Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Paralegal Voice: "Paralegal 101: How to Launch Your Paralegal Career"

The latest edition of The Paralegal Voice, “Paralegal 101: How to Launch Your Paralegal Career,” co-hosted by Lynne DeVenny and me, is now available at Legal Talk Network.
Are you thinking about becoming a paralegal, or are you already working toward a paralegal degree? On this edition of The Paralegal Voice, Lynne and I address the most frequently asked questions from people interested in becoming paralegals. 

We talk about the realities of the profession, including assessing the traits paralegals need to succeed, working in a legal environment, and preparing for and finding that first job. We also discuss the importance of networking, education and training, and share our personal experiences and paths to becoming paralegals.
Also in this episode:

  1. How Lynne and Vicki started their paralegal careers
  2. Personality types that fit the paralegal profession
  3. Skills needed to succeed as a paralegal
  4. Pros and cons of working as a paralegal
  5. Staying on top of the legal support staff job market
  6. A paralegal certificate vs. voluntary paralegal certification
  7. Researching paralegal degree programs
  8. Gaining experience and networking
  9. Vicki and Lynne’s practice and social media tips

Internet resources for people interested in the paralegal profession:
The Paralegal Voice also thanks its sponsor: NALA...The Association of Paralegals and Legal Assistants.
Please share the links to this episode of The Paralegal Voice with your friends and colleagues. If you have a request for a future show, or a question for us, you are welcome to contact us at TheParalegalVoice@gmail.com.
Also, you can make sure you never miss a podcast by subscribing to any Legal Talk Network show, including The Paralegal Voice, by using the RSS Feed links or iTunes links at http://legaltalknetwork.com/rss-feeds/.

Friday, July 22, 2011

10 Tips for Handling Those Piles of Files

Ideally, you work on one matter at a time with only materials relating to that one matter on your desk. The key here is 'ideally.'

This principle might work in a perfect world, but the legal environment is far from perfect. A paralegal's real world includes deadlines, chaos, interruptions, emergencies (actual and imagined), last minute projects, trials and, worst of all, other people's disorganization.

Piles, often not of our doing, become part of the landscape of your desk. Youstart one project, another is dumped on you, then another, and eventually youe're working in layers. It's amazing that paralegals remain productive at all. If it weren't for our innate abilities to organize and prioritize...as well as juggle...productivity would be nonexistent.

What can you do to deal with this madness? Here are 10 tips that will help you remain organized through the chaos and come very close to having only one file on your desk at a time:

1. Place files in an incline file sorter. Instead of piling files on top of each other so that you can barely tell one from the other, stand them in an incline file sorter on or near your desk. With this simple organizational tool, you'll be able to locate files in a snap. This is particularly helpful for files you'll be working on in the next day or so.

2. Take only what you need to get the job done. Encourage fellow workers (as in the attorney(s) you work with) to give you only as much of the file as is necessary to complete an assignment. For instance, you don't need the client's entire red rope file to schedule three IME's in that Work Comp case. If you have a deposition to summarize, you'll probably only need the transcript.

3. Try to control when you're given work. Receiving work all day long as the spirit moves your boss is inefficient. Instead, try to schedule regular meetings with your boss, such as first thing in the morning and/or immediately after lunch. At those meetings, you should receive work assignments, discuss any assignments you are working on, etc.

4. Create temporary files. If an assignment is accompanied only by a loose letter or document, make a temporary file for it. Use a Sharpie to write enough information on the label or on the front so that the item can be easily identified and won't be lost in the next wave of files that appear on your desk. Put this temporary file in the incline file sorter until you're ready to work on it.

5. Become an instant decision maker. When an assignment, a document or a file comes into your office, decide immediately how to deal with it. Never place it in the 'put it here for now' pile. That pile will just continue to grow.

If whatever you've been given to do won't take long, take care of it right then and there. You've already been interrupted so you might as well complete the task before you go back to your work. If you don't need to do it immediately, put it away, or place it in the incline file sorter.

Do you have a stack of professional journals, magazines and newspapers on your desk that you intend to read 'some day'? Unfortunately, the stack keeps growing and 'some day' never comes. Again, review those materials as soon as they come into your office. If there's an article you want to keep, tear it out and file it. If there's nothing of interest, throw the material away or recycle it. Remember that most of this information is available on the Internet should you need it so there's probably no need to keep articles.

