Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Connecticut Changes Guidelines for Electronics in Court

Posted on August 07, 2008
After some behind-the-scenes prodding by Connecticut paralegals, in particular, those in the Central Connecticut Paralegal Association, the courts in Connecticut have revised their guidelines for the use and possession of electronics in the courthouses...

California University of Pennsylvania

Posted on August 05, 2008
California University of Pennsylvania, Middle States Accredited, 156 years young, part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, is proud to offer online undergraduate and graduate programs in Legal Studies and Homeland Security. The Legal Studies program allows seasoned practitioners and scholarly students the opportunity to address, analyze, and critique the law and its implications from social, administrative, judicial, operational, philosophical, and managerial perspectives...

Powhatan?s Lori Tracoma named Paralegal of the Year

Posted on August 04, 2008
Powhatan?s Lori Tracoma has been awarded the prestigious Paralegal of the Year award, chosen as the best in her profession by the member law firms of the American Association for Justice.The Richmond law firm of Cantor and Arkema P.C. brought Tracoma on board as a receptionist 27 years ago and she has diligently worked her way to the top as an advocate for what she terms her ?innocent victims...

Lawyer Calls Former Paralegal's 'Sexual Predator' Claims 'Ridiculous and Not True'

Posted on August 04, 2008
In the spirit of fair and balanced news coverage, I give you the following denial issued by Richard N. Laminack, the attorney accused of being a "sexual predator":"Houston lawyer Richard N. Laminack uses words such as 'silly' and 'ridiculous and not true' to respond to allegations contained in a Texas state court suit that describes him as a 'sexual predator' who participated in an effort to defraud fen-phen clients by overcharging them for expenses...

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Miss Universe Drops Suit Against Pro Se Paralegal

Posted on August 03, 2008
On July 15, Donald Trump dropped a Federal civil suit against paralegal Adan S. Perez, Luz Bolivar and The Miss Mexico Organization LLC for trademark and copyright infringement. Perez et al. had been using the trademark Senorita Mexico USA, which Trump alleged infringed on the Miss Universe trademark...

D-M Paralegal, 20, Stabbed to Death Outside Scottsdale Store

Posted on August 03, 2008
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is mourning a young airman who was stabbed to death during a weekend visit with family members in Scottsdale.Airman Spencer Goode, 20, a paralegal in D-M's legal department, was knifed shortly before midnight [last] Saturday in the parking lot of a Kwik Mart convenience store...

Prominent Lawyer Accused by Former Paralegal of Being 'Sexual Predator'

Posted on July 30, 2008
Winner of this year's Truly Rotten Boss Award goes to Richard Laminack, whom a former paralegal alleges is a "sexual predator." Yes, that's right, this Southern gentleman allegedly offered his paralegal $15,000 to stay with him in a hotel room in Las Vegas over a weekend and allegedly suggested she perform a sexual act on an expert witness to improve his mood and testimony...

Army National Guard Specialist Returns from Deployment

Posted on July 30, 2008
Army National Guard Specialist Michael B. Tyler has returned to the 1st Battalion, 143rd Field Artillery, Lodi, after being deployed to an overseas forward operating base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.Members from all branches of the U.S. military are assisting to rebuild Iraq?s governmental infrastructure and train Iraqi security forces to assume authority in defending Iraq?s sovereignty democracy...

Security School: E-discovery and Security in the Enterprise

Posted on July 29, 2008
For those looking for information on how the IT department looks at e-discovery, check out SearchSecurity.com's Security School: E-discovery and security in the enterprise. Comprised of a webcast, podcast, tip, and quiz, this Security School is a great way to learn how the corporate IT department is preparing for litigation, and to learn the questions to ask the IT department when preparing for e-discovery...

Notes from the 2008 NFPA Tech Institute

Posted on July 28, 2008
I returned yesterday from the 2008 NFPA Tech Institute, held this year in Aurora, Colo. In a day and a half of sessions and exhibits, I took back a lot of information to digest. My firm sent me so that I could learn and gather information about Summation and document management (Summation is what we are considering, and after Bob Myers's session at the Tech Institute, I have to say, Summation is getting a very enthusiastic recommendation from me...

Keynote at the 2008 NFPA Tech Institute

Posted on July 25, 2008
Mary Mack, Esquire delivered the keynote speech at the 2008 NFPA Tech Institute in Aurora, Colo. Mack spoke about the growing role of paralegals in e-discovery.Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Video: The Role of a Paralegal

Posted on July 24, 2008
The Virginia personal injury firm of Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis and Appleton P.C. recently posted a video showcasing two of its paralegals, who describe what a paralegal does "behind the scenes." The audio quality leaves a lot to be desired, and the video itself could use the help of that film school grad working in the mailroom, but it's still a neat idea...

Degrees Now More Important Than Ever, Study Says

Posted on July 23, 2008
According to a recent morefocus, Inc. survey, over 76% of job seekers believe that they need a higher level of education to succeed in their job search. In the group that currently have no university or community college credits, 92% reported that they considered their level of education to be their major disadvantage...

Paralegal Files Suit Against Justice Department

Posted on July 22, 2008
A New Jersey paralegal with a longstanding interest in government corruption filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department and the F.B.I. on Monday, seeking the release of the full case file on a murderous Brooklyn Mafia informant ? papers she believes may shed light on the possible involvement of a dead New Orleans crime boss in the killing of President John F...

