TGIF: Now I'm Glad Tinkerbell Wasn't in the iPad Box

Okay, Tinkerbell the rat is cute, but you wouldn't want to find her in your living room, masquerading as a possum....

ParalegaliPad: Load Up Your iPad with Freebie Nonlegal Apps

All rightee then, so you busted open your piggy bank to score your very own iPad, and now you're too broke for lattes and iPad apps. Not to worry, Starbucks will somehow manage to survive without your daily visit (for a while) and there are plenty of great free apps to download.

Here are the free nonlegal apps I've downloaded so far:

eReaders
iBooks (beyond gorgeous e-reader but dud of a book search unless you know the title/author)
Amazon Kindle (terrific book search)
Stanza

News
AP (Associated Press)
USA Today
Thomson Reuters News Pro
NPR
Fluent News Reader
fwix ("hyperlocal" news)

Cloud
Evernote
Dropbox

Assorted but Useful
FeeddlerRSS (a Google Reader client)
TweetDeck
PCalcLite (calculator)
Dictionary.com
iPDF
SundryNotes (PDF annotation)
Textfree (TXT MEEEEE! on my iPhat)
NYTimes Crosswords
IMDb
Wikipanion

Way Too Much Fun
Granimator (art tool & loud wallpaper creator)
Backgrounds HD
Doodle Buddy
Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List (The description says, "What helps even more is that you can then email the ingredients to yourself or your maid..." Note to self: Get maid.)
Pandora

My Personal Fave
Pocket Pond (Finally the koi pond I've always wanted - without the fish ca-ca :)

Got a free iPad app you'd recommend? A post about free legal apps is coming. Now I have to decide what I'm willing to spend for other apps that would be helpful to a paralegal (or my boss if I let him hold iPhat).

Related Post: If the iPad Was Really Magic...

Today's Quote: Thank You for Not Sharing

If you're going to use Facebook, don't be a Faceboob. It could cost you your job, your marriage, and your freedom. ~ From "How to Fall Flat on Your Facebook" (PCWorld)

Mainly, I just wanted a chance to use the word Faceboob. It's a keeper.

But this is an amusing read. Via the great over-sharing vehicle that is Facebook, a woman discovers her husband is already married to a Disney princess, and a (former) high school teacher tells the world how she really feels about her little "germ bag" students and their snobby parents - this despite having a doctorate degree.

And then there's our newly infamous 20-year old Michigan juror (isn't she cute? But the kitty just looks ticked off as well he should), who used Facebook to crow her excitement over a guilty verdict in a criminal trial - before the defense had presented its side.

The defense attorney was out for blood, or at least jail time and a forced reading of the entire Constitution, but the judge let the Faceboob (I had to use it in a sentence) off with a $250 fine and an order to write a 5-page essay about the 6th Amendment by October 1.

For some people, writing an essay about the Constitution would be much worse punishment than spending the night in the clink.

Source: PCWorld; mlive.com

Related Post: Juror Discovers No Take Backs on Facebook

You Can Be Pretty Sure He's Not a Paralegal If...

...he threatens to shoot you in the knee cap if you don't pay him.

Local media outlets are reporting that a Pennsylvania man, Michael Crawford, allegedly posed as a paralegal and promised to help a fellow with his medical/legal case.

Never mind that Crawford wasn't even posing as a lawyer. The victim still ponied up around $5,000 in cash to pay Crawford since April.

Apparently Crawford didn't promise to do a great job with the legal case. Instead, he allegedly told his "client" that he'd have someone shoot him in the kneecap if he did not pay up.

Crawford was arrested yesterday and arraigned by District Judge Jessica E. Brewbaker on two counts of robbery, theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking, extortion, terroristic threats, intimidation of witnesses or victims and harassment. Brewbaker set bail at $100,000 and remanded Crawford to prison when he was unable to make bail.

Court documents show Crawford has a lengthy criminal history, including drug, theft and assault charges.

Now, I know a lot of my readers are talented debt collection specialists, but I'm pretty sure that none of them collect past due bills by threatening to pull a Jack Bauer on the debtors.