6. Prioritize throughout the day. As work comes in, make a decision about when you will act on it. Don't just put it in a pile to think about later. If you allow the chaos to accumulate, it will quickly overwhelm you. The disorder may stop you from getting your work done because it's such a mess you don't know where to start. The perfectionist in you will just give up. It's easier to make a phone call or check your email than to figure what's in that swelling stack of papers and files.

7. Ask for clear deadlines. Your work will probably fall into one of three categories: do it right now, do it in the next few days and do it sometime in the future.
  • Do it right now. Close up what you are working on, place the material in the incline file sorter, and begin the new work. This interruption is not the most efficient but it's the way the real world operates.
  • Do it in the next few days. Note the deadline in your planner or on your calendar and place the file in the incline file sorter.
  • Do it sometime in the future. If something isn't due for a couple of weeks, you're probably safe to put it away in the file drawer. However, be sure to make a note on your calendar when the work has to be done and when you should begin working on it.
8. Never trust your memory! Take copious notes when someone gives you an assignment but do not use sticky notes! Sticky notes just multiply and either get lost or you become so accustomed to them that you don't even see them. Instead, use a shorthand notebook for your notes. Begin a fresh page every day, placing the date at the top. On the left side of the line, write the name of the client, client number, or whatever information you need to identify the work you'll be doing. On the right side of the page, make your notes.

Again, be sure to ask for clear deadlines. If you do receive an assignment with a deadline of two or more weeks away, you'll probably want to put the file away so that it's not taking up space on your desk for days on end. Be sure to enter a reminder on your calendar for the date you need to begin working on the project. Never put a file out of sight in a drawer without a reminder to yourself to do that work. The adage 'out of sight, out of mind' applies when you're very busy.

9. Get those files back to their 'owners'! As soon as you finish a project, move those files off your desk. Don't let them languish there for one minute more than you need them. If they can be closed, all the better.

10. Establish routines. The importance of establishing routines for beginning and ending your work day can't be overstated.

At the beginning of your day, review your list of work to do, retrieve the file you will work on first and get going. As other files come to you throughout the day, either put them in your file cabinet or in the incline file sorter. Remember that your floor and client chair do not qualify as file cabinets.

At the end of the work day, consider what has to be done during the next one and make a quick list. No. 1 on the list should be the most pressing work, the work with a deadline. Prioritize your work this way.

Then close up the work you're doing and either (a) leave the file on your desk or (b) put it in the incline file. You might flag it with a bright sticky note (a sticky note is a good thing when you're using it this way).

Your desk will be cleared and you will not be welcomed by chaos and overwhelm when you begin the next day.

Your challenge: Consider the 10 tips above and decide which you can incorporate into your daily routine. While you may never quite accomplish having only one thing on your desk at a time, you can minimize the chaos, disorder and confusion by taking even one or two of these steps. Whatever you choose to do, you're bound to improve your workspace and increase your productivity.

=======================
© 2011 Vicki Voisin, Inc.

Do you want to use this article in your newsletter, ezine or Web site? You can, so long as you include this entire blurb with it: Vicki Voisin, "The Paralegal Mentor", delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to create success and satisfaction by setting goals and determining the direction they will take their careers. Vicki spotlights resources, organizational tips, ethics issues, and other areas of continuing education to help paralegals and others reach their full potential. She publishes a Paralegal Strategies, a weekly enewsletter for paralegals and co-hosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast produced by Legal Talk Network.

More information is available at www.paralegalmentor.com where subscribers receive Vicki's 151 Tips for Your Career Success.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Paralegal's Memory Lapse Results in Conflict of Interest

Any ethics course will caution you about conflicts of interest, particularly when you are changing jobs. It seems that ethics courses should also caution you about "memory loss".

If a paralegal has a conflict, screening the paralegal from working on the case is usually sufficient to prevent the firm's disqualification.

