Volume 32, Number 9 Member of California Alliance of Paralegal Associations (CAPA) September 2011 Member of National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) Inside this issue: President’s Message ........................................................ 1-2 OCPA Calendar ................................................................ 3 Article: Tips for Handling Those Piles of Files ................... 5-6 OCPA Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations............. 7 OCPA Net Worth............................................................... 8 OCPA Board of Director Nominations ............................... 9 Article: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned ................. 11 OCPA Educational Conference......................................... 12-13 Article: Witness Statements .............................................. 14-17 CAPA News ...................................................................... 18 NALA News ...................................................................... 19 OCPA Board of Directors .................................................. 20 OCPA New Member Statistics .......................................... 21 OCPA Corporate Sponsors, Sustaining Members ............ 22 We have kept the cost of the Conference down, $95 for members, $125 for non-members and $65 for student. See the flyer in this issue for further de- tails. Student Scholarships: Did you know that OCPA gives out two $500 scholarships each year to para- legal students and working or unemployed parale- gals? See the flyer in this issue for qualification requirements and further details. The winners will be announced at the Educational Conference. OCPA also gives out two $500 scholarships to the local paralegal schools. If you are currently a para- legal student, check your school for the scholarship qualifications. October General Meeting: Do you need Ethics MCLE credits? Come join OCPA at the October General Meeting where EJ Hilbert, II – Senior Vice President of Cyber Security at Arixmar will be dis- cussing “Social Networking and Ethical Issues” at the Radisson Newport Beach. We will be collecting items for the Orange County Food Bank. Please bring as many as you can. Specialty Sections: We have an Intellectual Prop- erty Section Meeting planned for September 9, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. where Peter Selvin, Partner with Loeb & Loeb, LLC will be discussing “Where IP Insurance and New Media Intersect-Maximizing Insurance Coverage in a Digital World.” All meeting flyers are now available on OCPA’s website www.ocparalegal.org PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE This past month I decided to get certified to scuba dive. What an experience. It was much harder then I anticipated, but well worth the effort once I completed the course. Are there any other OCPA scuba divers out there? Educational Conference: This year is OCPA’s 25 th Education- al Conference. The Conference will be held on Sat- urday, September 17, 2011 at the Radisson, New- port Beach. The Conference will have the following tracks for you to choose from: Intellectual Property Law; Litigation Law; and Mixed Bag (which will include Corporate Law and Family Law). Disclaimer: The articles contained in this publication have been prepared for and are intended to provide information useful to members of the Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) and the legal professional community, at-large. The information presented is not to be taken as legal advice nor do the views represent a statement of OCPA policy. Cover Art: Courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Transcript
Volume 32, Number 9 Member of California Alliance of Paralegal Associations (CAPA) September 2011 Member of National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA)
Inside this issue:
President’s Message ........................................................ 1-2 OCPA Calendar ................................................................ 3 Article: Tips for Handling Those Piles of Files ................... 5-6 OCPA Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations ............. 7 OCPA Net Worth ............................................................... 8 OCPA Board of Director Nominations ............................... 9 Article: Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned ................. 11 OCPA Educational Conference ......................................... 12-13 Article: Witness Statements .............................................. 14-17 CAPA News ...................................................................... 18 NALA News ...................................................................... 19 OCPA Board of Directors .................................................. 20 OCPA New Member Statistics .......................................... 21 OCPA Corporate Sponsors, Sustaining Members ............ 22
We have kept the cost of the Conference down, $95 for members, $125 for non-members and $65 for student. See the flyer in this issue for further de-tails. Student Scholarships: Did you know that OCPA gives out two $500 scholarships each year to para-legal students and working or unemployed parale-gals? See the flyer in this issue for qualification requirements and further details. The winners will be announced at the Educational Conference. OCPA also gives out two $500 scholarships to the local paralegal schools. If you are currently a para-legal student, check your school for the scholarship qualifications. October General Meeting: Do you need Ethics MCLE credits? Come join OCPA at the October General Meeting where EJ Hilbert, II – Senior Vice President of Cyber Security at Arixmar will be dis-cussing “Social Networking and Ethical Issues” at the Radisson Newport Beach. We will be collecting items for the Orange County Food Bank. Please bring as many as you can. Specialty Sections: We have an Intellectual Prop-erty Section Meeting planned for September 9, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. where Peter Selvin, Partner with Loeb & Loeb, LLC will be discussing “Where IP Insurance and New Media Intersect-Maximizing Insurance Coverage in a Digital World.” All meeting flyers are now available on OCPA’s website www.ocparalegal.org
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
This past month I decided to get certified to scuba dive. What an experience. It was much harder then I anticipated, but well worth the effort once I completed the course. Are there any other OCPA scuba divers out there? Educational Conference: This year is OCPA’s 25th Education-
al Conference. The Conference will be held on Sat-urday, September 17, 2011 at the Radisson, New-port Beach. The Conference will have the following tracks for you to choose from: Intellectual Property Law; Litigation Law; and Mixed Bag (which will include Corporate Law and Family Law).
