LegalEdPro and GetLegalJob

The Trial Notebook: A Paralegal’s Advanced Skill

CDiem — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:07:59 +0000

The Trial Notebook

Here are some of the components:

1. Facts of the case

2. Witness List

3. Exhibit List

4. Opening statement

5. Motions (pre-trial)

6. Motions (during trial)

7. Motions (post trial)

8. Closing statement

Take a moment to do a little homework online.

In Google, simply type in the words “parts of a trial notebook” and/or “the electronic trial notebook”. As you will see from your online search, there are many different types of trial notebooks. Click on one of the search results and take a look at the components of the trial notebook.

Attorneys and their staff are having to keep up with technology in order to remain competitive in the courtroom. As a result, the trial notebook has evolved from notebook/paper style to an electronic form. The computerized trial notebook allows an attorney to search for key points quickly while a trial is in progress. An attorney who does not keep up these changes find herself at a distinct disadvantage in the courtroom.

And, so, it is vitally important for the paralegal to develop the advanced skill of compiling a trial notebook in its electronic form (on the computer).

How do you develop this skill?

First, review your initial homework. Review all of the components of a trial notebook.

Second, check out Microsoft One Note software, for instance. There are other software packages out there, however, Microsoft One Note will provide you with a great overview.

Consistently develop higher, more advanced skills as a paralegal and then be sure to note the same on your resume. Never stop learning!ook

Here are some of the components:

1. Facts of the case

2. Witness List

3. Exhibit List

4. Opening statement

5. Motions (pre-trial)

6. Motions (during trial)

7. Motions (post trial)

8. Closing statement

Take a moment to do a little homework online.

And, so, it is vitally important for the paralegal to develop the advanced skill of compiling a trial notebook in its electronic form (on the computer).

How do you develop this skill?

First, review your initial homework. Review all of the components of a trial notebook.

Second, check out Microsoft One Note software, for instance. There are other software packages out there, however, Microsoft One Note will provide you with a great overview.

Consistently develop higher, more advanced skills as a paralegal and then be sure to note the same on your resume. Never stop learning!

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7 Quick Ways to Get Hired as a Legal Secretary or Legal Assistant!

CDiem — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 22:39:08 +0000

Update your computer skills

1. Do you have a working knowledge of Word?

2. How fast do you type?

3. Do you have a basic knowledge of Excel software?

All 3 of these skills are essential in order to land your first job and then remain marketable in the workforce. Once you have the basic skills, it’s important that you begin to learn some of the advanced features as well. Simply place the term “Word advanced features” into Google to see what’s available.

In the legal field, if your goal is to land a job as a litigation legal secretary or litigation legal assistant, then it’s important that you know how to build a trial notebook, summarize a deposition, track your cases, analyze medical records, use the advanced features in Word (Table of Authorities, Table of Contents, etc.) and much more.

For instance, tracking a case’s progress from beginning to end can be accomplished by using an Excel spreadsheet.

Directions for building a trial notebook can be found by simply inserting the term “How to build a trial notebook” or “Create a trial notebook” in the Google search box.

Do you currently use WordPerfect? As much as I personally love this software, it’s important for you to learn Word. Most employers utilize Word, which includes most law firms. Once you have mastered the basics of Word, place it on your resume along with any other skills you have mastered.

4. Tailor your resume

Don’t make the mistake of sending out the same cover letter to every job you’re interested in. It’s important to tailor your cover letter to the position you’re applying for. You must help the reader see you as a perfect fit for their job opening.

How do you do this?

First, take a look at the job you’re applying for. What are the skills the employer is looking for? Are you a match for this position. If so, you need to explain exactly how you are a match (short & sweet) in your cover letter.

5. Write a killer cover letter

The cover letter is essential. Do not send your resume off without one.

Cover letters have a beginning, middle and end. The beginning is your introductory paragraph. The middle paragraph should cover how you are a fit for the job. The ending paragraph should simply advise how to contact you.

6. Market yourself

Utilize social media (LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook) to market yourself. Be sure to utilize separate accounts for business purposes. Remember, you’re not invisible on the ‘Net. Don’t insert anything on your social media sites that you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see. Also, take a moment to analyze your profile picture. Are you presenting a professional image?

7. Dress for Success

Whether it’s for the interview or everyday wear, dress professionally. Stick to the classics: neutral slacks/trousers, beautifully pressed blouse/shirt (for the men – tie, of course), polished shoes, clean fingernails, etc. You get the picture!

