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.”

amy.burroughs News, NEWS & FEATURES

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.

Dolan Media Newswires News, NEWS & FEATURES Facebook, HIPAA, IP, Social media

MILWAUKEE, WI — Attorneys who teach paralegal courses have the ability to apply for continuing legal education credit, but a vague Wisconsin Supreme Court rule has discouraged any from trying.

A petition filed with the court last July sought to clarify the issue, but the state justices on Nov. 7, 2011, dismissed the proposal prior to scheduling a public hearing. The court argued that because the Board of Bar Examiners already has the authority to grant CLE credit on a case-by-case basis, no explicit rule granting credit for ABA-approved paralegal classes is necessary, as was requested in the petition.

The problem with that logic, said attorney and co-petitioner Kathleen McDaniel, is the current rule doesn’t provide any incentive for paralegal instructors to apply for credit. Supreme Court Rule 31.05(3) specifies in part that “teaching a course in a law school approved by the American Bar Association,” is worth one hour of CLE credit for each hour of presentation.

“My reading of the rule is that I always assumed it would never be covered,” McDaniel said, “because it’s not a law school class.”

McDaniel was one of a dozen lawyers that filed the petition seeking permission to receive one hour of CLE credit for each hour of teaching a legal specialty court in an ABA-approved paralegal program.

State Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack said the current rule allows the BBE to evaluate applications for credit based on criteria including if the program increases the individual’s competence as a lawyer.

Part of the reason the justices denied the paralegals’ petition, she said, is because no one in the state has yet tried to get credit under the current rule.

“If the first one gets approved and they start applying,” Roggensack said, “they will know what types of things the BBE will and will not approve.”

The court unanimously dismissed the petition for a new rule, she said, because it didn’t want to open the door to a flood of other rules requests to include additional forms of non-attorney instruction.

“Attorneys get credit for teaching other lawyers,” Roggensack said. “Whether you can get CLE for instructing paralegals or a group of bankers of whatever, that should be looked at on a one-by-one basis.”

In a Nov. 1 letter to the court, Jacquelynn Rothstein, BBE executive director, said she also preferred a case-by-case review of applications to determine if the paralegal teaching qualifies for CLE credit. She could not immediately be reached for additional comment.

“That approach is far more preferable,” Rothstein said in the letter, “than having attorneys petition the court to create a new type of CLE category each time someone fails to find an approved one in the existing rules.”

Attorney Richard Opie, author of the dismissed petition, argued that paralegal instructors are not an obscure population of attorneys looking for a BBE exemption, however. There are six ABA approved paralegal programs in Wisconsin and approximately 30 attorneys teaching legal specialty courses, he said.

Opie, coordinator of the paralegal program at Lakeshore Technical College, said he was surprised the court and BBE preferred to handle the issue on a case-by-case basis. He and McDaniel said they now plan to apply for CLE credit for their paralegal teaching.

“I would have thought that amending the current rule to include us,” Opie said, “would be more efficient than having to review individual applications, but I guess we will see.”

Dolan Media Newswires News, NEWS & FEATURES CLE

MILWAUKEE, WI — On an average day at the office, Wausau Tile Inc.’s Steven Schinker works with everyone from division managers to the founding father of the company as a “one-person law firm.”

Reviewing legal contracts, developing business opportunities and assessing risk are all part of Schinker’s responsibilities as corporate counsel at the Wausau manufacturer. A majority of what he does falls under the classification of “document review,” an often misunderstood aspect of legal work.

“I don’t think any attorneys are calling themselves document reviewers. It suggests they aren’t licensed and anyone can do it,” Schinker said. “It doesn’t give what we do justice and can be misconstrued by the public and other attorneys.”

Despite its sometime negative connotations, document review work is in demand now more than ever as firms grapple with an increase in litigation that has followed the economic downturn. All of the materials that are part of filing a lawsuit require some review.

“After the recession sunk in, everyone was trying to hold off on litigation,” said Chad Schmidt, director of marketing and communications for Counsel on Call, a professional services company. “In the past years, we’ve seen a surge.”

Document review work’s stigma has a history, said James Martin, managing director of DHR International Inc., an executive search firm.

“(Law firms) used to hire many associates, more than they really needed,” he said, “and used document review to weed out the good lawyers.”

The practice may be outdated, but the perception that document review involves only tedious, mindless review of legal documents persists.

“I would be cautious about document review work on a resume,” said John Mitby, managing partner of Axley Brynelson in Madison. “I can see how people would see document review as willing to settle with a lesser position.”

The work Schinker and other document review lawyers do involves much more than just reading materials, however, he said.

“What we actually do is go through a slew of decisions on a daily basis,” Schinker said. “Document review suggests someone else has done the complex work and takes away the presumption that there wasn’t any complexity in the job function.”

While review is the initial part of his role, Schinker then takes documents to the next step, he said, where he assesses risks and opportunities for the company. As he’s reading, he is analyzing each file looking for things that may not have been covered or parts that may seem one-sided, he said.

The work is a lot like “making a piece of art,” said attorney Seth Goettelman, a solo document review practioner.

Because his review of the document is typically the first time someone is taking a look at the contract, Goettelman said, he has to structure the document and then rewrite it.

“If you’re saying there is nothing to worry about and then overlook something, that is your fault,” he said. “A great paralegal could do half of what I do and a great litigator could probably do the other half.”

For attorneys who can do the variety of work document review encompasses, the money can be good, said Billie Watkins, regional vice president of Robert Half Legal in Chicago. Attorneys employed through her agency can make up to $200,000 doing document review, she said.

