Carolina Paralegal News

For Mary Powell, there’s something special about August 22. In 1988, that was the day she was promoted from paralegal to office manager at Faison Law Group in Durham. Twelve years later, Aug. 22, 2000, she noticed that her quote-of-the-day calendar said, “You don’t manage people; you manage things. You lead people.”

Powell, now a paralegal manager, tore off the quote from U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Grace Hopper and hung it next to her desk, where she sees it every day. It has become the philosophy she seeks to live by.

“If I can’t do what I’m asking somebody else to do, how can I be an effective coordinator or supervisor?” she said.

The question rings true for many paralegal managers, most of whom started out as paralegals, knee-deep in day-to-day details and case deadlines. Those who move into the ranks of management find themselves in a variety of situations: working managers who continue handling cases, full-time managers who solely supervise paralegals, directors who oversee multiple offices.

Whatever their duties, paralegal managers seem to agree that being a supervisor is more than just an advanced form of paralegal work – it’s a different scope of responsibilities requiring distinct skills. While a strong paralegal background is generally considered a prerequisite, equally important are being able to effectively manage people, coordinate caseloads and serve as a liaison among paralegals, attorneys and clients.

Paralegal managers also are closer to the nitty-gritty of office politics, deciding who deserves a promotion, and counseling and firing difficult employees. It’s not a job for the faint of heart, but those who succeed in this role say it’s deeply satisfying – the reward comes in keeping everything running smoothly.

The Georgia-based International Paralegal Management Association, the primary professional resource for paralegal managers, will offer a seminar for new managers on April 20 in Atlanta.

According to the IPMA’s 2011 salary survey conducted with ALM Legal Intelligence, average salaries for managerial positions are $86,548 for a paralegal coordinator, $93,152 for a working manager/supervisor and $114,834 for a paralegal manager.

IPMA President Stacie Straw began her career as a paralegal, but is now the director of human resources for O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles. She believes the ability to adapt and multi-task is a manager’s most critical skill.

“Law firms are such intense environments and a lot of things come up at the last minute. If your staff is busy, it’s going to take some juggling to make it work,” she said. “Having strong interpersonal skills is important when those emergency requests come up.”

Unlike other kinds of businesses, where managers might have final say on how to handle their staffs, in a law firm that typically falls to attorneys, Straw pointed out.

“You have to be able to…be diplomatic in working with them and working through any difference of opinion you have,” she said.

She noted that new managers often face an unexpected adjustment when it comes to navigating office dynamics.

“People sometimes get frustrated because they think, ‘Okay, I’m going to come in and supervise paralegals and get all these great things done,’ but once they get into the more political side of management, they see they may not always accomplish what they want to accomplish,” she said. “They might have to draw other people in and get buy-in for their ideas before they can make them happen.”

Mary Powell, Paralegal Manager/Office Manager, Faison Law Group, Durham

Powell keeps tabs on all the medical malpractice cases handled by her firm’s attorneys, four in-house and one of counsel.

“I’m responsible to make sure that all of the requirements are met by all of my paralegals for particular cases they are working on,” she said. “I’m sort of a safety net.”

Since joining the firm 25 years ago, Powell worked as an administrative assistant and paralegal before taking on greater responsibilities. Today, she supervises three paralegals and six staff in accounting and administrative support, though she has supervised up to 30 people.

“Supervising the size I have now is relatively easy,” Powell said. “When I had a larger group of paralegals, one of my most difficult responsibilities was balancing the case load.”

To assign cases to paralegals in a way that gets the job done without overly burdening anyone, a manager must be familiar with case deadlines, depositions and discovery flows, and how they will affect the work load as the case progresses.

“If you do it right on the front end, it does not involve a whole lot of changing, but it does require a little bit of juggling every now and then,” Powell said.

She is copied on every case-related e-mail so she can track key milestones and assist paralegals when they have questions. She also ensures that attorneys get what they need, when they need it. The role of being a coordinator appeals to her: “What I enjoy most is seeing it all happen – getting questions and being able to smooth the way so that everybody’s needs are met and it all gets done with as little stress as you can possibly put on someone.”

The key difference between her role and paralegals’ is that they focus on day-to-day details, while Powell watches the big picture. Sometimes, that means doing something few managers enjoy: giving constructive criticism in a way that leaves paralegals cooperative, not defensive.

“It is much easier said than done,” she said. “The first several years when I would have to call someone in to talk to them about something they were not doing right, or ways they could improve themselves, I spent hours getting ready for it.”

Early in her career, Powell took a management skills seminar, which she recommends to anyone new to supervising.

“Anytime you want to manage one person or 100 people, learn from anybody and everybody you can how they were successful in doing the same thing,” she said.

Brad Baber, Director of Paralegal Services, Troutman Sanders, Atlanta

As the director of paralegal services for Troutman Sanders, Brad Baber manages 100 employees in 14 offices, including Hong Kong and Shanghai. His team has mostly paralegals, but also fiduciary accountants, legal nurse consultants, assistants and others.

Baber started his career in 1988 as a paralegal, but was soon promoted to a paralegal recruiting and training coordinator position and then paralegal manager in 1999. One of the trickiest parts of moving up the ranks was adjusting to a new dynamic with coworkers, he said.

“One day I’m just like everybody else, every other paralegal, and the next day I have some management and supervisory responsibility in the group,” he said.

At his previous firm, Baber was the first paralegal manager, so most of his peers welcomed the idea of having someone dedicated to their needs. But a few paralegals were suspicious of Baber’s new status, he said; it took time to convince them he was committed to creating a better work environment.

Serving as that advocate, in fact, can be one of a paralegal manager’s most valuable roles. Too often, Baber said, paralegals get overlooked between attorneys and support staff.

