NWFPA STUDENT AND REMOTE MEMBERSHP
Transcription
NWFPA STUDENT AND REMOTE MEMBERSHP
Volume 5, Issue 2 Spring 2014 NWFPA STUDENT AND REMOTE MEMBERSHP What’s in it for you? By Taxie Lambert, FRP and Sylvia Jarrett, CLA Meetings: Member Meetings: April 22, 2014 May 27 , 2014 June 24, 2014 Board Meetings: April 8, 2014 May 13, 2014 June 10, 2014 Inside this issue: NWFPA—Student & Remote Membership—What’s in it for you? 1 President’s Message 2 Editor’s Message 3 NWFPA—What’s in it for me? 8 Grammar Gurus 10 Did You Know 12 NWFPA Member & Team Spotlight 14 In Summary 16 Member Activities 18 Hear Ye, Hear He! 21 Who says being a student is all work and no fun? Student membership within the NWFPA is a great start to adding fun into your life as a student. Whether it is your first semester or last semester at school, NWFPA Student Membership offers plenty of fun time while providing a great return from your annual membership investment. If you are considering membership with NWPFA or you are currently a student member, let’s examine how you can reap the benefits to NWF P A Stud en t Membership. B Become acquainted with NWFPA E Establish a network amongst seasoned paralegals N No commitment with attendance to meetings E Easy access to Q & A Forum F Fun and relaxing atmosphere I Investing in your career T Talk to Mentors in your profession S Scholarship program Student membership is open to any student who is actively enrolled in good standing in a paralegal program at any college, junior college, university, or other school, which school and program is: (a) ABA approved, or (b) Institutionally accredited and requires not less than the equivalent of 60 semester hours of classroom study, and who submits an attestation signed by a professor or administrator of such program attesting to such enrollment See §5.4, Qualifications for Student- Members, of the NWFPA By-Laws. Because NWFPA can empathize with students being on a strict schedule and budget, NWPFA has taken steps to ensure student membership provides a great return on its annual membership dues of $25.00. By providing an atmosphere more open to having fun rather than an undertaking of an extra commitment, the Association provides many benefits for your low cost annual dues. Fun begins with becoming acquainted with NWFPA and all it has to offer students. NWFPA provides monthly meetings to all its members, including student members. By providing a fun and exciting atmosphere, student members sit Continued on Page 4 Volume 5, Issue 2 ParaLegal News Spring 2014 President’s Message . . . Caroline Peterson, RN, FRP It’s hard to believe that it is already April 2014. This is typically a very busy time personally and professionally as we wind down the school year and start up the summer. NWFPA has been very busy too! I would like to thank those of you who donated to LeapPlay as we were able to provide necessary supplies to help stock the Children’s Room at Sacred Heart Hospital. The Charity Team is working with Manna on a summer food drive to begin in May and end with our June meeting. They are also working with United Way to help “Cram the Van” to assist local school children in starting their school year out with the supplies they need to be successful. Speaking of success, the Team is also working on a Fall Professional Clothing Drive. So as you do your spring cleaning please put aside some items to help local organizations help other women (and men) make a professional start. We have made some changes to the NWFPA website, some have been favorable and others have not. We appreciate everyone who voiced an opinion at the business meeting. It was great to get that feedback and just what we need to continue to meet the needs of our association and community. “ I would like to thank those of you who donated to LeapPlay…” I hope everyone has a lovely spring! UPCOMING COURT HOLIDAYS Friday, April 18, 2014—Good Friday Holiday Monday, May 26, 2014—Memorial Day Holiday Friday, July 4, 2014—Independence Day Holiday Farewell Dana! Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 2 Volume 5, Issue 2 ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Message from the Editor . . . Jenice C. Jones, CP, FRP Welcome spring! I am certainly enjoying this milder weather and sunshine! In this issue of the newsletter our main focus is on NWPA membership. You may note a common theme of “What’s in it for you” and “What’s in it for me?” I want to thank Newsletter Team members, Taxie Lambert and Sylvia Jarrett, for preparing our lead article focusing on student and remote membership. Great job Ladies! I also want to thank NWFPA members, Debra Bass and April Swift, for their submissions regarding NWFPA membership and E-Filing, respectively. We truly appreciate each of you for taking the time to prepare these wonderful articles for our newsletter. We are also continuing with our spotlight on an active member, student member, remote member and NWFPA Team. We hope everyone is enjoying this new feature, and we may be contacting you to feature your profile in the next edition! Have a safe and happy spring everyone! Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Spring has sprung! Page 3 Volume 5, Issue 2 ParaLegal News Spring 2014 NWFPA Student & Remote Membership—What’s in it for you? - Continued amongst seasoned paralegals while collaborating over lunch and listening to various guest speakers throughout the year. The best thing about these meetings is there isn’t any pressure from the Association in regard to attendance and even better, the student member receives a discounted lunch rate. The student picks and chooses which meeting to attend by simply responding to the monthly invitation. While the monthly meetings are a great return on your membership investment, through networking amongst seasoned paralegals, this type of formal setting and structured meeting times might conflict with your strict schedule or limited funds. If that is the case, students should consider joining any of the several committees sponsored by NWFPA. Since most of these committees have been established for years, all the work in creating them has been provided from members in years past, thus, creating a fun yet informal setting to collaborate with future colleagues-including local attorneys (i.e., potential employers). The Association wants to ensure this extracurricular activity has a lasting impression, filled with fun and memorable events, therefore, students aren’t allowed to chair any committee. The Association sees this as a time for students to develop skills and relationships within the law community, things not offered in the classroom. In the upcoming weeks, NWFPA will launch a new question and answer forum for student members which will tie into the Mentor Program currently offered by NWFPA. This forum will provide a means to communicate with seasoned paralegals for those questions you might be afraid of asking inside the classroom. Better yet, maybe you clearly want to understand how everything connects in the real world. In addition to the forum, the Association offers students an opportunity to apply for the NWFPA Student Liaison Committee Scholarship. Unlike the monthly meetings, committees or mentor program, students don’t have to be a member of the association in order to apply for the scholarship. However, since the scholarship is merit based driven, extra points are given to those student members who are actively on the membership roster, providing another great investment return from student membership. Because there isn’t any pressure to attend monthly meetings or to serve as a committee leader, students are encouraged to come and mingle with future colleagues. Whether it’s by electronic or inperson communication, NWFPA has you covered when reaping the most from your student membership. Never during a student’s college experience will a student have the opportunity to have as many seasoned paralegals at their disposal. Your membership investment of $25.00 annually has the potential to provide you with a huge investment return, both professionally and financially. NOW Let’s CHEER for our “Remote Members!” Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 4 Volume 5, Issue 2 Newsletter Title ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Page 5 NWFPA Student & Remote Membership—What’s in it for you? - Continued What are some of the benefits of R E M O T E Membership? R E M O T E Real time attendance at seminars Educational opportunities Membership in a great association Opportunity to Network Time saving Engage with others! In 2011, NWFPA began experimenting with providing remote access to their luncheon meetings to allow paralegals that lived too far to travel to the meetings and/or were located or working in an area that did not have an active paralegal association. Working through technical problems with the assistance of some “computer savvy” paralegals and others who assisted the association, NWFPA developed and maintains a real-time webcast of their monthly meetings. These webcasts even allow remote viewers to ask questions and participate at the end of the speaker’s presentation. “Remote members” have ALL of the benefits of active members except for the following: They They They may not vote as can active members; may not be committee chair persons (but can serve on committees); and may not be elected as an Officer of the Executive Committee. See §5.6, Qualifications for Remote Members, of the NWFPA By-Laws. One of our remote members, Dena Powell, who has worked for many years at a law firm in Panama City, shared that remote membership has provided her access to CLE credits in order to fulfill her CLE requirements to maintain the Florida Registered Paralegal designation. Dena has not only participated as a remote member, by has become involved in NWFPA by volunteering and serving on the NWFPA FRP Committee and attended the Florida Bar FRP committee meeting in Orlando two years ago. She is also pleased with the networking with other legal assistants in the Panhandle and through her work with the NWFPA FRP Committee in Orlando. Dena is a great example of our “remote membership” in action. She stated, “With a little effort, a remote member can make a big difference in their community.” Another former active member and President of NWFPA, Dana Martinez-Jones, moved even further away from the Pensacola area, but remains a remote member. When Dana was here, she was always busy in the association and championed our association to others. Despite her distance from our area, she maintains her membership and is pleased that it allows her to keep up with NWFPA’s progress, the friends and colleagues she met and worked with while in Pensacola, and allows her to “get CLE credits from the convenience of my desk at work.” She further stated that technically, the remote broadcasts of the monthly meetings have improved with less problems and glitches in the quality. Dana said, “Just because we are attending remotely does not mean that we cannot contribute and/or participate in some fashion. I will continue to remain a remote member and am appreciative of the opportunity and advances of doing so.” Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 5 Volume 5, Issue 2 Newsletter Title ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Page 6 NWFPA Student & Remote Membership—What’s in it for you? —Continued Several other remote members were contacted to discuss the pros and cons of remote membership and following are some of their comments: Merry Beth Andrews works in the Santa Rosa County Attorneys’ office in Milton. She is very happy to be a remote member as it allows her to attend seminars and obtain CLE credit from her desk. Because of the approximate one hour round trip from Milton to the meetings, she couldn’t be away from her work for two hours or more. She enjoys most of the speakers, but would like to see topics that include administrative law, real estate, and some other topics. She is also participating as a remote member on the FRP Committee. Dolores Coleman of the Pittman Firm in Panama City, Florida, is also very happy to be able to obtain CLE credits for FRP designation. She is happy with the quality of the webcast and the speakers. Because there are few opportunities for seminars in her immediate area, it is a great benefit to be able to obtain CLE credits without spending money and time to travel to Pensacola, Tallahassee or central Florida. We also received comments from Donna Bryant who works at a law firm in Navarre. Although she has signed up as a remote member, she has not yet attended a meeting remotely. I reminded her that not only could she attend remotely, she can participate and join committees as a remote member. She is now a new contact for me as I am for her. You never know when you may need to network with others in our field! In closing, let’s give a shout out and a cheer to our remote members and make them feel welcome! Why don’t you share NWFPA with others that you come in contact with that might fit in the category as a remote user, i.e., those who meet requirements of active membership and work outside the fifteen (15) mile radius of the monthly meetings! Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 6 Volume 5, Issue 2 Newsletter Title ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Page 7 LAW WEEK 2014 The theme for Law Day 2014 is: American Democracy and the Rule of Law: Why Every Vote Matters Our local Law Day Luncheon will be held Thursday, May 1, 2014 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Grand Ballroom Guest Speaker: David Stafford, Supervisor of Elections for Escambia County Admission: $20.00 Contact the Bar office at 434-8135 or esrba@esrba.com for reservations NWFPA is again partnering with the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association to sponsor an essay contest for local 11th and 12th grade students. Look for the winner’s picture and essay to be featured in our next newsletter! Other local Law Week activities: Church Service, Sunday, April 27, 2014. Location: East Brent Baptist Church. Judicial Reception, Thursday, May 1, 2014. Location: Crowne Plaza Grand Hotel Annual Free Legal Clinic. Saturday, May 3, 2014. Location: St. Sylvester’s Church, Navarre, FL The NWFPA Law Week Team will be seeking volunteers from our association to assist with the Free Legal Clinic so if you can help out please let them know! Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 7 Volume 5, Issue 2 Newsletter Title ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Page 8 What’s in it for me? By Debra H. Bass, FRP What's in it for me? That seems to be the prevailing attitude these days. The current generation has been raised on a total sense of fair play, taken to the extreme. There are no winners and losers, only winners. Everyone gets a trophy. The "what's in it for me" attitude is also prevalent in church and civic groups. This becomes more and more evident by observing the dynamics of these groups. For members of the Northwest Florida Paralegal Association ("NWFPA"), here is “what’s in it for you”. NWFPA is a not for profit association specifically for paralegals and students studying to become paralegals in the northwest Florida area, although the membership does have a few members outside of the state. There are currently 119 members and student members in NWFPA. NWFPA is run by its Board, consisting of a President, First and Second Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Parliamentarian and a National Association of Legal Assistants ("NALA") Liaison. The Board meets once a month and follows the fundamental core principles set out in the Bylaws and Policy Manual of NWFPA. They also address member concerns and work with Team Leaders on several philanthropic events that NWFPA holds throughout the year to benefit local charities. Each officer has a specific role that they work on accomplishing throughout the year for the benefit of its members and the Association as a whole. Officers are elected in September of every year. NWFPA also has several "Teams" that consist of a Team Leader and Team Members, who work to affect the goals of NWPFA, most of which specifically benefit the membership. Four of the seven Board members have been on the Board in some capacity at least four years. The nominations team struggles every year to have enough members agree to be on the ballot to serve on the Board. Team leaders (most of which are also Board members) struggle to sign up members to serve as Team Members. Yet, those Board members and Team Leaders serve in their capacity because they want to give back to NWFPA the way that past leaders gave to them before they got involved. The NWFPA membership meets once a month for a luncheon meeting. Most of the meetings have a speaker, (arranged for by the First Vice President) that speak on a topic related to the legal field. This allows each member to obtain certified legal education ("CLE") credits that can be used to satisfy either NALA requirements for Certified Paralegals and/or The Florida Bar requirements for Florida Registered Paralegals. Three months out of the year the NWFPA Bylaws