"I shot her above the knee cap! She can still walk! You make me shoot her again, she'll be in a wheelchair the rest of her life." ~ Jack Bauer

Times are tough, but if a paralegal threatens to knee-cap you to collect legal fees, he's not a paralegal. And you can take that to the bank.

Source: PennLive.com

ParalegaliPad: Grandma Asks a Few Probing Questions About the iPad

Ya'll know I threw caution to the winds, and just went out and got me one of them newfangled iPads. I'm still in the learning about and downloading free non-legal apps stage, but in the course of my reading, stumbled across some very funny iPad parodies.

Sure, make fun of my Precious iPhat all you want (darn Skippy I named it), but I hate to talk on the phone anyway.



Related Post: If the iPad Was Really Magic...

Evernote: This Paralegal’s Best (and Smarter) Friend

Or, You Too Can Be an "Awesome-ness Machine"



In my humble opinion, one of the most indispensable free apps in the cloud (even edging out Dropbox) is Evernote (http://www.evernote.com/). Evernote’s home page says, “Remember everything. Capture anything. Access anywhere. Find things fast.” I can’t say it any better.

Life before Evernote involved forgetting more than I remembered, searching for notes and ideas jotted down on Post-its, scrap paper and multiple notebooks or saved on various computers, and having no central location to look for information I wanted to refer to later.

Now I can access Evernote from anywhere, and I no longer have to worry about keeping up with information that’s important to me, especially professionally. You can save notes, documents, articles, photos and website URLs (and websites themselves), and easily search for your notes later by notebook, text search or tags. You can also email notes to your account.

Here’s a sampling of the information I keep in Evernote, organized in virtual notebooks or categories:

• Blog ideas and book planning
• CLE notes
• Research
• Software and specialty area how-tos
• Technology resources
• Listserv postings I may want to refer to later
• Notes from paralegal association executive committee meetings
• Tax deductions
• Paralegal certification information

I even have a notebook called A Virtual Pad of Paper (which is first since it starts with A) that I use for miscellaneous notes that don’t fall under any other category. One of the most valuable aspects of this cloud app is that you don’t lose key information if your computer dies. Also, instead of keeping notes on a work computer, which you may lose if you take another job, Evernote goes where you go.

Here are some articles discussing how other legal professionals use Evernote (I got some great new ideas):

• Some Great Online Notetaking Tools (The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies)
• Using Evernote in Your Law Practice (Legal Practice Pro
• Evernote for Lawyers (Indolawreport)
• Life in “The Cloud”: Evernote (The MacLawyer)
• Evernote As CRM (Law Practice Matters)
• Tech Tool Review (Law Practice Today)

This video is a little goofy – but it’s not a bad introduction to Evernote:

If you're using Evernote in your professional life, I'd love to hear what you use it for.

New Facebook & LinkedIn Pages for NCBA Paralegal Division

Now members of the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division have two new online places to gather: the division’s new Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

The Paralegal Division currently has almost 1,300 members. Its new online social networking pages are a great way to get to know each other better, as well as keep up with – and share – news and events of interest to members.

Page links or search for "Paralegal Division (NCBA)":

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cary/Paralegal-Division-NCBA/102513199810699

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3359346&about=

Related Posts: LinkedIn Profile: Maximize Your Virtual Presence

Today's Quote: Whatever Dirty Work Attorneys Handle

"A paralegal do the dirty work in the legal profession assisting attorneys with the preparation of whatever they have to handle." ~ From "The most in demand jobs for 2010 and beyond in America" (Helium)

Huge grammar and connotative issues aside, I don't have anything to say, but "Wut? Just wut?"

(Oh, and dang, that stable-cleaning set looks real right down to the muck bucket and the imitation manure (wut?) - but these are toys for you Breyer horse collectors.)

Source: Helium

The Grammar Police: The Catchy Apostrophe Song

The only complaint I have about this most excellent - and much needed - video is that some of the offending pictures flash by too quickly.

But there's nothing wrong with having the catchy refrain, "Don't put an apostrophe in it's/unless you mean it is" stuck in your head.



Thanks, Becky and Apostrophe Catastrophes!

