ALANYC | Newsletter | Mind

Newsletters

Our newsletter provides members with information on current industry trends and recent chapter updates.

Winter 2020

President’s Message
Chapter Business Updates
Mind
Body
Soul
BP Spotlight
National Events and Info
Our Business Partners
Insights From Our Sponsors

Summer 2019

Message from Our 2019-2020 President, Rose A. Jaworecki
Chapter Business Updates
Mind
ALANYC Chapter – Member Spotlight
Body
Soul
National Events and Information
Welcome Our New Business Partners
Business Partner Listing
Insights From Our Sponsors

PRISM 2019

Mind

ALANYCis…getting certified!

CERTIFICATION TEAM – Mimi DeMars – Team Leader: We’re just getting started! Thanks for the NYC Chapter’s CLMs for their support and guidance this year. We’ve formed a CLM Study Group (Kick off was Feb. 2019) and plan to meet monthly preparing interested members for the November 2019 exam.

ALANYCis…Learning!

SYMPOSIUM TEAM – Tina Carter – Team Lead – So much fun, so much hard work and so incredibly rewarding! Planning the 13th Annual Symposium was indeed hard work! However, the end results of this chapter year’s unique format made it all worthwhile. In addition to remaining true to the ALANYC’s commitment to advanced education, we also experienced some yoga, a little salsa and ended the day with an hour of hardcore laughter. I truly thank my co-team leader – Mimi DeMars, the Board, team volunteers and anyone who contributed to this special day.

FINANCE – Henry Macchiaroli and Randy Becker – Team Leads– The Finance Team had a successful session: “TCJA (The Tax Cuts and Job Act) Qualified Business Income” in September. Finance sessions highlighted at our annual Symposium were: “Law Firms Collections: The check is STILL not in the mail”; Fred Esposito; “Measuring Matter Profitability”; Paul Schwartz; and “Using Budgeting and Reporting to Enforce Accountability” Lavina Chan of Marcum. These Finance speakers did a great job! They had a very successful Breakfast Finance Roundtable Meeting in November. Topics suggested were e-billing, tax changes re: meals and entertainment, escrows, year-end efforts, and another roundtable discussion. We are discussing having another Finance Roundtable Session in the morning and engaging a bank that would give a 2019 law firm financial result overview in April. Thank you to all the Finance Team members: Henry Macchiaroli, Randy Becker, Debra Crandon, Tom Barone, Marcia Joseph, Sarah Field and Naomi Stroock.

HUMAN RESOURCES – Team Lead – Janine Nedd – It was an absolute pleasure leading the HR team under Jenniffer Brown’s Mind/Body/Soul vision. We offered four educational sessions, “How to Use Social Media to Land Your Dream Job,” “Leader v. Manager: Which Hat Should I Wear?”; “CannaBiz: The Effects of Marijuana on Your Business”; and “Workforce Planning and Data Analytics.” For the Symposium, the team coordinated the HR track and offered “Be the Leader of Your Own Life,” “Building Emotional Intelligence with Effective Communications,” and “Building a Future of Engagement.” Lastly, we are in the final stages of creating the HR Resource Bank that will be on the website and contain information such as COBRA, federal government forms, policies, handbooks, etc. Please check often as the Resources Tab is often updated on the website.

I would like to thank Anna Scarpa, Doug Gibson, Kasey Cunningham, Kit Fong, Nadia Wagner, Nancy Tavarez, Santa Medina, Susana Smoleac, Tina Carter and Viviana Llanos-Laut for their dedication and commitment to making all the team goals a reality. It was truly wonderful to work with such a talented team who gave their time and expertise so willingly.

FOR YOUR MIND, BODY AND SOUL!!

Stop Sexual Harassment Human Rights Act

Employers with 15 or more employees are required to conduct annual anti-sexual harassment training for all employees. Effective April 2019, employers must ensure all employees are trained annually, beginning with Calendar Year 2019, and every year thereafter. The Commission will develop and share an online training to be available on its website that will satisfy this requirement on or before April 1, 2019. Employers may also choose to provide their own annual anti-sexual harassment training for employees provided that it includes the following elements:

An explanation of sexual harassment as a form of unlawful discrimination under local law;
A statement that sexual harassment is also a form of unlawful discrimination under state and federal law;
A description of what sexual harassment is, using examples; Any internal complaint process available to employees through their employer to address sexual harassment claims;
The complaint process available through the Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, including contact information;
The prohibition of retaliation including examples;
Information concerning bystander intervention, including but not limited to any resources that explain how to engage in bystander intervention; and
The specific responsibilities of supervisory and managerial employees in the prevention of sexual harassment and retaliation, and measures that such employees may take to appropriately address sexual harassment complaints.

