In This Issue
Factoid Cake Quiz
Tech Tip: Avoid LinkedIn Malware
Feature: ABA Survey - Social Media
Afinety Launches New Website!
Outstanding Client of the Quarter
Seminar: Social Media & Law Firms
Team Member Spotlight
Afinety: Out & About
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Factoid Cake Quiz

 
Every issue of Afinety+ will feature a "Factoid Cake Quiz."  Answer this question right, and be eligible for a drawing to have a delicious cake of your choice delivered directly to your office!
 
Last issue's question:  

How many gallons of beer per capita are expected to be consumed in California in 2013?  

 

1. 15.2

2. 18.9

3. 26.0

4. 32.6
 
Answer: #4:  Every woman and man of drinking age is expected to consume 26 gallons of beer in 2013. That's a little over 46 6-packs of beer in 12 months.  That's less than one 12-oz bottle a beer a day, really.  Not too bad, California!  Pennsylvania (home of our technical office in Pittsburgh) drinks slightly more at 28.6 gallons per capita per year, or closer to 1 six-pack a week! 

 

Congratulations to Sheila Lagrand of Towneley Capital Management. 
 
 
A cake and all the trimmings was delivered to their Laguna Hills office. 
        
THIS ISSUE'S QUESTION:

   


According to the ABA, what percentage of law firms currently use Twitter? 

 

1. 5%

2. 9%

3. 19%

4. 22%  

 

THINK YOU KNOW?? 
 

 Click here to answer 

  

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TECH TIP!  

 
Email Best Practices:
LinkedIn "Invitation to Connect" Malware   

The following tech tip is provided by Patrick Cabral, Systems Engineer at Afinety.  Patrick is also one of our trainers.     

 

Virus-laden attachments and links to malware infected sites have been a long standing risk for email users.  For those who use LinkedIn, fake emails can be sent with a Connect request.  When the recipient clicks on the 'Connect' link, they are redirected to another site and malware is installed onto the computer.

 

The best practice for dealing with LinkedIn requests is to delete the email request that you received and log into your LinkedIn account to accept the Connect requests.

 

For further information concerning fraudulent email and LinkedIn, please refer to the LinkedIn Help Center:

 

http://linkd.in/1do2Kzs  

 

Email Attachments/Links Best Practices Reminder:

 

Never open attachments or click on links in emails from people that you do not know.

 

Be suspicious of attachments or links from people that you do know if you weren't expecting the attachment or link.

 

If you are suspicious of any email, contact your administrator who can escalate your question to Afinety.

                 

 

DOWNLOAD FULL TECH TIP ARTICLE

Questions?  Call Afinety's great support staff at 877.423.4638.   
  

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Hello and welcome to our Fall issue. There are a number of great articles that we hope you'll find both informative and fun. Check out the Factoid Cake Quiz, Tech Tips on email best practices to avoid LinkedIn malware, a review of an ABA survey on social media, the launch of our new website - and more!

 

Don't miss our October Afinety Seminar Series: Social Media - Tips & Challenges for Law Firms starting next week!

 

As always, please let us know if there is anything you'd like for us to cover in future issues.  We'd love to hear from you.

 

Enjoy!

Angie's Signature

Angie Moskalenko
Afinety, Inc.    
  
ABA Survey Says Lawyers Getting Clients Via Social Media!

Reported by Steven Fairley, The National Law Review (www.natlawreview.com),
September 26, 2013 Issue

   

How effective is maintaining a presence in social media? When those utilizing any type of social media/networking were asked if they ever had a client retain their legal services directly or via referral as a result of their use, 19% indicated "yes" (compared to 17% last year and 12% in 2011). Solo and small law firms reported better results than larger firms.
27% of US law firms now have blogs, up from 22% last year, 15% in 2011, and 14% in 2010. Only 9% of lawyers maintain a personal, professional blog outside the firm. Solo attorneys are the most likely to have a professional blog, as are those between the ages of 40-49.

59% of those surveyed indicated their firms maintain a presence in a social network such as LinkedIn or Facebook, up from 55% last year, 42% in 2011, and 17% in 2010. Of those firms with a presence, the breakout of channels can be seen in the chart below. LinkedIn and Facebook are the most used, but legal-vertical network use remains low.

Individually, 81% of attorneys report using social networks for professional purposes, up from 78% last year, 65% in 2011, and 56% in 2010. LinkedIn usage is nearly universal (98%), with Facebook usage actually falling from 38% in 2012 to 33% this year.

19% of law firms now use Twitter, up from 13% in 2012. Individual Twitter usage by attorneys reached 14%, up from 11% last year. Twitter usage is more common in solo and small firms.
Want more info?  Please join us for our Social Media seminar in October... CLICK HERE FOR DATES
  

Afinety Launches New Website! 

 

Check out Afinety's new and improved website!  We're sporting all new features including one-click access to Afinety Support contact notification and our most recent Support Alerts, Afinety+ Zine archive, Afinety Event sign-up, XP Retirement Countdown Clock --- and more!  You can also find links to our new Facebook and Twitter feeds as well.
    

Outstanding Client of the Quarter: Lanak & Hanna

     

Every quarter, Afinety selects a client to name as the "Outstanding Client of the Quarter."  This quarter we would like to recognize Lanak & Hanna.  The firm will receive a catered lunch delivered to their Orange office, along with our thanks and admiration. 

