Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Practical Paralegalism's Recommended Reading This Week

By Lynne DeVenny

One of the many reasons I blog for paralegals is to share information they may find helpful for professional development (or just entertaining during a rough patch at work). Once a week I share links to a half dozen or so articles focusing on legal news, practice tips and technology - plus a good laugh or two.

Here's this week's recommended reading:

"Leave an Effective Out-of-Office Message" from Business Hacks. But this tip is from me: if you're in Tahiti, keep it to yourself. You don't want to make recipients cry when they get your message.

"How to Cover a Conference Using Twitter #MPF" from Marketing Strategy and the Law. A well done Twitter stream from a major conference can be informative - and lessen the pain of not being there, especially if you had your heart set on going but your wallet wasn't cooperating.

"Hey, Lady Lawyers: Have We Got a Conference for You..." from Above the Law. This CLE is brought to you by a group of men who haven't got a clue. But I'm with David Lat. By all means, proceed. The entertainment value is too good to pass up.

"Employee Injured in Five-Mile Drive for Coffee Is Eligible for Workers' Comp" from Law.com. This article doesn't say whether the collision occurred because the worker hadn't had his a.m. coffee.

"Deputy Tracks Fugitive Through World of Warcraft" from Lowering the Bar. I've been to a number of seminars about how to locate people online, but no one has mentioned online gaming - yet. But could you pick this guy out in a lineup? (See photo above.)

"7 Tech Tools to Help You Sleep Better" from Friedbeef's Tech. In my youth, I was a blissfully sound sleeper. In my dotage? Not so much. Did you know that you can get white noise online? And to think my doctor said not to sleep in the same room with my laptop...

For you family law specialists, here's some "trust" issues from the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks to think about when you're drafting those pre-nuptial agreements. And maybe everyone starting that long walk down the aisle should try this "Cold Feet wedding bouquet." (Engadget has the coolest tech.)

Finally, "Sarcasm Gets Its Own Emoticon" - but it costs $1.99 (via Mashable). That seems pretty reasonable, and useful in places where written sarcasm often doesn't translate - like professional listservs. Or maybe not.

Great Deal on an Interview Suit: Corporette shares this great deal on a Kasper suit for $99 from Smart Bargains. Normally, this blog's suit of the week costs more than my monthly mortgage payment, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a recommendation for a versatile suit that a working girl can actually afford.

Weird Craving of the Week: I've never had a fried Oreo, but now it's all I can think about. Maybe that fried Oreo does own something. Me. (Thanks, Apostrophe Castastrophes.)

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on January 18, 2010 (boomark / email).