Of course, these are very simple tips. For a more detailed look into what it takes to land a job in the Legal Secretary, Legal Assistant or Paralegal fields, check out my book “Legal Break-In: Get That Legal Secretary, Legal Assistant or Paralegal Job!”

puter skills

1. Do you have a working knowledge of Word?

2. How fast do you type?

3. Do you have a basic knowledge of Excel software?

For instance, tracking a case’s progress from beginning to end can be accomplished by using an Excel spreadsheet.

Directions for building a trial notebook can be found by simply inserting the term “How to build a trial notebook” or “Create a trial notebook” in the Google search box.

4. Tailor your resume

How do you do this?

5. Write a killer cover letter

The cover letter is essential. Do not send your resume off without one.

6. Market yourself

7. Dress for Success

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Victoria Ring: A Gracious Lady and Wonderful Mentor

CDiem — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:49:39 +0000

I think it was in 2001 I decided to see if it might be possible to work as a paralegal from my home base. Honestly, there wasn’t much available on the ‘Net in this regard, however, I came upon Victoria Ring’s website where she offered training in the form of an e-book in the consumer bankruptcy field.

After purchasing and reviewing the information, Victoria and I corresponded back and forth over the next couple of years. The timing just wasn’t right for me at the time for a virtual bankruptcy business, however, in 2003 I began a freelance paralegal business instead.

In 2008, the timing was just right and I began my virtual bankruptcy business.

Victoria worked hard on our behalf. She began an association (NAVBA) just for the field. The initial e-book morphed into training videos on cd. If you couldn’t afford the entire training program, Victoria provided a way for those interested to purchase the program one cd at a time.

Her heart and spirit were kind. And she dearly loved the Lord.

Victoria, you will be missed. You fought the good fight and are now with Him. Thanks so much for being you, hon. See you on the other side!

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Case Status Chart: Track Your Case Deadlines Effectively

CDiem — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:14:43 +0000

As I mentioned in my blog post “Whaddya Mean You Missed the Deadline?”, using a Case Status Chart was one of the most effective paralegal tools I’ve ever used to not only track case deadlines but to ensure a bit of job security!

At first, my attorneys laughed at the idea of using a chart. They felt it would be too cumbersome and ineffective. I did begin to use this system, though, and it made a tremendous difference – not only in tracking deadlines but in understanding my cases.

For a free copy of my “Case Status Chart”, simply fill in the form on the front page of the blog. You’ll also receive a copy of my quarterly newsletter.

FYI: Many people take the basic form of this chart and create an Excel spreadsheet with it instead. Just an idea.og post “Whaddya Mean You Missed the Deadline?”, using a Case Status Chart was one of the most effective paralegal tools I’ve ever used to not only track case deadlines but to ensure a bit of job security!

For a free copy of my “Case Status Chart”, simply fill in the form on the front page of the blog. You’ll also receive a copy of my quarterly newsletter.

FYI: Many people take the basic form of this chart and create an Excel spreadsheet with it instead. Just an idea.

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7 Points to Consider Before You Lose Your Job!

CDiem — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:59:15 +0000

1. Have you updated your resume?

2. Have you prepared a cover letter?

3. Is your cover letter and resume saved to a flash drive so that you can forward to a potential employer at any time of the day?

4. Do you have your references listed in case a potential employer requires this as well?

5. Are there people who have employed you who would be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf?

6. Have you built a valuable network of friends and professionals via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook?

7. Keep your interview clothes ready to go at a moment’s notice. You just never know when you’ll receive that important e-mail or call.

Don’t wait until the company collapses, department heads change, the new supervisor doesn’t like you, you didn’t get the raise you deserved, etc. to begin pulling your cover letter, resume, references and letter of recommendation together.

Do it today!

What if it’s time to change jobs and you’ve just received an e-mail from Careerbuilder.com or Indeed.com indicating a position that is just perfect for you?

Time is of the essence!

Have everything ready to go at all times. Preparation and speed are the absolute key. The human resources staff or a law firm administrator will remember those top notch cover letters and resumes which were the first to come across their desks.

Are you prepared?

our resume?

2. Have you prepared a cover letter?

3. Is your cover letter and resume saved to a flash drive so that you can forward to a potential employer at any time of the day?

4. Do you have your references listed in case a potential employer requires this as well?

5. Are there people who have employed you who would be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf?

6. Have you built a valuable network of friends and professionals via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook?

7. Keep your interview clothes ready to go at a moment’s notice. You just never know when you’ll receive that important e-mail or call.

Do it today!

What if it’s time to change jobs and you’ve just received an e-mail from Careerbuilder.com or Indeed.com indicating a position that is just perfect for you?

Time is of the essence!

Are you prepared?

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Whaddya Mean You Missed the Deadline???