Disclaimer: The articles contained in this publication have been prepared for and are intended to provide information useful to members of the Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) and the legal professional community, at-large. The information presented is not to be
taken as legal advice nor do the views represent a statement of OCPA policy.
Cover Art: Courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
OCPA Compendium September 2011
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Volunteers: Volunteers are always welcome. Would you like to volunteer and get more involved with the OCPA? Please contact me at [email protected]. Volunteering is a great way to meet your co-paralegals and to network.
Where IP, Insurance and New Media Intersect – Maximizing insurance Cov-erage in a Digital World
TBD
9/10 8:30- 10:30 a.m.
Pro-Bono/Community Service
OC Food Bank Work Day Orange County Food Bank
9/17 All Day Educational Conference Radisson Hotel, Newport Beach
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10 Tips for Handling Those Piles of Files Contributed by Vicki Voisin
Ideally, you work on one matter at a time with only materials relating to that one matter on your desk. The key here is 'ideally.' This principle might work in a perfect world, but the legal environment is far from per-fect. A paralegal's real world includes deadlines, chaos, interruptions, emergencies (actual and imagined), last minute projects, trials and, worst of all, other people's disorganization. Piles, often not of our doing, become part of the landscape of your desk. You start one project, an-other is dumped on you, then another, and eventu-ally you're working in layers. It's amazing that par-alegals remain productive at all. If it weren't for our innate abilities to organize and prioritize...as well as juggle...productivity would be nonexistent. What can you do to deal with this madness? Here are 10 tips that will help you remain organized through the chaos and come very close to having only one file on your desk at a time: 1. Place files in an incline file sorter. Instead of piling files on top of each other so that you can barely tell one from the other, stand them in an incline file sorter on or near your desk. With this simple organizational tool, you'll be able to locate files in a snap. This is particularly helpful for files you'll be working on in the next day or so. 2. Take only what you need to get the job done. Encourage fellow workers (as in the attorney(s) you work with) to give you only as much of the file as is necessary to complete an assignment. For instance, you don't need the client's entire red rope file to schedule three IME's in that Work Comp case. If you have a deposition to summarize, you'll probably only need the transcript.