“We work in a world where there are attorneys and non-attorneys, and so paralegals get lost in that mix,” he said. “Having a paralegal manager, I think, helps to bring the focus onto them a little bit more and demonstrate to the firm the value of a manager and the value of a paralegal.”

In 2001, Troutman recruited Baber for a unique opportunity – serve as the firm’s first paralegal manager and build a paralegal development program. In doing so, Baber has spent significant time on human resources: hiring, training, performance reviews, work assignment and team-building.

“It’s important to me, even though I have 100 people, that I have a good working relationship and open communication with everybody, even if it has to be primarily over the phone because of the distance,” he said.

But paralegals aren’t the only ones with a stake in a manager’s performance – a good manager also must work well with attorneys.

“Attorneys are smart, they’re strong communicators, they’re strong personalities, and I think you need to bring those qualities to the table to be able to interact successfully with attorneys,” Baber said. “Oftentimes, you are trying to persuade an attorney to make a certain staffing decision or to work in a different way or try new things.”

One strategy is to make sure attorneys recognize paralegals’ value. Accordingly, Baber devotes a good deal of time to tracking, analyzing and reporting his department’s contributions.

“I spend a lot of time in spreadsheets and financial reports and productivity reports, so being able to move fluently in those areas and with those technology tools, I think, is critical,” he said.

When the pieces come together through a combination of good hires and good coaching, it’s rewarding to see paralegals with the right skills and the right attitude, he said.

Joanne Mayopoulos, Paralegal Supervisor, Duke Energy, Charlotte

In addition to supervising paralegals at Duke Energy, Mayopoulos also serves as the co-chair of IPMA’s Carolinas Chapter along with Cathy Boette, director of paralegal services at Nelson Mullins in Columbia.

Mayopoulos came to Duke Energy four years ago as a paralegal in the environmental health and safety area. When senior management decided to create a paralegal supervisor position, Mayopoulos applied for the job. She now supervises 25 in-house and six contract paralegals in Charlotte, Cincinnati, Houston, Austin and Plainfield, Ind.

Since managing her team requires most of her time, Mayopoulos seldom works on cases, although she does initial reviews of complex litigation to determine which paralegal should handle it.

“Litigation is fast-moving in most instances, so I try to farm out the work appropriately,” she said. “There’s that period of time when it requires a lot of attention, then it will peter out for a while, so I try to balance workloads between paralegals.”

While Mayopoulos is responsible for far-reaching decisions, such as hiring and promoting, she said some of her most useful skills are the simplest – being a good listener and letting her employees know she understands what they are going through.

“I think in order to be an effective paralegal manager, you have to have worked as a working paralegal for many years prior to taking on the management piece,” she said.

Simultaneously advocating for her paralegals and responding to attorneys’ needs takes finesse, she said. As the voice “in the middle,” Mayopoulos tries to be diplomatic and to find solutions that work for everyone. She supports attorneys by addressing performance problems with her staff, but she also serves as a buffer for her team: “It’s nice for them to have a paralegal manager to go to and say, ‘I’m overloaded. Can you get me some help?’ without having to turn to the attorney.”

Watching her team evolve has been rewarding, but Mayopoulos acknowledged that it took time to adjust to her new role. As a new manager, she recalled seeing paralegals working on interesting cases and wishing she was doing the same.

“I loved being a paralegal. I loved doing the work, being hands-on with clients,” she said. “Once you become a manager, you’re not as hands-on with clients anymore. You’re supporting different people. So make sure you’re ready to take that next step.”

Theresa Coalson, Director of Operations, Womble Carlyle, Winston-Salem

Theresa Coalson joined Womble Caryle in 1985 as a paralegal and since 2003 has directed operations for the firm’s Case Management Facility, which uses state-of-the-art technology to organize mass tort litigation documents for attorneys within the firm and across the United States.

Coalson’s team supports the complexities of large-scale litigation, whether that’s preparing thousands of trial exhibits, creating secure Web sites to share case documents or tracking deadlines for counsel. It takes a lot of paralegals to manage the workflow: 85 of them, alongside eight attorneys and seven paralegal managers.

Because Coalson’s paralegal managers are the liaison among attorneys, technology vendors, clients and paralegals, they serve a pivotal role as the hub of communication and coordination. Their major duties include training paralegals and ensuring resources are deployed effectively.

Given the unique nature of the facility, paralegal managers need not only strong managerial skills and an expert understanding of litigation, but also competence with databases, software and other technology resources used by the firm.

“You have to have…the ability to pick up and keep up with all of the changes that are ongoing and be able to manipulate that,” Coalson said.

Most of her paralegal managers were promoted from within, but Coalson said being a great paralegal is not enough. A great manager offers a well-rounded package of managerial, communication and people skills, legal expertise and technological savvy.

“Sometimes the most outstanding paralegal here is not necessarily the person that would become the next manager,” she said. “It is a combination of all those skill sets that are analyzed.”

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In recent weeks I have had several people approach me as they were searching for someone to fill a paralegal position. Despite high unemployment rates, there are some open jobs that aren’t getting filled. I have some thoughts about why this is happening.

Some of the employers are looking for paralegals with experience – very specific experience. As a result, they don’t want to hire a recent paralegal program graduate or a paralegal who has worked as a litigation paralegal for a year. Instead, they want someone who has done medical malpractice defense work for five years or more.

Many paralegals who have been working for more than five years are reluctant to change jobs and run the risk of being the potential “last hired, first fired.” I can understand that fear. However, I think there are some questions you can ask during the interview process that can help allay your fears about how quickly the job might end. So what follows are a few tips for paralegals who are thinking about whether to make a job change.

