Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Practical Paralegalism's Recommended Reading This Week

Posted on December 12, 2009
One of the many reasons that I blog for paralegals is to share information relevant to our profession. There are hundreds of terrific articles posted every week on the Internet, but once a week I try to share a half dozen or so "don't miss" articles focusing on legal news, practice tips and technology - plus a good laugh or two...

Are Paralegals Getting Their Own National Anthem?

Posted on December 12, 2009
Probably not, but that unreal attorney (really, I mean "unreal" as in "not real" but I guess the slang meaning of being outrageous is also applicable) Richard Prickman tweeted this on December 1, 2009:Wow, that's eerie. Every morning I get up and solemnly say, "God save the Queen...

Paralegal Adds Video Cover Letter to Job Search Arsenal

Posted on December 09, 2009
If you think you've gone high-tech in your job search by using LinkedIn, Chicago paralegal Tara Kowalke's higher-tech approach might make you wonder if you're just doing the equivalent of banging out your resume on an IBM electric typewriter.She's hired guugos...

Maximizing the Use of Paralegals Podcast

Posted on December 09, 2009
Maximizing the use of paralegals is more important than ever - possibly the most critical it has ever been due to the poor economy and the havoc it has wreaked on law firms.A well-trained and highly qualified paralegal staff can lessen the effects of associate downsizing and hiring freezes, as well as help satisfy budget-conscious clients asking for alternative fee arrangements, or if paralegals with lower billing rates can perform tasks...

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HIPAA Is Funny. No. Really.

Posted on December 08, 2009
Normally, folks don't think of The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 as cause for giggles.So imagine my surprise, while searching for visuals to liven up what I am sure will be my wildly entertaining presentation, "Medical Records and Evidence: Key Issues for Compensation Cases" for the North Carolina Bar Association's Workers' Compensation for Paralegals (A Method to the Madness) CLE program, I found HIPAA cartoons...

Paralegal Waits Six Hours at Toys R Us for a Mr. Squiggles Hamster

Posted on December 08, 2009
I mostly did this post just to write the headline, and because the phrase "Mr. Squiggles hamster" makes me giggle (same as HIPAA cartoons).But I couldn't pass up the chance to share the lengths one California paralegal went to score her own Zhu Zhu pet:Zhu Zhu owners such as Alicen Kovacic, 34, said they felt reassured...

Introducing the Bankruptcy Paralegal Forum

Posted on December 08, 2009
Bankruptcy attorney and blogger at Legal Practice Pro, Jay Fleischman, has created a new online community for consumer bankruptcy paralegals, the Bankruptcy Paralegal Forum.For years I?ve heard bankruptcy paralegals express a desire to have someplace to meet, exchange ideas, and get information to help them do their jobs better...

Paralegal Posting of the Week: Decathlete/Comedian Wanted

Posted on December 07, 2009
Or It Goes Without Saying By Now That No Divas Need ApplyI'm thinkin' that not only is it a good idea for lawyers to have someone else proofread their briefs, but they should have an objective pal take a look at their want ads for legal staff as well...

Paralegal Works to Help Prisoners Use Time Well

Posted on December 07, 2009
If you do not like the circumstances of your life, change them. I used a method that anyone could use: I examined my situation, plotted a course of action, and stuck to it, no matter what. Anything that was inconsistent with the direction I was going was not a part of my life...

Another Paralegal Gets New Home from TV Show

Posted on December 07, 2009
Good things happen in threes, so I'm expecting to do another post about a paralegal getting a new home from a TV show in the very near future. After blogging only yesterday about a paralegal and her family receiving a new home from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, it's a neat coincidence to read that another paralegal and a single mother, Laurie O'Hara from Parsippany, New Jersey, is also getting help after her home was severely damaged by fire in January...

Practical Paralegalism's Recommended Reading This Week

Posted on December 06, 2009
I'm a little behind on my weekly recommended reading. It's these darned holidays. My normally reasonable family refuses to have Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel. What is wrong with these people?But I blog for paralegals in order to share information relevant to our profession and to help circulate some of the terrific information (and the belly laughs) that come my way via my indispensable RSS feed and Twitter...