Watkins said she has seen an increase in document review opportunities every year for the six years she’s been with the company.

People can sign an agreement for just about anything, Goettelman said, and all of those documents need legal review.

“A few months out of every year I have to turn down work,” he said. “In the legal world, when it rains it pours.”

Lawyers interested in pursuing document review work will have to learn to sell themselves, however, Mitby said, to overcome confusion about what the job entails.

“If you have a lawyer trained with document review and law, that’s all a plus,” he said. “But, that needs to be described on a resume.

“I don’t know what document review is. It doesn’t really mean anything. It just says someone can help with a lot of documents.”

Schinker acknowledged the need for a bit of salesmanship when it comes to reversing the negative document review reputation.

“If you say you only do document review, that suggests you don’t do complex tasks,” he said. “If it’s an accurate assessment of what you truly do, so be it. But clarify your skill set to potential employers.”

For lawyers who are able to make that distinction, the work will be available for years to come, Schinker said.

“It’s a necessary component of our business structure,” he said. “It’s necessary for any business transaction. It’s essential.”

Dolan Media Newswires News, NEWS & FEATURES Document review

PORTLAND, OR — A recent Oregon Court of Appeals case highlights the trouble that employers may encounter if they don’t deal with issues related to stalking at the workplace.

Maria Beauchaton worked as a legal assistant/paralegal for the St. Andrew Legal Clinic in the Portland-metro area for almost 11 years. The big problem was that a male supervisor began to pay an inordinate amount of attention to her in odd ways.

According to Beauchaton’s claim, the supervisor frequently visited her office, touched things on her desk and used her phone, but never spoke to her. She asked to be reassigned away from him and she got her wish; the employer also warned the supervisor to stay away from her.

For years that arrangement seemed to work well, but Beauchaton became concerned again when she spotted the supervisor driving past her house several times at a very low rate of speed. She reported the incident to the police, who said they could not arrest him. She also reported it to her employer, which said it would handle the problem.

A month later, however, the supervisor again drove past Beauchaton’s house, which was the final straw for her. She immediately quit her job in hopes that it would stop the stalking, and filed for unemployment benefits. The employer challenged the unemployment claim, arguing that it was Beauchaton’s decision to quit her job, and the employment appeals board denied her claim.

But in early November, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the decision and ruled that the employee may very well have had “no reasonable alternative but to leave work” because of the stalking. The court noted that Oregon’s stalking laws evidenced a desire to protect victims, and that the employment appeals board should have done a better job of determining whether Beauchaton was reasonably concerned about her personal safety when she made the decision to quit work.

Oregon employers that learn of stalking situations at their workplaces have certain legal obligations that need to be taken into consideration.

First, note that under Oregon state law, “stalking” refers to repeated and unwanted contact that alarms victims into reasonable concern over their own personal safety. As mentioned above, if an employee quits a job because of stalking concerns involving supervisors or co-workers, the employee may be entitled to unemployment benefits. Of course, employers should be much more concerned about the many problems that could arise if stalking remains unchecked.

Employers may be on the hook for negligent supervision or negligent retention of an employee if they fail to effectively supervise and monitor the workforce to prevent such troubles. In the worst-case scenario, where actual injury results from such behavior, employers may be liable under a vicarious liability theory for assault and battery.

For these reasons, employers need to take reports of concern seriously and monitor them just as they would any other reports of possible workplace violence. Swift and thorough investigations are required when concerns arise, and preventive training and effective policies can help eliminate concerns before they even arise.

If an employee reports a stalking concern about a non-employee – an ex-spouse or a jealous boyfriend, for example – employers should be equally concerned and should work with the employee to ensure the workplace is a safe environment. Cooperate with law enforcement authorities, place a picture of the stalker at the front desk to warn first responders, and inform managers about possible problems to mitigate the risk of incidents escalating in the workplace.

Beyond these measures, Oregon law provides substantial protections for employees who are victims of stalking (as well as domestic violence and sexual assault).

First and foremost, stalking victims are entitled to protection from job discrimination based on their status as victim. An employer can still enforce its normal disciplinary policies and expect quality work from employees, but it cannot either fire an employee or retaliate against the person because a stalking problem exists.

Second, employers must provide reasonable workplace safety accommodations for stalking victims. This might include transfer or reassignment to a different position, a modified schedule, changing a work station or phone number, or other similar measures designed to address employee safety concerns.

Finally, Oregon law requires that most employers (those with at least six employees) provide employees with reasonable unpaid leave from work to address safety matters related to stalking. The employee should provide advance notice of the leave when possible to reduce workplace disruption, and even though the leave is unpaid, employees need to be allowed to use accrued paid leave to cover their absences.

Rich Meneghello, the managing partner of the Portland office of Fisher & Phillips LLP, is dedicated to representing the interests of management. Contact him at 503-205-8044 or rmeneghello@laborlawyers.com.

Dolan Media Newswires News, NEWS & FEATURES stalking

Faced with layoffs, freelance paralegals reinvent themselves as business owners

By Amy Burroughs

When Tina Marie Hilton was laid off from her paralegal job in 2007, she hit the job market for a new position. But after fruitless searching, it sunk in that she wasn’t going to find one in the down economy. She still remembers the miserable weekend she sat down to make a list of her marketable skills and research employment opportunities.

One term kept popping up on her Google searches: “virtual assistant.”

“I could do that,” she remembers thinking.

Four years later, Hilton is doing exactly that, and doing it profitably. Her successful at-home business provides paralegal and website support to attorneys and other professionals around the country.