What happens when a law firm's efforts to screen a conflict fail, permitting a nonlawyer who worked on one side of a case at one firm to work on the other side of the same case at the opposing firm?
The paralegal in this story is Clyde Williams. In July 2005, Williams began work as a paralegal at a firm where he billed a total of 6.8 hours on a case. He reviewed the file to identify persons with knowledge of the relevant facts, prepared an initial draft of a response to a request for disclosures, assisted in document production and communicated with opposing counsel.
In October 2008 Williams applied for a paralegal position at another firm, identifying his previous employer and 2 potential conflicts from his previous work. A conflicts check was performed and Williams' access to two files was restricted. He failed to mention the case he worked on in July 2005.
In 2009, Williams' current employer asked him to organize pleadings and discovery in the case he worked on in 2005 in his previous employment. He also affixed bates labels to documents produced by the opposing party and redacted passages highlighted by an attorney. In total, Williams billed 27 hours on the case.
Williams again failed to recognize the conflict and to notify the supervising attorney of its existence.

While Williams seemed to have a memory lapse, an attorney for the opposing party did not. He recognized him as a former employee and notified his current employer of the conflict.
While his current employer immediately instructed Williams to discontinue working on the matter, not to view or access any documents related to the case, and not to disclose any information he had obtained during his earlier employment, the opposing party moved for disqualification.

The Trial Court disqualified the 2nd firm and the matter went to the Texas Supreme Court. On July 1, 2011, the Texas Supreme Court handed down a decision In Re Guaranty Insurance Services, Inc. and In Re Guaranty Insurance Services, Inc., Relator (No. 10-0364), granting mandamus relief and directing the trial court to vacate its order granting the motion to disqualify.

Luckily for Williams and his employer, the court found that the conflict rule is different for nonlawyers than for lawyers. The presumption that confidences were shared with members of the second employer may be rebutted where nonlawyers are concerned.

How Williams "forgot" he worked on this case with two different employers is beyond me. I'm certain I wouldn't forget. To be safe, it is a good idea to keep track of the cases you work on so that you can provide full disclosure to the potential employer.

Tune in for my next blog post where I'll explain the steps that should be taken to put a screen in place in order to avoid disqualification. 
 ==============================

© 2011 Vicki Voisin, Inc.

Do you want to use this article in your newsletter, ezine or Web site? You can, so long as you include this entire blurb with it: Vicki Voisin, "The Paralegal Mentor", delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to create success and satisfaction by setting goals and determining the direction they will take their careers. Vicki spotlights resources, organizational tips, ethics issues, and other areas of continuing education to help paralegals and others reach their
full potential. She publishes a Paralegal Strategies, a weekly enewsletter for paralegals and co-hosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast produced by Legal Talk Network.

More information is available at www.paralegalmentor.com where subscribers receive Vicki's 151 Tips for Your Career Success.

OSBA Certifies 31 Paralegals

The Ohio State Bar Association has announced the certification of 31 paralegals who have met the requirements to earn this designation.
“Credentialing of paralegals in Ohio assists lawyers and law firms in identifying qualified paralegal professionals,” said OSBA President Carol Seubert Marx.
"And clients and the public understand that these paralegals meet objective and uniform standards of competence and professionalism. We welcome paralegals as members of the OSBA, and recognize their role in working with lawyers to assist Ohioans everyday.” 
By definition, a paralegal eligible for OSBA certification is a person, qualified by education, training or work experience, who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.

An applicant must meet the definition of a paralegal and becomes eligible to sit for the written examination only after a successfully meeting specified education/experience, continuing legal education and reference requirements.
"Becoming an OSBA certified paralegal has allowed me to provide meaningful assistance in the courtroom,” Amanda Mack of the Delaware County Prosecutor's Office said. "The training I received in legal research has allowed me to better assist in the writing and preparation of legal briefs and has also given the criminal attorneys more confidence in my skills.”
The certification period for an OSBA Certified Paralegal is four years. Biennial reporting is required to maintain certification. At the end of the certification period, a paralegal may be recertified if the continuing legal education and reference requirements continue to be met.

A Paralegal Certification Board was established with members appointed by the OSBA president. The purpose of the OSBA Paralegal Certification Board is to grant, revoke or re-grant certification as an OSBA certified paralegal. The Certification Board determines eligibility, administers the written exam and sets passage rates.

