Carolina Paralegal News Paralegal news for North and South Carolina

By Camille Stell, Special to CPN There are many issues facing the paralegal profession – certification, continuing education and changes in technology, to name a few. I am constantly reading, attending meetings and talking with fellow professionals about the various ...

Tagged with: Overheard at the Water Cooler

By Annette Church, Special to CPN Editor’s Note: This column is part two of a two-part series that began in our September issue. In that column, Church describes returning to work to find a gas leak in the office – ...

Tagged with: You Are The Link!

By Dan Bobinski, Dolan Media Newswires BOISE, ID — The manner in which Yahoo recently fired its CEO Carol Bartz was totally inappropriate. I know things are changing in how businesses operate, but I don’t think we’re at the point ...

Tagged with: Is there a better way to fire someone? You bet there is

By Pat Murphy, Dolan Media Newswires BOSTON, MA — An American Bar Association ethics panel has proposed rule changes that would make it easier for lawyers to engage in cross-border practice, while making clear that one’s “virtual presence” in another ...

Tagged with: ABA

The 2011 legislative session saw major changes to how plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers will do business in the future. I’m going to share my column space with Mark Scruggs, one of the Lawyers Mutual claims attorneys, to talk about changes that litigation paralegals can expect to see.

It is well demonstrated that paralegals improve a firm’s bottom line. These paralegals may be employed within the firm itself, or they may provide outsourced services in a virtual relationship. Either way, paralegals epitomize the highly effective concept of leverage as a way that law firms enhance their profitability by doing billable work as members of client service teams. In this way, their lower rates, when blended with other team members, boost partner profitability.

Looking to hire a paralegal or legal support staffer? Find the ideal candidate while avoiding pitfalls by following these interviewing tips from recruiting experts:

In the past we have written a lot about how to do your job better, which got us to thinking about how to feel better about yourself. We have talked to many paralegals out there and the one theme we hear loud and clear is uneasiness about the future. There is a lot of stress out there.

It was a typically muggy August afternoon, indistinguishable from countless other lingering days of summer, trying to hold on before the autumn leaves began to fall. I found myself and Mr. Craig*, the attorney I worked for, walking up the front steps to his office. We had met at the courthouse earlier that morning and this was the first time either of us had made it to the office that day.

In June, I attended the North Carolina Advocates for Justice convention, where Erin Brockovich was the keynote speaker. She began her talk with stories of the movie made about her. As she said, “Everyone wants to hear about that.” According to Erin, the movie came into being because a friend of a friend of a friend knew Danny DeVito and pitched the idea to him. DeVito eventually became a producer of the film. The heart of Erin’s speech involved a message from her mother about the need for “stick-to-it-iveness,” which she defines as perseverance and a quest for the truth that came from her father. Not only did Erin display this perseverance as she pressed for the truth in the Pacific Gas and Electric Company case, but Erin continues to fight for the truth today through her consulting business.

I had only been working in the legal profession for a few months when our client Mrs. Jones (her name has been changed to protect her privacy) came into the office with a man, who sat down with her in the chairs next to my desk. I was in a new job and eager to provide quality work. As I greeted Mrs. Jones, I asked if the gentleman with her was her son. She confirmed that he was, although she did not provide his name. I had been expecting Mrs. Jones that morning. I also knew that she did not drive and one of her sons lived next to her. Having read her file, I was aware the son who lived beside Mrs. Jones was to be a witness for her, the defendant in the case.

Understanding the new workforce will greatly improve your ability to lead this new group of workers. This is all part of what has become known as a high performance team, where all members of the workforce are partners in the firm’s success. Several factors come into play:

Corporate litigation is often inevitable, but preparation for that inevitability is controllable. Why, then, during a meeting involving corporate litigation are the legal and IT teams introducing themselves across the table? The truth is that successful companies have embraced the brotherly bond that IT and legal departments share in this age of technology. IT and legal teams should be talking every day. It’s crucial to avoiding document retention problems, e-mail archiving and a host of other complex issues that are crucial to managing discovery.

By Jane Pribek janepribek@bellsouth.net Go ahead – get rid of that inclined leather chair. Sure, it looks cool. But it’s an instrument of torture for your back, if you regularly spend time using a computer. So says Patricia Seeley, a ...

By Camille Stell, Special to CPN Leadership books are available by the dozens and are authored by everyone from corporate titans to record-setting basketball coaches. Here are leadership lessons drawn from closer to home, from leaders of our local and ...