require a memberNorthwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 8 Volume 5, Issue 2 Newsletter Title ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Page 9 What’s in it for me? - Continued ship meeting that is used to discuss and sometimes vote on business that has come before the Board. In December each year, NWFPA, through the efforts of the Christmas Team, holds an auction, and the monies raised by the auction benefit the Children's Services Center. All of the Board members, Team Leaders and Team Members have full time jobs and families, and are dedicated individuals that have the desire and drive to make NWFPA grow and become better for its members. They are doing an incredible job for the membership of NWFPA. It is time for our members to be proud of being a member of such a wonderful, diverse and unique group of individuals that share a common goal of becoming the best paralegals they can be. It is time to stand up and be heard, to set goals and work toward those goals with other like-minded paralegals and volunteer to be a Team Member, or better yet, gain experience by serving at least one year as an Officer on the Board. This allows you to get to know your fellow Board members and learn the inner workings of NWFPA. It is time to recognize that by only reaping the benefits of membership and not giving back, we will lose our drive and ambition to want to make NWFPA the best paralegal association in the State of Florida, better yet, in the nation. All it takes is a little time and effort to start and I guarantee you will most certainly feel like you are investing in your future as a paralegal by making NWFPA a better association for everyone. And that’s the bottom line. Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 9 Volume 5, Issue 2 Newsletter Title ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Page 10 GRAMMAR GURUS Modern Grammar & Punctuation By Elizabeth Crane, ACP, FRP Grammar and punctuation—those annoying, miniscule technicalities that we thought would no longer apply after grade school are unfortunately a daily part of a paralegal’s life. Proper grammar and punctuation are essential elements of an effective and efficient writing style. Apathetic grammar and punctuation make documents difficult to read and can lead to misunderstandings. In the document-intensive legal profession, many of us rely on skimreading (speed reading) to make it through the large volume of documents going in and out of our offices on a daily basis. A well-written and well-organized document is much easier to skim-read than one full of errors and careless linguistic mistakes. In this fast-paced, tech-savvy world with a variety of instant resources at your fingertips, modern business writings are evolving. Here are a few changes taking place, and how to stay current: 1. Your document must be visually engaging. Before a single word is read, the document must look well-organized, clean, and smart. Everyone is busy and overscheduled, and if your document looks like a mess—it will get pushed aside. The modern business writing trend is minimalism—the reader should have to do minimal work to determine the layout and content of your document. 2. Bullet lists. The outdated way of writing bulleted lists was to use semi-colons after each point. The second-to-last point had a semi-colon plus ‘and,’ and the final point ended with a period. Modern business writers are mostly using two layouts: (1) full sentence lists, using normal sentence punctuation; or (2) sentence fragments relating to a main statement without any requisite punctuation. 3. Spaces between sentences. The current trend is to have one space between sentences, not two. The use of two spaces dates back to typewriter days. 4. Sentence case for headings. In the past, all important words in titles and headings began with capital letters. While we still use this style for book titles (such as “Paralegal Today”), for headings and subheadings in business writings, the modern approach is sentence form (i.e., an initial capital at the beginning and for proper nouns). This style has the advantage that you no longer have to worry about what is an “important” word. Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 10 Volume 5, Issue 2 Newsletter Title ParaLegal News Spring 2014 Page 11 GRAMMAR GURUS—Continued 5. The Oxford comma. Also called the “serial comma,” is probably one of the most debated punctuation rules. There have been rumors circulating for the past few years that Oxford had dumped its Oxford comma. For now, the Oxford comma is still technically a valid rule, although now it is “optional” according to www.oxforddictionaries.com. 6. Instant Grammar Check. Yes, you read that correctly. There is now a website where you can copy and paste your document, and have it instantly proofread! Check out Grammarly, The World’s Best Grammar Checker, at www.grammarly.com. While it’s a bit on the pricey side for a monthly, quarterly or annual subscription, for those who are grammatically deficient, this is a great option. As writing styles continue to evolve, whichever grammatical and punctuation rules you choose to follow, be sure to stay consistent within your individual writings. And, always proofread your work. __________________________________ References: Sterbenz, Christina (Sept. 12, 2013). The 11 Most Common Grammatical Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. http://www.businessinsider.com/11-common-grammatical-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them2013-9 Styles in Modern Business Writing. http://www.onlinegrammar.com.au/styles-in-modern-businesswriting/ Why Modern Grammar is Important to Business. http://www.illumine.co.uk/blog/2012/02/whymodern-grammar-is-important-to-businesses/ How many of our eagle-eyed readers caught the typo on page 10? We included this to stress the importance of proofreading. Even a simple typographical error can be missed! Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 11 Volume 5, Issue 2 ParaLegal News Spring 2014 DID YOU KNOW? E-Filing – The Ever Evolving System By April L. Swift The e-Portal system is evolving as developers of the e-filing system have been listening to the input received from within the legal community. The file size of a document remains a very important issue and it can now be seen once you have uploaded the file to the portal. E-service is now available through the portal as those rules evolve. Judges and the courtrooms are evolving to meet the demand of a technology savvy legal system as well. E-filing for Criminal Division is now mandatory as the final divisions of the Court are coming on board with the e-filing system. While many become frustrated with the changes and updates to the system, most of these changes are for the better such as the addition of a memo line for the filer’s reference. The file size requirement for all documents filed through the e-portal system is 25MB or smaller. A new feature was added to the portal that allows the viewer to see the file size once the document is uploaded to the portal. It is important to check this file size to ensure it is 25MB or smaller before submitting the document through the portal. The Clerk explained the rejection process for the size does not happen automatically but rather is processed by the clerk. The portal is like a funnel, if it is clogged up with an oversized file it will stop all other filings from going through until someone manually kicks that oversized file out of the portal thus holding up everyone else’s filing. The Court has asked that you please pay special attention to your file sizes to avoid this bottleneck in the E-Portal System. Pursuant to Florida Supreme Court’s amendment to the Rules of Judicial Administration on November 14, 2013, after verifying that the Portal uses the names and e-mail addresses provided by the parties, a filer can serve the document through the Portal – Rule 2.516(b)(1). However, Rule 2.516(f) which is often overlooked requires that the certificate of service include the name, addresses used for service, and mailing addresses of the recipients even though it is being served via email. While Rule 2.516(b)(1)(D)(i) states that “service is complete on the date the served document is electronically filed” if the e-mail is sent by the Portal, it is important to remember that pursuant to Rule 2.516(b)(1)(iii) the e-mail service is still “treated as service by mail for the computation of time.” Service by Other Means may be required if the attorney desires to provide a shorter response time as Rule 2.516(b)(2) sets forth “the computation of time for any response to the served document shall be based on the method of service that provides the shortest response time.” Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 12 Volume 5, Issue 2 ParaLegal News Spring 2014 DID YOU KNOW? (continued) The Courts are making internal changes to help the Judges view the pleadings electronically, sign orders electronically and make edits to documents submitted through the portal. This “Judicial View” is completed and in place in Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County. Court administration is currently working on Escambia County with a target completion date of April 2014. Once Escambia County is completed, the focus will be to get Walton County’s Judicial View up and running. Remember to leave enough room for the Judge’s electronic signature block on any orders submitted to the Court. In the past, Santa Rosa County’s signature block for the Judge’s signature including date and time stamp was very small and hard to read but has since been made larger. The Courtrooms are also becoming more technology savvy. The target date for 2 of the 3 Escambia County courtrooms to have full technology hook up where you will be able to bring in your tablet or laptop and plug right into the Courtroom is December 2014. E-filing became mandatory for Criminal Division as of February 3, 2014. It is important to keep in mind that this system is only as fast as the individuals accepting the pleadings on the Courts end of the files. Just as in the past the filings are worked by the Clerk’s office in the order they are received. Depending on the division and how busy they are, it takes up to a week for an e-portal filing to be processed. Thus, especially in Criminal, if you file a notice of appearance the night before arraignment, the Judge will not have it at arraignment AND the attorney will need to appear in Court at arraignment. Clerk’s offices are advising filing documents at least three (3) days in advance of the arraignment or hearing OR showing up in Court. Also, make sure your email address and any secondary address is in the signature block of EVERY pleading. This not only helps the public defender’s office but is required under Fla. R. Jud. Proc. 2.515(a). As the portal evolves and moves to a system where even pro-se litigants can e-file documents, it will be a system that requires its users to change and adapt. Filers must be aware of the changes in judicial rules and the requirements of the system. The Judges and court administration will be learning new systems as technology comes to the courtrooms. Criminal attorneys are now on board with required e-filing and the state attorney’s office and public defender’s office are making the changes to have that system work to their benefit. So while the technological changes to the legal field can be frustrating for some, the plan is that ultimately these changes will improve the legal system in Florida. Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 13 Volume 5, Issue 2 ParaLegal News Spring 2014 NWFPA MEMBER & TEAM SPOTLIGHT— By Caroline Peterson, RN, FRP & Jenice C. Jones, CP, FRP NAME: Jodi McArthur FIRM: Beggs & Lane, attorney Russell Van Sickle ACTIVE MEMBER WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING A PARALEGAL: Probably learning something new every day. I love my job. I do a lot of fact finding. Interviewing client, witnesses, etc. and looking at their docs to find what we need to prove our case is something I really enjoy. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION: Being a part of an organization that really helps the community. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR PERSONALLY & PROFESSIONALLY: Personally – plan a wedding, paint my house, grow great grass, plant a veggie garden, teach my kids to drive and drum roll please…Win the lottery!! - Professionally – Bill more hours and take the CP test. PERSONAL: I’m engaged to the most wonderful man ever. We’re planning a wedding. We just don’t have a date yet. I do have children. My daughter, Tori (18) is in college. My son, Trenton (17) is still in high school. I have two Shih Tzus, Max and Sebastian. I enjoy working in the yard, scrapbooking, interior decorating, gardening, going to the beach, and hanging out with friends. NWFPA LAW WEEK TEAM CHAIR: Jodi McArthur MEMBERS: Krisi Porter, Julie Riseau OVERVIEW: . Law Day was first celebrated in 1958 with President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Proclamation establishing Law Day. The Law Week Team tries to keep the original goal of Law Day in mind when they are planning the events which is “a day of national dedication to the principles of governmental law.” This year’s theme is “Why every vote matters.” The luncheon will be held on May 1 st and our keynote speaker is David Stafford, the supervisor of Elections for Escambia County. The annual Free Clinic will be held on May 3rd from 9 am to 12 pm at St. Sylvester’s Church in Navarre. The charity for this year is “Back Pack Buddies” which helps local children who suffer from hunger have meals when they are away from school. Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 14 Volume 5, Issue 2 ParaLegal News Spring 2014 NWFPA MEMBER & TEAM SPOTLIGHT—(continued) NAME: Sarah L. Olive-Smith STUDENT MEMBER SCHOOL: University of West Florida majoring in Legal Studies. I will be graduating this August 2014. AREA OF LAW: I am interested in Real Estate Law, Construction Law & Commercial Law WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE PARALEGAL FIELD: I always knew I wanted to do something associated with the law since it runs in my family. I want to work as a paralegal to get some real world law firm experience before going to law school. I want to go to either FSU or Georgetown. However, if I find a Paralegal job that I love, working with people I love, I would stay in the area and not go to law school. PERSONAL: I am married and have one 10 year old son. My husband medically retired from the USAF after receiving injuries while serving. We also have two Dachsunds, Sizzles & Sophie. HOBBIES: I love reading, especially Stephen King. I am a closet gamer. I play more Minecraft than I should and spend too much time on Steam playing indie games. I am an antique hunter, and I have a passion for Victorian furniture. NAME: April Williams, CP REMOTE MEMBER FIRM: I am a corporate paralegal for Yates Construction, Jackson, MS, one of the Top 10 largest construction companies in the United States. Which is to be interpreted, I am a busy girl. AREA OF LAW: Corporate and construction law. WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING A PARALEGAL: I love the variety this career offers. For the most part, every day is different with new challenges and means of resolving those challenges. It allows you to be as creative and technical as you choose to be, working toward the common goal of resolving a situation for your clients. The best part of this job is that you get the see the end of a situation and/or case and move on from it. PROFESSIONAL GOALS: Professional goals include getting my ACP certification. It’s on my “to-do” list for now. Long, long term goals include law school…a bridge I may cross when my daughter has gotten a bit older. PERSONAL: I’m married to a wonderful, brilliant man, Johnathon, and we will be celebrating a nineyear anniversary next month. I have a soon-to-be-six-year-old daughter, Emily. My hobbies include ballroom dancing, ballet, and snow skiing. Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 15 Volume 4, Issue 4 ParaLegal News Fall 2013 IN SUMMARY—Highlights from NALA’S Facts & Findings By: Dana Martinez-Jones, ACP Almost everyone of one of us is, has in our family, or knows a veteran. Operation Enduring Freedom is in its 13th year and our society is seeing more and more veterans with every anniversary of this “war”. This means there is an increasing need to understand the areas of law that affect our veterans and how we, as paralegals, can make a difference in their world. The March/April edition of Facts & Findings1 has devoted several sections to Military/Veteran’s Law. All of these sections are educational and can be beneficial to know in our Northwest Florida area in which several military bases are located. These “tidbits” allow paralegals an impetus to make a change in a career or can even encourage volunteering and/or pro bono work. Having been married to a soldier, now a veteran, for over 10 years, I learned some very interesting things from all the articles, but will focus on the one