For paralegals who want to utilize their expertise and have the skills to run a business, virtual services offer a viable adaption to recession-driven layoffs. Given online tools like Skype and secure document sharing systems, Hilton believes such arrangements will only become more common.

“Everybody is trying to downsize and this is a way they can do it and do it well,” she said. “They still can have access to very knowledgeable staff.”

The freelance lifestyle is not for everyone. Some workers feel isolated at home, while others have no interest in marketing and accounting. For those who dream of a home office, however, becoming a virtual paralegal can be a way to survive and thrive.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook for 2010-2011, in-house and off-site paralegals are poised to enjoy a healthy job market. Employment of legal assistants and paralegals is expected to grow 28 percent by 2018, up from approximately 263,800 jobs in 2008. Offsetting that increase, though, will be heated competition as more people enter the profession.

Stephanie Elliott, a paralegal at Gray, Layton, Kersh, Solomon, Furr & Smith in Gastonia, N.C., said she would miss office camaraderie – not to mention benefits such as health insurance – if she worked at home. But she acknowledges that virtual services can be a solution for recession-driven layoffs.

“If you find yourself without work, you can evolve and take what you know and do something else with it,” she said. “That’s the essence of being a paralegal, is learning to roll with the punches.”

‘No Looking Back’

Before starting her business, Hilton spent several years as a full-time real estate paralegal. But when the bottom fell out of the market, her employer closed that part of his practice and she found herself out in the cold.

“Nobody was hiring,” she recalled. “After a while, it started to get scary, and then I realized, you’ve got to do something.”

Hilton thought back to her experience as a paralegal in Maine, when she often had to work from home because snowstorms made it impossible to drive to her office. Knowing she could work remotely clinched her decision, she said: “I opened my business and there was no looking back. It’s been pretty successful for me. Sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you open your eyes and see a way out.”

Hilton, who lives near Hickory, N.C., opened Clerical Advantage Virtual Assistance Services in 2007 to provide paralegal, administrative, website and social media support. She prepares documents and real estate closing packages, performs electronic filings, creates blog posts and websites, and designs PowerPoint presentations, to name a few of her projects.

Four years in, Hilton is well versed in the pros and cons of running a business. While calling the shots sounds like a dream job, being your own boss can be stressful.

“You always feel like you’re a client or two away from being in that dark place again,” Hilton said, even though she has about 25 active clients and has worked with 80. Located from California to Washington, D.C., most of Hilton’s clients have never met her in person.

One of her clients is Chris Tymchuck, who practices family law and estate planning in Minnesota. Before opening her practice, Tymchuck worked in a large firm with a full-time assistant, but said she has not missed that support. A new business owner herself, Tymchuck likes paying for help only when she needs it.

“You don’t have to commit to a specific salary or paying somebody and worry about bringing in income for that,” she said. “I guess the trade-off is that clearly, you’re not only person [Hilton] works for. You might not be her first priority that day, but I’ve never had something I couldn’t get back in the time I wanted.”

For people savvy about virtual tools, Tymchuck said there are definite advantages to using a virtual assistant. “I highly recommend that solo or small firms consider it,” she said.

Hilton agreed that many clients hire her because they don’t have to pay for office space, equipment, payroll taxes or workers comp. Dawn Draper, a virtual paralegal in Michigan, promotes those savings on her website with a chart comparing in-house versus virtual staff costs.

“You’re not paying for me to go on vacation or do anything but the time I spend on your project,” Draper said.

Despite that argument, a new virtual paralegal often encounters skepticism.

“That can be a challenge when you’re first starting out, is trying to get people to understand what it is you do and the fact that you’re not one of these people from overseas that are $4 an hour,” Hilton said. “You come with experience and expertise and it is going to cost them something, but they’re really going to get a good return on their investment.”

Also challenging are the distractions – and loneliness – of working at home. To overcome the lack of camaraderie, Hilton occasionally works at coffee shops and has weekly phone sessions with a “business buddy.”

For Hilton, another hurdle was her reluctance to promote herself. She took advantage of her social media skills to blog and tweet her way to a steady clientele, but she still had to sell her services.

“You have to get past that thing where you’re afraid to toot your own horn,” she said.

As for income, Hilton said that while it took a couple of years to regain her full-time income, her business was self-supporting within a year and covering all her bills.

“A lot of people think it’s an easy business because if you have a computer at home and you have the know-how, it is a low-cost startup,” she said. “But it’s still a business and it still requires time, energy and money to build.”

Hilton’s current project is creating Virtual Assistant Survival School, a three-part online course for people who want to start similar businesses; she hopes to launch before year-end.

‘Not for Everybody’

For paralegals who have invested 10 or 20 years in developing their expertise, finding a way to use those skills is often more appealing than starting over in a new field, said Elliott, who is president of the North Carolina Paralegal Association and an instructor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

“You have to reinvent yourself,” Elliott said. “I think [the increase in virtual businesses] is the result of evolution and people needing to continue doing the same type of work, but in a different way.”

Elliott herself, however, prefers going to an office and working in person with her attorney, coworkers and clients.

“It’s not for everybody,” she said. “I’ve known people who thought they could do it, but they couldn’t make a go of it because they didn’t want to be a collection agency, they weren’t organized enough, they couldn’t work from home because there were too many distractions.”

Alyssa Mozingo of RDU Paralegal in Raleigh, N.C., also prefers in-house work. When Mozingo’s full-time position was eliminated in late 2008, it was a rude awakening: “When I first started working in the legal field, I thought ‘This is recession-proof. Our jobs are always going to be secure.’ I never thought that would happen to me, but it does, unfortunately.”