Why Risk Changing Jobs Now?

This column isn’t to encourage all of you to go search for a new job. Some of you already have a great job, maybe even the perfect job. However, some of you are ready for a new challenge. You need a change of scenery, you want to add responsibilities or develop new skills. Some of you are bored.

Exploring opportunities during a booming economy doesn’t seem terribly risky. However, even going for an interview could be nerve-racking when all of us have spent the past three years grasping the security of our paycheck for dear life.

How to Change Jobs

One question to ask your potential employer is “Why is this position open?” You want to determine whether the job is newly created or already existed. If the job already existed, there is a good chance that work needs to be done and is piling up on an empty desk. This is good for you. You’ll arrive at a new place, but have work waiting.

If the job already existed, where is the last paralegal? There are many legitimate reasons to leave a job. Be sure to drill down. How long had the paralegal worked there before she left? Does there seem to be an unusual amount of turnover in the firm or in this particular position? High turnover with one attorney might be a red flag. In a great economy, it might be worth the risk – you might be the perfect fit. But if you become one in a long line of failed relationships, what are your chances for finding another new job if that becomes necessary?

If this is a newly created position, inquire about why the firm decided to hire now. Did they bring in new lawyers who already have a steady stream of work? Did they bring in new lawyers who are developing their practice? Does the firm anticipate having enough work to keep you busy? If not, is this going to be viewed as your problem or will they partner with you to make sure the assignments comes your way?

Plan B

You might feel more comfortable making a change if your Plan B is sound. For example, if the new position doesn’t work out, you have already established relationships with recruiters and you feel confident you could find temporary work while starting a new job search. Or you have been working hard over the past few years on your savings account and you have six months’ to one year’s salary in the bank.

How to Find a New Challenge
Without Jumping Off a Cliff

You may read this article and find yourself intrigued by the idea of a new challenge, but you just don’t identify yourself as a risk-taker. Look for ways to take your job to the next level. Can you ask for new responsibilities?

Or look for the challenge outside of your workplace. Take a class. Perhaps you want to improve your writing skills; most colleges and community colleges offer night classes. Maybe the challenge is to learn something new that is unrelated to work – guitar lessons or pottery or screenwriting. Get involved in a charity. Teach someone to read. The possibilities are endless.

I changed jobs in 2009. I was nervous about interviewing when people were still being laid off from law firms on a regular basis. I was worried my current employer would find out and fire me before I had an offer from the new firm. It was a frightening two-month process and I didn’t sleep well during that time. I visited a career coach who was able to help me clearly see my options and feel more confident about my decision. Looking back, it was a great move. Don’t be afraid to see what options are available.

What’s on your mind or being discussed at your water cooler? You can contact me at camille@lawyersmutualnc.com to share ideas or suggestions for future columns or share your favorite legal blog.

Camille Stell is the Director of Client Services for Lawyers Mutual. Recently selected as a North Carolina Lawyers Weekly 2011 “Leaders in the Law” award recipient, Camille has more than 20 years of experience in the legal field, as a paralegal, legal recruiter and business developer.

camille.stell COLUMNS

When CPN asked me to start writing a regular column, I jumped at the opportunity, didn’t balk that there was no pay and promptly asked myself, “What are they thinking?”

I’m Lindsay Valek – paralegal of seven years, potter, hoarder of historical biographies, and frequenter of thrift stores to the point that local proprietors know me by name. Now add CPN columnist to the list. If you’re a fan of the publication, you may remember a few of my pieces abhorring the Bar for not implementing paralegal certification program and proclaiming to the legal world that unless your paper-cut fingers have bled all over a document production, it shouldn’t be considered litigation.

I’ve worked on everything from class actions to legal malpractice to workers’ compensation. My favorite? Trust disputes. There is nothing juicier, racier or sexier than cousins, paramours, trustees and third ex-wives removed fighting amongst one another like toddlers in a sandpit. “Guiding Light” couldn’t make this stuff up. My experience in trust disputes has provided many of my career’s most memorable moments. I’ve had a lumberjack client sob on my shoulder, my fanny smacked (twice) and was once locked in my office and commanded to transcribe a client’s verbal stream of thought.

The legal world has taught me more than I have ever wanted to know. Paralegals have the privilege of seeing, touching and feeling the most intimate parts of our clients’ lives. Let’s be honest – we’re not selling sweaters here. This profession wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the harsh reality that conflict exists everywhere. No matter what area of law you work in, be it family, contract, probate or personal injury, clients come to us to solve problems. We owe it to them to give a damn. Sure, we could scan those interrogatories and lazily conjure up some lame objection that it’s “unduly burdensome,” but don’t we have a responsibility to give our clients more than that?

Which leads me to a pet peeve. I’ll preface it by admitting I am by no means perfect. I have many, many flaws, among them the inability to communicate effectively with IT personnel, a defiance against justifying why I need a three-ring binder (just give it to me) and a certain loathing for efforts to protect the environment when I know good and well our clients don’t care how many trees I kill if I can save them a million dollars. That said, ladies and gents, let’s take a little ownership in our work. I’ll concede that Bates labeling is a mind-numbing task that a monkey could do, but when we index those little numbers and put them into a fun chart that describes the document, it allows us to find a very specific e-mail in a pinch.

Picture it: You’re in a courtroom when your boss whispers, “I need that January, ‘96 email from Bob.” There are a myriad of responses I could insert here:

“Who’s Bob?”

“I gave it to you last night.”

“Which document production was that?”

“It’s in front of your face.”

