NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK IS APRIL 19^th - 25^th 

Thank you to our amazing group of TLOMA volunteers for their dedication, inspiration, energy and knowledge. 

TLOMA appreciates YOU!

“We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.”

― Bill Clinton

I started to write this message on a perceived “bad luck” day: Friday the 13^th.  Given the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, if I were superstitious, I may think that there is something to be said about this. 

In all seriousness, COVID-19 has consumed the media.  It has changed all our lives, both personally and professionally, and will affect businesses and the economy for the foreseeable future.  We have never seen anything like this in our lifetime and we do not know the measures that we will have to take in the coming days/weeks.  While there are some who are out panic buying and hoarding supplies, I also have seen more people talking to one another and being kind during this time of chaos.  I see neighbours reaching out to one another and to the elderly and sick, offering assistance.  Our TLOMA community has also come together, to share ideas of how we are all coping to carry on business during this strange time. 

The Board of Directors has been following all media updates and, as you know, we have made the decision to suspend all in person meetings and events.  While we are hopeful that things return to normal relatively quickly, we are prepared to take whatever steps necessary to ensure the health and safety of our members, staff, Business Partners and expert speakers.

I do want to take this opportunity to recognize that National Volunteer Week (April 19-25, 2020).  TLOMA offers its members many different ways to get more involved with the association and we truly would not be able to do what we do without the support of its members.  I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the Board of Directors to all of our volunteers.  And I personally would like to thank the Board of Directors for their time and efforts they put into our organization. 

Volunteering is a great way to get more involved within TLOMA and meet new peers.  I ask that you think of this in the upcoming months, as we will be calling on the membership to form our 2020 Nominating Committee in May.  The Nominating Committee will work together to bring forth candidates to our current Board of Directors for our 2021 Board.  We will be looking for SIG Leaders as well as two Board positions (Vice-President and Education Coordinator) for our 2021 Board. 

Upcoming April Events will be conducted via WEBINAR only:

• Apr 08, 2020 - TLOMA’s 2020 Compensation Surveys Launch Session
• Apr 21, 2020 - TLOMA Technology SIG - Creating a Culture of Digital Transformation
• Apr 28, 2020 - TLOMA Human Resources SIG - Managing Multiple Generations in the Workplace
  
  

In this highly tumultuous time, I will sign off with this thought: just because the world seems to be falling apart, does not mean you need to.  Do not let the chaos consume you…let go of the need to control it.

If you’ve never worked from home before and this is a whole new experience, then we’re in the same boat. Here are a few things that will help you to quickly adjust to working from home as a newbie: 

Structure your day – Try to carve out your days as much as possible and create a realistic schedule to keep your tasks and activities on track. If you use outlook or Gmail, then you’ll already have an online calendar that you can use and share with your team. It is very likely that you’ll be able to get through tasks quicker if you’re home alone and not distracted by the typical working environment where people can pop by your office for a quick chat that can sometimes turn into a lost hour of productivity. Utilize this “quiet time” to get laser focused on as much as you can to keep ahead of your schedule. There may be things that come up unexpectedly, so be as prepared as possible to have time to deal with things as they come your way.  

Creating a great space to work – if you don’t already have a home office, you’ll need to find a location of your home that is conducive for productivity. Even if you have pets or kids at home – try to find a quiet space with good lighting and designate it as a “no distraction” zone. Keep your work area separate from where you go to enjoy your regular leisure time. For this to work effectively, you need to apply the same concepts as you would in your office at work to your set-up at home. So, don’t recreate your working area in your living room, and don’t get work done from bed either. This resource has some conventional examples to help you curate a space that is work friendly if you don’t have a home office: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/work-from-home-no-office-desk-space.  

Communicate expectations with anyone who will be home with you. Of course, you might be working from home but still have “company.” Make sure any roommates, siblings, parents, spouses, and pets (well, maybe not pets) respect your space during work hours.  

 

 Clear communication – now more than ever, we need to stay connected to our friends,family and loved ones. But when it comes to your working relationships, ensure that clear communication is at the center of everything that you do. Create expectations and times to check-in with your co-workers, supervisors, or boss and establish a clear plan for action that keeps everyone productive and on schedule. There will be obvious kinks and setbacks if you’ve never worked from home before, so plan as much as possible what you’ll be tackling ahead of time.