For the first several months after her layoff, Mozingo worked for a former employer on a contract basis and gradually picked up more assignments. Contract work may be full- or part-time and last for varying lengths of time, but the worker is not an employee and does not receive benefits.

Mozingo now provides on-site and remote services through her business, RDU Paralegal. While she has enjoyed many of her assignments, she still has her eye set on a full-time permanent position.

‘The Freedom to Choose’

Draper, on the other hand, said the perks of freelancing outweigh the drawbacks. After more than 12 years as a full-time paralegal, she found herself unemployed about three years ago. Today, she works for 17 attorneys and a handful of other professionals across the U.S. through The Virtual Paralegal, which she runs from her home in Traverse City, Michigan.

Before launching, Draper spent about six months researching, designing her website, improving its search engine optimization and marketing online. Business came slowly, but surely.

“I can do everything I could do in your office except file,” she said. “I could actually attend court with you over webcam if you really wanted me to.”

At least three of Draper’s clients have their own virtual practices, but she has been hired by large-firm attorneys who lack funding for a full-time assistant. Though she has clients from coast to coast, including one in South Carolina, she has never met a single one.

For Draper, the best part of self-employment is being able to work anywhere. That means in the summer, you can often find her – and her laptop – on her 23-foot power boat.

“The biggest thing to me is the ability to have the freedom to choose the work that you want to do, and where you want to work, and how long you want to work,” she said.

The flip side is that it takes extreme organization to support so many clients in so many jurisdictions. Just as each state has its own legal requirements, each attorney wants documents in a certain font size with specific margins. Draper uses spreadsheets to keep track of it all.

Even though Draper works fewer than 40 hours per week, she said her income is better now because her hourly rate is higher. According to Draper, $35 to $40 is a typical hourly fee, with some virtual assistants charging up to $65 per hour.

“There’s no way I would have made that much working for an attorney,” she said.

Both Hilton and Draper recommend that a paralegal have two to five years of in-house experience before embarking on a virtual career.

“You really need to know what you’re doing,” Draper said. “These attorneys don’t expect anything different from me as they would hiring somebody in an office.”

amy.burroughs News, NEWS & FEATURES

By David Baugher, Dolan Media Newswires

ST. LOUIS, MO — How do you save your firm money? What tips can you share with others? Solo and small-firm lawyers across Missouri answered the call. Here you’ll find 25 nuggets of wisdom that may help you save, too.

1. Give the gift of time. Most employers give major holidays off. But the next time your firm is too pinched to give raises, bump up the number of days off, perhaps by including Columbus Day or other smaller holidays. “You’ll likely gain more in employee productivity than you lose — thus resulting in cost savings, a happier workforce and a better overall office environment,” says Steve Sanders, a Kansas City personal injury and auto accident attorney.

2. Eliminate empty space. If your office has vast open spaces, think of downsizing. Michael Kinder, a Kansas City attorney, says better deals are sometimes available with less spacious offices or in less pricey areas of town. “Most landlords charge per square foot,” says Kinder, who handles criminal, traffic and domestic law. “The smaller the square footage, the better your costs are.”

3. Look at your telecommunications. Are you bundling phone and Internet to get the best deal? You could even go with a MagicJack that hooks into your USB port and provides landline phone service for only $20 a year. Kinder uses his as a backup phone line. “It seems to work, but of course you have to keep the computer on,” he says.

4. Go virtual. Some people lower overhead by working from home. But Kinder says virtual office services such as Regus are an option. “They have receptionists,” he says. “All the mail comes there.”

5. Ask the price. Catherine Earnshaw-Hobbs, a Lee’s Summit lawyer, says to review service providers. “My office manager did a cost comparison with regard to our credit card provider earlier this year,” says Earnshaw-Hobbs, who handles divorce, traffic matters, estate planning and family law. “He found a different provider that offered the equivalent service at a reduced cost — so we have now changed credit card companies.” She adds that letting clients pay by credit card has boosted the firm’s collections, too.

6. Share. Going in with another attorney to rent office space is one good way to cut costs. It also allows you to share staff at the front desk. And if you own your own building, you can bring in extra cash by renting out excess space. That’s what Kristi Kenney, a general practitioner in Clinton, does. “It’s helpful,” she says. “Also you have someone to bounce ideas off of.”

7. Spend to save. Keeping an eye on the bottom line isn’t always about cutting every possible expense. Dan Roddy, a Chesterfield attorney who handles probate, estate planning, personal injury and workers’ compensation cases, uses a payroll service to save time on tax or personnel issues. Then he puts the time he saves toward billable hours. “Oftentimes, you have to spend money to save time,” he says.

8. Make a trade. Not all deals involve cash. A contractor who provides a skill you need just may need the services of a lawyer. Rachel Smith, a personal injury/business litigation partner with Smith Coonrod Mohlman of Overland Park, Kan., says her firm barters for some of its needs. “We had a website built in exchange for [services],” she says. “We have a social media director. We review all of his contracts in exchange for him handling that piece of our marketing. We even had our building electronically wired in exchange for legal services.”

9. Find a newbie. Plenty of talented startup service providers are hungry for work, and they may be willing to offer discounts to build their businesses. People who work part time on the side also can be cheaper. “If somebody is not supporting significant overhead themselves, usually they can pass on that savings,” Smith says.

10. Save on software. Just because it’s the most expensive program on the market doesn’t mean it’s the best. In fact, a top-of-the-line program may be unwieldy for a small firm or solo that doesn’t require all the bells and whistles. “There are lots of free or inexpensive apps through Google or other programs that I think can fairly effectively substitute for expensive case management software,” Smith says.

