NALS Education Meetings Coming Up!

NALS of Lane County will hold its next monthly educational meeting on Thursday, February 19, 2015, from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. at the law offices of Harrang, Long, Gary, Rudnick, 360 E. 10th Avenue (3rd Floor), Eugene. Special Deputy Joe Pishioneri and Lt. Dan Buckwald of Lane County Adult Corrections will be our guest speakers and will discuss the variety of special programs available to inmates lodged at our downtown county jail facility. You’ll find that it’s “More Than a Jail” there, and inmate opportunities for self-improvement abound. Send your RSVP to Charlene Sabini, PLS, ALP, Director of Education, via email at besirius@pacinfo.com. NALS of Lane County will hold the following monthly educational meeting on Thursday, March 19, 2015, from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. at the law offices of Harrang, Long, Gary, Rudnick, 360 E. 10th Avenue (3rd Floor), Eugene. Michelle Blackwell, Esq., will be our guest speaker and will talk about technology in the law office, practicing law in the cloud, marketing trends, multi-state practice, and legal writing in the smart phone age. Send your RSVP to Charlene Sabini, PLS, ALP, Director of Education, via email at besirius@pacinfo.com. All regularly-scheduled monthly NALS education meetings are free of charge and worth one (1) CLE credit to members and guests!

NALS OF LANE COUNTY

N

ALS

in M

ot

ion

:

FEBRUARY 2015 – VOLUME 4 NO. 1 EDITOR: CHARLENE SABINI, PLS, ALP

Yo

ur

Lin

k t

o E

du

ca

tio

n

NALS Annual Meeting and educational Conference

seminars, business conferences, entertainment, fine dining, installations of new state officers, fund-raising drawings, and pleasant surroundings will all be the order of the day.

We’ll hold the event at the Village Resort in Cottage Grove, Oregon, and look forward to this scenic garden location.

Our seminar topics will include ethics, professionalism, arbitration/mediation, documents on the cloud, and the File & Serve/Odyssey system.

It’s easy to register for this event. Simply contact Darla Sanders at kbachmeier@accident-attorneys.com. Charlene Sabini, PLS, ALP Editor, NALS in Motion Director of Education, NALS of Lane County Member, NALS National Editorial Board Affiliate Member, Lane County Bar Association

President: Darla Sanders Education Director: Charlene Sabini, PLS, ALP Secretary: Kandis Bachmeier, ALP Support Director: Dawn Lee Treasurer: Kim Hubbard Board Advisors: Nancy Honer, PP, PLS Chapter Director: Kim Hubbard and Sharon Stribling Membership Director: Diana Chin

2014-2015 BOARD OF DIRECTORS - NALS of Lane County

NALS of Lane County will host the NALS of Oregon annual meeting and educational seminar this year! A weekend of enjoyable and informative

April 17-18, 2015! Destination Education!

Parliamentary Procedures – The Quest to Conquer By Nancy Honer, PP, PLS

(Learning Journey 2013 / Reprinted Article, 1 of 6) I am pretty green on this subject, so I checked out an easy-to-understand book from the library: Robert’s Rules In Plain English, by Doris P. Zimmerman. I made a quick topic search of the book first and tried to build an overall foundation. Like the “chicken or the egg,” which comes first, learning the procedure or identifying the situation? Here is how I sorted some initial things out: 1. Basic rule: The rights of the organization supersede the rights of the individual members – the right to conduct business in an orderly manner, over someone that is disruptive and demands his right to be heard. You must be “assigned the floor” (seek recognition by the chair) before you can speak in debate/discussion. 2. Bylaws usually state that the meeting is governed by Robert’s Rules. Decide whether you want to implement formal parliamentary procedures for your particular chapter. On the state level, we adhere strictly to the book, but on a chapter level you may wish to relax it a bit, depending upon your board’s preference. If it is obvious that everyone wishes to discuss the topic, it is not necessary to have a formal motion that is seconded. Allow discussion and take a vote by acknowledging the general consensus. If you do choose the “relaxed” format, adopting formal procedures is the best practice when deciding money issues.

2

(see Honer on page 4)

Our NALS-at-Noon Education Meeting Space Graciously Provided by:

New opportunity for LEGAL SUPPORT

PROFESSIONALS!

As of last October, there is now a way for non-lawyer support personnel to join the Lane County Bar Association and receive membership benefits from that local association. This recent campaign to bring non-lawyers into the fold was successful and non-lawyer support personnel may now join LCBA as “Affiliate Members” and receive CLE credit for LCBA seminars and educational meetings which offer such credit. Affiliate Members may also attend other events (social or otherwise) presented by LCBA and benefit from the educational content and expanded networking opportunities.

