Memorial Day

Memorial Day honors those in the United States Armed Forces who died while serving their country. We honor them for their contributions, respect them for their service and mourn their loss. So many have unheralded stories of bravery, heroism and sacrifice.

We at CLAS wish you and yours a good Memorial Day while remembering those who gave so much for our freedoms.

CLAS Closed for Memorial Day

CLAS will be closed on Monday, May 27, 2013, for Memorial Day.

We'll return on Tuesday, May 28, 2013.

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

The Annual Report Challenge: Keeping Business Entities in Good Standing

What appears at first glance to be a simple matter of putting a task on your calendar can quickly grow into a time-consuming, research-intensive burden.

Failure to maintain good standing can result in financial penalties and interest, suspension, forfeiture and cancellation of your right to transact business. In addition to the three main requirements (filing annual reports with the appropriate Secretary of State, documenting corporate minutes, and having a registered agent for the receipt of service of process), you also face additional challenges you may not have considered.

• You'll need to maintain accurate records on each company within your control.
• You'll need to research all changes to reporting requirements and forms. This means keeping track of changing rules for each jurisdiction and for each business type involved.
• You'll need to keep track of due dates which vary from on jurisdiction to the next. You can't rely on the states to notify you when filings are due, since many provide no notice or provide notice only via a postcard.

If you make a mistake you'll have to start all over again. If you face a situation like California's backlog of filings, this can significantly delay your filing. Worse, if your mistake also causes you to lose your good standing status, the business name you're responsible for can be snapped up in an instant by another company. You also face contract voidability; that is, any parties to a contract can void the contract immediately when you lose your authority to conduct business.

CLAS can help you meet these challenges. We offer cost effective Annual Report Management Services to eliminate this critical and time consuming task. We can protect you by completing the necessary forms, filing the documents on your behalf, and returning proof of filing. Contact us to learn more about our Annual Report Management Services, or call us at 1.800.952.5696.

Measure AB113 Signed to Reduce CA Business Filings Backlog

This is an update to our previous post: Help For CA Secretary of State Business Registration Times

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a measure sending $1.6 million to the California Secretary of State's office. This is intended to relieve an approximately 6-week backlog of business filings. (Read more in the Sacramento Bee's article.)

Remember, if you're trying to deal with the frustrations of business filings, CLAS Information Services can help. We interface with the state, filing and retrieving documents multiple times per day at the California Secretary of State's office. We can review your documents to help you avoid the delays caused by errors. We specialize in filing these documents and we understand the requirements in all jurisdictions throughout the country. We can also help you to keep track of future required filings so you can stay in Good Standing.

To find out more about how we can help you, give us a call at 800.952.5696 or email Christy McCullough at Christy@clasinfo.com.

May 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.

Want to learn more about a holiday? Just click on the links.

Date	State	Holiday
Wednesday, May 8	Missouri	Truman Day
Friday, May 10	South Carolina	Confederate Memorial Day
Friday, May 24	Maryland	Service Reduction Day
Monday, May 27	All	Memorial Day

Help For CA Secretary of State Business Registration Times

If you've been following the Sacramento Bee's investigation into the long wait time for business registration filings at the California Secretary of State's office, you've got a pretty good idea of how frustrating the process can be. There are so many ways submitting a filing can go wrong.

• If there's an error in your filing it will be rejected and you'll need to resubmit it. This means going back to the end of the line and paying additional fees.
• If you need to make up for lost time, you can pay the expensive expedite fee. However, expediting requires delivery by hand to the Secretary of State's office, and if your document has any other errors in it, the process starts all over again and the money you paid to expedite is gone.
• You need to keep track of filing documents on time and in each jurisdiction in which your entity will do business. If you lose track, you may fall out of "Good Standing," and penalties and fines can be assessed and contracts entered into can be invalidated. Further, if there is no service of process address on file, you face the inability to defend in lawsuits and risk the loss of your business name.

Fortunately, there is help available. CLAS Information Services is a service company for attorneys, corporations, lenders and small business owners, and we handle the process of corporate and LLC formation. We interface with the state, filing and retrieving documents multiple times per day at the California Secretary of State's office. There are many service companies similar to ours that save an applicant time and increased fees for improper filing.

What qualities should you look for in a service company? Your provider should review your documents and be knowledgeable about details that may cause them to be rejected. Look for a provider that specializes in the filings of these documents and understands the requirements in all jurisdictions throughout the country. Your provider should also help you to keep track of future required filings so you can stay in Good Standing.

When you're navigating the complexities of interfacing with the state, one of your best strategies is to seek expert help. For a low fee plus the state's fee, you'll be able to rest assured that from the initial year and every year thereafter, you can remain in Good Standing and protect your company.

If you'd like to learn more, please give us a call at 800.952.5696 or email Christy McCullough at Christy@clasinfo.com.

What's happening in legal social media?

If you're interested in keeping up with legal social media, you probably know there's a lot out there to sort through. Here are a few interesting articles from the blogs we follow to get you inspired:

Prosecutor's Use of Undercover Paralegals in Ethics Spat Brings Reprimand
Check out the ABA Journal's article on the attorney who used a paralegal as an undercover agent. (Apparently, sending a paralegal to pose as a student taking a survey to gather information in your ethics complaint is a bad idea.)

Will Paralegals Disappear?
The Paralegal Mentor takes a look at the future of paralegals challenged by new technologies and recession, and offers tips for keeping up in a changing workplace.

California Court Record Fees Changes Pending
The BRB's Public Records Blog offers article on the CA Administrative Office of the Courts' efforts to modify the fee structure for public access to court records.

Court Project Testing Social Media Reporting
News about the end of the first phase of the OpenCourt project in Massachusetts, designed to test reporting via social media. The project allowed for live streaming and for blogging and tweeting directly from the courtroom.

What topics are you looking for in legal social media? If you follow blogs in this area, which do you recommend?