Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

Career Dressing 101: Budget Suit of the Week

Posted on November 14, 2010
After Huma Rashid, law student and rockin' fashion stylist/blogger, recommended Shop It To Me, a site that acts as your "personal online shopper" by sending you email alerts when your favorite designer duds are on sale, I signed up.I admit I may have to adjust my settings after getting an email alert that a Michael Kors Satin Sheath Dress is on sale for $1,000 (Wut, are you peeps NUTZ?!? It's PANK and looks like something a Real Housewife would wear to the grocery store!!!) but have no complaints at all about this great-looking Tahari ASL "Jodi Ann" jacket and "Cameron" skirt set, normally almost $300, on sale at Bloomies for $78...

Another Reason to Reconsider an Online Paralegal Education

Posted on November 14, 2010
Sometimes I get email from readers asking if I recommend online paralegal training programs, Kaplan in particular. I personally don?t know any Kaplan-trained paralegals, certainly not locally. Occasionally, I see posts by alleged Kaplan students on the national paralegal listservs, complaining about their inability to get hired, posts that would give me serious pause if I were considering an online paralegal education...

Legal Assistant Bikes to Work for Fun

Posted on November 14, 2010
It?s challenging enough for me to commute to work ? and get there wearing matching shoes and a hairstyle that doesn?t make my co-workers ask if I lost my hairbrush - driving a car, even though it?s less than five miles from my house. I can hardly imagine trying to do it riding a bide...

First Legal Assistant to Join ABA Dies

Posted on November 14, 2010
Linda DeLange Bennett died of breast cancer on November 3, 2010, but not without leaving an impressive mark on the legal system.In 1983, Bennett was a major contributor to the Texas probate law guidelines, which were published by the State Bar of Texas to help non-lawyers navigate the probate system...

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Wisconsin Law Journal?s 2010 Unsung Legal Staff Heroes

Posted on November 14, 2010
I blog about so many legal staffers here at Practical Paralegalism because I strongly feel they are the unsung heroes of the legal profession. I loved reading that last week almost 300 people attended Wisconsin Law Journal?s 2010 Unsung Heroes celebration in Milwaukee, honoring 50 people in 10 different categories, including Legal Secretary of the Year, Heidi Buttchen, and Paralegal of the Year, Carolyn Simpson...

For Everyone Who Has Ever Taught a Paralegal Class

Posted on November 09, 2010
Or Been Driven 'round the Bend by Online Content TheftLanguage alert here, but this xtranormal video, "One Professor's Fantasy" (brought to my attention by my husband the college professor), to quote Vivian from Pretty Woman, is "so good, I almost peed my pants!"I taught paralegal classes for five years - and I loved it...

Paralegal Profile: Nikki L. Campos, CP

Posted on November 09, 2010
Job Title: Certified Paralegal (NALA)Employer: Self-employed virtual paralegalYears of Paralegal Experience: 10Education/Degrees: AAS in Paralegal Studies; BS in Business ManagementSpecialty Areas: Real Estate, Estate Planning, Probate, Bankruptcy and EntitiesCareer Highlight: Convincing my boss to transition my position to my home office...

The Case of the Soggy Ballots

Posted on November 09, 2010
Tonight there's a City College of San Francisco paralegal student sitting in jail, charged with three felonies and unable to make his $100,000 bail.You probably think he's accused of a major bank heist to get that kind of bail - and that was reduced from the $150,000 prosecutors originally requested...

Paralegal Is Finalist for White House Save Award

Posted on November 08, 2010
The 18,000 ideas submitted by federal workers for the second annual President's Save Award have been whittled down to four finalists, and in a contest for cost-cutting ideas, it's no surprise that one of those finalists is a paralegal.The Washington Post reports:Paul Behe, a Cleveland paralegal specialist, suggested the Department of Homeland Security should advertise property seized by U...

Today's Quote: Paralegals, the Hidden Arteries of the Legal System

Posted on November 08, 2010
Another class offered at North, that is more underrated but perhaps more essential to society, is paralegal. This is the hidden arteries of the legal system, being able to sort through useless information to pick out the gems that can either save an innocent person or convict the guilty party...