Use a VPN – Some companies have their own VPNs that off-site employees need to access certain servers or websites that store information meant only for internal use. In those cases, you’ll also need to use a VPN at home. In any case, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of leaving your VPN connected as often as possible because it’s always safer to have it on than not. If you need helpful information on how to set this up, read this blog on securing your network’s data: https://www.pacetechnical.com/using-vpn-secure-way-accessing-corporate-data/.

Yes, it's still work, even though you’re at home – your time working from home is still company time. Be sure to check in with your team, establish goals and expectations, get feedback as often and as timely as you need to. Treat every day the same as if you were going into the office on any other day. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean it’s a vacation or downtime. Take your breaks as you normally would and stick to them. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying your down time while at home, just don’t let it linger on into the rest of your solid working hours.

Dress appropriately – it’s still professional time.  While you may be tempted to get comfortable in boxers or sweats, be mindful of your attire where it regards video calls, conferences and meetings. Now is not the time to slack off mentally or physically and maintaining the same physical outlook can help you to feel more mentally productive to get you in the right frame of mind to work.

 

Hopefully these tips will help you to navigate through the next few weeks work wise. Stay safe, stay positive and wash your hands! 

Humans, by nature, and social beings, and this is the main reason why social distancing is such a big adjustment for us.  That said, social distancing is very important, but there are many ways we can stay positive and even have some fun.

Here are our top five ways to stay positive during these difficult times.

1.  Keep in contact with family and friends:

Pick up the phone and call someone.  Yes, actually speak to them, hear each other’s voices.  We’ve all grown accustomed to the convenience of messaging apps, but nothing can replace hearing someone’s voice.  Kick it up a notch with one of the countless video chatting apps out there.  These messaging apps are the best!  They’re easy to set up and use, and what parent or grandparent wouldn’t want to see their kids or grandkids.

Why it’s important: It reminds us, and everyone we speak to, that we’re not alone.

2.  Exercise:    

As if we didn’t already know the wide-ranging benefits of exercise, here’s another reminder.  In addition to the many physical benefits of exercise, it also causes your body to release endorphins, which are chemicals that “reduce your perception of pain and trigger positive feelings.”  These endorphins will actually make you feel happy, positive, and also help you combat stress and anxiety.

Go for a walk or run, do some yoga or stretching, or participate in an online exercise class online (there are tons of free ones).

Why it’s important:  Exercise will help you stay healthy now and might even start a new healthy habit.

3.  Mindfulness Meditation:

Mindfulness meditation is the act of purposely being mindful, or paying attention to the present moment, without judgement.  A growing number of people struggle with mental health issues, and mindfulness meditation can help you learn to focus on the present moment.  Daily meditation, for about 10-20 minutes, can have remarkable benefits.  Not sure where to start?  There are several free apps, websites, and online videos that are designed for beginners.

Why it’s important: Mindfulness meditation teaches you to increase the space between stimulus and response, as opposed to instinctively reacting to things … which will definitely come in handy as you’re stuck at home for a while, possibly with kids.

4.  Learn:

Stoke your inner curiosity and learn something new.  Whether it’s learning to play the guitar that’s been sitting in your basement for a few years or learning how certain things work.  You have some extra time now so make productive use of it and build that brain of yours.

Why it’s important:  Your brain is like a muscle and the more you exercise it, by learning new things, the healthier and stronger it will be.  Plus, it’s a welcomed distraction from all the negativity floating around. 

5.  Keep things in perspective … this too shall pass:

Keep things in perspective.  While the Coronavirus situation has had widespread effects on all aspects of our lives, it’s important to keep in mind that this too shall pass.  The entire world is working collectively to get this situation under control.  This is a learning experience for everyone: let’s use this situation to learn about what’s most important and what’s not.

Why it’s important: Perspective is key for all situations, including this one, and understanding the temporary nature of this situation will help you stay positive as you navigate through this experience.

All law firms are not created equal and neither are their accounting and billing requirements. There is no one-size-fits-all way to structure a firm’s accounts payable and billing department because each practice requires different processing procedures and may have different reporting requirements.  However, there may be an easier way to handle certain accounting tasks such as processing foreign payables & integrating this data into a firm’s time & billing system while also providing real-time data to both the finance and legal teams.  Many of these tasks & procedures can be automated and streamlined to reduce manual & duplicate entry, while improving cash flow, cost recovery and simply integrating FX data into existing systems in a firms matter billable currency. All while providing visibility into the entire foreign invoice lifecycle.

