The Wall Street Journal Blog this morning reported that DLA Piper on Wednesday laid off 121 people — 21 lawyers and 100 staffers. The news bring the total number of layoffs at DLA to 440 in the U.S. and U.K. Here is part of the DLA statement to the firm: "During the last year, we have experienced the worst economic period in generations. We have carefully gauged its impact on our...
A new book, "eDiscovery Plain & Simple", has just arrived in bookstores. Written by Shawnna Childress, Executive Director and co-Founder of Women in eDiscovery and Allison Brecher, Senior Litigation Counsel and Director of Information Management and Strategy, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., explains how computers operate and store data in a way that is designed for attorneys...
A 41-year old Liberian and former paralegal at a 50-attorney Washington, D.C. law firm has been appointed the Liberian Inspector-General by President Sirleaf.According to allafrica.com, Marc Amblard faced tremendous criticism about questionable skill sets necessary for the position. His background includes a degree in Agriculture in 1992 from the University of Illinois. ...
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Incisive Legal Intelligence, a leading source of business intelligence for the legal profession, in partnership with the International Paralegal Management Association (IPMA), today announced the release of the Annual Compensation Survey for Paralegals/Legal Assistants and Managers, 2009 Edition, tracking compensation, billing rates and billable hours for paralegals....
This year is the 25th anniversary of the International Paralegal Management Association (IPMA). Surprisingly, not everyone has heard of this influential and powerful association, even after all these years. In fact, compared to associations such as NFPA and NALA, it keeps a comparatively low profile. Yet, the organization is comprised of over 600 paralegal managers in the U.S. and...
Imagine making e-mail slicker, faster and easier to use. Apparently, Google imagined that too. Today, Google announced Google Wave what will probably become the next new e-mail.
Wave is an ambitious new communication platform. It seeks to replace many of the web functions we use everyday; email, instant messaging, blogs, wiki's, and more. Watching the UTube...
This goes right up there in the "Hall of Shame" red file. According to the ABA Journal (quoting from the Orange County Register in Orange County, CA), a paralegal "bought" a law practice valued at $750,000 from an elderly, 84-year-old lawyer for $20.00.
The lawyer, suffering from dementia, sold his practice to 42 year-old Mario David Abernathy of Garden Grove,...
Above the Law, the gossip blogloid (that previously has pretty much scoffed, jeered and laughed at paralegals) printed a sobering story today. Apparently, the law firm of Allen Matkins, known for its quality reputation in real estate law, rounded up its paralegals in three offices and presented them with a 20% pay cut. In previous years, Allen Matkins was known for paying its...
A former paralegal has been arrested for allegedly stealing from one firm to pay another. The paralegal allegedly stole over $100,000 from the Norristown, PA firm of High Schwartz to repay $285,000 to a New York firm. According to the Legal Intelligencer, the paralegal was found guilty for stealing from that firm, she was ordered by the court to...
Here's an interesting development regarding confidentiality and risk management: A very good friend of mine, let's call him/her Leslie (a unisex name), was asked to speak at the Paralegal Technology Institute at Legal Tech in Los Angeles. Now, Leslie is a very, very experienced, high level litigation paralegal who has written many, many articles, books; taught at several...