11. Visit your landlord. You might be able to get your rent reduced. “As the economy has gone south and the real estate market has changed, there are some things that can be renegotiated, like your lease,” Smith says. “People want to keep your business, and it is worth reviewing your commitments from time to time to just see if there are things you can do without because they are not meeting your needs or that you might be able to have done for less money.”

12. Don’t hire. If you only need extra help during certain times of the year or while in the midst of special projects, consider independent contractors rather than taking on a new employee to fill 40 hours every week. “You can control that cost so that somebody is not sitting around surfing Facebook and doing nothing on your time,” Smith says.

13. Avoid the post office. Postage meters aren’t for everyone, but they can be a help. “If you have a certain volume, the postage meter is probably the best way to go,” Nack says. “But there is also software where you can get your postage online so you don’t have to go to the post office.”

14. Keep it simple. When furnishing your office, artwork and fancy furniture may look good, but taking a no-frills approach can save cash. It can even be a selling point, says Michael Nack, a St. Louis County general practitioner who prefers a back-to-basics decor. “I’m not able in this office to impress clients with my vast wealth,” he says, laughing. “In fact, I explain it to them. I say: ‘Look around you. See how modest this is. I could have a lot nicer stuff if I charged you more money.’”

15. Get knowledge on the cheap. Mike Mohlman, a personal injury partner with Smith Coonrod Mohlman, has a network of local doctors who can explain medical issues for much less money than the expert who eventually takes the stand. “You retain this individual as a consultant and pay them $150 an hour,” he says. “They get you up to speed. And then, when you are talking to the guy who is charging you $500 or $750 an hour, you waste a lot less time.”

16. Spring for a courier. It’s tempting to just hand off a package to the nearest paralegal or attorney in the office and ask them to deliver it. But, even if you think you are saving on a courier, it may not be the best use of staff time. Nack recalls he was sent across town to run such errands during his early days in the legal field. “Of course, they were paying me so little it was good for them to do that,” he says. “But nowadays, even a brand new lawyer makes a lot of money per hour. It doesn’t make sense to use them that way.”

17. Tinker with the health plan. Paul Berens, a creditors’ rights and bankruptcy attorney with Bradshaw, Steele, Cochrane & Berens of Cape Girardeau, notes that health plans can be structured in various ways. Under one arrangement, the company can get a less expensive plan but agree to absorb more of the deductible. “We’ve found a great savings from having a mildly high deductible, which everyone has had to go to. But rather than increasing that deductible for the employees, we self-insure for a portion of that deductible so the employees aren’t hit so hard,” he says.

18. Affiliate. Mary Winter, an appellate and class action attorney with Bartimus, Frickleton, Robertson & Gorny’s Jefferson City office, says that instead of employing an army of attorneys for every eventuality, a firm can develop agreements with other firms that specialize in different areas, allowing both to save on personnel while still offering a wide array of services for clients. “You can affiliate with other firms as needed on cases depending on the type of specialty you need on that particular case. Many firms hire us to do appellate work for them rather than having to have their own appellate department.”

19. Print your own letterhead. Printing technology is improving all the time. Berens says his firm handles its own letterhead needs in-house. “It’s better than ordering it embossed and printed. And it comes out very nice.”

20. Have the best of both worlds. Many solo attorneys find themselves making the difficult choice between the financial benefits of a home office and the prestige of a downtown building. Jonathan D. McDowell, a business/corporate/employment solo in Kansas City, says he solved the problem by living in a space downtown that can be used for both. He says he saves as much as $1,500 a month while still having the credibility of any other downtown attorney. Part of his rent is even tax deductible. “I don’t think I’d practice out of my home if we had a house somewhere or if we had an apartment that didn’t look like an office,” he says.

21. Don’t buy a fax. McDowell says advancements in technology mean there’s no longer a need for one. “Now, with any documents that I need faxed, I can do-fax-to-print or fax-to-PDF or just do emails,” he says. “I haven’t used the fax in such a long time.”

22. Adjust your mobile phone arrangement. McDowell has a cellphone just for clients, and it only costs him $10 a month because he bundled it with his existing service. “Instead of setting up a business line here, what I did was just added a third line onto our cellphone plan that was specifically reserved for business,” he says.

23. Remember, time is money. You may want to accept any client who walks through the door. McDowell’s advice? Value your cases properly. Some matters aren’t worth your time, and some clients may not be creditworthy. “With the economy being so bad, it’s tempting to take just about every case that comes in because you need to make money,” he says. “But I’ve actually taken a few bad cases that have wasted so much time and billable hours and nothing has come from it.”

24. Clip coupons, find discounts. Cynthia Parnell, an associate who handles general practice work at the Rowles Law Firm, in Chesterfield, says office supply retailers typically have clubs you can join for discount plans. They may not save much for the average consumer, but for a law office that uses reams of paper, it can add up. “Basically, all of the major supply stores like Office Max, Office Depot and Staples will have a program you can join,” she says. “It’s like a member rewards program. Once you join, they send out coupons, and usually they’ll give you points for purchases.”

25. Reevaluate space needs. Many people want to pare back office area but just don’t think they can do it. Parnell says her firm’s owner, Ed Rowles, recommends looking at what’s filling your space. You might be able to move some of your files to a secure off-site location, allowing you to move to smaller digs. “Basically, that means you are not stuffing your office full of filing cabinets,” she says.

Dolan Media Newswires News, NEWS & FEATURES

By Sylvia Hsieh, Dolan Media Newswires

BOSTON, MA — Some law firm marketing gurus are going gaga over Google+, the latest social media platform.

Though it’s only been out for about four months, Google+ is already generating a heated debate over whether it’s the next big thing for small law firms.