Paralegal Profile: Jennifer Guppy, Special Investigation Unit Director

Job Title: Senior Paralegal / Director, Special Investigation Unit

Employer: RLI Corp., Peoria, Illinois

Years of Paralegal Experience: 15

Education/Degrees: Associate in Paralegal Studies, Bachelors of Arts, Masters in Legal Studies

Specialty Areas: Insurance Regulatory, Insurance Fraud Investigations

Career Highlight: Uncovering a major insurance premium fraud scheme that affected numerous companies and now has the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspector involved. It was shortly after I was named Director of the Special Investigation Unit and made me realize just how important this role is to my company.

Paralegal Practice Tip: Take a step back and breathe. Don’t send that email. Wait a day and see if you feel the same way.

Favorite Internet Resource: It sounds simple, but I love Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/). When I conduct insurance fraud investigations, this resource is invaluable when I am trying to locate “impartial” witnesses and their proximity to claimants as well as auto repair shops, medical providers and so on.

Favorite Legal Software: Workshare (http://www.workshare.com/). It is document comparison software and helps avoid metadata issues.

Do you use social media resources, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or blogs, for career and/or case development?
I use any social media although Facebook and YouTube are my favorites for investigations. When conducting insurance fraud investigations, I LOVE looking at these sources because people put so much information out there and don’t realize who is looking at it and how it can affect their claims.

Fun Fact: I have 51 first cousins and grew up in the same neighborhood as most of them. And we still all get together twice a year.

One Gadget You Can’t Live Without: My Sync in my Ford Escape. Hands free everything! How did I ever drive without this?

Favorite Quote: “If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.” Jimmy Buffett

Professional Links: http://www.rlicorp.com/
__________________
Jennifer sent me a nice email when my daughter was hospitalized. She made my day, because I love hearing from readers. When I asked her if she'd be willing to do a profile, she said she wasn't that exciting, but I think the kind of work she does sounds extremely interesting. She sounds like a resourceful and thorough paralegal detective.

Legal Secretary or Legal Super Woman?

The former legal secretary for the Fernley City Attorney's Office in Nevada used to wear a lot of hats, including receptionist, office manager and legal researcher. Don't worry, she didn't have a nervous breakdown and quit.

But the City Manager took a closer look at everything she had to do - by herself - and concluded that the title of "legal secretary" was too restrictive.

Here's the part where you guys go "uh-oh," and wonder if by too restrictive he thought she could do more, and tried to assign six more attorneys to her support load, or decided she could sort the mail for all the city offices while she was just sitting there doing crosswords at her desk.

The opposite happened (I know you skeptics out there are shocked). The City Manager recognized the more substantive work she is doing, and recommended a change in title to "legal assistant" and an increase in the position's pay range to $43,046 - $54,867.80 (the 80 cents really makes a difference, whew). The City Attorney vouched that the proposed pay range was reasonable.

But a City Council member (I'm guessing she never wore all the hats in a law office by herself) moved for a lower pay range of $18.84 - $24.79 per hour, or assuming the legal super woman works a 40-hour week, $39,187.20 - $51,563.20. The Council voted unanimously to approve both the title change and the lower pay range.

Maybe they should have put the vote on ice for a week, and let the City Council member run the City Attorney's office by herself, while the legal super woman takes a much-deserved paid vacation. I suspect if she spent a week in the newly minted legal assistant's shoes, she'd be convinced that the higher recommended pay range wasn't nearly enough.

Source: Reno Gazette Journal

Practical Paralegalism Contest: Win the Odelia Grey Mysteries Series

Practical Paralegalism readers can win the first five books in Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Odelia Grey Mystery Series, a $75 value. Even if Odelia didn’t happen to be a paralegal, the series is so highly engrossing and entertaining that you’ll be sorry when you finish the fifth book and have to wait for the sixth to be published. (Sue Ann is writing it right now. Feel free to follow her on Twitter, @SueAnnJaffarian, and encourage her to hurry up!)

