March 2013 State Holiday Closing Schedules

Please note, states sometimes make last-minute changes to their holiday closing schedules. We will update this list as we become aware of any changes.

Date	State	Holiday
Tuesday, March 5	Vermont	Town Meeting Day
Monday, March 18	Massachusetts (Suffolk County only)	Evacuation Day
Monday, March 25	Alaska	Seward's Day
Tuesday, March 26	Hawaii	Kuhio Day
Friday, March 29	Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee *Update - Texas will also be closed	Good Friday

Three Industry Blogs Worth Reading

If you're ready to explore but not quite sure where to start, here are just three of the industry blogs we follow:

• Above the Law: "A behind-the-scenes look at the world of law. The site provides news about the profession's most colorful personalities and powerful institutions, as well as original commentary on the latest legal developments." Check out the regular Morning Docket posts for an irreverent and informative start to your day.

• ABA Journal: Breaking legal news and comprehensive blawg (law blog) directory. Check out their "Latest Headlines" section.

• Uniform Commercial Code Litigation: Focuses on developments in litigation involving the UCC code. Look here for analysis of lawsuits concerning various aspects of the UCC.

Colorado Secretary of State Filing Fee Holiday Extended Through February

The Colorado Secretary of State has had a "fee special" that reduced most of their business filing fees to $1 and their UCC filing fees to 44. This will end February 28th. Beginning March 1st, these filings will revert to their previous rate or lower.

If you wish to file before these fees return to their normal cost, CLAS can help. Just contact us, call us at 800.952.5696, or email Christy McCullough at Christy@clasinfo.com for assistance.

Louisiana Secretary of State Office Will Be Closed for Mardi Gras

The Louisiana Secretary of State's office and all 64 parish clerk's offices will be closed Tuesday, February 12, 2013, for Mardi Gras.

They should resume regular hours on Wednesday.

Has Social Media Become a Professional Necessity?

It's easy to think of online social communication as a frivolous part of our personal lives. Mention blogs, and people's thoughts quickly race to amateurish personal websites devoted to family photos, hobbies or pets. In reality, there's a whole dimension of professional interaction happening now on the Internet and as professionals, it's up to us to take advantage of these opportunities or risk getting left behind.

More and more, professionals are using social media in their work lives to stay in touch with colleagues, hunt for jobs, coordinate their business efforts and stay current in their rapidly changing fields. As a result of this, social media and blogging have the exciting potential to give professionals a new way to build their own communities. As Chere Estrin (author of the blog, The Estrin Report, and CEO of the Paralegal Knowledge Institute) says:

I have learned over the years that leveraging your background is the very best tool you can use to get ahead in a word-of-mouth field. ...How has social media helped? Social media has been a prominent tool that is assisting me to get ahead in a world where you will never make partner, never win a nationally prominent award, always be the "helper," never fully getting the credit for the "win" and put mostly in the background. Social media has allowed the paralegal profession to become much more prominent, much more accepted and upped the ante in terms of requirements to enter the field and higher sophistication of assignments. In short, more people know of the field, more people accept it, more people push it upwards.

This applies to banking professionals as well as to paralegals. For example, although the banking industry has been hesitant to fully adopt social media as a way to reach their customers, sites such as LinkedIn and various industry blogs already offer professionals a chance to connect with each other, engage in sales prospecting, perform market research and trend analysis, and more. We can expect to see more of this as professionals who grew up using these technologies come of age. Increasingly, access via online social media is an expected part of industries' business models.

Of course, there are pros and cons to putting yourself out there. The key is to remember that the online experience is no different than so-called "real" life, and in some ways is more permanent. People can forget; but not the Internet, which has the potential to record every embarrassing photo or thoughtless remark forever. It's wise to educate yourself regarding legal and ethical concerns and to be constantly mindful of the image you intend to convey.

The advantages can make all of this caution worthwhile. The Internet offers quick access to professional websites and blogs (for example, CLAS's own blog, CLAS Notes), professional social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, web-based ordering applications and more, all of which are increasingly becoming part of our professional lives. We asked around and discovered additional industry resources including Avvo, a site that rates lawyers and has real lawyers who answer questions (in a general way) for free online; and blogs including Larry Bodine's Law Marketing Blog and Morgan Smith's Cogent Legal Blog, just to name a few.

By participating in online discussions and contributing to online professional communities, you have the chance to do much more than simply gather information. You have the opportunity to keep track of your colleagues' professional lives, stay up-to-date on industry trends, communicate with your customers in a more efficient, immediate way, and to build the professional community you belong to.

By Teresa Altarriba

Related Links:
You can keep up with CLAS on Facebook, Twitter, or by subscribing to our blog, CLAS Notes.
CLAS Notes - CLAS Information Services Blog
The Estrin Report - Created for Professional Paralegals
Blogging and Social Media for the Legal Profession: Advice on What Works and Why

Blizzard to Close Connecticut Secretary of State Office

In response to the expected blizzard in the Northeast, Connecticut Governor Malloy has requested all non-essential employees to stay home. Therefore, the Connecticut Secretary of State is closed.

As always, CLAS will be glad to do what we can to help. Call your service representative at 800.952.5696 or email Christy McCullough at Christy@clasinfo.com.

Snow Suspends Service in Massachusetts

Due to an impending snowstorm, Massachusetts transportation services will be suspended as of 3:30 PM on Friday, February 8, 2013. Other government office shutdowns may follow.

Please plan for processing delays due to closures and depleted staff. And if you have questions or need help, we'll be glad to do what we can to help. Just call your CLAS service representative at 800.952.5696, or email Christy McCullough at Christy@clasinfo.com.

CLAS Closed for Presidents' Day

CLAS will be closed on Monday, February 18, 2013, for Presidents' Day.

We'll return on Tuesday, February 19, 2013.

Please contact your CLAS service representative at 800.952.5696 if you have any questions, or contact Christy McCullough at Christy@clasinfo.com.

February 2013 State Holiday Closing Schedules

Please note, states sometimes make last-minute changes to their holiday closing schedules. We will update this list as we become aware of any changes.


Date	State	Holiday
Tuesday, February 12	Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri	Lincoln's Birthday
Tuesday, February 12	Alabama (Baldwin and Mobile Counties only) Louisiana	Mardi Gras
Monday, February 18	Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana*, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah**, Vermont, Washington, West Virgina, Wyoming	Presidents' Day *In Montana, Lincoln and Washington's Birthday. ** In Utah, Washington and Lincoln Day.
Monday, February 18	Alabama (also Thomas Jefferson's Birthday) Arkansas (also Daisy Gatson Bates Day) Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Virginia	Washington's Birthday

Planning a Merger - Do You Know Which Filings Are Required?

Do you know which filings are required for mergers? Do you have a process for keeping track of what you need to do?

You can stay up-to-date with our free white paper on  "Planning a Merger" and our Merger Filings Worksheet. Contact your service representative to request a copy.

Our "Planning a Merger" white paper will help you to understand how to organize a merger and break it down so you know what has to be done:

• Before the merger
• To effect the merger, and
• After the merger has gone into effect.

Additionally, our Merger Filings Worksheet will help you to keep your project on course by making it easy for you to identify and track the items required before, during and after the merger.

If you need assistance to file merger documents, we can help you with that too. Just call CLAS for assistance at 800.952.5696, contact us, or post a question in the comments section below.