entitled “Complying with SCRA… Defaulting a Servicemember”. I had always heard that if a service member was deployed, that person could not be sued at all. Not quite so. Interestingly, the law to protect service members from litigation while in service goes back to the Civil War Era and has evolved over the years. The necessity for this law came about when it was noticed that some plaintiffs would use the litigation process to their advantage when they believed the defendant could not defend himself. A complaint was filed and a default taken. This affected the service member detrimentally and often served to negatively affect their performance in the defense of the Country. Thus, during the Civil War a “total moratorium on civil actions” was put in place for Union soldiers, but ended with the War. During World War I the moratorium was enacted as The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act, and eventually evolved into what we have today: The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Although the SCRA is in place, there are varying circumstances in which a service member can be sued. That being said, the plaintiff must exercise due diligence to prove to the court that the defendant is not currently serving in the military. There is a database that can be used to ascertain a defendant’s status in that regard. If the service member is indeed in active status, whether or not the civil action can go forward will depend upon a number of criterions for a judge to consider when ruling: Where is the defendant serving? Can he get leave? Does he have the ability to appear through technological means? Does the service member’s Commanding Officer feel the participation in the civil matter would impede the service member’s ability to perform his duties while on active duty? If the service member is on active duty, a default judgment “may not” be entered against him without the court first appointing counsel for that service member – if a judge decides to allow the matter to go forward at all. ________________________________ 1Waters, D., ACP. (2014). Complying with SCRA…Defaulting a Servicemember. Facts & Findings/The Magazine for Paralegals, Volume XL Issue 5, pages 6-8. Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 16 Volume 4, Issue 4 ParaLegal News Fall 2013 IN SUMMARY—(continued) If the Court does enter a Default Judgment against a service member while he is on Active Duty, there are remedies. If the service member is unable to appear and the Court allows a default to be granted, under the SCRA, the service member can petition the Court to reopen the default and give him the opportunity to fight it, but the service member must appeal to the issuing court while he is on active duty or within 90 days after the duty ends. When making this appeal the service member must show prejudice due to active duty service in the military. The defaults are usually set aside when the service member is able to prove his circumstances. Our military folks have already given, and do still give, so much to our Country, as do their families. They should all find comfort in knowing that thanks to the SCRA there are limits on how and when an active duty service member can have civil actions brought against them. And, thanks to articles such as this in NALA’s Facts & Findings, we, as paralegals, can use this information to help us to serve those veterans we know and/or love. There was so much more to be learned from this edition of Facts & Findings so as to be helpful to our veterans or active military. In fact, these bi-monthly journals for paralegals are chock–full of tips and information to help us to improve our paralegal careers and be helpful to others. One of the perks of being an NWFPA member is that since the NWFPA is an Affiliated Association of NALA, any NWFPA member who is not a NALA member has the opportunity to subscribe to this great magazine for a discounted rate. The Facts & Findings, coupled with our NWFPA’s exceptional newsletter, puts us on this road to improvement. From the March/April 2014 Issue of Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 17 Volume 4, Issue 4 ParaLegal News Fall 2013 MEMBER ACTIVITIES—PRESENTATION OF CHECK TO CHILDREN’S SERVICES CENTER At the February membership meeting a check for $4,119.50 was presented to the Pensacola Children’s Services Center. CHARITY TEAM UPDATE As a result of the NWFPA’s one-time drive to benefit LeapPlay, on March 25, 2014, NWFPA members donated a box of toys, coloring books, art supplies, etc. for the new Children’s Room at Sacred Heart, along with a $500 donation from James Wilson and Joseph Wilson, attorneys at Wilson, Harrell, Farington, Ford, Wilson, Spain and Parsons. KUDOS TO THE CHARITY TEAM! Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 18 Volume 4, Issue 4 ParaLegal News Fall 2013 Click on the course name for a course description, registration, and speaker bio information. Day and Time LIVE! Course Category Central Time April 2014 Patent Prosecution Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Noon – 2 pm J. Nevin Shaffer, Jr., P.A. General CLE Intermediate Thursday, April 10, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Advanced Ethics Vicki Voisin, ACP General CLE Advanced; Ethics Friday, April 11, 2014 11 am – 1 pm Judgment and Legal Analysis Virginia Koerselman Newman, Attorney Certified Paralegal Exam Review Monday, April 14, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Advances in Courtroom Technology Rebecca E. Patty, JD General CLE Tuesday, April 15, 2014 3 – 5 pm Civil Litigation: Part II Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD Certified Paralegal Exam Review Wednesday, April 16, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Commercial