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3. Try to control when you're given work. Receiv-ing work all day long as the spirit moves your boss is inefficient. Instead, try to schedule regular meet-ings with your boss, such as first thing in the morning and/or immediately after lunch. At those meetings, you should receive work assignments, discuss any assignments you are working on, etc. 4. Create temporary files. If an assignment is ac-companied only by a loose letter or document, make a temporary file for it. Use a Sharpie to write enough information on the label or on the front so that the item can be easily identified and won't be lost in the next wave of files that appear on your desk. Put this temporary file in the incline file sort-er until you're ready to work on it. 5. Become an instant decision maker. When an assignment, a document or a file comes into your office, decide immediately how to deal with it. Never place it in the 'put it here for now' pile. That pile will just continue to grow. If whatever you've been given to do won't take long, take care of it right then and there. You've already been interrupted so you might as well complete the task before you go back to your work. If you don't need to do it immediately, put it away, or place it in the incline file sorter. Do you have a stack of professional journals, mag-azines and newspapers on your desk that you in-tend to read 'some day'? Unfortunately, the stack keeps growing and 'some day' never comes. Again, review those materials as soon as they come into your office. If there's an article you want to keep, tear it out and file it. If there's nothing of interest, throw the material away or recycle it. Remember that most of this information is available on the Internet should you need it so there's probably no need to keep articles. 6. Prioritize throughout the day. As work comes in, make a decision about when you will act on it. Don't just put it in a pile to think about later. If you allow the chaos to accumulate, it will quickly over-whelm you. The disorder may stop you from get-ting your work done because it's such a mess you don't know where to start. The perfectionist in you will just give up. It's easier to make a phone call or
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check your email than to figure what's in that swell-ing stack of papers and files. 7. Ask for clear deadlines. Your work will proba-bly fall into one of three categories: do it right now, do it in the next few days and do it sometime in the future. Do it right now. Close up what you are work-ing on, place the material in the incline file sorter, and begin the new work. This interruption is not the most efficient but it's the way the real world op-erates. Do it in the next few days. Note the deadline in your planner or on your calendar and place the file in the incline file sorter. Do it sometime in the future. If something isn't due for a couple of weeks, you're probably safe to put it away in the file drawer. However, be sure to make a note on your calendar when the work has to be done and when you should begin working on it. 8. Never trust your memory! Take copious notes when someone gives you an assignment but do not use sticky notes! Sticky notes just multiply and ei-ther get lost or you become so accustomed to them that you don't even see them. Instead, use a short-hand notebook for your notes. Begin a fresh page every day, placing the date at the top. On the left side of the line, write the name of the client, client number, or whatever information you need to iden-tify the work you'll be doing. On the right side of the page, make your notes. Again, be sure to ask for clear deadlines. If you do receive an assignment with a deadline of two or more weeks away, you'll probably want to put the file away so that it's not taking up space on your desk for days on end. Be sure to enter a reminder on your calendar for the date you need to begin working on the project. Never put a file out of sight in a drawer without a reminder to yourself to do that work. The adage 'out of sight, out of mind' ap-plies when you're very busy. 9. Get those files back to their 'owners'! As soon as you finish a project, move those files off your desk. Don't let them languish there for one minute more than you need them. If they can be closed, all the better.
10. Establish routines. The importance of establish-ing routines for beginning and ending your work day can't be overstated.
At the beginning of your day, review your list of work to do, retrieve the file you will work on first and get going. As other files come to you through-out the day, either put them in your file cabinet or in the incline file sorter. Remember that your floor and client chair do not qualify as file cabinets. At the end of the work day, consider what has to be done during the next one and make a quick list. No. 1 on the list should be the most pressing work, the work with a deadline. Prioritize your work this way. Then close up the work you're doing and either (a) leave the file on your desk or (b) put it in the incline file. You might flag it with a bright sticky note (a sticky note is a good thing when you're using it this way). Your desk will be cleared and you will not be wel-comed by chaos and overwhelm when you begin the next day. Your challenge: Consider the 10 tips above and de-cide which you can incorporate into your daily rou-tine. While you may never quite accomplish having only one thing on your desk at a time, you can min-imize the chaos, disorder and confusion by taking even one or two of these steps. Whatever you choose to do, you're bound to improve your work-space and increase your productivity. Vicki Voisin, "The Paralegal Mentor", delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to cre-ate success and satisfaction by achieving goals and de-termining the direction they will take their careers. Vic-ki spotlights resources, organizational tips, ethics is-sues, and other areas of continuing education to help paralegals and others reach their full potential. She publishes a weekly ezine titled Paralegal Strategies and co-hosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast pro-duced by Legal Talk Network. More information is avail-able at http://www.paralegalmentor.com.
