This blog is our exciting announcement that beginning Monday, Feb. 4th, NL started publishing the first of our "50 White Papers in 50 Days." In alphabetical order by state, one paper each working day from an attorney or law firm in each state in the U.S. will be posted.  The papers are available to all visitors who register on the NL website. Registered visitors can go to this page, http://www.nationallist.com/white_papers, to access the white papers directly.

Kacey Rask had the opportunity to represent The National List at the 42nd annual International Association of Commercial Collections (IACC) conference in beautiful Miami Beach, FL.   Although the conference was fairly short, Kacey said, "It was jam packed with educational sessions and networking opportunities." Read Kacey's full report here.

Lawyers do sometimes have to close their practice. Reasons may include retirement, mergers, illness, death or financial stress. In 2012, 18 National List Law Firm Members either closed their practice or merged with another law firm. In these uncertain financial times, and considering unforeseen personal problems that might arise, having a Succession Plan, or at least knowing something about what the process would entail, could help you feel more prepared for any eventuality. Read more about what to do here.

We posed this question to several of our law firm members: "What changes are you making in your debt collection practice in order to grow in 2013?" What answers do you think were repeated in multiple responses? As you review the responses we received, please be thinking about what your answer would be to our question. Our goal is to share ideas from as many of our members as possible, and it's not too late for you to post a response of your own. Your ideas will help us know how we can better help you grow, as well.

Without you—our members, clients and other friends in the Debt Collection Industry—we would not have had such an excellent year, or be looking forward to a successful and Happy New Year! It has been and will continue to be our pleasure to serve you in your collection efforts, whether it be by connecting clients with member attorneys, providing information about various aspects of the industry, or facilitating communication between those who use our services.

“Every law firm must attempt to stay ahead of the needs and future expectations of the ‘Client Marketplace,’ in order to stay competitive. Law firms dedicated to consumer legal collections know this all too well,” said Chris Couch. See if his experience convinces you of the need to have an SSAE16 SOC1 Audit.

If you forward debt collection matters to law firms, it is critical to have a well-documented Legal Forwarding Agreement. There have been several reports in which clients have had experiences where they lost a significant amount of money due to the lack of details in their forwarding agreement. Learn what your Legal Forwarding Agreements might be missing.

We all have a certain level of expectation for how and when we “think” people should communicate with us. A recent NL blog post entitled “Have you mastered The Art of Professional Communication?” gave tips on how to communicate professionally, but a recent experience sparked Leslie Herr’s conscience and made her want to add one more.  Find out here what her tip is.

This Thanksgiving we have an abundance of things and people to be thankful for. All of us at The National List are so very thankful to you, and for the opportunity to serve you for another year. Find out why Thanksgiving is NL President Jeff Zuck’s favorite day of the year!

The NASP Conference is the best venue for law firms to learn about subrogation recoveries, to network and to market themselves. There were 950 attendees, 89 exhibitors, 135 speakers and 54 education sessions this year. Learn more about this year’s conference from Beverly’s  and Katie’s eyewitness accounts.

One of our valued law firm members in the state of Texas approached us for assistance in developing a better quality network of appearance counsel throughout the state. We were honored by their request, and we accepted the challenge. Find out how it’s working in Texas and how a similar network could be created in your state.

In a quest to educate ourselves, our members and our clients on auto loans as one possible niche in the debt collection industry, we did some extensive online research. In this blog, we’re sharing some of what we found.

The staff of the National List of Attorneys wants all of our friends, family members and industry colleagues who were in the path of hurricane Sandy to know you are still in our thoughts and prayers, even though the storm has passed.

Read Kacey Rask's report of what was only her second NARCA experience, along with info on election results and awards given.

The purpose of this project is to provide valuable information on state-specific collection laws, and to promote our attorneys' legal services to creditors, collection agencies and debt buyers looking for attorneys nationwide. Learn more.