The main reason for the excitement is the fact that it’s not just another start-up.

With over a billion searches on Google every month, and millions of users of Gmail and other Google services, the potential if these powers are combined is enormous.

“We’re talking about one of the biggest players online. They’re not just launching a social network. Google+ is going to be a window on all of their services,” says Steve Matthews, founder of Stem Legal Web, a law firm marketing company in Vancouver, Canada.

The number of Google+ visitors has skyrocketed since its beta form was introduced on June 29. After the first week, Google+ had garnered 10 million visitors. After 21 days, that number doubled and now has exceeded 25 million.

“That tells me Google+ is filling an unmet need. Twitter is not doing it for law firms as a way to communicate, and neither is Facebook,” says Larry Bodine, a Chicago law firm marketing consultant.

But others say the numbers are simply a function of how big Google is, not whether Google+ will replace Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

“To say Google+ is somehow anointed for success because of early adoption is a red herring,” says Jay Pinkert of Shadowbox, a law firm marketing company in Austin, Texas.

He says small-firm and solo lawyers have enough on their plate without one more social media site to juggle.

“I would say yes to Google+, but not yet. It’s too early to tell what value it’s going to have. … Right now, it’s really just another beast to feed,” Pinkert says.

Circles, huddles, hangouts and sparks

In Google+, users group their contacts in different circles. You don’t have to invite someone into a circle, so you can drag and drop people into your circle and others can do the same to you without invitation or approval.

“It’s like having a private listserve to which you can send messages,” Bodine says.

Stephanie Kimbro, a solo with a virtual law practice in Wilmington, N.C., joined Google+ the first week it was available and has 12 circles for various professional networks, including legal technology and marketing, estate planning and legal ethics.

“Huddles” are real-time mobile group chats and “hangouts” let members of a circle hook up via video conference. “Sparks” let you search feeds by topic and subscribe to them.

One shortcoming, according to Kimbro, is that she has not found a way to follow someone for a temporary period of time as you can on Twitter.

Get on it early, or wait and see?

Techies and social media mavens are already on Google+, but do regular lawyers with an average social media presence need to get on now?

Yes, advises Dale Tincher, a web marketing consultant and CEO of Consultwebs in Raleigh, N.C.

“Get on it early,” he says. “People don’t realize how important it is for your rankings. Just like YouTube ranks so well because Google owns it, Google+ has the same advantage.”

Bryan Griffith, an attorney in Dublin, Ohio, says his Google+ profile appears on the first page when someone searches his name.

“If you’re comfortable using social media, you definitely need to familiarize yourself with it because of the way Google controls their search engine,” Kimbro advises. “For a law firm website, it’s [about] having a high ranking, and your Google+ profile, or number of +1’s or number of posts may factor into search engine optimization.”

(A +1 button allows people to recommend sites they like. It appears next to search results.)

Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog in Seattle says lawyers who get on Google+ early will have a better chance of getting noticed.

“You’re never going to get a better opportunity to mingle with influencers simply because you’ve got something all new and not as crowded,” he says.

“When it comes to social media, there’s no advantage in waiting. The benefit goes to the early adopters — people who see value in establishing a presence and make themselves known,” Bodine says.

Others say Google+ is still in the experimental phase and lawyers should leave it to tech experts to figure out any kinks in the new platform, especially since most attorneys have not yet mastered existing social media.

“There’s so much out there already that needs to be optimized. Lawyers would benefit from building their social media skill set before moving into new territory,” Pinkert says, adding that Facebook may still be a better fit for small-firm and solo attorneys who rely on personal connections.

He also worries that the platform gives users a false sense of security.

“The expectation is that it’s more private and more secure than other social media, but it isn’t really the case,” he says, noting that there does not appear to be a way to delete a Google+ profile once it’s been created.

Pinkert recommends lawyers wait at least until after the general release version comes out before joining. He agrees that one advantage to waiting is that you avoid the issue of what to do with your individual profile once Google releases its Google+ platform for businesses.

While it’s too early to know how Google will handle distinctions between individual profiles and business profiles, Kimbro says solo lawyers like herself may have to adjust their branding strategy.

“Any brand building through social media works best as an individual. People know my face; they don’t necessarily know my logo,” she says.

Dolan Media Newswires News, NEWS & FEATURES Google+

Paralegals play it safe to avoid danger zone of unauthorized practice

By Amy Burroughs

The stakes are about to get higher for individuals engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) in North Carolina. A new law taking effect Oct. 1 will empower individuals harmed by UPL to bring a private cause of action against a defendant.

Criminal penalties already are in place: In South Carolina, a UPL violation constitutes a felony, while in North Carolina it’s a Class I misdemeanor. But the added layer of personal liability makes this a good time for paralegals to safeguard themselves against common pitfalls that can lead to UPL.

The risk for many paralegals typically has little to do with willfully violating the law. The danger zone often arises when well-meaning paralegals try to be helpful – perhaps too helpful – to clients. Or when an attorney depends a tad too much on an experienced and knowledgeable paralegal to review documents. On the other side of the spectrum, brand-new paralegals may be at risk for UPL if they don’t set clear boundaries with clients about the limitations of their role.

Lynne DeVenny is a workers’ compensation paralegal at Elliot Pishko Morgan in Winston-Salem. She also writes the blog Practical Paralegalism, is a frequent speaker at CLE gatherings and professional association meetings, and has co-authored a paralegal textbook.

She cautions that because a primary paralegal responsibility is to help guide clients through cases, some clients try to take advantage of that high level of interaction. Clients in crisis or facing critical decisions often seek advice from the law firm staffer with whom they have the most contact.