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Mistakes Made and Lessons Learned Contributed by Vicki Voisin As I was working with a paralegal during a recent strat-egy session, she mentioned several times that she’s not where she wants to be in her career and she doesn’t see herself getting to "where you are”. To get past this feeling of “not good enough” we worked on her specific concerns. She now has goals, a time line for her career, and an action plan – all of which suit her and no one else. Still, her question made me think. How many other par-alegals have similar thoughts? How many other parale-gals let those thoughts hold them back? It’s important to note that successful paralegals, me in-cluded, didn’t wake up one morning to a successful ca-reer. There are always tough times, everyone makes mistakes and — this is key — you learn from them. Here’s a sampling of the frequent career mistakes I’ve seen over the years and the lessons learned from them: Mistake: Comparing yourself to others. Lesson Learned: You have no idea what’s going on with anyone else. You don’t know their personal circum-stances, values, background, etc. Their journey isn’t yours. Stay focused on your career, your goals and your ambitions. Mistake: Thinking you have to reach the same level as someone else. You want your career to be just like his/hers. Lesson Learned: If they can do it, you can do it. However, there is no cookie cutter for career success. Success for one paralegal does not necessarily equate success for another. Don’t pattern yourself after anyone else. Instead, decide what you really want in the way of career success and develop your own pattern. Mistake: Assuming you don’t “need” to belong to a pro-fessional association – you have all you can handle just with your job and your personal obligations. Lesson Learned: Actually, you’re correct – you don’t “need” to belong to a professional association....unless you don’t think you need to network with other parale-gals, keep up to date with the latest trends and systems, and know first-hand about changes in the law. The time you invest in a professional association (on the local, state and national level) will bring you immeasurable
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returns. Mistake: Thinking someone else or something else is holding you back from career success. Lesson Learned: So you think your spouse, your boss, your family, where you live – you add anything here you want – won’t “let” you succeed? Wrong! In the end, it’s your career and you alone are responsible for its success. You have to set goals, make plans – and then forge ahead to make your career all you want it to be. Mistake: Hesitating to write an article or speak at a semi-nar because the very thought frightens you. Lesson Learned: Get over it! Moving out of your comfort zone is the best way to stretch and reach your potential. Everyone has second thoughts about writing an article – do you really have anything significant to say/know enough/have enough time? And everyone gets nervous when they speak before an audience. Guess what? Everyone survives and they’re glad they took the risk. Writing and speaking are two of the most important steps toward career success. Mistake: Hesitating to take a certification exam – no time, don’t “need” it, blah blah blah. Lesson Learned: Again, there’s nothing you “need” but when taking a certification exam moves you off the level playing field and sets you apart from other paralegals. It is also good for your ego and adds to your credibility. There are several other mistakes I’ve both made and wit-nessed I’m sure you can add your own to the list.
Remember: The mistake isn’t what’s important — it’s how and what you learn from it. Vicki Voisin, "The Paralegal Mentor", delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to create success and satisfaction by achieving goals and determining the direction they will take their careers. Vicki spotlights resources, organiza-tional tips, ethics issues, and other areas of continuing educa-tion to help paralegals and others reach their full potential. She publishes a weekly ezine titled Paralegal Strategies and co-hosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast produced by Le-gal Talk Network. More information is available at http://www.paralegalmentor.com.