All accurate responses, none of which actually solve the problem. Frantically you begin searching, feeling the weight of your boss’s glare and knowing it is merely moments before he rises to argue his objection. Seconds feel like minutes. This problem can be avoided. Know the documents. Know the case. Take the time to learn who Bob is and why he’s important. In short: Take ownership.

Nothing gets me more fired up than 12 bankers boxes of documents that opposing counsel blew a fan through. I know smarty pants attorney “A” assumed that no human being in their right mind would actually lay their eyes upon each and every piece of paper. Oh, how very wrong they would be. If you send documents to my boss, be afraid. Be very afraid. Not only will I stick little stickers on each and every one, but I will tirelessly find each piece of the e-mail string proving once and for all that not only did you have a joint venture agreement but that your client’s wife drafted it and then forwarded it to our client. If it’s in there, I will find it. I consider it a personal mission.

With that, I will step off my soapbox.

This paralegal gig has also afforded me some of most rewarding moments of my life. I’ve seen the kindness of an attorney who helped me change a flat tire in the parking lot of the Spartanburg county courthouse in August (he was the opposing counsel). I’ve seen the weight removed from a CEO’s shoulders when his case was settled after nine grueling days of trial. I’ve received a thank-you letter from an injured worker whose claim was clinchered out and I received the biggest compliment of my professional career from a former boss who told me I was the best paralegal he ever hired. This, from a man of very few words, was a pinnacle moment in my career.

I hope this column will provide perspective and a little humor about this profession which we love to hate and hate to love. What you won’t find here is fluff. It’s not who I am and it’s not what I’m capable of writing about. Don’t expect a piece about paralegals’ role in witness preparation. I received a CLE notification on this very topic the other day and laughed so hard I nearly fell off the chair.

What you will read is an honest account that at times may be funny, other times down-right sad but, hopefully, always entertaining. Let’s face it – this job is nothing if not glamorous (insert eye roll here). Until “Vogue” calls me back about the “Working Women” spread, I’ll be here, writing on everything from the delicate dance we perform with the IT department, the most effective method of law clerk communication and our affinity for staplers that don’t jam.

I’m thrilled to be writing for CPN and I hope you’ll be thrilled to read, although I’ll settle for perversely drawn to what I’ll say next.

Lindsay Valek is a litigation paralegal for the Law Office of Robert Dodson in Columbia, S.C. She can be reached at lindsayvalek@hotmail.com.

lindsay.valek COLUMNS

Read the March 2012 edition of Carolina Paralegal News.

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It’s still too early to predict exactly what the big news will be in 2012, but it’s a safe bet that the following 12 topics will be on everyone’s radar.

1. Social media

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is keeping its focus on disciplinary actions surrounding electronic communications and social media.

“Acting general counsel has directed that any case that has to do with social media in the workplace be sent to the central office in Washington so there is consistency in the opinions,” said Erin Behler of Nemeth Burwell in Detroit. “It will need to be litigated to get a bright-line rule. Right now, there isn’t one.”

Recently, the NLRB has sided with workers who took to social media pages to gripe about work and their employers. But because those workers had complained about wages and working conditions, even if it was peppered with criticism and even name-calling of their supervisors, the NLRB said that they were within their rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. The section provides that workers have the right to engage in concerted activities.

There are fine details yet to be figured out, Behler said.

“If it’s a mere gripe on Facebook and a non-work friend ‘likes’ your status, that is not protected. But as soon as a co-worker comments or ‘likes’ it, that might be protected,” she said. “I’ve been telling clients that they need to step back and not react too quickly to these things.”

It’s been catching employers off guard that the NLRB is not only stepping into these very public communications issues, but also that the board is doing it at a growing number of non-union workplaces.

“And none of these employers want to wind up being a test case as the NLRB is clarifying these issues,” Behler said.

2. HIPAA audits have begun

All entities covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have to get ready, if they haven’t already, for audits which are now under way, following the 2009 HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act. Before the end of 2012, 150 health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses will be audited.

The Office for Civil Rights calls the initial round of audits a “pilot program,” adding that the focus is on prevention and education rather than penalizing covered entities. The audits will be completed by December 2012.

3. IP reform

In 2011, Congress approved the most significant patent reform the country has seen in 60 years, and many of the provisions will go into effect in 2012.

The good news is that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s funding will be higher, said intellectual property lawyer Eric John Sosenko, of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione in Ann Arbor.

And, Detroit is getting the first of the USPTO satellite offices.

Sosenko is staying focused on helping his clients with preparing for a “first-to-file” system, which will replace the current “first-to-invent” system in March 2013.

“Patent attorneys need to help their clients get their disclosures in. You need to get filed and considered before that switches over,” he said.

Further, in September, the new post-grant review provision will start.

“You need to be aware that you may be pulled into ‘litigation light,’ and it’s going to be fast,” Sosenko said.

4. Health care challenge going to SCOTUS

The Supreme Court of the United States will have its say on the constitutionality of the federal health care law’s individual mandate, and the entire law along with it.

Few cases have ever had as much potential to impact the economics of nearly every person and business in the country.

Thus far, lower courts have split as to whether the Commerce Clause grants the federal government the power to order private citizens to engage in affirmative acts under the penalty of law.

5. Affirmative action for veterans

For the first time ever, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), a sister agency to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), is going to start requiring contractors who work for the government to establish hiring benchmarks for veterans.

“The OFCCP is going to start collecting data about data in the workforce to set benchmarks for hiring veterans,” said Jeffrey S. Kopp, of Foley & Lardner LLP in Detroit. “You’ve got 200,000 people being released from active duty annually, and a higher number of unemployed people.”

And the number of unemployed veterans is a concern, he added.

Further, the OFCCP recently reported that between 20 and 30 percent of government contractors are falling short on outreach efforts to attract veterans.

