Carolina Paralegal News Paralegal news for North and South Carolina

Using one password for everything is a recipe for a security disaster, especially for lawyers and their particular confidentiality concerns. But keeping track of different passwords for every website isn’t easy.

Sensational cases continue to make headlines, but the number of medical malpractice lawsuits is dropping. Better forensic sciences and the legal might of combined practice groups are among the factors limiting new cases, according to plaintiff attorneys and doctor defenders.

Tagged with: medical malpractice

Paralegals who move into supervisory positions find they need a much different set of skills once they become the boss

It’s still too early to predict exactly what the big news will be in 2012, but it’s a safe bet that the following 12 topics will be on everyone’s radar.

Tagged with: Facebook HIPAA IP Social media

Attorneys who teach paralegal courses have the ability to apply for continuing legal education credit, but a vague Wisconsin Supreme Court rule has discouraged any from trying.

Tagged with: CLE

espite its sometime negative connotations, document review work is in demand now more than ever as firms grapple with an increase in litigation that has followed the economic downturn. All of the materials that are part of filing a lawsuit require some review.

Tagged with: Document review

A recent Oregon Court of Appeals case highlights the trouble that employers may encounter if they don’t deal with issues related to stalking at the workplace.

Tagged with: stalking

Faced with layoffs, freelance paralegals reinvent themselves as business owners By Amy Burroughs When Tina Marie Hilton was laid off from her paralegal job in 2007, she hit the job market for a new position. But after fruitless searching, it ...

By David Baugher, Dolan Media Newswires ST. LOUIS, MO — How do you save your firm money? What tips can you share with others? Solo and small-firm lawyers across Missouri answered the call. Here you’ll find 25 nuggets of wisdom ...

By Sylvia Hsieh, Dolan Media Newswires BOSTON, MA — Some law firm marketing gurus are going gaga over Google+, the latest social media platform. Though it’s only been out for about four months, Google+ is already generating a heated debate ...

Tagged with: Google+

The stakes are about to get higher for individuals engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) in North Carolina. A new law taking effect Oct. 1 will empower individuals harmed by UPL to bring a private cause of action against a defendant. Criminal penalties already are in place: In South Carolina, a UPL violation constitutes a felony, while in North Carolina it’s a Class I misdemeanor. But the added layer of personal liability makes this a good time for paralegals to safeguard themselves against common pitfalls that can lead to UPL.

More than a dozen State Bar of Wisconsin members are seeking permission from the state’s highest court to earn Continuing Legal Education credit for teaching a legal specialty course in a paralegal program. Attorney Richard Opie, coordinator of the paralegal program at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wis., filed a rules petition on July 28 to amend Supreme Court Rule 31.05(3) to expand the authority of the Board of Bar Examiners to award CLE credit.

ST. LOUIS, MO — As the lead smelter’s gray smokestack towers above her, Brenda Browning walks toward a grassy hollow next to the low-slung Herculaneum City Hall building. A paved driveway leads to nowhere. Two white clothesline posts stand absently nearby. This used to be her home. Now, like the plaintiffs who achieved a stunning court victory against the corporations running the smelter, she lives someplace else, her lead-tainted home abandoned and eventually razed.

For young children whose families are tied up in court hearings, sometimes nothing is more comforting than playing with other kids or crawling into a small, safe space. In the Multnomah County Courthouse, in downtown Portland, children who may otherwise have to attend hearings can find respite in a former jury room that the Multnomah Bar Association converted into a free, drop-in child care center run by Volunteers of America.

Paralegal positions, while less lucrative than starting associate jobs, are becoming an attractive option for unemployed lawyers looking for work. “I would say for every five resumes we receive today for paralegal positions, two are from either recent law school graduates or experienced attorneys,” said Mary Arnberg, chief human resources officer at Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady LLP.