The pressure on paralegals can be intense, DeVenny says: “Clients may call every day and say, ‘Do I have a case?’ and you have to say, ‘I can’t answer that question. I’m not an attorney.’ And they’ll say, ‘Well, what do you think? I won’t tell anybody. I understand you can’t give legal advice, but you’ve done this for a long time, you know the answer, tell me what you think,’ and you have to very politely say, ‘I can’t.’”

A paralegal’s best strategy is to be patient, polite and firm, assuring clients their questions will be forwarded for attorney review. DeVenny says that while it can be tough to watch clients struggle with desperate situations, paralegals must follow the law, not their desire to be helpful.

“You just have to remind clients, ‘That’s a discussion you’ve had with the attorney and he’s provided you with your options and now you’ve got to make the best decision for you,’” DeVenny says. She adds with a laugh, “You feel like you want to have a T-shirt emblazoned with ‘I’m not a lawyer’ on it because you’re going to say that a lot.”

A desire to help clients has to be tempered, she points out, with knowledge of the restrictions governing paralegals because they are not licensed to practice law. And that, of course, is the bottom line, says David Johnson, counsel to the North Carolina State Bar’s Authorized Practice Committee.

Johnson acknowledges that a gray area can arise with the level of oversight an attorney provides over staff’s day-to-day activities. Even for experienced paralegals, an attorney should review documents they prepare and be aware of statements they make to clients. But there have been cases, Johnson says, where paralegals have been given so much responsibility they started handling case files on their own, even submitting documents to the clerk’s office without an
attorney’s review.

“If a paralegal is good, it may never come to our attention, but as things always do, if something goes wrong, there’s a big danger,” Johnson says.

Clients “keep pressing for answers”

Camille Stell worked as a paralegal and a legal recruiter before becoming the director of client services for Lawyers Mutual. She also serves on the North Carolina State Bar’s Authorized Practice  Committee. She agrees that client pressure can be a real hot-button for paralegals. If a client in a high-stress divorce or medical crisis can’t get hold of their attorney, they often turn to the person they can reach – his or her assistant.

“They just keep pressing them for answers,” Stell says. “I think it is accurate to say the paralegal very often feels pressured to be responsive to clients, and it’s part of their helpful nature to want to be helpful to clients.”

She recommends that paralegals set clear boundaries with clients in the beginning, so that from the very first meeting they understand everyone’s respective roles. A lawyer can reinforce the message, perhaps with wording in an engagement letter.

Stell also advises paralegals to develop standard language to use with clients, focusing on why it’s in their best interest to obtain legal advice only from a licensed attorney.

“If you have a line that you always use, you don’t have to think of it on the fly,” she says. “It helps you, I think, to feel confident that ‘I’m not going to cave in to this, because I’m not making this up as I go along.’”

Paralegals also may need to be assertive with their supervising attorneys. If a paralegal doesn’t have enough oversight, it’s incumbent on them to speak up, Stell says, adding that it can also protect the lawyer from a grievance or malpractice claim.

“It’s in their best interest. That doesn’t mean they’re not busy and putting out 100 other fires,” she acknowledges. “I’ve been in those positions and I know exactly how it feels, and it can be very stressful. But for the paralegal, sometimes it’s necessary to be assertive and to have that difficult conversation with their lawyer.”

Paralegals also may alert the attorney if an unhappy client persists in pressing for answers, Stell says: “If a client is calling all the time and the lawyer is not returning those calls, or they’re not getting the information they need, the paralegal and the lawyer need to talk about that, and say, ‘What’s the problem? How can we fix it?’”

Stell, who taught paralegal courses at Raleigh’s Meredith College, says the distinction she instilled in her students was recognizing the difference between objective and subjective questions. Generally, it’s permissible for paralegals to provide factual, black-and-white answers, such as where a case will be filed. But applying their knowledge of the law to clients’ individual cases and making subjective judgments is a different story.

“If my client calls me and says, ‘My husband doesn’t have custody and he picked the children up from school today. … Can I take out a restraining order for him based on that?’, they’re asking you for a legal opinion,” Stell says.

One solution that she and DeVenny recommend is working with the attorney to come up with standard responses to frequently asked questions.

“When you get to a certain point in your career and you do know the answers to a lot of basic questions, go over the answers with your supervising attorney to see if he’s okay with you providing certain information, which ordinarily might need to come directly from him if you were less experienced,” DeVenny says.

Stell agrees: “If there’s no judgment call to make, if it’s always the same answer, then you can clear this with your attorney and say, ‘Can I always give this answer?’ Then you’re pretty safe on that.”

Both add, however, that documenting every client conversation is critical.

When experience becomes overconfidence

While inexperience puts some paralegals in jeopardy of UPL, the irony of the profession is that a high level of experience can be just as risky.

“I think one of the pitfalls might be overconfidence,” says Kathy Suggs, a paralegal for The Clardy Law Firm in Greenville, S.C., and vice president of Legal Staff Professionals of Greenville. “Just because you know the answer doesn’t mean you should give the answer.”

Suggs, who specializes in personal injury and workers’ compensation litigation, has been a paralegal since 1983. She says that even though she often knows the answers to clients’ questions, her strategy is to give as little information as possible because she is vigilant against overstepping her bounds.

“It’s a really easy line to step over sometimes,” she says.

While the law puts the burden on attorneys to supervise staff, Suggs says that the degree of involvement varies widely.

“It depends on how comfortable your working relationship is with your attorney. If they’re very comfortable with your work, they might not watch you as closely,” she says. “But I think we as paralegals, as professionals, need to take that responsibility as well.”