 

All of our clients are special to us and the relationships we form with them are very much a partnership.  The Outstanding Client of the Quarter is selected for their professionalism as well as the benefits they receive from Afinety's unique standardization and planned refresh approach.  A professional firm like Lanak & Hanna requires a professional computer system and this becomes part of their own clients' perception of the firm.

 

We caught up with Chief Administrative Officer, Lauren Carrier, who has been with the firm for over five years... READ THE FULL STORY

Afinety Seminar Series: Fall 2013
Social Media:  Tips & Challenges for Law Firms! 
 
Social Media.  It's here to stay.  Law firms and other professional businesses are using Social Media more than ever before.   A recent study by the ABA suggests that law firms are increasing their investment in Social Media and implementing strategies for branding, recruiting, gaining new clients, as well as retaining existing ones.  

Join us for a discussion on the following:
  • The Current State of Social Media
  • Mainstream platforms:  What's right for
    your firm?
  • Positive and negative effects on your firm
  • ABA suggested guidelines and monitoring
  • Legal liabilities and capturing discoverable data
  • Planning strategies:  Getting the most out of your Social Media Campaigns
 
Click on a link below to register for one of our luncheon seminars:

Tues., October 8th

 

Omni Los Angeles Hotel

Downtown LA

 

Wed., October 9th

Hyatt Regency

Century City

Thur., October 10th

Hyatt Regency Irvine 

Orange County

Tues., October 15th

 

Hyatt Regency

San Francisco


All seminars feature a luncheon buffet and will be held from 11:30am-1:30 pm

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Afinety Team Member Spotlight: Tara Todd, Service Coordinator

 

We are pleased to introduce you to one of the new additions to the Afinety team, Tara Todd, Service Coordinator.  Tara joined the Afinety team about 6 months ago.

 

Tara moved to Chatsworth from Orange County and lives with her loving husband, Kaipo and puppy, Kyler.  Her relationship with computers and technology initially stemmed from her husband's expertise, as well as her desire to learn.

 

Prior to Afinety, Tara worked as an executive assistant for an interior design corporation.  She was drawn to Afinety's technology driven business.

 

In her spare time, Tara is an artist by hobby and also enjoys an ice cold Mai Thai on a hot day.   She also loves a good book, diving into the pool, studying art and working on her many projects.


Tara's role at Afinety includes providing day to day interaction with clients to help resolve issues, and answering questions in a timely fashion. Among other tasks, she also coordinates with the sales team for the purchase of hardware, software, licenses, installation, and scheduling.


Tara mentioned that her main focus is to ensure great customer service for all Afinety clients!  


Welcome Tara!   

Afinety: Out & About


Afinety is "Out & About" throughout California.  We hope to see you at future events!

 

NorCalPROS Presents Oktoberfest in the City, October 17, 2013 Afinety and the NorCalPROS group will hosting an Oktoberbest celebration at Schroeder's in San Francisco.  Please click here for more info or to RSVP. 

 

 

  

Association of Legal Administrators Region 6 Conference & Expo, October 31 - November 2.  We look forward to seeing all of our ALA friends at in Reno, Nevada for the annual conference!  This year's theme is "Gold Mine Your Education." 

 

 

 

Pasadena Bar 3rd Annual Business Development Conference,  November  14
Afinety  will be exhibiting at the Pasadena Bar's annual event at Noor, Sofia Ballroom. For more information, please visit:  http://www.pasadenabar.org/

   

  

PAST EVENTS

  

Afinety July Seminar Series, iManage 9.0 - Document Management Just Got Better Our guests learned about at the latest offerings from iManage Worksite, the leading legal information management solution.  If you'd like more information or a demo on iManage or other document management systems, please contact us.  Afinety is an expert on DMS!

 

(Photo: Scott Dumore, Director, Technology, Channels & Alliances, Autonomy  |  HP Software engages our audience on the enhanced features of iManage)


OC-ALA Legal Secretaries Course, September 14. Afinety was invited to present at the OC-ALA annual educational program at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher's Irvine office.  About 30 aspiring legal secretaries and future paralegals joined us for week two of a nine week program.  This is a wonderful educational program and we were happy to provide some insight on the most common types of legal software programs to the interested students.

 

(Photo: Doug Hafford, VP of Sales and Consulting, addressing future legal secretaries and paralegals) 

  

Orange County Association of Legal Administrators. Community Connection Golf Tournament, Driving for Campers with Cancer, September 17. The Orange County ALA teamed up with the Orange County Foundation for Oncology Children and Families for a unique golf tournament.  Over $10,000 in proceeds were raised for the OCF-OCF, a local non-profit organization committed to assisting children with cancer and their families.  The day included a par 3, nine hole golf tournament at Oak Creek Golf Course in Irvine, a chance to win a new Cadillac from Allen Cadillac, a silent action, live music, dinner and awards.  Afinety was happy to have been a part of such a successful event!


(Photo Top: Gary Hyatt on the 3rd Hole)
(Photo Bottom: From left to right:  Jilleen Stelding, Burleigh Brewer, Jani Wilson and Angie Moskalenko)


GLA ALA Justice Jog, Century City, September 15, 2013. This year's 5K Run/Walk in Century City raised funds and awareness for "CASA-LA" (Court Appointed Special Advocates of Los Angeles). The trained volunteers at CASA are appointed by a Judge to advocate for foster children navigating them through the court system.  Afinety was happy to participate once again as a Gold Sponsor with a team of runners.  For photos of the event, please visit their Facebook page. 

 

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