Friday Five: What Should Attorneys Look for When Hiring Paralegals?

Over at Lawline.com, an online CLE provider, a list of traits that attorneys should look for when hiring their next paralegal has been posted in their blog under Friday Five: Top Five Things Attorneys Should Look for When Hiring Help. Here's what attorneys should be looking for, and what us paralegals should have:

1. Communication Skills. The ability to communicate in person, on the phone, and through e-mail is as important as any other skill. To limit wasted time and effort on your part, you need to be able to rely on your assistants to communicate with clients and other personnel as if it was you the whole time. The more they can do and say on their own, the less time you will have to spend clearing up mistakes or dealing with insignificant tasks.

2. Professionalism. These people that you hire will be interacting with your clients on a daily basis. In a way, they represent you and your practice just as much as you do. You need to make sure that they appear professional and well-mannered at all times in order to give the people they see the right impression. That all starts with how they dress and act on the initial interview, so pay attention.

3. Career Goals and Aspirations. This does not necessarily mean that they are using the job as a stepping stone to bigger and better things, but a good employee should be able to tell you about their goals. If they have a clear vision of what they desire in a job and future positions, you know that they are confident and determined workers. They will be more likely to put in the extra effort to get things done.

4. Proven Analytical Skills. Employees need to be detail oriented and willing to do some in-depth research. Even the smallest mistakes can be costly if you are working on a case, so make sure whoever you hire understands that. This can be hard to identify in the interview process, but experience with some type of research is always a good thing to look for.

5. Experience/Interest in your Practice Area. Experience in the legal profession is definitely preferred for the simple fact that is cuts down costly training. The less you have to coach and train someone, the more you can get done. Even better is if someone has experience in your particular practice area, because they will be familiar with certain types of cases, forms, procedures, etc.

Paralegals on the Move

On the move: Nicole Davis and Donna Sweeney: The New Hartford- and Syracuse-based Estate Planning Law Center is expanding with the addition of two paralegals.

Paralegals Nicole Davis and Donna Sweeney joined the firm.

Sweeney has 13 years of experience as a paralegal focusing on Medicaid planning and qualifications for clients of the firm.

Davis has five years of experience as a paralegal. She ensures that plans clients create with firm attorneys are fully implemented.

Paralegal Career Guide Launched on All Criminal Justice Schools

As the law becomes more complex and our society grows more litigious, the public demand for legal representation continues to expand. This translates into not just a need for more lawyers but more legal support professionals as well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, paralegals will be among the top 30 fastest-growing careers in the 10-year period ending in 2014. Responding to this increase in demand for trained paralegals, All Criminal Justice Schools (ACJS) has launched a comprehensive, 16-page career guide for people interested in becoming paralegals. The online guide can be found at http://www.allcriminaljusticeschools.com/faqs/paralegal.php.

The paralegal career guide contains up-to-date information on paralegal salaries, certification, accreditation and degree information, as well as informative articles and interviews with experienced paralegals. It is designed to give people considering paralegal careers one-stop access to the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about choosing schools, types of degrees and legal specialty areas.

Legal Learning Put Into Practice at Loyalist College

Paralegal students at Loyalist College in Canada are gaining hands-on experience in their field by operating PaIRS, an on-campus legal information service for students, staff and alumni. Their role is to guide clients to the necessary channels or resources to get answers to legal questions involving subjects such as landlord tenant concerns, highway traffic issues, or criminal pardon questions.

Students say it will help them prepare for their future jobs as paralegals. With a P-1 license from the Law Society of Upper Canada, a paralegal can work as a fee-for-service advocate to represent clients in provincial offences traffic court, small claims court or before administrative tribunals such as the Ontario Landlord Tenant Board.

Source: Belleville Intelligencer - Ontario, CA

Paralegals Are First Step in Pro Bono Efforts

Beginning this month, students and graduates of the paralegal program at Casper College in Casper, Wyo. will be the first step for many in obtaining pro bono legal representation. The students and graduates will conduct a half-hour interview with each potential client, then forward the information to a licensed attorney, who will review the information. If the case qualifies, it will be assigned to an attorney who will represent the client pro bono.