Suggs says she has taken the initiative to ensure her attorney reviews everything she prepares, particularly when it comes to responding to discovery requests.

“He knows my work is good, but I always feel more comfortable when he looks at it a little closer sometimes, even though I’m pretty confident of what I put down,” she says.

Alice Mine, director of paralegal certification for the North Carolina State Bar, said it’s often the paralegal and the attorney with a positive, long-term working relationship who most need to be diligent.

“Even with the most talented paralegal, a lawyer cannot treat them as if they’re another lawyer, and the paralegal needs to be aware of that, too,” Mine says. “A talented paralegal, hopefully, will be delegated interesting and substantive things to do, but he or she also needs to remain aware that it’s the lawyer who’s professionally responsible and the lawyer who should be supervising him or her.”

That’s true regardless of how much the attorney trusts the paralegal’s work, Mine adds: “There are very talented paralegals out there. They’re darn good and the lawyer says, ‘Well, she’s so good I don’t need to review them.’”

Despite the fact that the vast majority of paralegals are conscientious about UPL, Mine says she has seen instances where the attorney-paralegal team was so much of an equal team that the lines did blur.

“I think the best way to handle that is to go to the lawyer and just very candidly say, ‘I’m not comfortable with doing what you’ve asked me to do. I don’t feel like I have enough supervision in this situation. What do you recommend that we do to resolve that?’”

Ultimately, paralegals’ best defense is to err on the side of caution. As DeVenny says, “There’s a necessary line of checks and balances between the unauthorized practice of law and simply being an extremely experienced legal staffer who is capable of doing a great deal of substantive work, but still can’t practice law.”

Amy Burroughs is a freelance writer and can be reached at amyeburroughs@gmail.com. For more information, visit her website at www.amyburroughs.com.

Protect Yourself: Ten Tips for Paralegals

Develop standard procedures for dealing with clients from intake to settlement, and beware of the client who is always looking for a deviation from protocol.

Document your conversations with difficult clients, especially your reasonable responses to unreasonable requests.

Develop clear boundaries and define realistic expectations, including your availability to deal with crises, return phone calls and schedule meetings.

Use form letters, but tailor them to the situation to establish boundaries and define scope of representation.

Avoid UPL by ensuring you do not take your knowledge of the law and apply it to your client’s situation in order to provide legal
advice.

Don’t provide clients with any expectations of “winning” their case, either by discussing dollar amounts or assuring them that they have a “good” case.

Don’t answer legal questions or provide legal advice, even if a client tries to bully you or if you feel empathy for the client.

Let the attorney know when legal advice has been requested and that you’ve told the client the attorney must return the phone call to answer their specific question.

Don’t allow yourself to create a situation with a difficult client that you know you should avoid, but then do it anyway to appease the client.

Don’t speculate on matters with clients.

Source: Camille Stell of Lawyers Mutual and Member, N.C. State Bar Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee

The Basics: How Well Do You Know UPL Rules?

Paralegals in North Carolina’s Triangle area likely are familiar with the case of Darius Little, a legal assistant and self-described “aspiring lawyer” who attracted media coverage after being accused of misrepresenting himself as an attorney.

In June, the Raleigh News & Observer reported that Little, former Durham City Council candidate and appointee to the Durham Planning Commission, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unlicensed practice of law. Little’s plea agreement included a 120-day suspended sentence and a mandate to return $760 to an individual to whom he had provided services, according to the News & Observer.

Little’s public stature gained him notoriety, but any resident of the Carolinas suspected of UPL can come under the scrutiny of state bar committees. Ethics Opinions and Rules of Professional Conduct for both states provide specific guidelines for work that is and isn’t permissible by paralegals.

The North Carolina bar’s Rule of Professional Conduct 70, for example, says paralegals are permitted to negotiate with claims adjusters for the opposing party’s insurance carrier, as long as they are directly supervised. The rule adds, however, that paralegals aren’t allowed to make independent decisions about settlement offers and other valuation judgments.

The bars in both South Carolina and North Carolina place a significant burden on attorneys to provide adequate oversight. According to the North Carolina bar, the grievance committee recently reprimanded attorney David Best of Jacksonville for hiring a disbarred attorney to work as a paralegal and then failing to provide adequate supervision, resulting in the paralegal engaging in UPL.

The law also points out that whether or not a paralegal is paid for legal services is irrelevant. A 2002 case in South Carolina found a paralegal guilty of UPL after he filed court documents in housing and eviction cases, even though he offered his services for free.

To learn more about UPL guidelines, see www.nccertifiedparalegal.org and www.ncbar.com in North Carolina and www.scbar.org in South Carolina.

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By Jack Zemlicka, Dolan Media Newswires

MILWAUKEE, WI — More than a dozen State Bar of Wisconsin members are seeking permission from the state’s highest court to earn Continuing Legal Education credit for teaching a legal specialty course in a paralegal program.

Attorney Richard Opie, coordinator of the paralegal program at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wis., filed a rules petition on July 28 to amend Supreme Court Rule 31.05(3) to expand the authority of the Board of Bar Examiners to award CLE credit.

Currently, the rule allows the BBE to award two hours for each hour of presentation of the approved continuing legal or judicial education activity and one hour for each hour of presentation for teaching a course in a law school. The rule does not address credit for paralegal programs, something which Opie wants to change with the proposal.

The petition amends the rule to allow for one hour for each hour of presentation for teaching a legal specialty court in an ABA-approved paralegal program.

Opie could not immediately be reached for comment, and the court has yet to schedule the petition for a public hearing.

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