There is really no need to hide or be ashamed of the fact that I am a legal nerd. If you know me, work with me, or read my paralegal blog regularly, you already know it. What makes me a legal nerd? Read on to find out: 1. I think legal research is fun. You…
Considering becoming a freelance paralegal? You should take a serious look at your motives, personality, experience, and finances, just for starters. I am going to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly on being a freelance paralegal versus being a law-firm-employed paralegal. I prefer bad news first, so here goes… • You will…
I graduated from paralegal school in May 1992 which makes this the 20th anniversary of my paralegal certificate. Happy Anniversary to me! Well, time flies and things changes. Take a stroll down paralegal memory lane with me as I look at what has changed in twenty years… The Paralegal Job Market When I was finishing…
Do you know someone who has been a victim of a crime? If you answered no, you are probably wrong. Statistically speaking, you most likely have a friend, a relative, a co-worker, or a neighbor who has been the victim of a crime. Perhaps you have been a crime victim yourself; if so, do…
For Valentine’s Day, everyone is talking about love. I am not much of a “me too” writer, so today’s post is about hate. I am a believer that the line between love and hate is fine. They are both very passionate emotions, which is why we must be careful what we hate. I am referring…
We have moments in our careers that we will remember forever; some for good reasons, some for bad. I had one of those “paralegal career moments” early on when I drafted a pleading for Matlock. Here is a little back story for my more youthful readers. Bobby Lee Cook is a famous criminal defense attorney…
One of my dearest, longtime friends recently called me a crusader. My immediate mental image was of a knight on horseback waving a flag. When I asked her why she called me that she said it was because I like to talk about ideas. This is absolutely true, but I was not sure it qualified…
Document reviews have changed drastically since I became a paralegal in 1992. E-discovery is now its own industry and the market place is full of document review technology products that did not exist only a few years ago. Even though we have moved from paper to PDF, I have found something that remains the same…
No. You are not an ABA-Certified Paralegal. Even if you graduated from an ABA-approved paralegal program and have “ABA-Certified Paralegal” plastered all over your resume and LinkedIn Profile, you are in fact NOT an ABA-Certified Paralegal because there is no such thing. If you follow me on Twitter, you have heard me express my frustration…
I have been thinking about my career goals. I would like to be the perfect paralegal, wouldn’t you? Hmmm, what would make me the perfect paralegal? For starters, I would like to always know what the attorney wants; never make a mistake; only work on big cases; know how to do everything possible; and never get emotional…