This free service is available to Casper College students, employees, and those participating in GED, lifelong learning, and continuing education programs. Services are limited to civil matters, including simple wills, adoptions, name changes, uncontested divorces, small claims, family violence protection orders, landlord-tenant issues, and contract issues.

Source: Casper Star-Tribune Online - Casper

Paralegal Posing as Lawyer Wins 50 Cases

Remember Brian Valery, the paralegal who posed as a lawyer for two years at a New York law firm? On January 31, he was sentenced to five years of probation.

However, he must have done something right, according to UPI.com: "Valery worked as much as 70 hours a week and won some 50 cases. [emphasis added]

'I guess he got away with it so long because he was so talented, and so hardworking,' said Valery's lawyer, Bob LaRusso."

New NFPA CLEs for March!

BEGINNING MARCH 10, 2008
ON-LINE CLE OFFERED BY NFPA
VISIT www.paralegals.org TO REGISTER

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Administrative law is that branch of law that defines and limits relationships between government agencies and people. Administrative law defines agency powers, agency limitations, and remedies available to parties aggrieved by agency action.

Administrative Law can be divided into four major areas that will be covered in this seminar. Unit One will provide an overview of administrative law in general. Unit two will provide and introduction to due process and agency acquisition of information. Unit Three will provide an introduction to adjudication and Unit Four will cover the judicial review of agency action.


E-DISCOVERY
This is a fourteen-day seminar intended to provide the litigation paralegal with a basic understanding of e-Discovery and the processes involved in the preservation, collection, and production of electronic data so they can make informed decisions when assigned to a case involving computer forensics or eDocs. Unit One will provide an introduction to e-Discovery and discuss what effects the recent "explosion" of e-Discovery will have on the litigation paralegal's duties and what skills they should acquire. Unit Two will discuss the duty to preserve (evidentiary) electronic data and how the paralegal can assist their supervising attorney and the client with the process of preservation. Unit Three will discuss the collection and production of electronic data, some common pitfalls to avoid during each procedure, and the preparation of deposition and trial exhibits from electronic files. Unit Four will discuss the "Dark Side" of e-Discovery -- spoliation and sanctions -- and the best ways to avoid inadvertently ruining the client's case.

PROFESSIONAL OFFICE SKILLS FOR THE PARALEGAL
This seminar is designed to provide the paralegal with a working and practical introduction of what to expect while working in an office environment as a paralegal. The goal of this seminar is to give realistic examples of different scenarios that may be encountered in the legal environment while also providing an introduction to things that do not involve legal concepts but are necessary to the legal world such as time sheets.

The paramount goal of the seminar is provide the paralegal with information which will assist them in their positions as paralegals. The seminar is designed to put job functions and the general law firm environment in a realistic perspective.

Paralegals Help Bangladeshi Women

In Bangladesh, paralegals working for the Banchte Shekha Foundation are volunteers trained in Muslim family law. They assist villagers with dowry, marital disputes, legal divorce, and inheritance. They also provide information to villagers about their rights, and they participate in the shalish, the village form of mediation in Bangladesh.

Three hundred and fifty women have been trained so far as paralegals. They work under the direction of one of the earliest Banchte Shekha members, Rokeya Sattar, herself a village woman who was married at thirteen and abandoned at twenty-two with her four children.

The paralegals have proven to be very effective. By July 1991, they had settled 2,119 disputes at the village level and effected 2,382 marriages without dowry. Attorneys who have evaluated the program have been struck by the poise and confidence of the women as they put their cases before the shalish or hold their own in difficult negotiations.

The legal program has been further strengthened by Asia Foundation support that gives the women the money and the clout to say that they will take a case to court and litigate if mediation fails. In the first four years of the program they have won 278 court cases.

Paralegal Outlook for 2008: We're Not Recession-Proof

Economists say we're heading into a recession, and the first question for many of us is, "Will I still be employed?"