Congratulations to these 2011 OSBA certified paralegals:
Akron
Brandi S. Stewart, Goldman & Rosen, LTD
Cincinnati
Angela M. Baker-Colyer, Western & Southern Financial Group
Lisa Kinder, Scott Mullins & Company, LPA
Kathleen M. Richey, Wood & Lamping, LLP

Cleveland
Mary O. Fogg, Brindza McIntyre & Seed LLP
Jessica L. Kubiak, Zoller Biacsi LPA
Genevieve A. Mononen, Wilkerson & Associates, LPA
Chris Sedar, Skirbunt, Skirbunt & Wirtz
Angela Simonyi, Weisman, Kennedy & Berris

Columbus
Kathy L. Austin, Wiles Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner
Laura M. Ezzie, Manley Deas Kochalski LLC
Connie French, Sowald Sowald Anderson & Hawley
Jacquelyn R. Harrington, Law Office of Richard T. Taps
Rebecca J. Long, Wiles Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner
Dianne L. May, Wiles Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner
Elizabeth D. Robertson, Tyack Blackmore & Liston Co. LPA
Teresa Scharf, Newhouse Prophater Letcher & Moots, LLC
Shannon K. Todd, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Fairview Park
Matthew G. Wirfel, Goodwin & Bryan LLP


Fredericktown
Amy C. Boyd, Wiles Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner


Hamilton
Melissa A. Spurlock, Butler County Prosecutors Office


Independence
Renee L. Miller, Wegman Hessler & Vanderburg

Mayfield Heights
Tina M. Morton, Elk and Elk Co. LPA

Miamisburg
Kelly Ann Pierro, Law Office of Michael A. Ledbetter, LLC

New Albany
Stephanie A. Foster, Abercrombie & Fitch


Toledo
Susan A. Maziar, Covrett & Associates, Ltd.

Urbana
Sandra G. Perry, Champaign County Prosecutors Office


Warren
Linda C. Ireland, 11th District Court of Appeals


Waverly
Christina C. Fain, Oths Heiser & Miller LLC


Wickliffe
Benita R. Burton, The Lubrizol Corporation
Lori B. Ondecko, Mary K. Bender Co. LPA
For more information about the OSBA Certified Paralegal credential, follow this link.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

New Florida Paralegal Association: First Coast Chapter of PAF

Attention Florida Paralegals! The First Coast Chapter of the Paralegal Association of Florida been approved by the state association and has launched for paralegals and legal assistants in Duval, Nassau, Clay and St. Johns counties.

According to the association's President, Linda Whipple, the focus will be on substantive continuing legal education for paralegals and legal assistants as well as professional networking and mentoring for paralegal students.
In this photo are chapter officers (left to right sitting) Christina Medrano, 1st Director at Large; Joy LaWarre, 2nd Director at Large; Barbara L. Kidd, 3rd Director at Large; and  (left to right standing) Kim Schenke, Vice President; Lori Wolf, Parliamentarian; Linda Whipple, President; Toni Wilson, Treasurer; Heather Dugan, Secretary.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Increase Your Billable Hours with Low Hanging Fruit

You can thank Mother Nature for the expression "low hanging fruit".

A fruit-bearing tree usually has some branches that are low enough for animals and people to reach without much effort. While the fruit on the lowest branches may not be as ripe or pretty as the fruit on the higher limbs, it’s easier to harvest.

Thus the popular expression ‘low hanging fruit’ generally means selecting the easiest target with the least amount of effort.

The term is often used in business to refer to the sale of consumer products or services. Salespersons may be encouraged to seek out the easiest customers first. These might not be the highest commission sales but they may be easier to close AND there may be more of them.

Here’s another example: Imagine for a moment that you’re taking a trip to Italy but you don’t know how to speak a single word of Italian. It’s obvious that you should start with the easiest words and phrases first such as wine…coffee…please…good-by…thank-you…taxi…etc. instead of beginning by conjugating verbs.

By choosing to learn the simplest words and phrases first, you are picking the low hanging fruit. In this case, you are not necessarily choosing the less important but, instead, the easiest way to reach your goal.

You can apply this example to almost anything you are working on, but in this instance let’s apply it to increasing your billable hours. How do you increase your billable hours with low hanging fruit? By choosing to do the work that will yield the most billable hours.