So, why should law firms consider improving their current foreign payables process?

A ONEStep Payment Process

An invoice automation platform is an end-to-end solution that improves the entire process from invoice receipt thru to processing, payment, reconciliation & reporting.  Users benefit from blending the various steps of the invoice-to-payment process into a custom solution that combines data processing with validation, approval routing, system integration, reporting and foreign beneficiary management to help execute payments in a cost effective and timely manner.  These platforms not only help the finance team on the payment processing and integration side but they provide valuable information to attorneys regarding invoice status, reciprocity, and foreign associate volumes.

These services work by extracting information directly from invoices, spreadsheets, PDFs, or workflow solutions which eliminates manual entry.  All invoice images and any related information can be stored within the application and provides firms with the ability to make future payments any time quickly and easily without incurring billing adjustments.  Banking relationships are maintained and firms maintain complete control of the process.  

Money and Time Saved

Invoice automation technology is great solution for firms who struggle with keeping up with the increased demands on their accounts payable and billing departments yet must still focus on helping to improve cash flow and cost recovery.   These solutions allow firms to focus on the business of law and rely on industry experts to provide information and best practices to continually help improve internal processes and procedures. These solutions are easily implemented and firms realized immediate benefits both in dollars and time.  

A number of firms in Canada, both large & small, have implemented the Global Exchange Integrated Payment Solution.  It is a prime example of a state of the art tool that can help firms simply integrate the accounts payable and billing platform in a secure environment.  It significantly improves the time consuming and costly invoicing and international payment process by helping  firms speed up processing and adding more control in ways not possible in a manual, paper-based process.

Fully Customization

Many firms fear that if they automate their processes they will not have the ability to address their specific processing needs and will lose control.  This couldn’t be further from the truth. Foreign payment automation solutions are tailored to fit each firm’s specific processes, procedures and reporting requirements, they are fully customizable and rely on real time, firm validated data.   “Custom” does not infer expensive or a time-consuming implementation, most firms can be up and running quickly.

Fixed Pay Dates and Exchange Rates

Law firms worry about cash flow and cost recovery.  Automated solutions allow firms to control the entire payment lifecycle including when payments are made – immediately or a future payables date without incurring currency gains & losses.  Some solutions including the ability to lock in exchange rates for up to 6 months. So firms can bill their clients, get paid by their clients before they pay foreign vendors and not deal with billing adjustments, what they bill is what they pay.

Making Room for New Important Tasks in Accounting Departments

Foreign Invoice automation can also help firms by improving processing time and cost while adding more controls and procedures in ways that are not possible in a manual, paper-based process. Implementing process improvements will free up time so accounts payables personnel can focus on business improvements versus manual entry and duplicate work.

Conclusion

We live in a global economy where more and more firms are doing business internationally and relying on foreign counsel.  Foreign invoice processing is a key component of a law firms Account Payable & Billing departments.  It’s important for firms to partner with solutions providers who can help guide them with ideas & examples of best practices to help develop safe, secure, internal processes that improve efficiencies and help the firm operate in a cost effective manner. 

A recent “Dynamic Law firm Study” Thomson Reuters concluded that dynamic (vs. static firms) showed that those firms which were proactive, and which used technology to engage with clients, collaborate, file share and offer new billing models and fee arrangements, had both higher realization rates and client satisfaction scores than their lower performing static peers. Merovitz Potechin LLP is an example of a “dynamic” firm. The firm realized early on that the cloud was the great equalizer in gaining access to leading edge technology that could enhance their relationships and service deliverability levels. Using a client first approach in prioritizing their technology adoption the firm was able in less than 2 years implement key systems that empowered their professionals to improve productivity, compliance and overall service delivery.

In addition, the firm understood that the cloud not only offered leading edge technology but also in parallel de-risked the business by offering improved business continuity and security. The Phase 1 rollout out concentrated on key systems that most impacted their clients and lawyers experience. The systems selected as part of the initial rollout included Office 365, document management and financial management. With these systems in place in the cloud, the firm felt confident it can deliver services to its clients anytime from anywhere.

To find out more about how firms are becoming more dynamic by moving to the cloud watch the complete Merovitz Potechin LLP video case study here.

Networking is often named as one of the critical ingredients for driving your career. As important as networking is, a lot of people struggle to do it effectively. In-person networking at events is a great way to generate trust, build your reputation, open doors and increase your chances of securing a new role.