Margaret Cho Plays "Necessary" Legal Assistant

Posted on December 06, 2009
With so many shows about lawyers on television, you'd think there'd be a few more recognizable paralegal and legal assistant characters - but if you can name five, you know your popular culture much better than I do. (I had to cheat and Google - which isn't really cheating is it? Unless it's Scrabble or crossword puzzles? Not that I would know...

New Jersey Legal Assistant Goes Above & Beyond

Posted on December 06, 2009
Congratulations to New Jersey legal assistant Mayelin Sicilia, employed by Keefe Bartels & Clark LLC, a personal injury law firm, for receiving the 2009 Above & Beyond award from the New Jersey chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (NJALA)...

Army National Guardsman Receives Medal - And Thanks His Paralegals

Posted on December 06, 2009
Not only has Army National Guard judge advocate Col. Brian A. Montague provided outstanding service to his country and his fellow soldiers while serving in Iraq - for which he received a Meritorious Service Medal - but he's also a boss who appreciates his paralegals...

Paralegal's Family Gets Extreme Home Makeover

Posted on December 06, 2009
Mississippi paralegal Gina Heathcock and her family are receiving a dream vacation to Disney World, as well as a new home from ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.Since Hurricane Katrina sent three large trees crashing down on their home, officials say the Heathcocks have struggled to make repairs on the house they have lived in for nearly 20 years...

5 Ways Paralegals Can Market Their Firms Every Day

Posted on December 03, 2009
How does a smart paralegal level the playing field and make the lawyer realize the true value of a great right-hand (or left-hand) man (or woman)? Simple, really - start bringing in business. ~ Jay S. Fleischman, Esq.Jay is a New York bankruptcy lawyer and legal marketing consultant who blogs at Legal Practice Pro...

Embezzling Paralegal Still Has a Job - In a Law Office

Posted on December 02, 2009
I occasionally share news stories about legal staffers who embezzle money from law firms, but I can't think of many (or any) where the accused, or the convicted, still worked for lawyers after getting officially busted.So this embezzling paralegal story is unusual...

Paralegal Bakes Santa's Whiskers And Is Arrested

Posted on December 02, 2009
Just kidding about the "arrested" part, but made you look.Sharon Hedgecock, a paralegal at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, did win third place in the Winston-Salem Journal's third annual Holiday Cookie Contest by baking "Santa's Whiskers" - butter cookies with candied cherries and nuts...

Got a Sandwich or a Paralegal Degree?

Posted on December 02, 2009
Can't get any attorneys to call you back in response to your application, even though you graduated at the top of your paralegal class? Then you're really not going to like this guy, who stopped an attorney in traffic with his job-seeking tactics.Dustin Scholz, the recent recipient of an advertising degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, literally hit the streets of Milwaukee wearing a sandwich board that said, "Job Wanted!" Scholz said, "I actually had one person stop traffic to get my resume and people were honking at her...

FRCP Changes Include Calculating Time Periods

Posted on December 01, 2009
Paralegals are a very helpful lot, as evidenced by Jessica Durfee, @jellydurf on Twitter, who tweeted a couple of weeks ago, "to all my paralegals out there, don't forget that new FRCP changes are effective Dec. 1."Durfee was simply reminding everyone that effective December 1, 2009, a number of significant amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil and Criminal Procedure went into effect...

The Court Is Happy to Inconvenience You

Posted on December 01, 2009
Practical Paralegalism readers know I love a good grammar blooper in a want ad or business correspondence, but verbal bloopers are welcome, too.An attorney member of a specialty section listserv shared her legal assistant's recent experience with an appellate court's recorded telephone greeting (and is allowing me to share it with you in a discreet manner so as to continue to please the court):I thought I'd pass this on to everyone - my assistant e-filed a simple motion for an extension last Wednesday...

ABA Journal's 3rd Annual Blawg 100 - Vote for Your Fave

Posted on December 01, 2009
So, I got the following email from the ABA Journal yesterday:Dear Blawgger,As proprietor of one of the more than 2,500 blawgs in the ABA Journal's online directory, we thought you'd want to know that our annual Blawg 100 list was published today.Now the real fun begins...