Application forms and additional information for Affiliate Membership is available through the Lane County Bar Association website. --The Editor

All NALS of Lane County chapter members and guests are always welcome to attend our regular Board meetings and share input with the Board.

Board meetings occur every first Thursday of the month, September through June.

3. The governing process really starts with a proper agenda and determining if a quorum exists to transact business. The bylaws will identify your chapter’s particular quorum of an assembly (usually a majority, which is 2/3rds). The content of the meeting consists of approving prior minutes, receiving oral or written reports, hearing motions, encouraging discussions,

Lane County Circuit Court is pleased to announce that they are just weeks away from its Oregon eCourt go-live date of March 9, 2015. Over the next few weeks there will be a great deal of information to share with members of the bar. The Court will post updates and information about eCourt on the following webpage: www.courts.oregon.gov/Lane/Pages/eCourtQuickLinks.aspx

3

"NALS2GO" App Available For Download! TULSA, OK - December 18, 2014 - NALS announced that its new mobile application, NALS2GO, is available for download in the top three marketplaces—Apple iTunes Store, Google Play Store, and Amazon App Store! Search for "NALS2GO" in the app stores or click here on the NALS.org site to down load the app: http://www.nals.org/news/200546/NALS2GO-App-Available-For-Download.htm

This free mobile app puts NALS features right at your fingertips! Stay up to date on all things NALS through real-time news, event, and photo feeds. View social media posts across multiple platforms all in one place. Quickly access membership tools, such as the Member/Chapter Locator and the Certification Journal. Great tool for legal professionals on the go!

Got Gregg? A Capital Idea Revisited.

¶312(a) Capitalize all official titles of honor and respect when they precede personal names: Executive Titles: President Darla Sanders, Treasurer Kim Hubbard, Advisor Nancy Honer Professional Titles: Adjunct Professor Anne Davies, Dr. Lee Daniels, Dean Smith Civic Titles: Mayor Kitty Piercy, Ambassador Jay Johnson, Senator Ron Wyden Military Titles: Commander Wilson, Captain Grayson, Lieutenant Franklin Jones, Deputy Mancini Religious Titles: Sister Graziano, Father McMerrin, Rabbi Gelfand, Bishop Worth, Reverend Cole ¶312(b) Do not capitalize such titles when the personal name that follows is in apposition and is set off by commas. EX: Yesterday the president, Darla Sanders, responded to a text sent by a board member. ¶312(c) Do not capitalize occupational titles (such as author, surgeon, publisher, or lawyer. EX: The reviews of drama critic Simon Ritchey have lost their impact. ¶312(d) Do not confuse a true title preceding a name (such as Judge) with a generic expression (such as federal judge). EX: Judge Ann Aiken OR: federal judge Ann Aiken (but not federal Judge Ann Aiken). EX: President Darla Sanders OR: chapter president Darla Sanders (but not chapter President Darla Sanders). ¶313(a) In general, do not capitalize titles of honor and respect when they follow a personal name or are used in place of a personal name. EX: Darla Sanders, president of NALS of Lane County, has revealed plans for 2015. During her tenure as president, the chapter remained spirited and productive. ¶313(b) Retain the capitalization in the titles of high-ranking national, state, and international officials when they follow or replace a specific personal name. ¶313(c) Titles of local governmental officials and those of lesser federal and state officials are not usually capitalized when they follow or replace a personal name. However, these titles are sometimes capitalized in writing intended for a limited readership (for example, a local newspaper, in an organization’s internal communications, or in correspondence coming from or directed to the official office).

--The Gregg Reference Manual, William A. Sabin, 10th Ed.

4

January 24, 2015 – Eugene, Oregon

NALS of Oregon Mid-Year Seminar and Board Meeting

Education Seminar in Session

voting and confirming decisions. Open and close with tapping the gavel once; it is not necessary to use the gavel during the meeting when confirming a decision on a motion. Agenda: If you would like some specifics on how to prepare the agenda, please let me know. Customarily, when no rule has been adopted otherwise: Call to order; reading/approval of prior minutes; reports of board members and standing committees; reports of special committees; special orders; unfinished business; new business; announcements; adjourn. I thought it was interesting that the order for hearing reports from officers and committee chairs on the agenda is the order appearing in the bylaws. Also, if you know that an officer/committee will not be presenting a report at the meeting, you do not list it as a category, but simply leave it off the agenda. The preferred word to use on the agenda is “unfinished” business, not “old” business.

