Oh, no, definitely not good "A July 6 trial date has been set for a Fort Smith paralegal accused of giving legal advice while not licensed to practice law."A complaint filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by attorney Jim Hollis of the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Little Rock alleges that Mary Angela Barnett, a paralegal employed at the Sexton and Sanders law firm in Fort Smith, gave legal...
Well, this sure is welcome news! "The Ohio State Bar Association has developed a certification program for paralegals to help lawyers and firms identify qualified assistants. "Paralegals interested in earning a certification good for four years must meet educational standards stipulated by the bar association, have sufficient experience and pass an examination. Applications will be...
As described in this article, closing access to salary info may lead to less of a lockstep approach to pay. And perhaps paralegals will also be paid for their performance, not simply years in the field: "When Robert Tucker and 35 other partners jumped ship as Arter & Hadden was sinking in 2003, they wanted to leave behind the infighting about money that had pervaded some of the...
Nice to work on a big Supreme Court case! "Perkins Coie attorneys were part of a defense team that received a favorable ruling in a landmark case that challenged the scope of presidential authority. In a historic decision, the Supreme Court ruled (5-3) that military tribunals established by the Executive Office to try enemy combatants and detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are not...
Good advice for paralegals, lawyers, & techies! "As dependence on electronic communication has grown, lawyers and their clients have faced new and significant issues relating to preservation of electronic information. "Electronically stored information is often recycled pursuant to a company's ordinary course of business, for example, through a computer system that automatically...
Good news about Katrina's displaced for a change: "Sofia Lavidalie was not yet three years old when her parents, Jean and Dianna had to tell her that they could not go home to Louisiana because their house was wet."The explanation was oversimplified but accurate in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In the days immediately following the catastrophe, the young family of three sought...
We're in favor of legal assistants righting wrongs...& making big money: "Erin Brockovich, the resourceful legal assistant made famous by Hollywood's depiction of her epic fight against Pacific Gas & Electric, now is going after two of San Diego's largest hospital operators. "She is the plaintiff in a pair of lawsuits filed recently in San Diego Superior Court that claim Scripps...
More helpful news dug up by The Virtual Chase: "The Securities and Exchange Commission last week announced that documents in its EDGAR database now are fully searchable. The change in search access affects documents that are two years old or newer. In addition to company filings, researchers will find filings pertaining to mutual funds."
Excellent news! "Miss Wibke Timmermann -- a 30 year-old German legal assistant working in a defence team at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) -- is to receive the Henri Dunant Award 2006 for her international law dissertation, specializing in hate speech and war propaganda. "She carried out this work after studying at the University Centre for International...
About 500,000 paralegals work in the U.K. today. Many earn between £50,000 & £80,000 annually ($92,045 to $147,280). And with higher salaries comes a more professional standing: "Largely unnoticed, the paralegal profession has grown to 500,000 practitioners: 50,000 in the legal profession, the remainder spread throughout every other sector of the economy. "Paralegals do work that...