CDiem — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:50:14 +0000

“Whaddya Mean You Missed the Deadline???” The dreaded question for all legal staffers whether you are a legal secretary, legal assistant or paralegal.

Missing the dreaded deadline could, in fact, cause you to lose your job.

I know, I know, the attorney is ultimately the one whom the local bar holds responsible for the work product. Very true. But while the attorney may get a reprimand or a “slap on the wrist” from the judge for missing a hearing date or from the local bar for missing a deadline, you could face termination from the job that supports your family.

Maybe for you, the expectation of tracking deadlines and being responsible for them is not “what you signed on for” when you agreed to take the job. Reality is, though, that the attorney absolutely needs a second set of eyes on the deadlines or hearing dates and those eyes are yours.

I’ve been asked in the past why I feel this is part of my responsibility.

In the beginning of my career, I wasn’t expected to track deadlines. The attorneys I worked for early in my career were not full-time litigators, so there weren’t a lot of dates to track. But after landing a job in the personal injury field, it was imperative that I monitor my cases very closely.

When my attorney called in, he wanted to know what was on the calendar for the week – what were the upcoming deadlines?

There is wonderful case management software out there that tracks deadlines beautifully, however, none of the attorneys I worked for would buy it.

So, what I developed was something called a “Case Status Chart”. This is simply a 4 column table with the following titles: “Client”, “Case Info”, “To Do” and “Deadlines”. For a free sample copy, simply fill in the sign up form on the first page of this blog and ask for the “Case Status Chart”. (Please note that by signing up for the free chart that you will receive my newsletter which is published quarterly.)

It’s important for you, as a legal staffer, to take responsibility for tracking deadlines, hearing dates, etc. Be proactive. Get your head inside the case as if your life depended on it. Well, in fact, your working life may just depend on it.

One of the most fantastic benefits from using the Case Status Chart was that my personal stress level was reduced dramatically. Oh, and of course, my attorney’s.

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Leslie Sansone Williams Favorite Legal Resources

CDiem — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:34:53 +0000

Bookmarking my favorite legal resources within my Internet browser of choice (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome and the like) has allowed me to find what I need quickly when attempting to meet very tight deadlines.

Here are some of my favorites:

Thomas – Legislative Resources http://thomas.loc.gov/

Alpha Legal Directory http://www.alphalegal.com/

Current Legal Resources http://www.currentlegal.com

Hieros Gamos http://www.hg.org/index.html

Law Crawler http://www.lawcrawler.com

Lawyers Weekly USA http://www.lawyersweeklyusa.com/

Rominger Legal Resources http://www.romingerlegal.com

LawGuru’s Multiple Resource http://www.lawguru.com/multisearch/multisearch.html

FindLaw http://www.findlaw.com/

The Expert Witness Network http://www.witness.net/

VersusLaw http://www.versuslaw.com/ (Monthly fee)

The Practicing Atty’s Home Page http://www.legalethics.com/

The Nat’l Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov

MetaIndex for US Legal Research http://www.gsulaw.gsu.edu/

LectLaw http://www.lectlaw.com

How to Investigate http://www.howtoinvestigate.com

Nolo http://www.nolo.com

Free Briefs

http://www.usdoj. gov/atr/public/ appellate/ appellate. htm

http://www.llrx. com/features/ briefsonline. htm

Appellate Courts

California:

http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/briefs.htm (Note: You will need a case number to access the files)

Minnesota:

Minnesota Appellate Court Briefs Collection: http://www.lawlibrary.state.mn.us/briefs.html

Federal:

U.S. Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov/05publications/05_2.html

Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/briefs.htm

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: http://www.eeoc.gov/litigation/appbriefs.html

U.S. Office of Special Counsel: http://www.osc.gov/sitemap.htm (Scroll down and look for “Legal Briefs” under “E-Library”

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/briefs.shtml

Advocacy Groups:

Electronic Frontier Foundation: http://www.eff.org

Questionnaires

http://www.ezjustice.com (Click on the “Questionnaire” link for Employment Discrimination, Estate Planning, Family Law and Personal Injury questionnaires)

http://linsie. org/msr/pii. pdf

http://www.thetexaspersonalinjurylawyer.com/CM/Custom/Personal- Injury-Intake-Form.asp

http://www.autoaccident.com/ lawyer-attorney- 1065277.html

http://www.moffalaw.com/CM/Custom/ TOCPersonalInjuryQuestionnaire. asp

http://www.rxwellness.net/files/ PI-Questionnaire .pdf

http://www.phillipsandlyon.com/ CM/Custom/ Personal-Injury-Questionnaire.asp

http://www.salmonchiropractic.com/images/personalinjury.pdf

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Have All of The Paralegal Jobs Disappeared?