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Witness Statements Contributed by Barbara Haubrich, ACP/CAS It is important to memorialize the sequence of events in any given incident. One way to accom-plish this is to obtain statements from the percipi-ent witnesses. Nailing down a witness’ version of how an incident occurred early in a case can be one of the most important components of a thor-ough investigation. A paralegal should not deter-mine which witness to statementize; that is a deci-sion for the attorney to make. It is also up to the attorney to decide who conducts the interview with the witness. It is best if the attorney conducts the witness statement so that the attorney under-stands the facts of the case, obtains all of the infor-mation needed from the witness, and can evaluate the overall credibility of the witness. However, some attorneys have their paralegal conduct the witness statements, while other attorneys hire in-vestigators to conduct the witness statements. At a minimum, paralegals play a big role in locating the witnesses, setting up the interviews, and obtaining the physical evidence for the attorney to use to conduct the interviews. In the pre-litigation stage of a case, an attorney cannot compel a witness to give a state-ment. When a witness refuses to provide a state-ment, then the statement will have to wait until litigation has commenced. The witness can then be compelled to testify at a deposition through the use of a deposition subpoena. A. Preparing for the Interview Knowing what information you want to obtain from the witness is the first step in preparing for the interview. Prior to the interview, review the evidentiary documentation in the file so that you have an understanding of the dynamics of the case, and how the witness fits in with the case sce-nario. It may be necessary to obtain additional documentary evidence before the witness state-ment is obtained. B. Types of Statements Witness statements can be written or recorded. A written statement is obtained in person as the
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questions and answers are written down by the interviewer. When the statement is concluded, the statement is either provided in handwritten form to the witness to review and sign; or the statement is typed and then provided to the witness to re-view and sign. Either way, before the witness dates and signs the statement, it is important to ask the witness to review the statement for any correc-tions. A recorded statement is obtained either in person, over the telephone, or by other audio or video means. This method is particularly helpful in ob-taining long distance witness statements that you otherwise may not be able to secure. At the begin-ning and end of every recorded statement, it is ex-tremely important for the interviewer to have the witness acknowledge that he or she understands that the statement is being recorded and to grant permission for the statement to be recorded. In order to lessen the likelihood that a witness statement may be discoverable in litigation, it is good practice to insert a sentence at the end of the written or recorded statement, as follows: “This witness statement was taken by an attorney. It contains the responses of the witness to questions for-mulated by the attorney based upon the attorney’s legal analysis, and reflects the impressions, conclusions, opinions, legal research, and theories of the attorney. This document is protected by the attorney work prod-uct doctrine.” C. Types of Witnesses For purposes of this article, an attorney is interest-ed in obtaining statements from percipient wit-nesses (aka eye witnesses). However, there are other types of witnesses, such as character witness-es, lay witnesses, and expert witnesses that will not be discussed in this article as those witnesses do not fundamentally fit the criteria of this article. Within the scope of percipient witnesses, there are “friendly” witnesses and “hostile” witnesses. A friendly witness is someone who is favorable to your side of the case and is a cooperative wit-ness. In contrast, a hostile witness is someone who is against your side of the case and is adverse to your client’s interests. Generally, attorneys do not
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want to statementize hostile witnesses. D. Interviewing Techniques When you begin an interview, it is helpful to try to put the witness at ease as soon as possible. Be sure to avoid using legalese that will not be understood by the witness. In fact, following the KISS philoso-phy (“keep it simple, stupid”) applies to taking a witness statement. Try to remain impartial when taking a statement; you are simply gathering facts. It is helpful to use questioning styles throughout the interview. There are five basic styles of ques-tions when conducting an interview. Each type of question has a different purpose for obtaining the information that is desired from the witness. 1. Open-Ended Questions: An open-ended question allows the witness to pro-vide a narrative response and is designed to pull in a wide-range of information. Open-ended ques-tions allow the witness to have control over how much information to provide, and is useful in dis-covering the extent of knowledge that the witness has in response to the question. Generally, open-ended questions start with “what,” “how,” or “why.” Examples of open-ended questions in-clude: How did the incident occur? What happened next? What were you doing just before the incident oc-curred? Why were you at the location of the incident? 2. Closed-Ended Questions: A closed-ended question will require a one or two word response. You would use a closed-ended question to narrow the focus of the answers, and to pin the person into making a definite comment or conclusion. Examples of closed-ended questions include: What time did the incident occur? Was the traffic light red, green, or yellow? What is your age?