To be entered in a drawing to win all five books, all you have to do is submit a short guest post, between 500-750 words, to be published at Practical Paralegalism in one of the following categories:

• Your professional profile (Simply answer the questions from a recent profile and provide a small-sized digital headshot.)
• A How-To in your specialty area
• A Top 5 Tips for your specialty area
• 3 Ways You Prepared for NALA’s Certified Paralegal Exam
• 3 iPhone, iTouch or iPad apps that you use for work

Entries should be submitted to lynne.devenny@gmail.com by October 31, 2010. If you submit an entry in a category other than the profile, please include a brief two or three sentence bio. Two runners up will win the Practical Paralegalism Percolatin’ Paralegal coffee mug of their choice. Practical Paralegalism will pay the ground shipping for all prizes.

Even if you don’t want the books or the mug, you are still welcome to submit a guest post.

Related Posts: Paralegal Profile: Sue Ann Jaffarian, Mystery Writer; Book Review: Too Big To Miss Is Too Good To Miss

Juror Discovers No Take Backs on Facebook

A 20-year old Michigan juror prematurely posted the pending guilty verdict in a criminal trial on her Facebook page, and now she's the one facing possible criminal charges.

Maybe you're thinking, "Meh. No biggie." But the trial judge is considering contempt of court charges, and the defendant's attorney is lobbying for jail time - and a close reading of the Constitution.

The seriously ill-advised tweet read, "Actually excited for jury duty tomorrow. It's gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're guilty."

This real life social media courtroom drama illustrates the "no take back" effect on many status updates that should never see the light of day. Even if you think only your awesome Facebook BFFs can see your every clever (or clueless) thought, you don't know who they're sharing it with, who's helpfully saved it with a screen capture or emailed it to all of their co-workers - or even if you forgot to change your privacy settings from the entire Detroit, Michigan network.

When first questioned by the judge, Jons apparently denied making the post not knowing the entire message had been copied word for word off the Internet before she erased the posting.

I doubt this juror will be updating her Facebook status to read, "I'm so excited about court tomorrow. It's gonna be fun to be told I'm guilty."

Reader Comment: Alex helpfully adds, "The issue is Miss Juror made that post before the prosecution rested or the defense presented their case. Makes people wonder how many jurors walk into the job "excited to tell the defendant they're guilty."

Source: ClickOnDetroit

We'll Just Skip the Roll Call

Or, How to Run an Effective Conference Call

Welcome to the first teleconference of the Data and Electronic Information Integration Management Governance Committee. (File under "Just kill me now.")

I think we've all attended this exact same meeting at least once in our careers. (Sparky's input is truly a breath of fresh air.)

Practical Paralegalism's Recommended Reading This Week

I blog for paralegals, legal assistants, legal secretaries, and all the other legal staffers essential to the practice of law - as well as the attorneys who want to get to know us better. Once a week, I share links to a half dozen or so articles focusing on legal news and humor, practice tips and technology.

This week's list is a little longer since I missed last week:


Funny, huh? Okay, if you don't know what's wrong with this picture, click here.

• Clerical Error Could Cost $11 Million (Paralegal Blaw Blaw Blaw) ~ One letter really does make a difference.
• Good People to Know: Your Friendly Process Server (Paralegalese) ~ Hug a process server today.
• Tell Me What You Want (Haley Lobs Law Bomb) ~ If you want it, ask for it.
• A Discovery Jewel: Keeping Requests in Focus (Bow Tie Law's Blog) ~ If you wanted it, you should have asked for it.
• Is Your Attorney Nosy? You Should Hope So (Massachusetts Estate Planning & Elder Law) ~ This would be a great handout for your estate clients, and your students studying estate law.
• Our report from ILTA 2010 (The Posse List) ~ If you couldn't go to Vegas, reading about it is the next best thing.
• Wide Adoption of Electronic Signatures and Electronic Contracts Overdue (LexTek Report) ~ Everything you ever wanted to know about e-signatures.
• Amplify Google Scholar with CiteStack (Lawyerist)
• Train-Hopping Cat Reunited With Owner via Twitter (Mashable) - This one's for all you Twitter naysayers. Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.
• Worker at taxpayer-funded agency in Virginia plays hooky for 12 years (CNN) - You Virginia taxpayers should ask for refund.
• Favorite Practical Paralegalism post from this time last year: Tina Marie Hilton's guest post, 5 New Technologies that Paralegals Need to Learn Now

Now I must leave you to go bond with my new iPad. I'm thinking about calling in iSick tomorrow...

