Let’s welcome David Taub and Michael Rutledge to the Lawline team!

David will be assisting Vas with all the cutting-edge projects he produces through Quality Assurance testing. His first big project will be reviewing the new CRM. He’ll also be helping both Vas and I manage the help@lawline account.

David sporting his Dave Thomas get-up

Here’s a bit on David:

David Taub is a student at CUNY Hunter College earning a BA/MA degree in economics.  Born and raised on Strong Island, David spent his youth watching Back to the Future and hopes to one day create a time machine…out of a DeLorean.  Additionally, David has developed a taste for the finer things in life: the Yankees, the Jets, Mad Men, and LOST.  David hopes to one day enter the world of sports and business.  In the words of Marty McFly, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”

Michael looking good!

Michael will be assisting in the Marketing Department, helping upkeep our reporting, sponsorship statuses across the nation, and growing our email directory. He’ll be key in helping us grow our campaigns!

My name is Michael Rutledge and I am a recent graduate of the University of Colorado and a new resident of Brooklyn, New York. In Colorado I was an outdoor enthusiast, participating in everything from skiing to downhill mountain biking (I’m a big fan of extreme sports, the more extreme the better!) I am excited to be in New York and closer to my family on the east coast and am also excited to be at Lawline, as my dream is to one day be an attorney.

Welcome guys!

Since I have been young I have been obsessed with working at the perfect job. To me that meant somewhere I felt fulfilled every day and made an impact on something bigger then myself. After working at several different companies over the years and being disappointed, I believed the only way to ensure I could meet my needs was to create something from scratch. As we built the company, it became my cause to provide that type of fulfillment to everyone else who worked here.

As a result, we do what we can to inspire learning, spark creativity and give everyone the opportunity to shape the future of the company. Creating this structure has been extremely helpful in forming the culture of Lawline.com. However, it does not compare to our number one priority of recruiting people whose raw qualities include passion, drive, creativity, and most importantly, kindness. As Jim Collins says in “Good to Great”, the most significant thing is to get the right people on the bus, the direction you go in is less important. Being surrounded by so many passionate people who are focused on the success of the company has made this my perfect job!

Lawliners head out to Heartland Brewery for some after hours fun. Vas even seemed to master the art of sleeping while standing. Now we just have to get him to code while he sleeps… although he may already do that

Where to next time?

Amidst the recent cooling weather, Monday’s Fantasy Football draft kept the Lawline offices hot!

The company-wide (and perhaps nation-wide) anticipation for this year’s Fantasy Football Draft finally came to realization yesterday, and the results were no let-down. The staff stayed after hours battling over picks in the company of wings, drinks, and friends.

One surprise was the elimination of team Reekers/Silver from the league pool. However, this last minute change will likely open the field for all contenders, as the duo would have undoubtedly finished the season undefeated. Reekers and Silver were both unavailable for comment.

It looks to be a competitive and fun 16-weeks. Stay tuned for more updates!

Sasha has moves.

The Zweig HR Letter recognized Lawline.com for it’s HR innovations. The following article profiles COO Frank Bastone’s unique take on hiring and motivating employees as a part of his “Real World School”.

Take a Closer Look!

We were named today as a finalist for the New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards for Sales and Marketing!

The award is an annual program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of the 500,000+ small businesses throughout the tri-state area. To use their words to describe the award, “A panel of experts in the related fields judge all award packages. Awards will be presented to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages, revenue profits and/or long-term value”.

Congratulations to everyone for all their hard work; it truly is a prestigious honor to be a finalist. We will be recognized in an event in October, where the winners will also be announced.

Check out the below Press Release of this prestigious award!

Last year, Lawline.com was a finalist for the New York Enterprise Report’s the Customer Service award for its reputation on treating customers with respect, dignity, and care. The company now has another achievement to showcase its philosophy on the practice of serving others: one of New York State’s best companies to work for.

On Wednesday, April 21, the Best Companies to Work for in New York program ranked Lawline.com the eleventh top small/medium sized employer in the state. President David Schnurman, who created the online Continuing Legal Education company in 1999, accepted the award in Albany, New York, on behalf of his company.

“Our greatest assets are our employees,” Mr. Schnurman states. “We strive to provide them with what they need to excel, and in return we believe that this maximizes their potential.”

The award consisted of a two part assessment: an employer survey regarding benefits, policies, practices, and other general data (25 percent of the total assessment), and a confidential employee survey evaluating the employees’ workplace experience (75 percent of the total assessment).

Mr. Schnurman and Lawline.com add this accomplishment to their growing list of recognitions, namely its recognition in customer services and features in such publications as Crain’s, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Inc. and The Wall Street Journal.

Friday, Lawline wished a fond farewell and happy trails to Matt Gold. Our 22 Cortlandt office thought of no better way to properly send Matt off than with a Nickelodeon-style pie right where it counts. Matt was both moved and satiated by this loving gesture.

We wish Matt the best of luck in his future at Florida State University this fall!

On August 12th, Dan Fahy celebrated his 30th birthday. Co-workers gathered to join in

the festivities and assist Dan in polishing off heaping portions of delicious cake (but they

were really there to celebrate Dan’s birthday, we swear).

From everyone here at Lawline, we hope you had a very Happy Birthday. May your next 30 years treat you just as well as these have!

On the afternoon of August 13th, our very own Frank Bastone took to the skies above Manhattan for an eagle-eye tour of the city. Only the seagulls of  Coney Island are familiar with the sensational view that Frank experienced (and maybe anyone else who has taken a helicopter tour of New York City).

Shown here are some pictures which were taken to capture the special moment, so that we here at Lawline might get to share in the beauty of Frank’s airborne journey.

See some of the verification codes that didn’t quite make the cut:

Here’s a press release from our recognition as a Finalist for Best Practices in Customer Service by the New York Enterprise Report. Enjoy!

Lawline.com’s lauded customer service system which has gained national recognition for placing customer service at the center of its business strategy has been rewarded as one of the finalist in the New York Enterprise Small Business Awards of 2009 in the customer service category.

“The use of their unique best practice has given them a distinct competitive advantage and we congratulate them for their initiatives and innovative thinking”, said Robert Levin, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of The New York Enterprise Report

President David Schnurman explains how the passionate customer service effort began with a mission statement. “Our overall aspiration is to serve and educate our customers. In order to do this efficiently, we need superior practices that serve our users.” With this in mind, Schnurman and his team developed a training program and an entire backend system that focuses chiefly on the customer.

“Customers complete their CLE feeling educated by our courses, and appreciated by our company. We extend ourselves to our fullest ability in order to demonstrate our gratitude”, adds Christie LaBarca, Lawline.com’s Director of Customer Relations.