Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Some Alternate Activities for Halloween Miscreants

Posted on October 31, 2010
You probably can't tell, but Halloween is my fave holiday, even though this year I didn't get to wear my mouse ears to work (home all week on doctor's orders), and we never get a single trick-or-treater because most of my neighbors are retirees who turn off their lights and go hide out at K&W during the prime hours for elementary school kids and high school drop-outs to be gadding about, knocking over planters of winter pansies and expressing their lack of enthusiasm for pencils and boxes of raisins...

24-Hour Silly String Crime Wave Anticipated in L.A.

Posted on October 31, 2010
Judging by the absolutely hilarious decision to liberally apply quotation marks in strategic locations on the "warning" sign, the $1,000 fine is pretty iffy, and the illegality is certainly questionable, so if Silly String on Halloween is your weapon of choice, well, check with your lawyer first...

ParalegaliPad: Rollable Keyboard Must Be Seen to Be Believed

Posted on October 31, 2010
I saw this mini rollable Bluetooth keyboard for iPad and iPhone rolled up like my beloved (but probably short-lived) morning newspaper, and bein' a total hick, went all Gomer Pyle and said, "Gawwww-leeeee."This marvel is only $34 at EFO Gadget Shop. Dang, I better find one of these rolled up in my stockin' this Christmas...

Debbie Does Cakes & Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2010
Cake Wrecks just happened to feature a post of gorgeous Halloween-themed cakes (except for the one with the humongous spider that still has me feeling quite skeevy) - but one cake is of my favorite dog from my favorite movie from my favorite film-maker, Tim Burton...

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Saturday LOL: When Is It Okay to Wear a Halloween Costume to the Office?

Posted on October 30, 2010
Hope your Halloween weekend was way better than this....Source: Bitter Lawyer

TGIF: Make Yourself a Zombie

Posted on October 28, 2010
No, seriously, I'm sure you are very busy, unlike that "Carly the Co-worker with the Cushy Job," but it is kind of a holiday activity, so take a sneak Internet interlude and make yourself into a zombie at http://makemezombie.com/. (This is me. I thought about making my boss into a zombie, but then also recollected how much I enjoy being gainfully employed...

Budget Career Suit of the Week: Larry Levine Coffee Suit

Posted on October 28, 2010
I know it's tough on many legal staffers' salaries to buy enough suits for interviews, depositions, trials, as well as more formal offices that require suit-dressing almost daily. I also speak to a lot of professional groups, and having several nice suits is necessary (and several backups if you swing between sizes like I sometimes do) - but budgeting for them is challenging since I also have two teenage girls to dress...

Open Thread: How Do You Handle Unequal Workloads between Co-Workers?

Posted on October 27, 2010
A question to The Modesto Bee's workplace coach in a column entitled, "Your Office Coach: Workload inequity isn't co-worker's fault," may remind you of situations you've experienced in the past - or may be experiencing now. You work in an extremely busy law firm or legal department and have a co-worker with the same job title (paralegal, legal secretary, administrative assistant) that makes the same salary as you but works for a different attorney...

Paralegal Profile: Satyra L. Riggins, CLA

Posted on October 27, 2010
Job Title: Litigation ParalegalEmployer: Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A., Charlotte, NCYears of Paralegal Experience: 14Education/Degrees: Bachelor degree in Political Science from Baylor UniversitySpecialty Areas: Civil LitigationCareer Highlight: I was the senior paralegal on a complex accounting fraud case involving over 1 million pages of data...

The Paralegal Voice: The Importance of Technology in the Paralegal World

Posted on October 27, 2010
The latest edition of The Paralegal Voice, ?The Importance of Technology in the Paralegal World,? co-hosted by Vicki Voisin and me, is now available at Legal Talk Network.We welcome Kim Plonsky, a frequent contributor to Paralegal Today and a paralegal at Gainsburgh, Benjamin, David, Meunier & Warshauer, L...

E-Discovery: Did You Know?