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3. Specific Questions: A specific question is a question that asks for more information on a particular topic that was raised in a prior answer. These questions focus on a partic-ular element that the interviewer needs to narrow down. Examples of directed questions include: How long was the traffic light red when you were stopped at the intersection? Describe the weather conditions at the time of the incident. 4. Reflecting Back Questions: Reflecting back questions ask for confirmation from the witness that the interviewer understood the answer. These questions solicit correction or clarity to prior answers, and help ensure accuracy of the information provided. An example of a re-flecting back question includes: If I understood you correctly, you were driving northbound on South “H” Street, turned right on Cummings Corner, and then proceeded west-bound for approximately ten minutes when the accident occurred. Is that correct? 5. Concluding Questions: Concluding questions are the questions at the con-clusion of the statement and ask whether there is any other information that the witness can provide or has not disclosed about the incident. An exam-ple of a concluding question includes: Is there anything else that you would like to add? E. Information to Elicit from the Witness If you are a paralegal who is asked to conduct an interview by your attorney, you should first use a checklist approved by your supervising attorney to ensure that you do not skip over information that may be needed. However, never allow a checklist to limit your questions. Follow-up questions outside of the checklist will most likely be necessary. Initially, focus on the fundamentals of when, what, where, how, and
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who was involved. Remember that the purpose of a statement is to obtain factual information, not opinions or hearsay conversation. If the statement is obtained in person, it is helpful if the witness provides a diagram of what he or she saw. There is no set rule that will apply to every witness statement. The information to be obtained will vary from witness to witness. However, there are fundamental questions that you will want an-swered from every witness, as follows: 1. The date, time, and location where the statement
is being taken. 2. The name of the interviewer taking the state-
ment. 3. If applicable, acknowledgement that the witness
understands that the statement is being record-ed and that the interviewer has permission for the statement to be recorded.
4. The witnesses’ full legal name, date of birth, marital status, spouse’s name, driver’s license number, social security number, current tele-phone and cellular numbers, current address, and occupation. In the event the witness moves or changes telephone numbers, this information will be extremely valuable in locating the wit-ness for future testimony.
5. The date and time of the incident. 6. Where the witness was when the incident oc-
curred. 7. Identify the location of the witness in relation to
the incident. 8. A description of what was witnessed. 9. Why was the witness there, and was the witness
alone? 10.If applicable, a diagram of what was witnessed. 11. A description of the surrounding conditions,
such as weather, lighting, and roadway condi-tions.
12. The nature of any injuries to the claimant that the witness may have seen.
13.The nature of any property damage to the vehi-cles that the witness may have seen.
14.Did the witness give a witness statement to any-one else?
15.Were there any other witnesses at the scene that the witness could identify?
F. Conclusion
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Once the witness statement is completed, it is good practice to provide the attorney with a summary of the witness statement, along with an opinion as to the credibility of the witness. Barbara Haubrich is an Advanced Certified Paralegal in Trial Practices and Wrongful Death. She is also a California Ad-vanced Specialist in Civil Litigation. Barbara is the creator and author of The California Litigator, a website that is designed to provide resources and facilitate discussions relating to Cali-fornia state civil litigation. The California Litigator includes a bi-weekly e-zine on all topics relating to civil litigation. Addi-tionally, Barbara is the owner and creator of Deadline Direct, a downloadable deadline calculating gadget for your Microsoft 7 or Vista computers. Deadline Direct is a handy tool that gives you all the options you need in calculating deadlines and syncs a note field with the calculation to Microsoft Outlook as a task, calendar event, or e-mail.
