Read more from The Estrin Report

High Job Satisfaction BUT Room for Improvement

An article recently posted on the LawCrossing site reports good news about paralegal job satisfaction, even though those surveyed also said there was room to improve: "In recent months, national and regional survey results have shown paralegals to have uncommonly high levels of satisfaction with their careers. "Although almost every paralegal can cite areas where improvement is needed,...

Wow! Legal Web Site Directory

Need to know the best Internet-based sources for legal research, state & local governments, & other helpful information in your state? Check out the State Resource Centers collected by lexisONE in its Legal Web Site Directory. The Miscellaneous category for New York really impressed me! New York Center for Technology in Government New York Information on Internet Law Library New York...

Associate Salaries Going Up!

At least in Los Angeles & possibly San Francisco, reports The Recorder: "O'Melveny & Myers and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker are lifting associate salaries to match Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, raising first-year base pay to $135,000. "'We're committed to paying top-tier compensation in all of our markets,'" said Greg Nitzkowski, Paul Hastings' managing partner....

More Men Working as Paralegals

At least according to studies by the federal government, the National Association of Legal Assistants, and others, more men have started working as paralegals. But "what does mean to the paralegal community as a whole and to the women and men who work together in law offices and legal departments?" Do male paralegals have an edge over females in the field? Are they treated equally? What...

Starbucks Wins China Copyright Case

"A Chinese media report Sunday said the Starbucks ruling was the first of its kind under a 2001 law intended to protect well-known international trademarks. Foreign companies have long grumbled that the Chinese government is failing to stamp out piracy of copyrighted or trademarked goods." "Starbucks, which has 8,700 retail outlets worldwide and about 300 on the Chinese mainland,...

Do You Know NAID?

The National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), is the nonprofit trade association for companies providing information destruction services. Its mission is "to educate business, industry and government of the importance of destroying discarded information and the value of contract destruction services." Click links to find membership info, ethics statement, & NAID press...

Law Firm Management Graduate Certificate

The George Washington University's College of Professional Studies has created a graduate certificate for Law Firm Management. This new 12-credit graduate certificate program is co-sponsored by the Hildebrandt Institute. "This first-of-its-kind certificate program is the culmination of two years of planning and market testing to design a higher education program that is convenient for busy...

“Dirty documents”?!?

Investor's Business Daily just published an article describing how documents -- like those created in Word & Acrobat -- may reveal more information than the authors intended: "'Dirty documents'" have become another surprise glitch of the computer age. "A dirty document is, in fact, most items written in two of the most popular formats there are: Microsoft's Word and Adobe...

Online Paralegal Programs?

Yes, it's possible to earn your paralegal degree from online educators. "Dr. Annie Reed, who has been a professor of legal studies for more than 20 years at Los Angeles-area community colleges, recently became an instructor at the Washington Online Learning Institute. “'Not having any affiliation or experience with online education,'” she said, “'I didn't know what to expect in terms...

Florida Bar opposes paralegal regulation bills

Saying that it wants to "see more study on the issue," the State Bar of Florida has come out in opposition to two pending bills covering the regulation of paralegals: "Members of the Bar Board of Governors said they are sensitive to the desire of paralegals for recognition of their importance to the legal system, but proposed bills in the legislature to license and regulate...