Posted on October 26, 2010
When I lecture about social media to legal professionals, many of them are mystified by Twitter and any application it could have to their professional lives. Today, I'm going to give you an example of how Twitter broadens my horizons every day. Bob Ambrogi (Twitter stream is @bobambrogi) tweeted the link to this post at Catalyst E-Discovery Blog, featuring a "video dramatically depicting the explosion in e-discovery and electronic information...

Paralegal Publishes First Novel, A Matter of Pride

Posted on October 25, 2010
Congratulations to Florida paralegal Jane Gill, who has published her first novel, A Matter of Pride (Double Edge Press, 2010).The description of the novel at the publisher's website reads:"You can never go home again. . .? Lu Conners wonders why she would want to...

Today's Quotes: Never Underestimate the Value of a Swift Kick Under the Table

Posted on October 25, 2010
Some people swore that the house was haunted. One, Sheila Wainwright, even vouched for the validity of this claim in Judge Harrow's court. The city attorney buried his head dejectedly in his hands for the entire performance. Why me, Jules Munroe thought, examining the slits of pink light crowding his vision...

A Helpful Note for Your Chattier Co-Workers

Posted on October 25, 2010
I occasionally see articles and posts about workplace efficiency which address the problem of getting chatty co-workers out of your work space and tactfully (or not) putting the kibosh on the small talk. Even though this fed-up employee's informative sign comes straight from PassiveAggressiveNotes...

Who Are You? And How the Hell Did You Get into My Offices?

Posted on October 25, 2010
Thanks to Legal Blog Watch for posting this latest comedic legal video about negotiations gone South (way South) between a defense attorney and the prosecutor in a burglary case - as well as bringing xtranormal ("If you can type you can make movies.....

It Gets So Much Better, and We Need to Help

Posted on October 23, 2010
You guys know I love Glee and don't answer the telephone at my house between 8 - 9 p.m. on Tuesdays. Even my 14-year old said last week, "Glee just makes my whole week better."When I saw Chris Colfer's video for the It Gets Better project, I had to share it here...

Saturday LOL: I'm Going to Take All My Ambien at the Same Time...

Posted on October 23, 2010
...and Then Chase It with a Glass of ScotchThis video, "So You Want to Go to Law School," starting making the rounds right about the time several friends asked me what I thought about their graduating seniors planning for a law school career. I might have said something along the lines of, "NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo, don't do it!"This is a tough time to go to law school, in no small part because there are way more new law school graduates than jobs...

Would Ya Like Fries With That?

Posted on October 20, 2010
Or, More Stuff They Never Told Us We'd Have To Do in Paralegal SchoolMaybe I'm speaking out of turn here, but I think many of us pursued advanced education and paralegal training, so we wouldn't have to man the drive-thru window and repeatedly ask the public, "Would ya like fries with that?"Because Practical Paralegalism is all about transparency when it comes to disclosing the pros and cons of the paralegal profession, it's my moral obligation to tell all ya'll paralegal students and newbies that after you get that degree, you still might have to man a drive-thru window, even if you get a great paralegal job and are rocking that off-the-rack suit your mom bought you at JCPenney and sensible pumps...

If I'd Known It Was Boss's Day, I Would've Baked You a Cake

Posted on October 20, 2010
Or, "Nappy Boos's Day"Boss's Day this year fell on Saturday, October 16, 2010. So, if you forgot about it altogether, you can buy yourself a little extra time by announcing, "Gee whiz, Boss's Day fell on a weekend, so I had to catch you this week."I didn't know that forgetting a key date was actually the origin of Boss's Day:Patricia Bays Haroski registered "National Boss' Day" with the U...

Paralegal Profile: Heather J. Lee, CP

Posted on October 19, 2010
Job Title: Certified Paralegal/Paralegal SpecialistEmployer: United States Attorney?s Office located in Alexandria, VirginiaYears of Paralegal Experience: 8+ yearsSpecialty Areas: Criminal law (narcotics, gun, and gang cases); health care law and public policyCareer Highlights: In January 2009, I received the Certified Paralegal designation from the National Association of Legal Assistants after sitting for the exam...