“Part of that is just a function of the economy, but unemployment among returning veterans is really high, and the EEOC wants to do something about that,” Kopp said.

6. Hot practice areas

The legal market continued to be challenging through 2011, and unemployment — particularly among new lawyers — is discouraging. But lawyers in high-demand niches fared better, and were even growing. Among those niche practices:

• Health care, where demand is rising for legal advice due to changing regulations and the growth of the health care industry as baby boomers age.

• Labor and employment is hot in part as the result of the poor economy. Clients need help in conducting reductions in force, and more than ever they need help with collective bargaining and increased unionization efforts.

• Intellectual property is going to be booming as clients need help with major IP reform legislation, much of which goes into effect this year.

• Financial service is growing as a result of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and how those reforms are affecting day-to-day practices in banking and financing and lending.

• Consumer bankruptcy, for better or worse, is still busy.

7. Who will be the

next SCOTUS justice?

If President Barack Obama is able to do again what few other presidents have — appoint a third justice to the U.S. Supreme Court — chances are he will turn to a candidate who will have an even easier time winning confirmation than the president’s first two picks: D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland.

His reputation as a smart jurist whose judicial philosophy is neither particularly controversial  nor too liberal for Senate lawmakers makes him an easy pick when partisan divisiveness remains high.

Ed Whelan, a former Justice Department official during the Bush Administration, said that Garland “may well be the best that conservatives could reasonably hope for from a Democratic president.”

8. E-discovery’s new challenges

E-discovery continues to evolve, posing new challenges for litigators. Keep an eye on the following trends:

• Death of metadata: As judges have become more sophisticated about electronically stored information, parties are having an increasingly difficult time convincing them that every single piece of metadata is needed in discovery. So courts are resisting a soup-to-nuts request and will clip your wings if you’re being too aggressive.

• Data changes: The method of storing data continues to change. The rising use of tablets and mobile devices results in more data, which can complicate the discovery process with issues like identifying, collecting and preserving the necessary information.

Predictive coding and pricing could lower the cost of e-discovery. It uses software to sample electronically stored information in order to create specific searches that will help locate the most relevant data.

9. Arbitration bill

In the wake of AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, the proposed Arbitration Fairness Act has the potential to change the legal landscape by banning pre-dispute binding arbitration clauses in consumer and employment contracts.

Supporters of the bill, S. 987, say that Concepcion strips consumers and workers of their power to seek redress in court because it gave teeth to companies’ ability to include binding, pre-dispute arbitration clauses in the fine print of many agreements and contracts.

Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform, oppose the bill, saying that arbitration encourages fast, cost-effective resolution of disputes.

10. Apps you need

You’ve got a half-million apps to choose from, and more being added to the market every day. So we’ll make it easy on you, and recommend a few must-haves for lawyers:

• TrialPad: It lets you present various types of documents as exhibits for trial, as well as annotate, highlight or redact relevant portions ($89.99).

• Evidence: It’s an image presentation app, intended for cases with 200 or fewer documents ($9.99).

• GoodReader: This is an iPad app for managing a variety of files, including photos, Word documents and PDF file ($4.99).

• iAnnotate: This app will help you with that red-pen craving most lawyers have by making it easy to highlight and mark up a PDF.

• Noteshelf: This is a new note-taking app for turning your iPad into a legal pad. It has a zoom mode, a bookshelf and folders for organizing, and you can export handwritten notes as single or multiple page PDFs to Dropbox ($4.99).

• RogueTime: For iPhone and iPad, tracks time for billable hours, integrates with the iPhone address book to create a client list, and allows lawyers to enter standard billing rates for phone calls or to enter a different rate for specific clients ($6.99).

• Tap2Track Mileage: Calculates your mileage using a GPS system and allows you to copy prior trips ($3.99).

11. Legal writing in a wired world

Whether your client communications more closely resemble the latest Ashton Kutcher tweet or “Moby Dick,” we all need to learn how to best communicate in the digital age, whether it’s in email, on social media sites or in a blog. A few tips to adapt your writing style:

• Lead with your conclusions: Every paragraph should represent one thought and the opening sentence should tell the reader what the paragraph is about.

• Use plain English: Avoid legal terms except when referring to a specific principle for which there is no easy equivalent, like habeas corpus. Use active verbs and short sentences. And when it comes to syllables, less is more. Show off your vocabulary somewhere else.

• Don’t make it too simple: Plain does not equal simple. Even though the structure of writing is a little different in social media than in print, techniques of good writing are universal.

• A little quirkiness is just fine: Social media is to writing what casual Friday is to your wardrobe. The goal of social media is to allow a little of your personality shine through, and to establish online relationships that convert to face-time relationships later.

• Formatting is your friend: Look at the layout of a social media page, and learn how to use the various tools, fonts, colors, boxes around content, etc.

12. Discarded laptops

A Florida Bar opinion late last year reminds lawyers in every state of their ethical duty to sanitize their storage devices when they’re being discarded. BlackBerrys, flash drives, laptops and copiers and iPhones all store documents that need to be wiped clean when the device is being replaced.

Ethics Opinion 10-2 states that reasonable security precautions include obtaining meaningful assurances from vendors that discarded or leased machinery has been wiped clean of sensitive records.

The opinion also says that lawyers who use devices in public places should inquire and determine whether use of such devices would preserve confidentiality.

The American Bar Association’s Ethics 20/20 Commission is considering a rule change that would add a section to the Model rules, requiring lawyers to make reasonable efforts to prevent unintended disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.