Jury Awards Paralegal 160k for Battery by Police Officer

Posted on November 08, 2010
If your job as a paralegal includes repossessing cars for your employer, no doubt it's a challenge under normal circumstances. But if you get pulled over by an LAPD officer while driving a lawfully repossessed vehicle, wrongfully reported as stolen, and then when you offer to get the paperwork out of your briefcase to show you're not a car thief, the officer grabs you and handcuffs your wrists so tightly that you sustain nerve damage, those circumstances are inexcusable...

Must-Have USB Drive & Fashion Accessory for Men

Posted on November 07, 2010
Add men's cufflinks to the list of sneaky places to hide a USB flash drive. While many men don't wear them anymore, if you're looking for a clever (and expensive) present for that sharp-dressed, technologically-advanced male legal professional in your life (or to be PC, female - I had a pair I bought in a vintage store that I wore with French cuff shirts), try these 4GB USB Flash Drive Cufflinks, also available in gunmetal and gold finishes at only $195 a pair...

Paralegals Get Crocking #1

Posted on November 07, 2010
Brrrr, it's gotten cold, and now thanks to "Daylight Savings Time" (I added the quotation marks, because I fail to see how dark setting in at 4:47 p.m. is saving anyone any time), coming home to a house full of warm, welcoming dinner smells after a long day at the law office or legal department is a relief...

National UnFriend Day: Cut Some of that Fat Out of Your Life

Posted on November 06, 2010
Jimmy Kimmel has proclaimed November 17 as National UnFriend Day (NUD). That's the day you're supposed to take a look at your 673 Facebook friends, and then unfriend all of them you wouldn't recognize on the street, have absolutely no clue as to who they are, or most important, wouldn't help you move this weekend...

How Paralegals Help Create Exceptional Client Experiences

Posted on November 06, 2010
Taking good care of our firm's clients is important to me. They've come to us during some of the worst periods of their lives, trusting us to take care of them, and give them guidance until they can get to better days. I can also vouch for the fact that our firm gets many word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied clients who have told their friends and family what good care we take of them...

Saturday LOL: "Am I Just Very Confused?"

Posted on November 06, 2010
"I think you are."I am mad for John Cusack, no joke. And Kevin Spacey, as well. And well, you gotta feel sorry for this poor interviewer who thinks she's speaking to the star of American Beauty, you know, the movie with all the rose petals.We've all had these days, but at least they weren't memorialized on YouTube:How can we relate this to the paralegal profession? Paralegal Interview Tip: Do your homework before you do the interview, so you don't look like a danged fool...

TGIF: "Help Me, Jesus, I NEED a Snow Cone!"

Posted on November 05, 2010
That's my new favorite quote, from Officer Tracy Jones, one of the stars of my hubby's fave new reality show, TLC's Police Women of Dallas. She said it after a particularly, um, challenging encounter with The Public.Now that's what I'm going to say after particularly challenging telephone encounters with The Public, "So, HELP me, Jesus, I NEED a SNOW CONE!" It could be the new Paralegal's Prayer...

Jury Duty: Your Civic Responsibility, or a Chance to Score a Date?

Posted on November 04, 2010
Lately, it seems like juror behavior is getting more press time than the actual trials. The potential for a reality show, Juror Shore, could be real. But who will play the juror version of Snookie? I propose one so far unidentified female resident of Connecticut, who is serving as an alternate juror in the sentencing phase of a murder trial that has made national news headlines...

Career-Dressing 101: What Not to Wear

Posted on November 03, 2010
I am almost (but never quite) speechless. This is what came up in a search on Amazon.com for women's career wear:Did I really have to specify, er, daytime careers? Even if I had meant escort - it would have been for the U.S. Marshals Service, you wonky wench of a search engine...

The Post at Which I Impart My Best "Cooking" Advice

Posted on November 03, 2010
Nope, those are not unnecessary quotation marks. The lovely Amanda Hazel, blogger at Purple Paralegal (http://purpleparalegal.blogspot.com/), posted "Off Topic: Cooking" this week, sharing with her readers her desire to learn to cook (although she's a great baker, and I like cookies and pies better than entrees anyway)...