Buy the Constellation for Only 27k

Posted on October 19, 2010
Or, Gadgets Gone WildI admit I'm in the market for a smart phone. But to be honest, when I first saw this one, I didn't know what it was, other than, oooooh, really shiny.Really, really shiny. It's an 18-karat Vertu Constellation Quest, baby, and it can be yours for the bargain price of $27,000...

Follow the NALS Conference on Twitter!

Posted on October 19, 2010
NALS...the association for legal professionals has set up a cool Twitter widget on the NALS website to display updates with the hashtag #NALS10 by people tweeting from the NALS 59th Annual Education Conference & National Forum. If you are attending the conference in Branson, Missouri, NALS invites you to tweet your thoughts during the conference, using the hashtag...

More Paralegal Cautionary Tales

Posted on October 19, 2010
Or, Oh, No, You Di'intI'm back with the latest installment of stuff we wish hadn't happened, but allegedly did.?My bad,? was a California legal secretary?s response to her former supervising attorney when she was initially busted for writing a mere $1,800 worth of checks out of his business account - including one to her mortgage company...

Should a Legal Staffer Be Required to Wear High Heels?

Posted on October 18, 2010
We've all heard of those law firms, the ones with the dress code prohibiting female employees from wearing slacks. But have you heard of the law firms that require female employees to wear high heels? (I can already see most of the legal support staffers I know rolling on the floor laughing if anyone tried to make them wear heels, but I'll admit I don't know many BigLaw legal professionals...

Today's Quote: Shy Legal Secretary Comes Out of Her Shell on The X Factor

Posted on October 18, 2010
Shy Rebecca Ferguson had so little confidence in her voice that she refused to sing for her boyfriend until TWO YEARS after they met.And even then the star, who has dazzled the judges with her soulful performances, insisted Karl Dures stood with his face to the wall to spare her embarrassment...

Paralegal Earns Warwick Rodeo Queen Crown

Posted on October 18, 2010
Australian paralegal and horsewoman Kate Skinner (left in the photo) was crowned as the 2010 Warwick Rodeo Queen in front of a capacity crowd at the Douglas Feez Pavilion on Saturday night.Near as I can figure, this is kind of like being crowned Miss Texas, except with horses instead of high heels, bathing suits, and evening gowns (and a lot of strategically placed duct tape)...

NFPA Elects Officers and Directors at Annual Convention

Posted on October 18, 2010
National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) members from Vermont to Hawaii, Alaska to South Florida, gathered at NFPA's 2010 Annual Convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey last week to attend seminars, workshops, debate topics and elect officers and directors...

Today Is Practical Paralegalism's Second Birthday

Posted on October 17, 2010
And they said it wouldn't last...or that they hoped it would last...or something like that.Two years ago today, I published my very first blog post.I'll be frank. I. Did. Not. Know. What. I. Was. Doing.I didn't know how to insert a hyperlink or a photo into a post, much less a video...

Paralegal Shares Story to Help Other Victims of Domestic Violence

Posted on October 17, 2010
Florida paralegal Patty Parra-Perez Andrews has survived a tragic incident of domestic violence that most of us could not begin to comprehend: the deaths of her two oldest children, Lauren and Sean, at the hands of her ex-husband in 2004. Andrews was shot point-blank in the head during the attack but miraculously survived...

Paralegal Raises Public Awareness of Controversial Gardasil Vaccine

Posted on October 17, 2010
Pennsylvania paralegal Jodi Speakman was one of the featured guests on an October 14 online radio segment, ?The HPV Vaccine ? What Some Mothers Think You Should Know,? available at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/74229.Speakman became active in raising awareness of adverse Gardasil reactions after her daughter Victoria began having debilitating seizures and full body tremors in 2008, following a Gardasil vaccination...

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