Real Estate Closings Eva M. Merrell, ACP General CLE Intermediate Thursday, April 17, 2014 Noon – 2 pm Trademark Prosecution Deborah A. Hampton General CLE Tuesday, April 22, 2014 3 – 5 pm Civil Litigation: Part III Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD Certified Paralegal Exam Review Monday, April 28, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Legal Writing: You are Only as Good as Your Mistakes Rebecca E. Patty, JD General CLE Tuesday, April 29, 2014 11 am – 12:30 pm Basic Business Organizations Kelly A. LaGrave, ACP Certified Paralegal Exam Review Tuesday, April 29, 2014 3 – 5 pm American Legal System: Part 1 Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD Certified Paralegal Exam Review Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Social Media Outlets: How to Access Information, Prepare Subpoenas and What To Ask For Joseph Caruso General CLE Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 19 Volume 4, Issue 4 ParaLegal News Fall 2013 Click on the course name for a course description, registration, and speaker bio information. Day and Time LIVE! Course Category Central Time May 2014 Tuesday, May 1, 2014 3 – 5 pm Friday, May 2, 2014 11 am – 1 pm Monday, May 5, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm American Legal System: Part 2 Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD Legal Research Virginia Koerselman Newman, Attorney General CLE Rebecca E. Patty, JD Whose Cloud is it Anyway Joseph Caruso Ethics and Technology Thursday, May 8, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Vicki Voisin, ACP Friday, May 9, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Friday, May 16, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Certified Paralegal Exam Review State and Federal Administrative Law Tuesday, May 6, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Wednesday, May 14, 2014 Noon – 1:30 pm Certified Paralegal Exam Review iPad for Paralegals Christina L. Koch, ACP General CLE General CLE Ethics General CLE Essential Spanish for Paralegals General CLE Carla M. Valenzuela, CP Using Paralegals as Jury Consultants Northwest Florida Paralegal Association General CLE Mary Kubichek, JD Page 20 Volume 4, Issue 4 ParaLegal News Fall 2013 Hear ye, hear ye…. *NWFPA MANNA FOOD DRIVE* *2014 NALA CONVENTION* July 23-25, 2014 Charleston, South Carolina Make your plans to attend now as our own Kris Hill & Lydia Brackett will be presenting “Power Up! How to Boost Your Brain Power” at the NALA Member Exchange at the convention. Go to www.nala.org for registration information. NWFPA will be kicking off the Manna Food Drive at the April 22, 2014 meeting to ensure the Manna pantry is well stocked for the summer. The drive will conclude at the May 27, 2014 meeting. Manna will be delivering the food drive barrels to firms the week of April 21. If you would like to arrange delivery of a food drive barrel, please email Regina Vino at regina@vlachosinjurylaw.com. Manna will pick up the barrels from your firm the week of May 18. For those members who would like to participate in the food drive but do not want a barrel, please bring all donations to the meeting on May 19, 2014. The Manna food truck will be there at the May meeting to accept donations. LAW WEEK—CHARITY Each year the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association picks a charity to assist during Law Week. The charity chosen this year is “Back Pack Buddies”. NWFPA will be assisting the First Baptist Church, “Back Pack Buddies” with C.A. Weis Elementary School. First Baptist Church has identified 350 children who suffer from hunger. These children are in the free and reduced breakfast and lunch program and for the most part, this is their only meal. Back Pack Buddies is a program that sends these kids home with a back pack full of food and snacks for the weekend. Back Packs are collected on Mondays and filled again for delivery the following Friday. On Friday, May 2, 2014 NWFPA and ESRBA volunteers will assist filling and delivering the back packs. If you are interested in volunteering for this worthy cause please contact Jodi McArthur (jkm@beggslane.com), Law Week Team Chair for more information. Inspiration “Always bear in mind that your resolution to success is more important than any other thing.” Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Page 21 Volume 4, Issue 4 ParaLegal News Fall 2013 NWFPA Executive Committee 2013-2014 President: Caroline Peterson, RN, FRP president@nwfpa.com 1st Vice-President: Michael Hadley, CP 1stVP@nwfpa.com 2nd Vice-President: Jenice C. Jones, CP, FRP 2ndVP@nwfpa.com Secretary: Deborah Kay Johnson, CLA secretary@nwfpa.com Treasurer: April Swift, FRP treasurer@nwfpa.com Parliamentarian: Sharon McCaul, CP parliamentarian@nwfpa.com NALA Liaison: Kristine M. Hill, ACP, FRP NALA@nwfpa.com NWFPA Mission Statement The Northwest Florida Paralegal Association is dedicated to encouraging the ethical and professional growth of paralegals in the northwest Florida area by providing continuing education to members of the paralegal profession; by providing a venue for members to interact with other members of the legal community; and by supporting and carrying out the programs, purposes, aims and goals of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc. Northwest Florida Paralegal Association P.O. Box 1333 Pensacola, FL 32591-1333 www.nwfpa.com Follow us on: Northwest Florida Paralegal Association Newsletter Committee: Jenice C. Jones, Chair/Editor jenice@coastalalg.com Elizabeth Crane Sylvia Jarrett Caroline Peterson Dana Martinez-Jones Taxie Lambert Tracey Parker Regina Vino, Proofreader Page 22
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