Beale Tech. Sgt. and Paralegal Dies in Iraq

Posted on July 21, 2008
An airman deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, died Thursday of natural causes, the Defense Department announced Friday.Tech. Sgt. Jackie L. Larsen, 37, of Tacoma, Wash., was assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.Larsen died of non-combat-related medical causes, a Beale spokesman said, but the exact cause of death is not being released...

Poughkeepsie Paralegal Takes 'Em Down

Posted on July 16, 2008
In addition to her demanding job as a paralegal, Ann Jackson of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. tackles people.No, she's not herding wayward criminal defendants back into the courtroom; she plays rugby. This summer, Jackson will be playing rugby for the Hudson Valley Rebels in the women's open division in the Empire State games...

Daphne Paralegal Realizes Lifelong Dream

Posted on July 15, 2008
Dina Calderone of Daphne, Ala. had always dreamed of being a chef or opening her own restaurant, but the path to that dream took a few detours along the way. After graduating from high school, Calderone first started working in medical transcription, which she turned into a home-based business after the birth of her first child...

Paralegal in Olympic Trials

Posted on July 14, 2008
By day, Lauren Morford is a paralegal in New York City, and like many of us, she spent her vacation week swimming.What is different is that she was swimming in the U.S. Olympic Swim trials in Omaha, Neb.?All of my vacation days have been used for competition,? said Morford, who has been balancing working at a paralegal in New York City after graduating from Columbia University in 2007 with swimming...

Canadian Paralegals See Positives to Regulation

Posted on July 11, 2008
In Orangeville, not all paralegals see the Law Society of Upper Canada's regulation as a negative. Two well-established paralegal practitioners, Stephen Fielder and Bob Baird, don't expect the costs of being licensed and insured to affect their rates significantly...

New York Governor Declares Paralegal Day

Posted on July 10, 2008
Governor David A. Paterson has declared July 20, 2008 as New York Paralegal Day. He issued a proclamation that gives a comprehensive definition of what a paralegal does.In part, the proclamation states:Whereas, paralegals perform nearly all the functions of lawyers, except for those strictly constituting the practice of law, and they assist lawyers with virtually all aspects of legal work ? including specialized areas of law, such as family law, corporate law, real estate, government, estate planning, litigation and criminal trials; and...

Paralegal, Paralegal Company Owner Running for Clerk of Court

Posted on July 09, 2008
In Oglethorpe County, Georgia, a paralegal and the owner of a paralegal business, plus two other candidates, are competing in the primary elections for clerk of Superior Court as Republicans. The winner will face Democrat Kelli Paradise-Smith for the position in November...

Correction: Tech Institute

Posted on July 09, 2008
Correction to a previous post: Late registration for the NFPA Tech Institute has been extended through July 14.

Deadline to Submit Applications for PACE Scholarship

Posted on July 07, 2008
The deadline to submit applications for the NFPA PACE scholarship is July 11, 2008. The scholarship includes, at a minimum, the exam fee, application and handbook, study manual, and tuition for the online course. In addition, the winning essay will be published in the National Paralegal Reporter, space permitting...

Law.com - And Now, Some Good News About the Legal Job Market

Posted on July 07, 2008
There has been a lot of doom and gloom over the economy in general and the legal job market in particular. However, according to the Labor Department's unemployment report released Thursday, the job market may be perking up a bit. After three months of decline, the legal services sector added 300 jobs, a 0...

Last Day to Register!

Posted on July 07, 2008
Today is the last day to register for the 2008 NFPA Tech Institute! Go to www.paralegals.org and click on the lime green logo to register.

Happy Independence Day

Posted on July 04, 2008
Happy Independence Day, and happy birthday to the United States, a fantastic 232 years old! Everyone, have a wonderful weekend. For those looking for some interesting reading on Independence Day, Fourth of July is Independence Day on USA.gov has plenty of information.

Guidance Software Outlines the Five Most Common Pitfalls of Outdated E-Discovery

Posted on July 02, 2008
Outdated e-discovery methods are costly and can leave organizations exposed to all sorts of sanctions. The five most common pitfalls associated with outdated e-discovery, according to Guidance Software, are: 1. Unnecessarily High Costs. Major organizations can incur millions in out-of-pocket costs annually, mostly in the form of outside consultant fees to collect and process data...

Chicopee City Paralegal Narrowly Misses Budget Cuts

Posted on July 01, 2008
The Board of Aldermen of the City of Chicopee, Massachusetts, approved the City budget of $148.2 million on Thursday, just five days before the start of the 2009 fiscal year. Nearly two hours were spent discussing ways to cut spending, and one of the ways discussed was to cut a new paralegal position, saving the City $45,000...

Paralegal Chosen for School Board

Posted on June 30, 2008
In Jordan, Utah, paralegal and accountant Carmen R. Freeman won the precinct 1 seat on the Jordan School Board, according to unofficial returns. Freeman will take office next month. Although Freeman has no prior experience in education, a survey of his neighborhood motivated his candidacy...

After Years of Growth, Firms Pare Down Staffs, Budgets

Posted on June 27, 2008
A softer economy means that non-partners at law firms end up with targets on their heads as partners try to cut costs and build revenue in a difficult time. South Florida is just one of many areas hit by economic troubles, but the layoffs look troubling...

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