Instead of focusing on minor projects that having you starting and stopping and entering .2 entries all day, focus on the larger projects on which you can spend a considerable block of time and for which you can bill all, or at least most, of that time.

In a law firm, this is not necessarily the easiest work. Instead, it is work that will yield the maximum billable hour results...or picking the low hanging fruit.

What do you have to do today that will yield the most billable hours? The deposition summary? The medical records review? The answers to interrogatories? The estate plan? What pleadings need to be drafted? Each of these may take several hours.

Begin your day with those larger projects when your energy levels are at their highest. Close your door, do not take phone calls, and do not check your email. This should be absolutely uninterrupted time.

Once you have spent your block of time on the low hanging fruit projects, tackle the smaller projects such as email, phone calls and correspondence all at once. This is all billable time but if you draft a letter, then work on the deposition summary for a while, then return some email, then return some phone calls, you will have turned your day into a mishmash of work. In fact, you may begin a whole bunch of projects and finish none. Jumping from one task to another reduces your focus and your productivity. The result is fewer billable hours.

Of course, you can pick all the low hanging fruit you want, but you have to turn it into profit before it does you any good. Be sure to enter the time for your longer project as soon as it's finished so that you don't lose any billable hours. The same goes for those shorter tasks. You will have the greatest number of billable hours if you input your time as your day goes along and be sure it's all entered before you leave the office in the evening.

Your challenge: Always plan your day around the low hanging fruit. Before you leave the office in the evening, consider what must be done the next day. Once you have that list choose the project that will take you the greatest amount of time and schedule a block of time for that first. Then bundle the smaller tasks and plan to do them all at once. If time permits, spend another chunk of time on more ‘low hanging fruit’ later in the day.

Focus on the low handing fruit and you're practically guaranteed you'll reach your billable hour goals by the end of the year.

 
==============================


© 2011 Vicki Voisin, Inc.

Do you want to use this article in your newsletter, ezine or Web site? You can, so long as you include this entire blurb with it: Vicki Voisin, "The Paralegal Mentor", delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to create success and satisfaction by setting goals and determining the direction they will take their careers. Vicki spotlights resources, organizational tips, ethics issues, and other areas of continuing education to help paralegals and others reach their full potential. She publishes a Paralegal Strategies, a weekly enewsletter for paralegals and co-hosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast produced by Legal Talk Network.


More information is available at www.paralegalmentor.com where subscribers receive Vicki's 151 Tips for Your Career Success.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Paralegal Voice: What Paralegals Need to Know about "The Cloud"

The latest edition of The Paralegal Voice, What Paralegals Need to Know aboutThe Cloud," co-hosted by Lynne DeVenny and me, is now available at Legal Talk Network.

In this episode, we welcome Tom Mighell, legal technology expert and senior consultant with Contoural, Inc., author of the new book, iPad in One Hour for Lawyers, and Chair-Elect of the ABA Law Practice Management Section, to discuss what every paralegal needs to know about “The Cloud.”

Tom talks about how cloud-based services can improve the efficiency of a law practice, what paralegals should consider when evaluating cloud-based services for their firms, and how legal staffers can use the iPad to assist lawyers.

Also in this episode:
The definition of “The Cloud” and Cloud-based storage, including Dropbox
Cloud-based non-legal and legal services
Tom’s favorite business and legal iPad apps
Vicki and Lynne share practice and social media tips.

Page URL: http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/paralegal-voice/2011/06/what-paralegals-need-to-know-about-the-cloud/

MP3 Link: http://legaltalkmedia.com/LTN/PLV/PLV_062811_Cloud.mp3

Internet resources included in this episode:
Business and Legal iPad apps recommended by Tom:
The Paralegal Voice also thanks its sponsor: NALA...The Association of Paralegals and Legal Assistants.

Please share the links to this episode of The Paralegal Voice with your friends and colleagues. If you have a request for a future show, or a question for us, you are welcome to contact us at TheParalegalVoice@gmail.com.

Also, you can make sure you never miss a podcast by subscribing to any Legal Talk Network show, including The Paralegal Voice, by using the RSS Feed links or iTunes links at http://legaltalknetwork.com/rss-feeds/.