By putting yourself out there and talking to people, a new opportunity that hasn’t been advertised online yet might just come up in conversation. In addition, networking with a potentially useful contact gives you the opportunity to build a rapport with them, increasing the likelihood that they will remember you for the right reasons.

Networking allows people to learn more about your experience, strengths and professional conduct. There is a real skill to face-to-face networking, especially while on the hunt for a job. Here are a few networking tricks that will help you land your next opportunity.

Create A Targeted Search Strategy

Before you even start networking, consider your approach. You need to think long and hard about the kind of role you want, and how you are going to secure it. For instance, if you start networking knowing only that you want to leave your current company, you will waste your time talking to anyone who will listen, hoping they can help you. Not only is it an inefficient use of your time, the person on the receiving end will feel overwhelmed by your vague demands and won’t know where to start helping, even if they wanted to.

Instead, consider your requirements in terms of role, industry, company size, progression opportunities and company culture. Once you have this clear in your mind, you will be better guided on where to look and who to talk to.

Reflect On Your Existing Network
 
Now you have a better idea of what you want, cross-reference this with your informal network i.e. friends, family, friends etc. Do you know anyone in your desired industry who you can take to lunch to pick their brains? Is there someone who has a really good job and you want to follow in their footsteps? Spend some time with these people and get to know a bit more about them.

The benefit of informal face-to-face networking is that this is a more relaxed environment where you can be subtle, less rushed and you can schedule a time that works for you. When speaking to these acquaintances be social and speak naturally. Ask about their lives, see how the conversation flows and if it doesn’t come up then subtly steer the conversation towards career topics.

Select The Right Events

While informal networking is easier to fit in to your schedule, professional networking may be necessary to find new opportunities. Put some of your personal time aside, dust off your smartest blazer and get out there. Don’t just look for networking events, keep an eye out for conferences, exhibitions and recruitment fairs related to your desired industry and profession.

Learning opportunities are useful in themselves and will attract the right contact you are looking for. Where possible try and access the list of attendees and use current contacts to introduce you to new people you want to meet.

Engage Throughout The Event

Many people find that first step of introducing yourself to someone you don’t know to be a real challenge. It really helps to remember that networking is actually the reason other people are also at the event, and they are usually grateful to the person who does the “heavy lifting” of initiating the conversation.

When it comes to what to say there are various possibilities such as commenting on the event or shared experience. Never underestimate the power of small talk and the places it can take you. Once you start chatting it’s important to be professional but friendly. The way to strike the right balance is by relaxing, keeping the discussion two-way, seeing how the conversation flows and identifying any opportunities where you can discreetly “self-promote” yourself.

Remember that building a network doesn’t just happen at events. Recruitment consultancies will often have a rich network of clients and colleagues so if you take the time to register with an agency such as Hays, you can reach out to multiple people from just one meeting. By having a face-to-face meeting, the recruiter can get a feel for how you present yourself, what type of places would suit your personality, and connect you with an invaluable host of contacts.

Be Open To Helping Others
 
Networking in person is a two-way street, it’s important that you try your best to add value to your contacts as well as benefit from them. You might have contacts or a viewpoint that can be really useful to the people you are speaking to, and might be able to return a favour.

Lasting relationships are based on face-to-face contact and it’s really important to decide how you are going to develop a network of professional relationships.

Social media has become a fixture in our lives. It’s nearly impossible to get through an evening with family or friends without someone checking, making reference to or sharing the moment on one of the many social media platforms. Even companies are starting to adopt the use of internal social networks to facilitate the way co-workers share information and connect. As with anything we introduce into our lives, it’s important to reflect on whether or not it serves us well or is in fact detrimental to our well-being. Social media may seem innocuous, and if used wisely, can positively enhance our lives. However, research now indicates a correlation to social media use and poor mental health, specifically when it comes to depression and anxiety. In order to assess if social media is having adverse affects on our own mental well-being, let’s take stock of its negative side effects.