(see Honer on page 9)

(Honer, cont. from page 2)

5

More wagging, less barking. –Bumper Sticker

--Hit the books every day—even if just for a half hour or hour. The knowledge will accumulate and it’ll always be top-of-mind—right where you need it to be. --Pay very close attention to The Gregg Reference Manual. (Not only for the exams but for your job.) This is one very important book! Ignore it at your peril. --Purchase ALL the available study materials offered by NALS. The Mock Exams, for instance, are excellent examples of the exam format and can give you a hint of the TYPE and STRUCTURE of the questions you may encounter. --During an exam, simply pace yourself and stay aware of the clock. Don’t linger too long on anything, but don’t answer questions in haste just to beat the clock. Make note of troublesome questions as you go along—then return to them with fresh eyes toward the end of the exam section. --Better to answer ALL exam questions with SOME kind of answer rather than leave any question blank. You’ll never get a correct answer out of a blank answer. --Ask other certified NALS folks for THEIR tips on studying—what may’ve worked for THEM. They cannot reveal the content of the exams they took, of course, but they can discuss their methods of studying. --Don’t panic if you have to re-take any section of your exam. Just examine your conscience and try to determine where you went wrong—and then focus intensely on it.

NALS Study Tips List for Members Sitting for Certification Exams: Your editor has successfully made it through two serious NALS certification exams recently and applied some sensible—and very easy—strategies for success and ease of passage through the process. I’d like to share them with you here:

If you’re sitting for the next session of exams on March 28, I wish you good luck, good thinking, and a comfortable, exciting process. Test-taking, contrary to some people’s opinion, can really be a lot of fun.

NALS OF LANE COUNTY will hold an energy-filled local membership drive event on February 26, 2015, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Gainsborough Homes, 2447 Lansdown Road, Eugene. Lasagne and salad will be served. Guest speaker will be Tracy Hoye, PLS, membership director for NALS of Oregon. She will explain the benefits of membership and how to join this valuable professional association. Please contact Diana Chin at dmchin@comcast.net to RSVP for this event.

6

Make Calendaring a Drag—Literally! A Software Tip by Alice McCoy

CO

MPU

TE

R T

IPS

Using the Drag & Drop feature in Outlook is one of the easiest and quickest ways to accomplish some common tasks. Take a minute for a little set-up before you start. At the bottom left in Outlook, click on Folder List. Now all Outlook folders will show above (Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, etc.), making it easy for you to drag an item onto any folder.

Tip #1: Drag an email onto the Calendar to create an invitation or reminder. 1. Select (highlight) the email you want. Click onto the far left edge and while holding down the left mouse button, drag the item onto Calendar. 2. An Outlook Calendar item pops up with today’s date and the email subject in the Subject line. Change the date, add a reminder, invite someone, and click Save & Close or Send to finish. A nice feature about this method is the email body text also shows up in the Notes pane in the lower section of the reminder. Delete or keep what you like. Extra tip: You can also insert other items into the reminder’s Notes pane. Click inside the Notes pane and choose Insert > Outlook Item to add an email or Contact card, or Insert > Attach File to add a PDF or other document.

Tip #2: Copy a Calendar item. Sometimes the Recurrence feature in an Outlook Calendar item just can’t do exactly what you need. For instance, if you need to set a recurring reminder every 10 days but one of those days falls on a weekend, you may need to create separate reminders. Or you may want to copy a reminder to a new date without removing the existing one. 1. In Calendar view (such as the Week view), click on the item you want to copy, and while holding down the right mouse button, drag the item onto any other day in the Calendar. Choose Copy from the Move/Copy prompt. 2. Now double-click to open up the new item and make changes. Much easier than retyping everything! [This method also works to copy Contact items].

Tip #3: Turn an email into a Note.

Notes in Outlook are a handy reference tool, like a folder full of electronic Post-Its. Drag an email onto the Notes folder to create a Note from its text (the top line will be the Note’s subject). Click the “X” to close and save. Right-click to change a Note’s color. To start a new Note from scratch, click the New Note button from within the Notes folder, or right-click and choose New Note. Type password reminders, add hyperlinks to folders or the web, whatever you like! Notes can also be forwarded by email. ///

7

escapium (e-skay-pee-әm), n. [Law Latin] That which comes by chance or accident. In medieval Latin, the term often referred to the escape of a prisoner or the straying of cattle.

You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward. --Conrad Hall

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. –Chinese Proverb

Bulletin Board

double hearsay. (1921) A hearsay statement that contains further hearsay statements within it, none of which is admissible unless exception to the rule against hearsay can be applied to each level <the double hearsay was the report’s statement that Amy had heard Joe admit running the red light>. Fed. R. Evid. 805. --- Also termed multiple hearsay; hearsay within hearsay. [Cases: Criminal Law, Key 419 (13); Evidence, Key 314 – 324.]