Writer Carol Lundberg of Michigan Lawyers Weekly and Dolan Company (parent of Lawyers Weekly) staff writers and editors Correy Stephenson, Esq., Reni Gertner, Kimberly Atkins, Esq., Tony Ogden, Pat Murphy, and Sylvia Hsieh, Esq. contributed to this story.

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North Carolina

Alamance County Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• Regular membership meetings are on the third Tuesday of every month at 12:20 p.m. at Carver’s on Elm in Graham.

Asheville Area Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• Monthly membership meetings are the first Thursday of each month at noon. Starting in January, they will be held at Loretta’s, 114 N. Lexington Ave., in downtown Asheville. Topics vary from meeting to meeting. They are posted online at www.aapaonline.net. RSVP with menu selection is needed.

• The association is looking for Programs Committee members to help plan monthly meetings, speakers, seminar topics and more. Visit www.aapaonline.net for details.

• Participants also are needed to serve as Roundtable Leaders, who will host meetings to educate and share information with fellow members about your specialty in elder law, family law, estate law, criminal law, worker’s compensation and civil litigation. Visit www.aapaonline.net for details.

Notes:

• AAPA welcomes its members to submit articles of interest for potential posting to the association’s website. Send your submissions to Jenny Iaquinto, chair of the publicity committee, at jiaquinto@roberts-stevens.com.

Catawba Valley Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• Monthly meetings are the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at various locations. Membership is open to paralegals, legal assistants, legal secretaries, attorneys, students enrolled in paralegal programs of study, paralegal educators, employees of judicial entities and other recognized legal agencies.

For information, visit www.catawbavalleyparalegalassoc.org.

Notes:

• For membership inquiries, contact President 
and Publicity/Website Committee Chair Cyndy Adams
 at cyndy.adams@live.com.

Cumberland County Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• Monthly membership meetings are the second Thursday of each month at 12:30 p.m. at various locations. Visit www.ccpara.com for details.

Guilford Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• GPA meets on the second Tuesday of every month in either Greensboro or High Point. Meetings are open to any attorneys, legal support staff and others connected to the legal profession. Visit GPA’s website at www.guilfordparalegalassociation.org for information on meetings, events and local continuing education opportunities.

Legal Support Staff of Asheville

Upcoming events:

• Monthly meetings will be at 5:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the law offices of Watson Bailey & Ciochini, 32 Orange St., Asheville. No membership necessary to attend. Contact President Tonya Roberts at tonya@wbclawoffice.com at (828) 257-2777.

Legal Support Staff of North Carolina

Upcoming events:

• For more information on the Legal Support Staff of North Carolina, visit www.lssnc.com.

Metrolina Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• Monthly membership meetings are the second Thursday of each month at noon at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 115 W. 7th St., Charlotte. Please visit www.charlotteareaparalegals.com for more details.

North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division

Upcoming events:

• Meetings of the NCBA Paralegal Division Council will be held March 8 at Ward and Smith in New Bern and May 17 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro. The annual meeting is planned for May 18 at the Grandover Resort. For more information, visit www.paralegaldivision.ncbar.org.

Notes:

• The NCBA Paralegal Division has nearly 1,300 paralegal and paralegal student members throughout the state. Continuing education programs for CPE/CLE credit are available six to eight times per year.

• Membership for the Paralegal Division is $50 per year and includes access to the NCBA career services department, discounts on all CPEs and CLEs and opportunities for membership scholarships and the Distinguished Paralegal Award. Visit www.paralegaldivision.ncbar.org for information about news about upcoming meetings and programs.

North Carolina Paralegal Association, Inc.

Upcoming events:

• Information is available at www.ncparalegal.org.

Notes:

• For those who are interested in taking the CLA/CP exam, the CP Review Manual from NALA is now available. Visit the NCPA website and click the “NALA News” link for more details.

• Any paralegal association that is interested in becoming an affiliate of NCPA may contact Affiliates Director Teresa Stacey at tas@vernonlaw.com.

• NCPA is now on Facebook and MySpace. Contact Beverly King at bev@tissuelaw.com if you have trouble finding NCPA on Facebook. For MySpace questions, e-mail Erin Galloway at eburris@earthlink.net.

N.C. Advocates for Justice Paralegal Division

Notes:

• Educational information is available on the CLE calendar at www.ncaj.com.

Raleigh-Wake Paralegal Association

Notes:

• Direct questions about RWPA to Sherry Grady at sherry.grady@klgates.com.

Research Triangle Paralegal Association

Notes:

• RTPA regularly supports Interact of Wake County (www.interactofwake.org) and challenges you and 
your firms or companies to get involved. Please visit 
our website at www.rtpanc.org for additional 
information.

South Carolina

Charleston Association of Legal Assistants

Upcoming events:

• Membership meetings are the third Wednesday of each month. Attendees can earn CLE credits for their participation in the luncheons.

Notes:

• CALA is now on Facebook. Log in to the website and enter “Charleston Association of Legal Assistants” to access the page.

Legal Staff Professionals of Greenville

Upcoming events:

• LSPG’s regular membership meetings are the third Wednesday of every month from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Poinsett Club. The meetings offer educational speakers and one half-hour of CLE credit. For reservations, contact Myra Culbertson at 864-239-5959 or at mculbertson@wcsr.com.

Notes:

• For membership inquiries, contact Kathy Suggs at (864) 233-8888 or Kathy@theclardylawfirm.com.

• Members interested in receiving the Greenville Bar Association’s newsletter can contact Melinda Davidson at gbarnews@charter.net.

S.C. Upstate Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• SCUPA holds its educational luncheon meetings on the second Thursday of the month at 12:30 p.m. at the Poinsett Club, 807 E. Washington St., Greenville. More information is available at www.scupa.org.