How Social Media is Detrimental to Our Mental Well-being

Diminished quantity and quality of sleep – Increased social media use often leads to late night scrolling, reducing the amount of time spent sleeping. Additionally, the blue light that is emitted from the screens of devices wreaks havoc on our circadian rhythms making it more difficult to fall asleep after viewing social media, especially before bed.  That lack of sleep can exasperate symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Dissatisfaction caused by social comparison – Social media often feeds our compulsion to compare ourselves with others in terms of physical appearance, life circumstances and perceived success and failures. This behaviour of comparing our real lives to the carefully crafted online personas of others, leads to lowered self image which can increase symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Increased Feelings of Isolation – We are social beings. We require face to face interaction for healthy development and maintenance of our well-being. Online social interactions do not provide the same mental health benefits such as reduced anxiety and release of endorphins – or feel good chemicals as the offline, in person, interactions. Overuse of social media often leads to less face time or lower quality experiences due to focuses on getting that perfect post when out to friends.

Addiction – Interactions such as receiving “likes” and comments stimulate the pleasure centres of the brain and dopamine production, both of which can lead to addiction. Signs of social media addiction include rapid increase in use, difficulty disengaging from social media, preoccupation with creating content to post and neglecting offline relationships and other parts of your life due to your social media use.

It’s important to acknowledge that social media is inherently addictive by design. The red notification bubbles, alerts, curated feed and endless scroll features have been designed to capture your attention and maximize the time spent on these platforms. Where connecting with online communities that expand your knowledge and provide support and community are positive to your well-being, aimlessly scrolling feeds without interacting – or in other words passive use – is associated with poor mental health outcomes. As time spent on social media increases, so too does the likelihood of developing a negative mood state.

Simple Strategies to Reduce Your Time Spent on Social Media Platforms

Clean up your cell phone home screen – Remove social media apps and all other non-essential tools from your main screen. This will reduce distractions from seeing the icons and help to keep you focused on the reason for opening your phone.

Turn off all phone notifications for social media apps –Ensure all notifications are turned off so that you aren’t emotionally triggered into opening an app that will result in unplanned time spent scrolling through feeds.

Establish boundaries – Set firm limits on the number of times you will access social media in a day and the amount of allowable time per session. Set a cut off time for use one to two hours before your bedtime.

Not all time spent on social media is negative. Healthy uses of social media include joining and participating in communities that support, educate and provide insight in to areas of personal interest to you. To protect your time and most importantly – your mental health –set clear intentions for social media use and limit your exposure to attention hijacking alerts and bottomless feeds.

Name of Organization / Company: Global Exchange Payment Solutions

Organization / Company Overview: Global Exchange Payment Solutions works exclusively with law firms throughout North America.  We focus on helping firms improve the AP Process both internationally and domestically.  Our services help firms improve cash flow and cost recovery while integrating AP and Billing to reduce manual entry.

a) Expertise & Growth

Global Exchange focuses on 2 keys areas of the AP function:  integrated foreign payables on the international side and migrating paper checks to electronic remittances on the domestic side. We are celebrating our 25^th year in business and have grown exponentially.  We now provide our services to close to 300 firms throughout North America.  Since our services are scalable both large and small firms can take advantage of the increased efficiencies and cost savings our tools and services provide.  Firms maintain complete control of the process and banking relationships are not changed.

b)  Service Overview

On the international side we provide firms with an easy to use web-based portal for invoice processing, management, payment, reconciliation and reporting.  We also provide firms with the ability to integrate FX payment data into their time & billing systems in their matter billable currency to automatically create and close costs.  Our services also eliminate billing adjustments and write offs, eliminate manual entry and provide full visibility into the foreign payment lifecycle for both the finance and legal team.

On the domestic side we help firms eliminate the tedious process of paper checks.  In partnership with our sister company, Comdata, we help firms migrate domestic payments to either card or ACH payments with the opportunity to earn monthly rebates on spend. This data can also be fully integrated into time & billing systems for automatic reconciliation and like our FX solution firms maintain complete control, have full visibility into the payment lifecycle, and banking relationships are not changed.      

How many years have you been a Business Partner of TLOMA? This is our first year.

What has been your partnership experience with TLOMA over the years? Our company has worked closely with Loretta Hoi and her team for a number of years, she always spoke highly of TLOMA and suggested we get involved.

Favorite TLOMA memory? Spending a lot of time and energy on our Finance SIG Sponsorship and presentation then having it postponed due to the coronavirus!!!

Where was the last place you vacationed? Dolomites in Italy.

What is your favorite movie? The Godfather(1 & 2).

What was the last movie you saw? JoJo Rabbit.

What is your favorite book? In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

What is your favorite sports team? The Philadelphia Eagles.