The answer is maybe. According to Robert Half Legal, litigation paralegals will still be in demand as firms tackle rising caseloads, or so the optimists say.

But according to a recent post on The Estrin Report, the outlook for securities, real estate, and finance paralegals is grim. Estrin recalls the recent "booms": the Internet boom of 1999-2001 and the all-too-recent real estate boom. Both created an abundance of jobs, but once the bubble burst, paralegals, along with other professionals, were left scrambling for employment.

It is axiomatic that companies tend to spend more on outside services such as law firms when times are good than when the economy is in trouble. Even litigation caseload goes down (while bankruptcy work goes up).

Estrin continues:

As an aside, if your work is good and you and others in your organization are being told there is a problem with your performance—look out. This is often a sure sign that the firm or company is experiencing serious economic problems. Firms typically do not lay people off—they let them go under the guise of performance-related problems.

All around, recessions are bad news, and paralegals are not immune. If you haven't already, start looking at opportunities to cross-train and learn new areas of law. Keep your resume updated. Don't let a "layoff" catch you napping.

Legal Profession Blog: It's Hard To Supervise An Incarcerated Paralegal

Legal Profession Blog: It's Hard To Supervise An Incarcerated Paralegal: "An attorney with a previous record of a public reprimand was suspended for 60 days by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The attorney was appointed to represent a defendant who was eventually sent to prison. While the client was incarcerated, the lawyer hired him as a paralegal."

Justices Consider Legal Aid Proposal

Justices Consider Legal Aid Proposal: "Small businesses that provide legal documents for do-it-yourself court filings would be forced to close under a proposal before the Hawaii Supreme Court.

The Hawaii State Bar Association has asked the court to clarify a law that covers unauthorized practice by nonlawyers.

'This basically shuts me down,' objects Betty Marais, whose business, Legal-Ez, attracts about 20 to 30 customers a month.

Other critics say the proposed new definition would crimp the livelihoods of Realtors, accountants, architects, title insurance companies and sports agents and the activities of public interest groups."

North York Paralegals Suing Attorney General, Law Society

North York Paralegals Suing Attorney General, Law Society:

"Three paralegals, including two from North York, have filed a lawsuit against Ontario's attorney general and the Law Society of Upper Canada for the way paralegals in the province are regulated.

The lawsuit, filed by Judi Simms, president of the Paralegal Society of Ontario along with North York residents Rivka La Belle and Gerald Grupp, claim that paralegals are not being regulated in the public interest and that the attorney general and the Law Society of Upper Canada have violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Paralegals welcome regulation, but not by the Law Society of Upper Canada, Simms said."

Update Your Bookmarks; I Have a Domain Name!

A brief site announcement: I've purchased a domain name at www.paralegalsblog.com, so if you are inclined to do so, please update your bookmarks. The old URL does still work.

Wisconsin Lawyer Suspended for Fraudulent Bills

MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended a lawyer for 60 days for submitting false bills to the state. The court says Stephen Compton of Delavan committed professional misconduct when he billed the Office of the State Public Defender for 120 hours of work that was done by a paralegal.

Westminster Paralegal Charged with Posing as Attorney

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A 47-year old Westminster paralegal has been charged with falsely representing himself as an attorney to clients. The paralegal, John Gerard Hedderman, took on civil cases relating to divorces, child custody, and bankruptcy.

He is being charged with two felony counts of grand theft, three counts of unauthorized practice of law, one count of second-degree commercial burglary and 10 felony counts of false impersonation. Hedderman faces up to 12 years and three months in prison if convicted. He is out of jail after posting $70,000 bail.

Prosecutors say Hedderman was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1988, but resigned in 2001 after facing a series of disciplinary actions. He worked as a paralegal between June 1, 2004 and Aug. 25, 2005, during which time, he represented himself as an attorney to clients whom he met through personal referrals, officials say.

Hedderman is also accused of forging clients' signatures, an employer's and another attorney's signature and filing those forged documents in court.