I'd Notice if $1 Million Went Missing from My Bank Account

Another depressing news story about a Texas paralegal and office manager who has been indicted, along with her husband, for embezzling over $1 million dollars from the law firm where she worked has me more than a little puzzled.

I like to think I'd notice if that kind of cash went missing from my account. But maybe the law firm was doing so well that it could spare a million and some change. That kind of siphoning off of assets would cause many businesses to go under.

The El Paso Times is reporting that over a six-year period Rosanne Stogner allegedly wrote checks totaling $1,002,050.47 to herself, her spouse and his fence company - and her daughter's personal trainer.

Maybe I should start a series of posts called Rules for Everyday Living. We'll start with, "Know what's in your own bank accounts. Go over your statements every single month with a fine tooth comb, even if you think you can trust the other signatories with your life - or your money. Because sometimes you can't."

Source: El Paso Times

Disqualified Law Firm Failed to Erect Ethical Wall for Legal Assistant

The Texas Supreme Court has ordered that plaintiff's counsel in a medical malpractice case be disqualified, because the firm did not take reasonable steps to ensure that a legal assistant formerly employed by the defendant's counsel did not have access to the case.

Central to the issue was whether a legal assistant at Magallanes & Hinojosa had worked on the Leal case while employed by opposing counsel, Brin & Brin, P.C.; and whether Magallanes & Hinojosa took reasonable measures to ensure that the assistant would not work on the case.

Despite signing a confidentiality agreement with Brin & Brin before she left, and being reminded by her new employer not to work on cases she had worked on with her former employer, the Court found that the legal assistant handled correspondence, took calls and copied sensitive documents in the Leal case.

This case is a reminder to both working paralegals and students that an ethical wall, also called a Chinese Wall, must be erected in regard to any situation where a conflict of interest may arise due to a paralegal leaving one law firm for another. See Guideline 7 of the ABA Model Guidelines for the Utilization of Paralegal Services and ABA Informal Opinion 1526 (1988).

The Court clearly found the plaintiff's firm remiss in its obligation to avoid conflicts of interest raised by hiring this legal assistant, but a commenter at the news article bluntly asked, "If the assistant knew she was not to work on the case, why didn't she remind the attorneys when asked to run copies or file pleadings?"

I'd like to ask the legal assistant that question myself. The article does not address her formal training, education or experience, nor does it discuss the extent of ongoing ethics training or continuing legal education that she had access to. But the fact that a law firm has been disqualified from representation in a case that has been in litigation for years demonstrates the critical need for ongoing ethics training - for both lawyers and their staff.

Additional national resources that every paralegal should review and save as favorites in their browsers, in addition to state resources:

• Model Standards and Guidelines for Utilization of Paralegals (NALA)
• Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility And Guidelines For Enforcement (NFPA)
• NALS Code of Ethics & Professional Responsibility

Source: The Brownsville Herald

ParalegaliPad: Get Free Kaplan Ebooks for iPad - But HURRY!

I realize I may be putting the cart before the horse, because I haven't even published my planned posts about the free non-legal and legal apps I've downloaded to my new (as yet unnamed) iPad, but in this case, the deadline is short, and time's a-wastin'!

Many thanks to my friend, Tammy Cravit, for tweeting the availability of Free Kaplan Study Guide eBooks for iPhone, iTouch and iPad through Monday, August 30, 2010.

I downloaded the following free eBooks, hoping several of them will be helpful to review for the NALA Certified Paralegal exam.

• The Paralegal Handbook by Anita Haworth, RP and Lesley Cox, RP
• Kaplan PMBR Finals: Corporations
• Kaplan PMBR Finals: Evidence
• Kaplan PMBR Finals: Civil Procedure
• Kaplan PMBR Finals: Family Law
• Kaplan PMBR Finals: Contract Law

Because my teenagers have been begging me to download apps for their entertainment, I also got five SAT prep books. I can't wait to see their excited faces! :P

Reader Comment: Margaret Agius reminded me not to forget to download the free app, Kaplan's Multistate Bar Exam flashcards. Check!