Paralegal Profile: Patricia ?Patty? Dietz-Selke, 2006 LAT Paralegal of the Year Runner-Up

Posted on December 01, 2009
Job Title: ParalegalEmployer: Troutman Sanders LLP, Atlanta, GAYears of Paralegal Experience: 16+Specialty Area: Immigration LawCareer Highlight: 2006 LAT (Legal Assistant Today) Paralegal of the Year Runner-up Award Winner.Paralegal Practice Tip: Be a team player, mentor younger members of your team/practice group/firm, join and get involved/serve with your local Paralegal organization, participate in Pro-bono activities in your local area, speak, teach, write, whatever you feel led to do, but GET INVOLVED, GET ACTIVE and GIVE BACK to your local Paralegal community...

A Relocating Paralegal Shares Some Tips for the Job Search

Posted on November 30, 2009
by Jennifer TaylorThe last thing anyone wants to do in the midst of an economic downturn is move cross-country and look for work. But that is exactly what I did at the end of August. My husband?s employer transferred us from Cincinnati to Austin,Texas...

Shhhh, This Attorney Got His Paralegal a Christmas Gift from Coach!

Posted on November 29, 2009
When I stumbled across The Philadelphia Inquirer?s ?Black Friday? article, which included an interview with attorney Jesse Cohen, I couldn?t help but agree with the reporters? opinion, i.e. ?nice boss.?Industry analysts have warned that such sales may not be as pervasive this year...

Paralegal Student Shares Story of Sexual Abuse in New Book

Posted on November 28, 2009
When Amanda Bennett stepped forward to report alleged sexual molestation by her stepfather, Scott McCarter, she could not have anticipated the heartbreaking consequences. On May 25, 2006, McCarter was scheduled to appear in court to answer the charges...

Medical Examiner Accused of Lying About Having Paralegal Degree

Posted on November 27, 2009
Sometimes it's easy to see why someone lies on a resume, including listing a fake college education to get a job, but why would a licensed physician tell a defense attorney that he has a paralegal degree?Maybe because he is accused of listing a law degree on his curriculum vitae - from a law school that never existed...

Paralegal in Coma After Getting Swine Flu

Posted on November 27, 2009
In an effort to keep our office free of swine flu, occasionally our office manager has an assistant disinfect the items that people frequently touch - doorknobs, light switches and telephones. As he sheepishly makes his way around the office with a jumbo bottle of Clorox wipes, we tease him about her hypervigilence and his way with a disinfectant wipe...

This Here Is a Medal-Winning Paralegal Blog

Posted on November 26, 2009
Or I Get a Consolation Prize for Not Being Included in Top Law Blog ScamWhen I read "Blogger Award Scam Aimed at Top Law Bloggers" at Social Media Law Student, I gotta confess that my first thought wasn't "What a rip off" or "How dare they try to hoodwink some of the best legal bloggers in the country," but rather this, which I promptly shared in a comment at the post:I started reading this post, and then got my supplies together to throw a big Pity Party (Ben & Jerry?s ice cream, a spatula, brand new bag of Double Stuf Oreos, a Cosmo (the martini, not the mag) and my phat Welsh Corgi Phoebe) ?cause paralegals are treated like the red-headed stepchildren of the blawgosphere and we never get included in Top 100 Law Blog scams ? maybe ?cause we?re not lawyers but still ? and then I saw your Medal of Awesomeness and thought that it makes all those hours of blogging into the wee hours mainly so my mama can tell her friends I?m an author totally worthwhile, so I put back all of the Pity Party supplies, except for the dog and the Cosmo...

What Really Happens When a Legal Assistant Is Out Sick

Posted on November 26, 2009
Ever wondered what goes on at the law office when you're out sick? We know the Legal Assistant Fairy doesn't come and empty our in-boxes, but what else isn't happening?Here's an eye-opening tweet:I'm just hoping it's not the legal assistant's cell...Practical Paralegalism also sends best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to this much-missed legal assistant :)

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