CDiem — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:05:29 +0000

Not hardly!

However, as the economy has tightened, law firms have had to rethink their firm’s economic structure which includes not only whom they hire or lay-off but also how they are going to draw customers to their firm through new marketing strategies.

So, if you have recently lost your paralegal job, are a paralegal student or you’re perhaps considering this field, don’t be disheartened.

As I’ve mentioned in my book, “Legal Break-In”, if you’re new to the field, it’s important that you consider very seriously how to enter the legal field through what I call the “back door”. By this I mean, it’s entirely possible to get your “foot in the door” by interviewing for and accepting a position in a law firm as a receptionist, legal secretary or runner. This is a very smart way to enter this job market.

If you’re in paralegal school now, you’re probably thinking, “You mean I’ve spent all of the time in money and the only job available to me will be as a receptionist?”

Think of it this way: if you go to culinary school, do you think you’ll be interviewing for the executive chef position right off the bat? No, right?

You must keep an open mind and be flexible when it comes to how you will ultimately get the job of your dreams. Paying your dues now will lead to greater rewards later. Be patient and again, be flexible.

And speaking of flexibility, what if you’ve just experienced a lay-off? And what if the paralegal job market is a bit tight right now? What do you do? Are you really open to switching positions?

Personally, in order to land a job, I’ve had to remove any mention of paralegal from my resume and cover letter and focus, instead, on my abilities as a legal secretary. Even though I have a 2 year degree in Criminal Justice from a junior college, I have had to remove that information in order to get my foot in the door.

If the market was tight for paralegals in a particular city, I had to be flexible enough and “eat humble pie”, so that I could obtain employment. My typing, computer and organizational skills were very good, so I knew I could land a job in the legal field that didn’t have the title “paralegal”. Instead of listing the word “paralegal” on my resume and cover letter, I had to change the title to “legal assistant”. Why?

I knew that Administrators reviewing my resume would believe that I would require more money if they saw the title “paralegal”. I also knew from experience that if you listed your job title as “paralegal” that if you were interviewing with their company for a legal secretary position, the Administrator would be fearful that you would bolt out the door as soon as the next paralegal position became available.

Make sense?

I’m friends with law firm Administrators, my husband was employed in this capacity as well and I have acted as interim Administrator for one of the law firms I worked for in the past. So, I understand why law firm managers resist hiring people whom they feel are over-qualified for the job.

Keep an open mind when applying for jobs in the legal field and practice flexibility. Your patience and humble spirit will get you where you want to go!

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“Restaurant Impossible” Job Security Lessons for All

CDiem — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:28:38 +0000

Yes, the tv show “Restaurant Impossible” is one of my favorites. While it’s enjoyable to watch the restaurant physical transformations that take place, what I am most satisfied with are the changes that take place within the owner and employees.

Once the restaurant’s weaknesses are exposed, the changes can begin.

Whether you currently work in the legal field or hope to land your first job, it’s important to understand that employers continually need to see how you bring value to their firm. The key word here is “continually”.

If you’re currently employed in the legal field, it’s too easy to become comfortable. As we can see in today’s economy, no job is 100% secure. But what you can do to increase your job security is to become indispensable in the eyes of your employer.

Do you bring value to your employer or are you simply collecting a paycheck?

Many of my colleagues who have worked for sole practitioners understand that you have to be a “jack of all trades”. You simply do not have the luxury of outsourcing the work. An employer will think twice about letting an employee go who is truly seeking to assist and improve the firm.

So what are some of the areas that the employer perceives as having value?

1. Teamwork

2. Flexibility (Not Afraid of Change)

3. Customer Service

4. Work Excellence/Knowledge

5. Attitude

These are all important but there’s one missing. How about “Assisting with Profitability”?

What???

Well, let’s say that you’re already on track and working hard on the above areas. How can you possibly assist with the firm’s profitability?

Well, if you currently work for a sole practitioner or small law firm, are there skills that you could learn that would save the firm money? Here are some that come to mind:

1. Software Installation – For instance, if there is software to be installed, in your off time, could you learn how to install or update software so that your employer does not have to outsource this?

2. Word Skills – have you updated your word processing skills (learned advanced features)?

3. Case Management – how does your firm track the progress of each of its cases? Do they use case management software or a chart of any kind? Could you possibly assist with this?

4. Website – content updates. Are you willing to learn this skill so that your firm does not have to outsource the work?

Think about all of the work your firm currently outsources. How can you take on even a fraction of it to ensure that your job is more secure?

Remember: as you develop new skills, add them to your resume. Also, if you are able to earn a certificate in a specific skill, do so and then frame it. Bring your certificate to work for all the world to see.

Let me know what you think.