Month: November 2020

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Pardon That Bird

Pardon That Bird

Pardon That BirdA commemoration of what was believed to be the first shared meal between the English colonists, or Pilgrims, and the Wampanoag people in 1621, Thanksgiving used to mean turkey, stuffing (or dressing), potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. In the South, we routinely add green beans with bacon, sweet potato dishes and pecan pies to round out the meal.

There was no bail, no bond and no leniency for that first Thanksgiving turkey. Since then, however, many a bird has been spared with a full Presidential pardon.

In 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy became the first White House resident to grant the Thanksgiving bird a Presidential pardon. Initially a response to curry favor with animal rights protestors, the move was so popular with the American people that President George H.W. Bush formalized the pardoning into an official White House program in 1989.

This year’s Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving celebrations will be different – just like everything else that has happened in 2020. This means there is a lot we likely won’t be doing – hosting large family meals, having out-of-town guests for the week and flying to wherever home is.

Regardless of the size of your gobbler this year, Thanksgiving prompts all of us to take time to reflect and be grateful. Maybe you are thankful for the additional time you’ve been able to spend with your family now that you work at home. Maybe you appreciate the “senior perk” of being able to shop for groceries in less crowded stores at 7 a.m. Maybe you are grateful for Amazon, InstaCart and restaurant delivery. Or maybe you are giving thanks that football will still follow the big meal (as long as none of the players have COVID-19).

Whatever you and yours are thankful for, please know that all of us at A 2nd Chance are grateful for the opportunity to serve you whenever you need us.

Look on the bright side, the end of 2020 is right around the corner and every American will likely be grateful for that.

A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds remains at the ready to assist you and your clients around the clock. We are available every day (even Thanksgiving) to serve you personally, and we can also process bail bonds electronically.

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Blogs

Attorneys’ Cloud Technology Enables Long-Term Work From Home

This year’s multiple crises, including a global pandemic, an economic recession and shelter-in-place lockdowns, caused attorneys and law firms large and small to rethink how they conduct business. Long feared security vulnerabilities had kept most firms from embracing a remote staffing model but 2020 changed all that – overnight. The legal industry’s historic resistance to cloud-based technology solutions, a key enabler of work from home (WFH), quickly became futile.

One of the unintended consequences of what was first thought to be a temporary move was an emerging preference from attorneys and support staff to continue to WFH – pandemic or no pandemic. The majority of attorneys (67%) are embracing the pandemic-forced WFH mandate and want these remote work arrangements to continue, at least a few days a week, once COVID-19 subsides.

Realizing that “temporary” cloud solutions were becoming more permanent, what kinds of technology investments are firms making now to empower remote staff, shore up security and help assure client confidentiality?

Cloud solutions with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities top the list of firms’ technology spend, followed closely by improved security software and centralized operations tracking. Looking for potential risks and unusual clauses in lengthy contracts and documents used to be a Herculean task consuming days of man- and woman-power. A new cloud-based AI solution uses pattern recognition and machine learning to complete that assignment in just minutes. In addition, cloud-based neurolinguistic and machine learning capabilities can reveal insights into judges’ past decisions.

Siloed financial management, case management and operational systems dominate even the most sophisticated law firm’s computing landscape, which makes finding the single version of the truth needed for executive decision-making close to impossible. Cloud computing enables everyone in the organization to work from the same system – ensuring that critical information is updated in real time. Plus, law firms can free themselves from time-consuming system and security updates by delegating implementation of those ongoing technology chores to cloud solution providers.

From a financial point of view, cloud solutions’ subscription models, which can be treated as operating expenses for tax purposes, keep costs low while eliminating most server acquisition and maintenance fees. Cloud providers’ extensive server capacity can be allocated and reallocated on demand as law firms’ computing needs change.

Finally, attorneys and managing partners are investing in technology solutions to gain real-time forecasting capabilities. As clients take longer to pay, cash flow can fluctuate, requiring tighter forecasting and, in some cases, necessitating alternative fee structures.

For attorneys and managing partners, 2020 has become the year for technology investment. Improving connectivity across the legal ecosystem is critical to the success of the remote workforce, especially if that arrangement is to last over time. Putting legal computing in the cloud lifts the heavy IT burden from attorneys and managing partners who would rather see staff spending their time on billable matters, not overhead-related IT.

A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds remains at the ready to assist you and your clients around the clock. We are in our offices every day to serve you personally, and we can also process bail bonds electronically.

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News News Releases

A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds Launches New Electronic Monitoring Company

 

Established bail bond company leverages 13 years of experience to provide new services to attorneys and their clients

A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds, a leading bail bonding agency with locations throughout the Metro Atlanta area, proudly announces the launch of A 2nd Chance Monitoring. The new company will provide around-the-clock accountability via state-of-the-art electronic monitoring systems to help enrollees meet their obligations to the court and law enforcement. A 2nd Chance Monitoring is a natural expansion of the company’s successful bail bonds business.

A 2nd Chance Monitoring will initially make three specific electronic monitoring technologies available to support clients:

  • GPS Ankle Monitors allow enrollees and non-violent offenders to be tracked in near real-time, whether on house arrest or work release, sharing data immediately with the assigned supervising agent via email, fax or text message.
  • Radio Frequency (RF) Home Monitoring provides accurate recording of the time and date when low risk offenders enter and leave the RF signal range.
  • Mobile Alcohol Monitoring provides law enforcement and community corrections agencies with the ability to conduct scheduled and on-demand alcohol testing regardless of the enrollee’s location with facial recognition software and GPS tracking.

“Our mission at A 2nd Chance Monitoring is to provide our clients with a fresh start, just as we’ve been doing at A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds for more than 13 years,” said Daniel Matalon, owner of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and A 2nd Chance Monitoring. “With these state-of-the-art electronic monitoring technologies, we are proud to help make the job of law enforcement and community corrections easier while helping enrollees take a proactive approach to navigating their second chance outside of a correctional facility.”

Case studies have shown that providing defendants with a voluntary monitoring system in advance of their trial date is often beneficial in reducing their client’s prison sentences. For example, an offender waiting three to four months for trial can begin utilizing the alcohol monitoring system to demonstrate good faith that he or she is on a straight and narrow path.

A 2nd Chance Monitoring serves Metro Atlanta and the State of Georgia from its Marietta, Georgia office. For more information, please visit www.A2CMonitoring.com.