“I was fired because I was the fall guy. What do I say in interviews?”

Very intriguing job interviewing question posed to Salon's Cary Tennis:"I was recently fired from my job. Not to go too into depth, but I was blamed for the failure of a succession of projects. "In my opinion, the causes for these failures lay in the planning stages, which I was largely excluded from. When I was present at planning meetings, I was the most junior person present, and my...

“These women can buy or sell you”

Hmm, sounds like it might be a good time for women to explore new careers beyond legal in the corporate world. See this Small Business Times article:"In recent years, many women have successfully climbed corporate ladders to become chief financial officers, commercial lenders, accountants and senior managers of financial companies. "For the most part, however, the world of investment...

Cary Grant’s daughter former paralegal, now actor

Ah, getting career advice from your parents can be tricky, as described in this Ottawa Citizen article:"As a child growing up in Hollywood, Jennifer Grant received plenty of career advice from her movie-star parents. "Ms. Grant, daughter of Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon, graduated from Stanford University with a degree in history and political science and worked as a paralegal and a chef...

“Mock trial helps students learn more about the legal system”

This most gratifying article in the Jackson Hole Star-Tribune details how Wyoming paralegal students are showing fifth-graders how the U.S. legal system works:"With a polite but stern tone, fifth-grader Jacob Colman interrupted Robert Novak, reminding him to just answer yes or no."Dressed in a dark blue suit like a miniature lawyer, Colman again asked the question to Novak on the...

“Preparing to Survive a Dead-End Job”

This LawJobs.com career advancement article is directed to associate attorneys, but I think the advice applies equally well to paralegals:"The harsh reality is that sometimes a job just doesn't work out. This can happen to anyone -- it often does. Recognizing the signs early on and being prepared for change are key elements necessary for a rapid recovery. "There are two entities that...

ABA Reapproves Penn College’s Legal Assistant Majors

This good news is reported in PC Today about the Pennsylvania College of Technology:"The American Bar Association has granted reapproval to Pennsylvania College of Technology’s legal assistant majors, one of only 14 programs in Pennsylvania to be recognized in that fashion. "The college’s School of Business and Computer Technologies recently was notified of the action by the ABA’s...

“‘Life’s Short. Get a Divorce’ Billboard Removed After Just a Week”

Very interesting article about a clever law firm marketing strategy from the Associated Press:"A racy billboard proclaiming, 'Life's short. Get a divorce,' caused such an uproar that city workers stripped it from its downtown Chicago perch after a week. "It wasn't so much about the partially clothed man and woman on the law firm's ad. It was the phrase that lawyers Corri Fetman and...

“How to Treat the Touchy Colleague”

Ah, I'm sure every reader has run across such situations. Good news -- this Business Week article offers helpful advice:"Sometimes, even casual exchanges can set co-workers off. When you hit a nerve, learn from the experience instead of snapping back "It's pleasant to walk into the office on a sunny morning and hear 'Good morning!' from your cheerful co-workers. It's something else...

“10 dumb things users do that can mess up their computers”

Check out these very helpful reminders from the information technology gurus at TechRepublic:"We all do dumb things now and then, and computer users are no exception. Inadvertently pressing the wrong key combination or innocently clicking OK in the wrong dialog box can change important settings that alter a computer's behavior or even crash the system. "Nervous newbies are often fearful...

“Some Job Hunters Are What They Post”

But you already know this, right? If not, I recommend reading this article from LawJobs.com very closely (particularly if you're looking for a new job):"Plug a prospective employee's name into Google or any other Internet search engine, and you might be surprised at what you find. Web pages may tell hiring attorneys that the person they just interviewed wrote for an undergraduate newspaper...