Debra Henley Executive Director		"FJA: A Virtual Pathway for Success" FJA’s New Website Expected To Go Live in May 2010 March 3, 2010
In December, an organizational summit was held in which FJA leaders discussed the quality and quantity of our membership services and ways to improve upon them. In order to help make your membership with us a more valuable experience, the Florida Justice Association is continuing in our efforts to enhance the many benefits and services we provide to your practice, including strengthening our internet presence and advancing the features of our website to help keep you at the forefront of your practice. FJA strives to provide our members with all the resources that a trial attorney in this state would need to conduct their practice. That includes setting up your law firm, pleadings, and practice forms, and the latest case law updates. Trends and overcoming obstacles that affect your trial practice are thoroughly trained through numerous CLE opportunities, action alerts, and legislative reports. Our goal is to serve as the premier resource for the development of your professional skills. Since we know that maintaining a law practice is no easy task, we want to be the foremost source for information, services, resources, and the constantly updated exchange of information to help make your practice succeed. We seek to give you the tools that will enhance your law practice in the fervent representation of your clients while striving for professional excellence and integrity and to do it without you having to reinvent the wheel on issues that regularly arise in the practice of law. In addition to our primary goal of providing support to the trial attorneys of Florida, we serve as the only group regularly fighting against corporate special interests and the insurance industry in Tallahassee. By giving you the resources that will enable you to focus your efforts on bettering your practice, we hope you will be better positioned to help in the FJA’s efforts on your behalf within the Florida Legislature. We fight every day to represent your practice inside the Florida Legislature by supporting issues that directly affect your practice and defending against bills that jeopardize the rights of your clients. We recognize how critical staying at the forefront of your profession is to your practice and the importance of gaining a competitive edge in the fight for the rights of your clients. It is absolutely pivotal to receive real-time updates about legislation that affects your practice as well as to instantly connect with fellow attorneys who can provide an answer to a critical question in a pinch or make suggestions on significant issues facing you in your battle for justice. In no other area is this easier, more resourceful, or instantaneously done than with the Internet. A seemingly limitless amount of information is available 24 hours a day right at your fingertips, just one click away. The FJA understands the infinite connections that could be made with likeminded attorneys from around the country, the unlimited resources at your disposal, and the boundless opportunities the Internet provides. That’s why we are pleased to announce that we are developing a completely new and revamped FJA website that will give you all the tools necessary to better your practice, deliver justice for your clients, and set you on a virtual pathway for success. As part of our ongoing efforts to better serve you and your professional needs, the Florida Justice Association will be unveiling in just a few short months a cutting edge, interactive website that is sure to enhance your practice and make your membership in our organization all the more valuable. Over time, this new website will become your virtual office. FJA staff began working on the concept and design for upgrading our website during 2009 to bring cutting edge technology and enhanced resources to all of you as members of this organization. A formal FJA Technology Services Committee was established and has been working hand in hand with FJA staff to fine tune features, services, and tools for this new and improved site. After many weeks of research, collaboration and conference calls by staff and the committee, a consensus was reached and Phase I of our new site is currently in the works, set to go live and at your service in early May 2010. Once Phase I of our new site is complete, staff and the committee will move into Phase II of this project and continue to build upon the many resources and tools this site will provide in the future. Our new site offers to be more user-friendly and modernized than our current website. It will also have several innovative features, services and resources that are bound to make it a vital benefit of your FJA membership – one that we know will be an integral part of your practice and an indispensable tool. No matter when you need it, FJA members will be able to access up-to-date information on current events, legislative issues, political updates, upcoming CLE seminars and a wealth of membership resources. This will be a virtual world in which the tools necessary to give your practice a competitive edge will be all in one place and at your fingertips. We hope you will be as excited as we are about the many features and services you can expect with the new website. Here are some of the highlights: Single Login Access – Choose your own username and password making it easier for you to gain access to all our new services like databases, list servers and your individual membership profiles to name a few. The Largest Database for the Plaintiff’s Bar – Directly from FJA’s site, gain access to over 1.2 million depositions, expert background reports, pleadings, forms, list server messages, and litigation documents from 76 other trial attorney associations from a single search. Gone will be the days of going to multiple sites to tap into the wealth of information you need to be successful in your practice. Exclusive Insiders View on Florida’s Legislative and Political Arena – Get access to legislative and political updates on issues that directly affect your practice with FJA position papers, FJA and Florida Justice PAC TV, and a live RSS feed of daily Florida news articles of interest to our profession. FJA: Your Online Education Center - Register one or more members for any seminar simultaneously through the FJA website. For your convenience, a login is not required to complete registrations and you can save time by using a single credit card to pay for all registrants. Manage Your List Server Mail, Delivery Settings and Update Your FJA Account - The MY FJA page lets you control how you receive mail from list servers hosted at FJA and other associations in the TrialSmith network. Manage your account to place your list server in vacation mode, change delivery settings as well as other options. Secure Networking Communities – Securely connect with attorneys from across the country who have direct experience, opinions, case history, documents and resources on experts critical to your case. Create your own online biography and upload pictures, documents and other files to privately share with colleagues. Databases – Search through our enhanced JournalSearch for articles and information or browse through our new expert witness and legal services database. Find the materials you need with our online repository of FJA CLE materials, audio, and video programs. Securely share files online with our document bank. E-Commerce Enhancements - Easily pay your FJA dues, your EAGLE commitment or your PAC pledges instantaneously and in real-time through secure payment processing, which allows FJA to recognize revenue or contributions at the point of sale as well as increase staff efficiency. Interactive Online FJA Journal, Toll Free Support, Online Store, Photo and Video Galleries... And Much More to Come in Phase II! This website holds unlimited potential for you and the organization, but even more important is the value it will add to your membership. You will find it to be an indispensable tool for your practice and it will play an integral role in the pursuit of justice on behalf of your clients, the consumers and patients of this state. We look forward to hearing from you with feedback on our new site in the coming months as well as your thoughts on additional avenues for the discovery of cutting edge solutions that will help you navigate the virtual pathway of success. Please send your suggestions to Michelle Crumbliss at mcrumbliss@floridajusticeassociation.org and stay tuned...