica and Frank went heads up.  Jessica went all in and Frank called.  Jessica caught a flush draw on the river and went home with a gift certificate to Rue 57, while Frank went home with a comfy LOVESAC.   However, at the end of the night everyone was a winner as participants were able to bowl all night, and all money was donated to charity.

Lawline is looking forward to their next casino night!! (to say the least!)

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/10/14/lawline-poker-stars-for-charity/

Behind the Lawline

Dave on the left, and Sir Joey on the right.

The Lawline Culture Book is made up of first hand reviews of what life is like at our company.  I decided to ask a few employees to share with me, in more detail, what their experience has been like so far at Lawline.  My goal was to see how our culture has compared to other companies that they have encountered.  What is different?  What is similar?  Joey and Dave both had interesting answers.

My first question was “What about Lawline makes you enjoy coming to office?”

Their answers were similar in that both enjoyed the laid back environment of Lawline, but structured tasks laid forth by management.  Everyone knows what their job is, and it is up to their own style to complete their tasks.

Joey thought the support system that was put into place made life at Lawline friendly, fun and rewarding.  Dave agreed by saying he enjoyed helping his colleagues.  Employees will routinely listen to each others calls in order to provide feedback.  The only way Lawline will continue to grow is if employees continue to improve, and giving feedback to each other on a daily basis happens regularly.

Both Joey and Dave agreed that growing the business is what really motivates them; that what is done today will effect the company for years to come.  Joey looks at the Lawline culture as a “culture of family.”

Dave enjoys the fact that his work is something that can be tracked a daily basis, and his suggestions can be utilized the same day to improve systems.

We are glad to get this feedback regularly from our employees, and we want to continue to improve as well in order to create the ideal company we would like to work for!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/10/08/lawline-by-lawline-employees/

Lawline Attending New York Enterprise Small Business Awards

Lawline.com will be attending the New York Ente

Lawline hopes to bring home the gold tonight at the NYER Awards.

prise Report 2010 Small Business Awards at The Metropolitan Pavilion from 6pm-10pm.  We have were named finalists earlier this year in the Sales & Marketing category, and are looking forward to taking home the prize tonight!

Last year Lawline was a finalist in the Customer Service category.  The 2010 Sales finalists include Abrahemsen Financial Group, Bergen Newspaper Group, Cartwheel, Consultants 2 Go, Dogmatic Products, eMazzanti Technologies, Media Trust, and Lawline.com.

Lawline’s Sales and Marketing teams have grown significantly over the last year.  After the hiring of COO Frank Bastone, Lawline has formed a strong Sales team who reaches attorneys all over the country.   The use of daily departmental meetings in the morning has been a great way to structure the company and keep everyone focused on goals.  In a time where the economy is unpredictable, Lawline has never seen better days.

The Yankees open their playoff series against the Twins at 8:30pm, so hopefully they will have a TV or two to catch up on some of the action!  Results to be posted tomorrow!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/10/06/lawline-attending-new-york-enterprise-small-business-awards/

Team Meetings, Everyday!

team meeting

What is one way Lawline can ensure every employee is on the same page everyday?  How can we make sure our goals and our mission are part of our everyday lives at Lawline?

To create a culture of learning and always finding a better way our departments meet every morning for daily huddles.  These aren’t boring two hour meetings where the team leaders will preach from Sales or Marketing 101.  Our meetings are lead by a different team member every single day.

We want our employees to own their positions.  If one sales strategy is working for one member, or if a customer service person reads a book with a great way to make customers feel special, we will have them share it with their department.

The 1% challenge, Lawline’s incentive program to promote self improvement, has added significantly to our learning culture.  Employees can choose from our library of books in our library and Kindle collection, then lead a meeting based on what they got put of that book.  When an employee teaches 3 lessons, they are rewarded with a $25 gift certificate to a store of their choice.

Finding a better way is our mission, and by learning and sharing there is no better way for improvement!!

Posted in: Actively learning | Leave a comment
Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/09/10/team-meetings-everyday/

Culture Book

The cover of the 2010 Lawline Culture Book.

We hire for culture.  The most important step in growing our business over the last year has been hiring employees who, specifically, will fit into our company culture.  Of course we will hire the candidates who are likable, intelligent, and driven people.  But, most of all, we want to make sure every employee “gets it.”  Once we have found someone who can contribute to our team, who can see the big picture of what we are doing here at Lawline, and who you really would enjoy hanging out with on an every day basis, we know we have found the right employee.

Click here to view the full Culture Book!

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Permalink: http://careers.lawline.com/2010/09/02/culture-book/