Legal Staff Professionals of South Carolina

Notes:

• For LSPSC information, please contact Jan Berger at (803) 255-9314 or visit www.lspsc.org.

Legal Staff Professionals of the Lowcountry

Upcoming events:

• Regular membership meetings are on the third Monday of every month at 6 p.m., Sunfire Grill & Bistro, 1090 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., Charleston. The meetings offer educational speakers, one hour of CLE credit and a short business meeting. For reservations or information, contact Gina Hall at (843) 696-3292 or ghall@robsonforensic.com.

Legal Staff Professionals of the Midlands

Upcoming events:

• Regular membership meeting on the second Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m., 1320 Main St., Meridian Building, 17th Floor, Columbia. A presentation by a legal education speaker will earn members a half-hour of CLE credit. A short business meeting will follow. Bring your lunch and a friend. For information, contact Jamie Early at (803) 422-6813.

Palmetto Paralegal Association

Upcoming events:

• Regular membership meetings are on the third Wednesday of each month from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

S.C. Roster Administrators

Upcoming events:

• Regular membership meetings are on the third Tuesday of each month from 1 to 2:15 p.m. at various law firms in Columbia. Visit www.scrosteradministrators.org for 
details coming meetings and events.

National

National Association of Legal Assistants

Notes:

• NALA Campus LIVE provides online educational courses for paralegals. The courses are offered during two sessions per year. Twelve of the 44 courses offered through the program are recommended as preparation for the certified paralegal examination.

For more information, visit www.nala.org.

• The NALA certification exam is now computer-based. The new exam format will be available at all NALA testing centers nationwide.

National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc.

Upcoming events:

• A calendar of upcoming events and webcasts can be found at www.paralegals.org/calendar.cfm.

SEND US YOUR NEWS:

Carolina Paralegal News is happy to publish 
announcements of upcoming events, association anniversaries or meetings scheduled for your 
paralegal organization. Please e-mail your news to amyeburroughs@gmail.com by March 2 for the next issue.

staff.cpn National Association News, NC Association News, PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION NEWS, SC Association News

As Facebook’s search functionality has improved, law firm marketers say now is a good time to create a business page on Facebook.

If you haven’t already set up a fan page — or if you have been violating Facebook policy by showcasing your firm on an individual profile page — here are some tips for building your business page and drawing fans to it.

When you choose a name for your page, think beyond your firm name and include keywords that describe your practice, like “California dog bite attorney” or “Palm Beach estate planning lawyer.”

Stephen Fairley of the Rainmaker Institute in Gilbert, Ariz. advises law firm clients to create several web pages targeting different key words and phrases.

While Facebook restricts individual pages to one per person, it has no limits on how many business pages you create.

Unlike a profile page where an individual can solicit “friend” connections, a Facebook business page cannot invite fans to “like” its page.

“The real tricky part is getting people to like your page,” said Fairley. “Once they like your page, you can market to them, because every single time you post something on your fan page, it goes automatically to their wall and all their friends can see it.”

Tom O’Leary, a law firm marketing consultant, said that one of his clients, a workers’ compensation lawyer in Pennsylvania, offers a free book on workers’ comp law to his fans who provide their contact information.

“It’s a perfect example of how to grow your Facebook presence,” said O’Leary of The Attorney’s ATM in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Gordon Levinson, a personal injury attorney in San Diego, saw his firm’s fan page go viral when he pledged to donate $1 (up to a total of $2,500) for every “like” his page garnered to a 15-year-old high school student diagnosed with a rare lung and bone cancer.

His fans shot up to over 2,300 in ten days.

“From a marketing perspective, that’s brilliant,” said Fairley. “From a personal perspective, it’s awesome. It shows he’s involved in the community, he made a charitable donation to a cause he cares about, and it gives attorneys a good name.”

Dolan Media Newswires COLUMNS, Commentary Facebook

In the game of baseball, the goal of the batter is to hit the ball. Now, you can get into all kinds of discussions about what the “real” goal is — perhaps scoring a run would be better. When it comes to a popular game, you can probably figure out what the goal is.

For the average person, on the other hand, I can tell you that, by far, the hardest question to answer is, What are you trying to make happen? It never fails that when I first visit a law firm and ask, “What is your vision?”, I get blank looks. My first reaction is that they must not know what a vision is, so I ask, “What is your purpose?” and then “What is your goal?”

No matter how I phrase it, it often is difficult for people to answer that question.

The first step in any journey or project is to identify what you want to accomplish. Your mind is an amazing thing that will move you unconsciously toward whatever future you believe to be real. You can’t start to address what is real until you have some idea what you are talking about. This is true for your law firm, your job and your life.

In our last column, we talked about having a balanced life. Now we are talking about some of the tools and actions that can help us develop the life we want. The simple reason I believe this works is that a vision or a purpose gives us something to strive for. It allows us to see opportunities that we might miss without such a vision. Sometimes terminology scares us because we don’t always know what the terms mean. However, it really doesn’t make any difference if you call it a vision, a purpose, a preferable future or a goal. Fleshing out your vision in more detail, however, is better as a general rule.

For example, let’s say that you are a paralegal in a law firm and your goal is to become a lawyer. Or you are a paralegal in a law firm and your goal is to become a politician. Or you are a paralegal and your goal is to make money to pay your bills. Each person will develop a different path even though they started at the same point and the same job. Some people will end up at the end of their journey lost and wonder what happened to life. Some will end up just where they aimed. The difference is the level of detail they had to define their vision and the amount of passion they had to realize it.

I have seen people and law firms that had no vision. They were totally driven by reacting to interruptions and great at creating stress. I have seen businesses and individuals remove stress and become very successful after they took time to define what their goals were.

