The Search for America’s Favorite Paralegal

Somewhere out there are America's Favorite Paralegals. You know who they are. These are colleagues, friends and managers who love their jobs, push the profession forward and always strive for excellence. Not only do you enjoy working with them, they are admired by co-workers, supervisors and clients alike.Know, The Magazine for Paralegals would like to acknowledge these very special...

Trends: Brand New Resume Writing Tool Is Wave of the Future

 Margaret Agius is a rock solid paralegal.  But after ten years with a major Detroit law firm, she was laid off from her job as a products liability specialist. Since then, this lively, smart and well-educated paralegal has had difficulty finding another position in a city that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. "Nothing seems to be...

Top DOJ Paralegal Fired for Whistleblowing

According to the Huffington Post, new questions are surfacing about political intrigue at the U.S. Justice Department after former White House political strategist Karl Rove provided his long-awaited responses to House Judiciary Committee staff Tuesday about allegations that he pressured prosecutors to target Democrats nationally. Few details have emerged about Rove's questioning on such...

15 Warning Signs Your Firm May Be Laying Off Staff

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...

New Book, eDiscovery Plain & Simple, is Helpful for Paralegals

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...

Former Paralegal Uses Skills to Become Chief of Police – In Liberia

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. ...

In Pursuit of Freedom: The Peter Kirchikov Story

We have never given just bits and pieces in this blog nor teased you with a story in KNOW.  However, I wanted to share with you a bit of the upcoming issue.  Occasionally, we run across stories that move your heart and open your eyes. There are plenty of stories of paralegals who have had arduous experiences and the Peter Kirchikov story is no...

Associate Job Losses May Mean Paralegal Job Gains

  This is the second time this week I read an article about paralegals gaining jobs in this miserable economy.  OK, it's not miserable for absolutely everyone.  But if you're watching Katie or Brian on the BigNews channels, you'll have to agree that most of the U.S. is running pretty lean and mean. Law360 reported yesterday that while associates are fighting to keep...

Smart Battles

In these tough times, the subject of when to go to battle with your employer has come up several times.  People are simply afraid that if they speak up, they will lose their job, lose a client or suffer a loss or reputation.   A couple of years ago, I had a beef with an organization whose management took advantage of a situation.  They simply refused to pay for one of...