Carolina Paralegal News Paralegal news for North and South Carolina

Faced with what increasingly is becoming an issue for bar associations across the country, the state Supreme Court has determined that a Texas paralegal services company was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in Rhode Island. The Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee conducted an investigation into Low Cost Paralegal Services and its operator, Dominique M. Salazar, after the defendants used Internet advertising to target Rhode Islanders for legal services.

A new resource for paralegals, www.howtobecomeaparalegal.com, was put online this summer by its creator, Shelby Crockett. In addition to comprehensive information about paralegal schools and programs throughout the country, the site also offers Crockett’s take on the 25 most popular software applications for paralegals and the 25 essential reference books for the profession.

In a bad economy, it doesn't hurt to have a Plan B. As many law school grads continue to find job pickings slim, paralegals who have gone on to earn their juris doctor degrees are facing a choice they might not have considered before the Great Recession. If there are no attorney jobs available now, would they continuing working as paralegals?

The new tax law, which contains changes to estate, gift and income tax rules, should keep estate planning attorneys busy advising clients on retirement planning for at least the next two years. The changes packed in the tax law signed by President Barack Obama on Dec.17 present lawyers with an opportunity to reach out to clients to review their estate plans. If change is good, big change is better, and the new rules make some major alterations.

How do you know you've got a raging case of burnout? You start a blog called Paralegal Hell. Or at least that's what one senior paralegal - we'll call her PH - decided to do in order to cope with the stress of her long hours at a mid-sized law firm in Texas.

Candace Russell, a paralegal with Nexsen Pruet's Charlotte office, recently received her advanced certified paralegal designation from the National Association of Legal Assistants. Russell is also a participant of NALA's 2011 Leadership Enhancement and Preparation class and an officer in the Metrolina Paralegal Association.

In a recent Q&A interview with Lawyers Weekly (a sister publication of CPN), South Carolina attorney Marcy J. Lamar made a special point of acknowledging how hard paralegals work. Here's what she had to say: Q: Which job would you not want to have and why? Lamar: The legal job I would not want to have is that of a paralegal as I believe their job is much tougher than that of an attorney. Paralegals must know all the particulars of the rules and procedures of the field of law in which they are working. They are responsible for knowing every deadline and making sure their attorney is properly notified of all deadlines.

  By DIANA SMITH, CPN Managing Editor [email protected]  The job market dried up, layoffs loomed and bonuses bit the dust. That may be the gloomy legacy of 2010 when it comes to happenings in the legal industry. The recession left ...

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With fall in full swing, many people are donning their long-sleeved sweaters and warmer dress slacks when they head into work each morning. But that's not the case at every law office.

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The North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification just announced the names of the paralegals that passed the September certification exam. Out of 171 hopefuls who sat for the test, 131 passed. That brings the total number of N.C.-certified ...

Tagged with: North Carolina Paralegal Certification Exam passers Tara Wilder

The North Carolina Paralegal Association is urging all paralegals - both members and non-members - to help the organization accomplish a goal of performing 2,000 hours of pro bono service by October 2011.

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The Charlotte chapter of Women in eDiscovery held its inaugural meeting in June. Women in eDiscovery was founded on May 2, 2007 with the mission of bringing together businesswomen interested in legal technology and to provide opportunities to help themselves and other businesswomen grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking, support and national recognition. The organization has grown internationally to over 4,000 members with new members from all over the world joining daily. At the present time, there are over 28 chapters with regular meetings.

Lynne DeVenny promised to be honest when she announced on her blog in August that she would routinely report her progress on studying for one of the nation's top paralegal certification exams. So it took some pride-swallowing on Sept. 7 for the North Carolina paralegal to tell readers that she didn't pass the sample Communications quiz for the National Association of Legal Assistants' certification exam. "I thought, ‘I was an English major. Words are my thing. Communications will be easy,'" said DeVenny. "But I swore I would tell the truth, even when I fell on my face. I fell on my face," she said.

A career fair for paralegals will be held at the North Carolina Bar Center in Cary on Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the Paralegal Division of the N.C. Bar Association and the ...

Maintaining ethical standards may be one of the trickiest parts of a paralegal's job. But practitioners and educators agree that it's also one of the most crucial.