Paralegal Profile: Ellen Sheffer, Educator & Author

Posted on November 03, 2010
Job Title: ParalegalEmployer: Carmel & Naccasha, San Luis Obispo, CAYears of Paralegal Experience: 30 (gulp!)Education/Degrees: BA in education and SpanishSpecialty Areas: Litigation, SSICareer Highlight: Co-authoring Evidence Management for the Paralegal (Delmar Cengage Learning, 2008), a text book that is used in paralegal programs around the country...

Dammit, Nancy W. Kappes (Paralegal) Was Called Home to Jesus' Bosom

Posted on November 02, 2010
Today a good friend asked if I knew that Nancy W. Kappes (Paralegal) is no longer with us, making the world a much less interesting place. Yes, I knew. Not only was I shocked to my toes when I read The Bloggess' October 4, 2010 post, "R.I.P. Nancy W. Kappes," but a number of people emailed or DM'd me with the news, including her niece who wrote, "[Nancy] was hilarious, weirdly amazing, off beat and marching to a different drummer, and she was one of the coolest aunts I had...

Today's Quote: The First Rule of Customer Service

Posted on November 02, 2010
Actually, I think the first rule is, "The customer's always right." And sometimes the challenge as a paralegal or other legal staffer that spends a lot of time on the phone with people who are always (but not really) right, is that some of them are really challenging to communicate with...

Career-Dressing 101: Stuff I Stole at Target

Posted on November 02, 2010
You know I love the attention-getting headlines (a blogger I much admire recently said she should pay me to write post headlines for her), but I also love career clothes that legal staffers can afford. And I'm not big on dry-cleaning, having once in my career worked at a firm where suits were preferred, and my monthly dry-cleaning bill was more than my monthly electricity bill...

Listserv Answer: If You're Lost, Ask for Directions

Posted on November 01, 2010
A "Lost Paralegal" posted a query to one of the national paralegal listservs today, worried she was posing "silly" questions but asking about an assignment her boss had given her. As a newbie, she was confused by his instructions to draft discovery documents...

Brute Force, a Paralegal for Many Years, Enjoys a Much-Deserved Revival

Posted on November 01, 2010
Or, What Happened to the King of Fuh?I blog partly because I love uncovering the strange and hidden gems of the paralegal world (and in the world in general), and this is absolutely too kool for school - but don't read any further if a little play on profanity ruins your day, and turn the speakers on your computer at work real low if you do decide to take a walk on the weird and delightfully wild side and listen to the rare single, "The King of Fuh...

Former Paralegal Sells Eternal Vessels

Posted on November 01, 2010
If you're uncomfortable reading about my dying wishes, then just skip this post. But remember, this is the paralegal who loves to read obituaries, and still fondly remembers a funeral for a beloved family friend where a gospel choir had everyone bawling one minute and then up and dancing in the aisles the next...

You Might Notice a Change (or Two) at Practical Paralegalism

Posted on October 31, 2010
Yes, it's midnight, and my insomnia, fueled by my obvious OCD tendencies, wouldn't let me rest until I had simplified this blog in a big way. If you read all of Practical Paralegalism's posts via RSS Feed Reader, then you keep on doing what you're doing because it's darned efficient - but you probably haven't noticed a blessed thang as far as the template...

Today's Quote: I'm a Paralegal and I'm Not Afraid to Admit I Love Vampires

Posted on October 31, 2010
Why should my son have all the fun this Halloween? Since I shouldn?t eat all the Snickers bars, I think I?ll grab one of [Laurell K.] Hamilton?s [kick-butt vampire] books instead! ~ Massachusetts paralegal Elizabeth Wegner discusses vampire fiction with Nancy Harris in "Weymouth mom falls under the spell of vampire tales" (Boston...

FedEx Recognizes Paralegal Who Went Above and Beyond Call of Duty

Posted on October 31, 2010
Great paralegals, legal assistants, legal secretaries, and many other legal staffers go above and beyond the call of duty every day, solving problems as they arise and providing excellent customer service to their employers' clients, so it is nice to see FedEx in Memphis, Tennessee recognize 26 of its employees that have not only done a good job, but did way more than they had to, including senior paralegal Cynthia Fitzsimmons...

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