We’ve got your back! ALANYC listened and in response to Member requests, has aligned with three (3) reputable providers to offer online and/or in-person Sexual Harassment training to our Member firms:

Clear Law Institute “Preventing Workplace Harassment Course” – Special Offer for ALANYC Members – Please contact Griffin Queen, Membership Director, at gqueen@clearlawinstitute.com or by phone at (571) 303-1137.

Media Partners Contact Dave Wagner at (888) 228-3495 or dave.wagner@mediapartners.com Mention code ALANYC19 to receive the discount.

Ellen Messer from People Working Consultants, Ellen Messer at elnmesser@aol.com or by phone at (914) 466-5941.

WEBSITE AND GOVERNANCE– Team Lead – Doug Gibson – The Board would like to express sincere gratitude to Doug Gibson for his tireless work this past Chapter year on helping our members navigate our updated website and for putting together and hosting the very informative Town Hall Meetings. Doug has also worked behind the scenes to ensure that as many of our educational sessions as possible could be accessed by calling in. If you are interested in helping on these initiatives, please reach out Doug and let him know.

ALANYCis…sharing!

SMALL FIRM GROUP – Team Leader – Rick D’Aversa – The Small Firm Group met 11 times this past year. Many topics were discussed (Transit Benefits/New Sexual Harassment Laws, etc.) as well as presentations done by some of our Business Partners. We plan to continue to invite Business Partners to our meetings for the 2019-2020 Chapter Year. However, the most beneficial part of our group sessions is the individual sharing and explaining of issues and policies. Next month we will be discussing “Firm Handbooks”. I thank the entire team for their contributions to each other…. it’s constant sharing!

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PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY SUPPORT GROUP – Team Leads – Francine E. Lahm and Rick D’Aversa – One of the newer Special Interest Groups or “SIGs” as they are known, is the Professional Journey Support Group. Taking the vision of our Chapter President and making it come to life was and continues to be important work that is near and dear to both of our hearts. Our team works with Chapter Members who have found themselves without employment and need some refreshers on resume editing, interviewing skills, social media tips, etc. Once working with us, they become “Member Clients.” We have worked with seven Member Clients thus far and all of them landed on their feet! We like to think we had something to do with that! Our Team is scheduled to strengthen our own skillsets by learning coaching skills with whom other than our business partner, Loeb Consulting. Natalie, Robin and their team have collaborated with us on this meaningful work. Contact Francine Lahm at Francine.lahm@mendes.com or Rick D’Aversa at rick.daversa@gmail.com to learn more, seek assistance or volunteer to help. Thanks to all of our hard-working team members: Rick D’Aversa, Rosemarie Sturtevant, Santa Medina, Lydia Riley, and Anna Scarpa.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT – Team Lead – Lesya Osipova – The Chapter year is coming to an end and it gives me the opportunity to reflect on the year’s events, discussions and achievements. The Operations Management team prepared successful events, shared ideas, and worked in close tandem with other teams. The most important part was for the team members to get to know one another and to enter a new dimension of Chapter membership relationship. Through the year we each learned of one another’s potential, knowledge and often personal journey. Getting to know the person behind the Chapter Member brought on even more respect. Each member of the Team contributed immensely to the Team’s success, and the readiness and eagerness to bring value to the Chapter is truly awe-inspiring.

Newsletters

Winter 2020

Summer 2019

PRISM 2019

Year End 2018/2019

Fall 2018

PRISM 2018

Year End 2017/2018

Mid-Chapter Year 2017

Winter 2017

November 2016

September/October 2016: Fall Into Central Park

Prism Summer 2016

August 2016: Summer in the City

June 2016: The Spirit of Freedom

Prism 2015

Mind