LegalMatch Life

Meet LegalMatch - Jacobo Rodriguez

Some consumers may not be aware that LegalMatch allows you to see profiles of their pre-screened lawyers in your area. While profiles contain past customer reviews, availability schedules, accolades, and a picture among the other things, Jake works with the attorneys to maintain their portfolios and assist them with integrating LegalMatch into their practice.  

Jake also handles assigning accounts to Marketing Managers and tracking all accounts that pass though the Marketing Management Department. But the real reason we selected Jacobo Rodriguez, or Jake as we call him, as our LegalMatch Profile is because he’s a perfect example of the professionalism and neighborly constructiveness we shoot for here.

Jake grew up in Daly City and attended El Camino High School. As a Bay Area native, he appreciates Mark Twain’s infamous quote: “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” And Twain lived through New York and Philadelphia winters in the mid-1800s before central heating was invented. That said; Jake keeps warm through the San Francisco Summers by going to Giants games, biking, or catching a movie with friends. A few of his picks include: Gladiator, Life is Beautiful, Forgetting Sarah Marshal, and The Hangover.

Bar None, Manor West, and club Fluid are a few places you may see him on the weekends but in Jake’s opinion, no SF watering hole beats authentic Mexican food. What’s his recommendation? Tacos al pastor if you’re ever in Jalisco, Mexico. You may want to invite Jake if you’re going because he grew up speaking Spanish.

Jake came to LegalMatch just over 3 years ago and today is our Senior Marketing Manager at the San Francisco headquarters. Jake says his “favorite part of working at LegalMatch is the constant change of pace. Every day is different than the next and I am always ready to take on new challenges that allow ‘thinking outside the box’ and solving problems that do not fall under the conventional methods.”

LegalMatch Headquarters Moves to Oyster Point

Change is good.  After 10 years in San Francisco, LegalMatch is relocating next week to their new headquarters at Oyster Point, situated along the San Francisco Bay about 10 miles south of their present location.  LegalMatch is used to new buildings, having expanded out of their prior San Francisco locations in SoMa and Downtown.  But in the words of Ken LaMance, LegalMatch's Corporate Counsel, we're now moving into “the coolest building yet!”

Our new top floor office at 395 Oyster Point offers two fitness centers, a cafeteria, cafés, waterfront jogging trails, on-site dry cleaning, and an outdoor community area. LegalMatch will be sharing their sweeping San Francisco Bay views with the building's other primary occupant, the McKesson Corporation.

The LegalMatch staff is excited for a change of venue. The current location in the San Francisco Financial District, or as locals call it “the FiDi,” has been outstanding. The office offered close proximity to the Ferry Building, AT&T Park, and Union Square but LegalMatch has grown too large for the current digs.

Did I happen to mention that you can finally visit LegalMatch by way of speedboat? That’s right, just in case you’re the Miami Vice type the Oyster Point Marina offers boat docking. An abundance of parking and public transportation options will have to suffice for the rest of us.

LegalMatch Thanksgiving Potluck

The Holiday Season has arrived! I had my official holiday season revelation last week when I was leaving the LegalMatch headquarters in San Francisco. I’d climbed onto my bike and began riding up Market Street when I noticed that the pedestrians were all stopped. When I looked up, the snowflake wreathes that adorn the streetlights had been lit down the Path of Gold and disappeared into the San Francisco Ferry Building. I’d liken the experience to seeing the antennas atop the Sears Tower change to red and green in Chicago, witnessing the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center in New York, or just being able to see the Christmas lights on your house through the blizzard. And oh yes, eggnog is for sale now too!

So, with much pent-up holiday excitement LegalMatch threw a Thanksgiving Potluck. And really, what says Thanksgiving more than a potluck?

While you can see the full visual evidence on the LegalMatch Flickr, employees seemed to pull out all the stops this year with everything from the traditional: turkey, Brad's grandpa's stuffing, vegetables, cookies, and pie; to favorites like chocolate dipped strawberries, fried chicken, and some of the best beans and tortillas I've ever eaten.

There was a lot of talk about holiday plans, ski trips, and how this meal could be taken like a training exercise for the real show tomorrow. And after all the crumbs had settled, each of us waddled back to our desks fully satisfied and definitely a little bit jollier.

Happy Thanksgiving!
 

LegalMatch Celebrates Halloween with a Costume Contest!

There's an undeniable electricity around Halloween. The excitement could be attributed to Halloween being the kick-off to the holiday season or it could be all of the seasonal beers that come out during this time of year. For whichever reason, Halloween is loved by many and celebrated by nearly everyone in some capacity whether it be hiding in the bushes to serve up a "trick" or turning off the lights and pretending you're not home so you can dodge those pesky trick-or-treaters.

LegalMatch in Austin, Texas celebrated with a good old-fashioned costume contest. Some employees dared to show their "freakier side" while others opted to dress up in more classic costumes but like any good Halloween festivity, leather pants were worn. Check out the pictures below and see how many personalities you can decipher. The LegalMatch Photostream on Flickr has the full photo recap.

 

   
 

 
 
 

Meet LegalMatch - Srikanth Pulikonda

So you’re sitting in your office, cubicle, lean-to, or wherever little nest your employer has set aside for your workspace when the email server goes down. Who are you going to call? No, not Ghostbusters; your IT Systems Administrator.

 

The Systems Administrator is one of the most crucial positions for an online company like LegalMatch which relies on new technology. Although I’ve never had any problems, I have had the pleasure of meeting our IT Systems Administrator Srikanth Pulikonda who keeps things ship-shape around here at LegalMatch.

 

Srikanth (aka "Sri") has been with LegalMatch coming up on 6 years now and has the laborious task of making sure our hardware, software, web, email, and everything else technology related is correctly working. He also collaborates with the development and advertising divisions. To put it simply, Srikanth can do things with computers and technology that this tech savvy employee can only begin to fathom.

 

Srikanth was born in South India where he attended Kakatiya University.  Sri now lives with his wife just across the bay in nearby Fremont, California.    

 

Sri told me he dabbles with photography; however, the quality of his portfolio contradicts the amateur status he claims. Sri’s Photo Gallery is full of some truly incredible images from wildlife and insects to more everyday shots, but be forewarned - they’ll make you want to buy a camera and try it yourself. Some of my favorite photos from Sri’s collection are Home Alone, and the colorful fly to the right.

 

Srikanth is into martial arts movies and said he loves Bruce Lee and Jet Li films. As far as music, Sri listens to Jazz and is into saxophone and horn players. Right now he’s been listening to Paul Taylor who is a more contemporary Jazz artist, Paul Hardcastle whose most notable hit was “19,” and  Kenny G who is an institution all his own.

 

When he’s not taking pictures, spending time with his family, or working at LegalMatch, you can find Srikanth enjoying some vegetarian Indian food selections at bay area eateries. And his preference: Mac or PC?  It’s a no-brainer for Sri - PC all the way!