I had a lawyer tell me once that the goal of his firm was to make money. When I asked him what he wanted the money for, I didn’t hear a great answer. When I looked at his life, I saw an individual who was totally stressed out, what most would call a workaholic. I’m sure we’ve all heard a reference to the lawyer who will die in his office chair.

Having a balanced life is a great idea and I am all for it. More importantly, I think there should be a purpose for all the hard work. After considering this concept of purpose or vision for several years, I have come to the conclusion that it can’t be just about money or recognition. It must contain some element of contribution. If you are working as a paralegal, what are you contributing to the law firm? Does your contribution benefit the firm’s vision or hinder it? The same theory will hold true for your life. What are you contributing to this world, your community or your family?

Over the years, I have heard lots of interesting explanations for the goal of the paralegal: to make the lawyer look good, to provide client service, to close cases, to do whatever is asked. All that is interesting, but if you could visualize the ultimate goal and how you fit into that picture, I think that is the first step to developing a passion for the job. If your vision goes no further than the end of the day or the next paycheck, you have put such a limit on what you could accomplish. You miss all kinds of opportunities because you are not looking for them. You have no opportunity to develop any passion for anything. You become driven by interrupts and eventually you just give up. When you realize that you have not been on a journey to anywhere, you crash and burn – the old mid-life crisis.

Figure out where you want to end up and define a path to get there. Each day you will learn more, refine your vision and make progress. Don’t wait until you retire to figure out what you want. I tried that and it is no fun. I started a second career with a vision in mind and 12 years later, I am still having fun. Why spend all your time helping others achieve their goal without helping yourself along as well? The alternative is that one day you wake up and see that everyone around you is successful and you are lost. Been there, done that, didn’t like it.

Email Dave Favor at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com. Tell us how you are living a balanced life and, if not, what you think needs to have a course correction. We love to hear from people.

Dolan Media Newswires Features, NEWS & FEATURES Goals

Victoria Townley is an estate administration paralegal at Roberts & Stevens, P.A., in Asheville, N.C. She is actively involved with the Asheville Area Paralegal Association. When not working at the office or with the AAPA, she can be found hiking in the beautiful western North Carolina mountains.

CPN: How long have you been a paralegal?

VT: Six years

CPN: What drew you into the career?

Townley

VT: As a child, I wanted to be a lawyer. After college, I found the idea of significant student loan debt a little intimidating, so at my advisor’s advice, I began interning at a law firm to see what working in a law office was like. Although I spent most of my day answering phones and filing pleadings, I was enamored with the atmosphere. I loved getting excited about a case, meeting with clients and rooting the attorneys on as they went to court.

CPN: What paralegal organizations — national, state or local — are you member of and what positions do you hold in them?

VT: I invest most of my time in the Asheville Area Paralegal Association and have served on the board of directors since 2008. The most rewarding part of working with the AAPA is meeting other paralegals in my area. If I have a question about an area of law I do not normally practice in, I know an answer is only a phone call away.

CPN: When you talk with other paralegals, what are the main concerns or issues they face on a daily basis?

VT: I believe many paralegals are struggling with the $238 million cuts to the North Carolina court system. Over 200 staff positions were cut, which means staff are working harder than ever with fewer people. We also are coping with the new motions fee, increased court costs, new filing procedures and moratorium. With the cost of litigation and court actions rising, more people are opting to settle disputes outside of litigation or attempt to represent themselves. This means we need to work harder and smarter for our clients to give them the best possible legal service at the best value.

CPN: If you could name one thing that would most benefit the paralegal profession, what would it be?

VT: I would love to see the online resources provided by bar associations (listservs, discussion boards, directories and blogs) tailored to paralegals. All too often we run into an oddball question and only have the resources in our firm or our local community to look to for answers. I follow several paralegal blogs; Lynne DeVenny’s blog, Practical Paralegalism, is an excellent example of what I would love to see more of. She offers tips on time management, career dressing, noteworthy cases and of course the occasional legal gossip.

CPN: If you could snap your fingers and create the perfect CLE, what would it be and why?

VT: Last year, the AAPA put together a seminar on changes to various areas of law that were passed by the North Carolina General Assembly. We had several presenters speak about the changes and how it affected their practice areas. It turned out to be our most well-attended seminar to date. I think it is important to stay current with all areas of the law, not just your practice area. The diversified speakers kept attendees engaged, inspired many questions and gave everyone an update on the changing laws in North Carolina.

CPN: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

VT: A lawyer!

CPN: Knowing what you know now, if you weren’t a paralegal, what else would you want to do?

VT: I still haven’t ruled out going to law school.

CPN: What do you wish you knew when you were getting started in the profession that you know now?

VT: Who you work with is incredibly important. We work in a stressful environment and unfortunately, personality conflicts between paralegals and their supervising attorneys do happen. If your supervising attorney and you end up in a conflict every time he or she has a bad day in court, it’s time to change your circumstances, not quit the field altogether.

CPN: What is the best thing about your job?

VT: I feel so grateful to be working at my firm. As the estate administration paralegal, I genuinely feel like I am helping our clients get through one of the most difficult times of their lives – losing a spouse, parent or loved one. It is so gratifying to help grieving people through the difficult and tricky aspects of estate administration.

CPN: And what part of your job could you do without?

VT: I struggle with billing my time. I often over-think a task and question whether I should bill for it or not, wondering if I should change the amount of time it took me to do something or account for bathroom breaks, taking a phone call or answering a question for someone who comes to my door.

CPN: Where would we find you on the weekends?

VT: Hiking in the beautiful Western North Carolina mountains, jogging with my running group or spending time with my significant other, family and our neurotic but lovable Corgi.

staff.cpn Q&A estate