P.S. If the Lifehacker link does not work for you, try going straight to your iTunes account, or accessing http://http//kaplanpublishing.com/iTunes via your iTouch, iPhone or iPad browser (that worked for me).

Source: Lifehacker

ParalegaliPad: If the iPad Was Really Magic...

...You Could Set It Up With a Quick Sprinkle of Pixie Dust

I drooled. I slobbered. I spent countless sleepless nights obsessing. Finally, I just went out and bought the dang thing with my little dab of money earned from freelance and textbook writing. (No, Mom, John Grisham still hasn't invited me to lunch at the country club.)

Yes, I am finally the inordinately proud owner of that "magical and revolutionary product" that sounds like it was named after a feminine hygiene product.

Keep in mind that this small-town paralegal has never used an Apple product, and still does not have a smart phone (that will change next week). Until recently, it took me an hour to text "ok", and I rarely responded to texts that required more than a yes or no answer. The Goddess of Technology, I am not.

So when someone says a product is magic, I set the bar pretty darned high, like you can start using it as quickly as Tink, a/k/a Tinker Bell, can wave her wand with a bit of pixie dust to make humans fly.

Since Tinker Bell wasn't in the box, the reality of the iPad setup went like this:

1. Take it out of the packaging. (First techno-idiot task: Peeling off the childproof shrink wrap without shedding blood.)
2. Plug it into your PC or Mac.
3. Using your PC or Mac, download and install the latest version of iTunes (www.itunes.com/download).
4. Set up your iTunes account, if you don't already have one. (Have your debit or credit card handy).
5. You'll be asked if you want to update the iPad software. If you do, get ready to put your new baby down, and find something else to do (other than hover over it) for 45 minutes. I am not famous for my patience.
6. Go to settings, and pick your WiFi network.
7. Under "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" add your email account(s). Pick how many lines you want to preview (the default is only two).
8. Finally, it's time to pick some apps, accessing the Apple Store with the iPad.

Now, we're talking magic!

Related Posts: Now I'm Really Drooling Over the iPad; Even a Corgi Can Use an iPad; Low Tech in High Places; January 31, 2010 Recommended Reading (Mad TV - iPad video)

Saturday LOL: Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I bet the mom is a legal assistant.

Quick Thinking Saves a Legal Assistant and Her Dog

What would you do, if you were enjoying a morning stroll with your beloved canine companion, and you saw this hurtling your way?

Heck, yeah, you'd run, but where to?

Oregon legal assistant, Lois Jessee, and her golden retriever, K'lar Debear, found themselves facing one ticked off mama bear earlier this summer, right after they stumbled upon two baby bears rifling through Jessee's garbage can.

K'lar Debear (does anyone know what this means? I'm gettin' killer the bear...) did what any self-respecting dog does, and attempted to send those naughty cubs packing.

Only they were packing real heat in the form of one large angry mother... (I know what you're thinking) bear.

I've got to say I really admire Jessee's quick thinking under fire, an excellent trait for a legal assistant.

That morning, as she watched the mother bear close in on her dog, Jessee knew she had a split second to save herself and K'lar. Normally, she keeps the gate to her eight-foot fence padlocked, but that morning luck was on her side. The padlock hung open.

"Both of them are coming in my direction full blast," Jessee said. "There is only about 75 feet -- I realized I've got to get the gate open. I ripped open the lock. The dog comes whipping in. I close the gate. Momma bear and I are about five feet apart, looking at each other, momma to momma, just a eight-foot gate separating us. Had it been a four-foot fence, I don't think I'd be talking to you."

My heart's beating a little faster just imagining what it must have felt like to have the hot breath of an outraged bear on your heels. I'm so glad that Jessee and K'lar are fleet of foot and that Jessee's gate was miraculously unlocked.

Source: OregonLive.com

Today's Quote: Amen, Sistah!