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CAPA News Contributed by Julie Thornton-Adams All associations need leaders and CAPA is offering leadership train-ing at its upcoming Leadership Conference. Mark your calendars and plan to be in beautiful Sonoma on Saturday, November 5, 2011. Gain valuable knowledge and skills to help you assist your local association and help you in the workplace as well. The Leadership Conference is open to anyone in-terested in enhancing his or her leadership skills. Visit the CAPA website for details and registration information. A Note from VP Admin, Julie Hallsted Speaking of leadership, OCPA is in need of chairs for the Bankruptcy and Immigration sections. In addition, if you would like to start a section in an area of law that may be of interest to other parale-gals and attorneys, or wish to volunteer to chair the Bankruptcy or Immigration sections, please contact Julie Hallsted at [email protected]. Several vendors have offered meeting locations, and speakers are available to provide dynamic presentations. It is not too early to begin planning speakers and topics for 2012 so let’s get busy! Your Board is here to support you and I will per-sonally assist as necessary to ensure your experi-ence as a section chair is rewarding and successful. Please contact me to discuss your questions, con-cerns, or interest in volunteering. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill
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Hello from NALA! Contributed by Maria Conzelman, CP The NALA Annual Confer-ence was a great success! In-cumbents Debra Overstreet, ACP, and Sandra D. Hatch, CP, ran unopposed for the Affiliated Associ-ations Director and Affiliated Associations Secre-tary, respectively. Both will start another two-year term in their positions. At the annual meeting, NALA presented more than $2,000 in a monetary donation to Defenders of Free-dom, along with a large box of donated items. OCPA was pleased to contribute $225 towards NALA’s donation. Rafia Aleem was presented with a 2011 Affiliated Associ-ations Affiliate Award. We took Rafia out for a nice Ital-ian dinner in the Texas heat to celebrate her award. The NALA Campus Live Pro-gram schedule of classes for August 24 through December 9 is posted. Check out NALA website for the offerings. www.nala.org. NALA is offering a Certified Paralegal Short Course on November 10-12, right here in Southern Califor-nia! What a great opportunity for paralegals pre-paring for the Certified Paralegal exam, for those wanting to freshen up their professional skills and knowledge, or for Certified Paralegals to fulfill req-uisite CLE to maintain certification. This will be the only Certified Paralegal Short Course before the January and May 2012 computer-based Certified Paralegal examinations. Now in its 36th year, the Certified Paralegal credential is recognized nation-wide as the standard of professionalism. The distinguished faculty provides a general over-view of the following topics and presents specific knowledge and skills needed by paralegals:
American Legal System: Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD; Administrative Law:
Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD; Judgment & Legal Analysis: Virginia Koerselman Newman, Attorney; Civil Litigation: Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD; Communications: Virgina Koerselman Newman, Attorney; Legal Research: Virginia Koerselman Newman, Attorney; Ethics: Kay Kasic, CP Contracts: John W. Dunn, LLB, and Karen M. Dunn, ACP; Real Property: John W. Dunn, LLB, and Karen M. Dunn, ACP; Business Organizations: Connie Kretchmer, ACP, and Virginia Koerselman Newman, Attorney; Estates & Trusts: Virginia Koerselman Newman, Attorney, and Connie Kretchmer, ACP.
The program will be held at the Hilton Los Ange-les North/Glendale, located in Glendale's upscale business district. The hotel offers spacious accom-modations with oversized work desks, ergonomic chairs, and high speed Internet access. Call 1-818-956-5466 and mention this event for the special NALA rate of $119/night. Room reservation dead-line is October 24th. See www.NALA.org/shortcourse.aspx for more details and online registration.
Remember that NALA is offering a discount price for non-members of NALA. A one-year subscrip-tion is only $25. More information is located in this issue of the Compendium.
Happy Fall! Maria
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Contact informa on of board members and commi ee chairs published in the Compendium are subject to the policies of OCPA. Use of contact informa on of board members or commi ee chairs for purposes of solicita on for business, personal gain, or distribu on of such informa on to third par es for the same is strictly
prohibited.
ORANGE COUNTY PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION 2011 Board of Directors
If you have any questions regarding publication requirements, please contact Taylor Lockett at [email protected].
COMPENDIUM - September 2011 Volume 32, Number 9
Committed to Excellence through Education,
Certification and Ethical Responsibility
The Compendium is the official publication of the Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) P.O. Box 8512, Newport Beach, CA 92658. Postage Paid at Newport Beach, CA.
A subscription to the Compendium is provided as a member benefit of OCPA. For further information about all the benefits
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