January 08, 2010

Pulver Roofing one of companies hit hardest by Madoff ponzi scheme

UTICA, NY-- Bill Owens, owner of Pulver Roofing in Utica, said since many of his employees have seen their pensions disappear, early retirement may no longer be an option.

"Some might have wished to take an early retirement and accept all of the restrictions that come along with that," he said. "Now I don't think they have that choice."

Last summer, employees of Pulver Roofing, along with the rest of the members of Roofers Local 195, saw their pension funds dwindle with the rest of the fraudulent investments made by Bernie Madoff.  Owens said that most of his workers saw their retirement dwindle by about half and they're reserved to the idea that it's not coming back.

"Of course, if it affects your employees it affects you and your business," he said, "It's devastating for me both personally and professionally."

The knowledge of the lost pensions came on heels of charges against one of its former bookkeepers, Bobbi Radell, who is still awaiting sentencing for embezzling nearly $1 million from the business. On top of that, the economy has been weak and taxes are almost certainly going to go up.

"This couldn't have happened at a worse time for us," Owens said.

For his part, Owens said union workers are sill paid relatively well, and that during upcoming negotiations he'll likely offer a higher employer contribution to their retirements in light of the recent loss.

"We can help by paying more into it," he said. "It doesn't change that their life has been altered n and retirees will lose money that they'll probably never get back."

Some unions have sued a Syracuse-area investment firm for its dealings with Madoff, citing that the firm handled the money improperly and invested it without doing thorough research.

Alicia Dearn, a California-based employment attorney and owner of the national legal referral service Goodsharks.com, said retirement issues have been in the news lately and may be on the rise soon.

"We have an aging workforce," she said. "In 10 years, 30 percent of the workforce will be retiring and most pension plans are underfunded. Now, you add to that some of them may have invested in a ponzi scheme or even in a bank that they thought was sound and it wasn't; you're going to be stuck with a lot of employees who aren't getting what they expected."

Dearn said there's often little recourse for the employees unless someone was handling their money negligently or not fulfilling contractual contribution obligations.

"If an employer invests the money with a reputable firm, and they make bad investments, state laws vary, but I'm guessing there's not usually going to be a whole lot of legal recourse," she said.

The only other local roofing company in Roofers Local 195, Lawrence Rieben & Sons of Whitesboro, was contacted by Utica Daily News, but UDN didn't get a response from the message it left with the receptionist.

As for Pulver Roofing, Owens said he's confident his workers will stay with his company, its union and their trade.

"They're roofers by trade, that's what they do," he said. "With the union, they make as much as you can relative to other people that do the work-- unless, they move to somewhere like New York, but the cost of living is so much higher. So it doesn't change their life's work, even though they know they've lost a lot of money they're probably not going to ever see again."

Published in the Utica Daily Journal. Original article here.

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December 02, 2009

GoodSharks.com Announces Public Beta and Free Attorney Listings

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GoodSharks.com, a web-based legal marketplace that presents tough, fearless, talented and ethical lawyers, is offering a public beta. For a limited time, attorneys can list themselves on the GoodSharks.com directory  at no charge and no obligation as part of a beta program. After GoodSharks.com reaches its goals for attorney listings, the beta will close and attorneys will have the option to list their services on the high-traffic site at $149 per month. The website  will always be free to consumers and small businesses looking for good lawyers.

GoodSharks.com was founded by San Diego attorney Alicia Dearn, who saw the need for what she calls "law without fear." Potential clients use a proprietary web-based survey system to enter up to 20 search categories for an attorney. Search criteria choices range from geographic proximity to the lawyer's skills, specialties, fee structures and languages. The number of client/attorney matches is determined by specific search criteria.

Attorney surveys enable attorneys to demonstrate their expertise, style and preferred cases. One unique feature is the GoodSharks.com "Sharking Style" survey, which encourages openness between clients and lawyers, and ensures a more appropriate match in terms of approach or style. At the end of the process, attorneys choose to take the client or not.

"Our unique survey system matches the client with the attorney who offers the right price point, the right experience, and the right attitude - taking a lot of anxiety out of the process for the client," said Alicia Dearn, CEO of GoodSharks.com. "We're excited about this new system for matching clients with attorneys because it's based on market-driven competition, not a way to artificially create demand by limiting the search outcome to a certain number of attorneys in specific categories."

GoodSharks.com features:

    --  Quick sign up process of 10 minutes for attorneys. GoodSharks.com checks
        bar license and approves within 24 hours of submittal
    --  Controls against creating premature client/attorney relationships and
        safeguards to avoid disclosure of privileged information
    --  Chat system hosted inside website streamlines communication and allows
        attorneys to archive messages and delete communications completely at
        their discretion
    --  Video profiles of GoodSharks.com's attorneys
    --  Online and offline marketing tactics to drive traffic to GoodSharks.com.
        Ongoing public relations, SEO, social media, Internet marketing,
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        new visitors
    --  Promotional opportunities for attorneys such as contributed articles,
        newsletter and promotion through social media channels
    --  Month-to-month agreement, with no long term contracts
    --  Free, invitation-only GoodSharks.com's social network to trade advice,
        experience, and referrals between other GoodSharks lawyers

 About GoodSharks.com

GoodSharks.com is a web-based legal marketplace open to tough, fearless, talented and ethical attorneys. GoodSharks.com's proprietary matching software connects attorneys with clients, based on clients' specific case needs. Attorneys list themselves using GoodSharks.com's easy process. Consumers looking for attorneys access the database for free and use a unique web-based survey system to enter up to 20 search categories ranging from geographic proximity to the lawyer's skills, specialties, fee structures, even languages. GoodSharks.com practices the highest ethical standards, adhering to all Bar guidelines in every state, and does not endorse attorneys; matches are based solely on criteria and experience. Visit www.GoodSharks.com or call 877-774-7504.