"We like our coffee." ~ Valerie Lightbody, a legal secretary from Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan tells the Detroit Free Press that increasing coffee prices won't kill her coffee buzz.

Can I get an "Amen, Sistah!"

Source: Detroit Free Press

TGIF: You're GOOD

There's a bit of language in this video, but the assistant totally rocks, especially with the Boysenberry Muffin. She is good.

Road to NALA CP Exam: Could We Have Gone to Vegas?

I've done the preliminary research regarding NALA's Certified Paralegal exam and gained a partner in crime, I mean, a study buddy.

Now it's time to convince The Boss that his two senior paralegals (hey, it's not only because we're the oldest paralegals in the office) should become NALA Certified Paralegals, and eventually Advanced Certified Paralegals under the umbrella of the firm's continuing education provisions.

So I try the old, "Hey, remember when I brought up the subject of national paralegal certification, like, three years ago, and you said 'Yes'?"

The Boss: "No."

Me: "Oh."

Me: "Well, it's kind of like taking a bar exam for paralegals. It's really hard, and we need a refresher course because we last attended school, like, a hundred years ago. We'll be tested on ethics, legal research, and substantive law."

The Boss: "Oh, okay, go for it."

Me: "Don't you want to know anything else about it? Like, we could have gone to the Short Course in Las Vegas last year, but this year the Short Course is in Charlotte, so it's, like, fate that we decided to do it now?"

The Boss: "No."

Crap. Well, no, not crap, because the firm's paying, but crap, because I had this whole long speech prepared, and I had only gotten through the preliminary nervous babbling before I got to the good parts.

If I'd known it was going to be this easy, I would have started last year and aimed for a trip to Vegas.
___________________
Stay tuned for a future post in which I convince myself I have to have an iPad to study properly. (The type is really small in case my husband divorces me for bringing home an iPad, like it's a stray puppy or something.)

Florida Bar to Explore Paralegal Licensing and Regulation

In a move that is generating a great deal of attention from legal professionals across the country, the Florida Bar is setting up a committee to explore the licensing and regulation of paralegals.

“That program [FRP] is up for review right now. But the registered paralegals have requested that we look into requiring that they be regulated in some form or fashion, and their request specifically is that they be regulated by The Florida Bar or the Florida Supreme Court,” said board member Greg Coleman, chair of the Program Evaluation Committee, which will review the registered paralegal program.

Paralegal regulation is a hot-button topic among legal professionals. In a 2006 Legal Assistant Today article, Patrick Vuong neatly sums up the opposing views as follows:

Some paralegals and legislators want mandatory licensure of the profession, saying it would assure that clients receive services from only qualified, trained professionals, and it would help distinguish paralegals from legal secretaries and other administrators. But opponents argue regulation is unnecessary because unauthorized practice of law statutes provide sufficient safeguards and already define what a paralegal can and can’t do.

Catherine Durgin explores the opposing views on paralegal regulation in her 2007 ABA Business Law Today article, "Getting legal with paralegals".

The debate about the need for paralegal regulation is as old as the profession. The arguments often parallel a person's view on the role of paralegals in the delivery of legal services. Are paralegals merely assistants to lawyers, or do they represent an independent profession that requires separate regulation and supervision? While some are content letting the supervising lawyer decide the qualifications of the paralegals he or she hires, others call for increased supervision and regulation.

Even the advocates for increased regulation have differing opinions on what needs to be done: Some want to raise the profile of the profession by establishing standards for paralegals, while others call for mandatory regulation that expands the role of paralegals in the delivery of legal services and simultaneously protects the public from the unauthorized practice of law. Proposals at the state and national levels recommend various regulatory schemes as solutions. Some have been successful, others not so successful.

More recently, Shirley Caroline Bryant, PLS, asked "How Does Paralegal Regulation Affect YOU?" in a 2009 article for NALS. She gives good advice when she recommends that paralegals should "stay informed regarding the presence of regulation in your state."

Where do you stand on paralegal regulation? Do we not fix what isn't broken - or do we need regulation to mandate who can and cannot use the paralegal title?

Sources: The Florida Bar News; Legal Assistant Today; Business Law Today; NALS