Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise: Paralegal Needed for Public Defense

MALONE, N.Y. -- The Franklin County chief Public Defender Thomas Souciaz recommended to the Board of Legislators that the county hire a paralegal.

?There appears to be,? said Soucia, ?a number of parole appeals that need to be worked on, and a paralegal would be a great asset.? Soucia added that a paralegal would help him ?organize, contact inmates and do the research we need.?

Soucia said the need for research is greater due to the record-keeping habits of previous public defenders.

?There doesn?t seem to be a single document,? said Soucia, ?that Mr. Lesyk wrote in 15 years in that office, and that doesn?t make much sense.?

Alexander Lesyk was chief public defender until February 2006, when he resigned to become a prosecutor in St. Lawrence County.

County Manager Jim Feeley said the board would have to vote to abolish the current part-time paralegal position and create a full-time one in its place.

?We?re behind this,? said Legislator Daniel Crippen, D-Burke, ?and we?re going to do our best to help you do this thing right.?"

Full post as published by A Paralegal's Blog on January 01, 2008 (boomark / email).