The Oregon Secretary of State’s notary education seminars are free and held regularly in locations around the state. For information on Oregon seminar dates and locations around the state, please check this website: http://notsem.sos.state.or.us/

“A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” --Theodore Roosevelt

To ALP or Not to ALP

NALS members who have passed the ALP certification exam and the PLS certification exam may retain the ALP designation or drop it, according to their personal preference.

NALS Code of Ethics & Professional Responsibility

Members of NALS are bound by the objectives of this association and the standards of conduct required of the legal profession. Every member shall

• Encourage respect for the law and the administration of justice; • Observe rules governing privileged communications and confidential information; • Promote and exemplify high standards of loyalty, cooperation, and courtesy; • Perform all duties of the profession with integrity and competence; and • Pursue a high order of professional attainment.

Integrity and high standards of conduct are fundamental to the success of our professional association. This Code is promulgated by the NALS and accepted by its members to accomplish these ends.

Ready to join NALS? Contact Diana Chin, our local membership director, at dmchin@comcast.net.

Do the right thing—even when no one is looking.

Everything you ever wanted to know about NALS www.nals.org

8

No fewer than 31 pages are devoted to the construction and use of MSWord tables in the 10th edition of The Gregg Reference Manual. The Gregg is not only the ultimate reference tool for usage of the English language, but offers substantial tips on the attractive use of tables and on the formal and informal construction of standard business documents. But this editor was rather surprised at the depth of The Gregg’s treatment of tables. If you’re short on imagination for constructing tables, give this manual’s Section 14 a serious look and you’ll come away with new ideas. These tables were constructed in MSWord, then copied to the Clipboard via the Screenshot feature, cropped and placed in this native PowerPoint format for display. (The newsletter comes to you in PDF format, but originates in PowerPoint.) This means that you could neatly transfer these tables onto a PowerPoint visual presentation with all the details and attractiveness of your original table.

Tables in MSWord . . . As Found in The Gregg Reference Manual

Software Tip by Charlene Sabini, PLS, ALP

CO

MPU

TE

R T

IPS

Page 443, ¶1401,The Gregg Reference Manual, 10th ed., § 14, Tables.

Page 457, ¶1423, The Gregg Reference Manual, 10th ed., § 14, Tables.

The Gregg Reference Manual goes into great detail about how to align decimals, dollar amounts, negative figures, leaders, omitted items, charts, graphs, braced headings, saddle headings, crossheads, and how to best physically locate a table within your MSWord document (for instance, in a report).

Consent Agenda: The use of a Consent Agenda does not have to be referenced in the bylaws. A Consent Agenda is efficient, freeing up more time during the meeting to discuss action items. The Consent Agenda becomes the first order of business after calling the meeting to order (list its contents as subheadings under Consent Agenda on the meeting agenda). Prior to the meeting (get an agreed time frame for advance notice), send non-discussion items, such as minutes, reports, etc., to the designated board/members for review. During the meeting, if no one objects to the Consent Agenda, announce for the minutes that the Consent Agenda has been approved. If someone requests discussion on a particular item, announce that the topic be removed from the Consent Agenda and place it on the meeting agenda. Minutes: The secretary should record the date/time/place/type of meeting (regular/special, etc.), persons present/absent, quorum noted, summarize decisions made but not discussions, and adjournment. The minutes should record motions verbatim, noting the maker and if it was seconded, but not the name of the person making the second. Change in officers should be noted, as the bank will need verification for adding/deleting signatories on bank accounts. The secretary is the official signer of the minutes, but the president may also sign. The president must sign if the minutes are to be published. The most intimidating part for me in using Robert’s Rules is using the proper language to keep the meeting flowing properly, because there are so many different scenarios. I will develop this in my next learning journey. I hope this first overview is helpful and your confidence for leadership is building. /// Nancy Honer, PP, PLS, is currently president of NALS of Oregon and a member of the board of directors for NALS of Lane County.

9 (Honer, cont. from page 4)

NALS of Lane County Holiday Social – December 18, 2014

Every December NALS of Lane County gathers together its board of directors—and members/guests who wish to participate—at a local eatery for conversation, door prizes, and (importantly) pizza. We assembled ourselves this year at BJ’s Restaurant in Eugene for our evening of fun, and 17 of us attended. We also traditionally award an honorary gift to the non-board member who attended the most education meetings for the calendar year. This year’s winner was Nancy Shelton. Our chapter holds nine education meetings per year.

CE

LEB

RA

TIN

G