the paralegal post - wordpress.com · 2013. 5. 12. · “making the record” (ethics) august 14...
TRANSCRIPT
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P res ide n t ’s Me ss age
In this issue:
Kern County Paralegal May 2014
Association
The Paralegal Post
MAY! Oh my goodness! Time is flying
this year and it’s been busy, busy, busy!
This is what my office has looked like
lately, even though it doesn’t take three
hours for me to find anything—I know
where everything is, that is how we all
are, right?
How is everyone liking Coconut Joe’s as
the venue for the MCLE lunches? As a
reminder, we’re at Coconut Joe’s
through June 2014. We hope you’ll
come join us on May 8, 2014 to hear Ed
Thomas, Esq. speak about Prenuptial
versus Postnuptial Agreements.
Remember to bring Canned or
packaged food to
benefit Golden Empire Gleaners on May
8, 2014.
Mark your calendars now! The
Paralegal of the Year, Outstanding
Member of the Year and the scholarship
recipient, as well as recognize our
Sustaining Members, on June 12, 2014.
I hope you’ve registered for the CAPA
Conference! I’m excited to see
everyone in San Diego on June 28,
2014, and looking forward to
celebrating San Diego’s Paralegal Day at
the gala on June 27. There is still time
to register if you have not done so!
Pages 4-5 of the newsletter include the
details on the conference.
The Kern County Superior Court’s
Viewing and Copying Court Public
Records has been revised effective April
7, 2014. Due to the size of the policy,
we will not include a copy within the
newsletter, but you can find a copy of
the policy here: http://
www.kern.courts.ca.gov/pdf/
PolicyProcedure/
ViewCopyPublicRecords.pdf.
President’s Message Page 1
Community Affairs Page 2
KCPA’s MCLE
Presentations
Page 3
CAPA Conference—Save
The Date
Page 4
26th Annual CAPA
Educational Conference
Page 5
CAPA Opportunity
Drawing
Page 6
Attorney Stick Page 7-8
KCSC Proposed Court
Rules
Page 9
The Comma Drama Page 10-
11
May Luncheon
Announcement
Page 12
6450 Compliance and
You
Page 13
NALA News Page 14-
17
Sustaining Members Pages 18-
23
2013-2014 Board
Members
Page 24
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May
Canned or packaged food to benefit
Golden Empire Gleaners
June
Cash Donations to benefit the
Wounded Heroes Fund
July
Cash Donations to benefit the
Heart Gallery, through Kern Partnership for Children
and Families
August
Cash Donations to benefit
The Kern County 999 Foundation to
recognize and honor Kern County’s fallen peace
officers
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KCPA’S CURRENT SCHEDULE OF MCLE EVENTS
KCPA hosts 11 MCLE events every year which are the second Thursday of each month from 12:00
p.m.—1:30 p.m. Each event provides either 1 hour of general or ethics MCLE.
The current 2014 Schedule of Speakers for 2014 is as follows:
May 8 Ed Thomas
Prenuptial versus Postnuptial Agreements
June 12 Installation of Offices and Awards Presentation
July 10 Free Members Luncheon
Joint Featured Sustaining Members: Jean Keleher and Christine Randall -
“Making the Record” (Ethics)
August 14 Lisa Holder, KDG
Litigation: What to do when a bankruptcy case gets stayed; filing claims;
objecting to discharge and dischargeability; reorganizing
September 11 Scott Belden, Belden Blaine
Firm Management and Conflicts (Ethics)
October 9 DTI
ESI
November 13 Jason Lee, Kern County Recorder
Proper Document Formatting and
Other Recording Requirements
December 11 KCBA/KCPA Holiday Luncheon
Although KCPA’s list of speakers is full through 2014, we are looking for topics for future MCLE
presentations. Is there something you would like presented? Maybe the lawyer you work for is
interested in speaking to KCPA on his or her specialty. If you have an idea or would like to volun-
teer your boss, please contact Nancy Boles ([email protected]) or any other board member.
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Each of CAPA’s 11 associations will be raffling off an item or basket of items valued at $100
during the post-conference reception. Tickets are $1 each and can be purchased either at the
conference or from any of your KCPA Board members.
You do not need to be present to win. Please put your name and phone number on the tickets,
as well as “KCPA” so your representatives are able to bring your prize to you!
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Attorney Stick
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The Missing Attorney Stick
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KCSC Proposed Court Rules
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The Comma Drama
By Kathy Sieckman, PP, PLS, APC
Commas seem to be a real issue for legal professionals. Apparently, at
some point in elementary or junior high school, teachers mentioned using commas
before the word “and.” It appears some of the students who grew up to be lawyers
took that literally! Every time their sentence includes "and," they use a comma.
”She went swimming, and splashed.”
Commas are not easy and I don’t claim to know all the rules. Here’s a tip: Read the sentence to yourself,
taking out nonessential and interrupting phrases, to make sure the sentence still makes sense. Other than that, I try
not to use too many commas as I think they are overused. Here are some examples:
Nonessential expressions – commas set off words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
”Brian Smith, the IT manager, was able to fix the computer.” When you name a specific person, you don’t
need descriptive information to understand the sentence. One way to determine if the expression is
nonessential is to listen to your voice. Does it rise or fall on that part of the sentence when you read it. If
your voice drops, it is nonessential and should be set off by commas. ”We decided, nevertheless, to make
plans to go to Spain.” If you voice rises, it is essential to the sentence and should not be set off. ”We
nevertheless decided to make plans to go to Spain.” If, however, you mean only that you decided to make
plans to go to Spain without any outside limitations in the rest of your paragraph, the nevertheless should be
set off by commas.
Interrupting elements – commas set off words that break the flow of the sentence. ”He worked a long
day, one of many lately, and left the office exhausted.”
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Transitional expressions – commas set off expressions that transition the sentence, such as however,
therefore, on the other hand. ”On the other hand, Karen loves sushi as much as I do.”
Afterthoughts – use commas to set off unrelated afterthoughts at the end of a sentence. ”He was late to
work again that morning, if I remember correctly.”
Serial commas – when you have a series of three or more items and the last item is preceded by and, or, or
nor, a comma goes before the conjunction along with between other items. ”She ate steak, baked potato,
steamed broccoli, and salad for dinner last night.” People will argue forever with me on this one. It is
standard practice for some newspapers and magazines to leave the last comma out. It can really lead to
confusion, particularly in the legal field. Using only two commas in a series could theoretically end up
hurting someone. Consider this example: John left his estate to Jack, Jill and Joe. When taken literally, the
estate would be divided into two parts – half to Jack and half to Jill and Joe to share. If John had left his
estate to Jack, Jill, and Joe, it is cle ar that the estate goes to three people. Our business is extremely literal,
so serial commas are important.
This is, of course, an exaggerated example, but we’ve all seen lawsuits over some pretty crazy things, so
why take a chance? Use commas wisely.
Vicki Voisin, Inc. PO Box 743 Charlevoix, MI 49720 [email protected]
www.paralegalmentor.com; Copyright © 2014 The Paralegal Mentor
Hi! I’m Sasha Gadberry, your Newsletter Editor. I graduated from CSUB with a major in Liberal Arts and a
concentration in Special Education in 2011 and received my Paralegal Certificate
from CSUSM in 2012. I worked for Larry Fields from September of 2011 until
November of 2013 before following him to Klein, DeNatale, Goldner. Before I
worked for Larry I tutored foster children and worked with my dad in his commercial
cleaning business. In my spare time I love to read, John Grisham is my favorite, do
crafts, and spend to with my family.
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Paralegal CLE now available for your
iPad and Android Device!
Paralegal CLE by NALA is now available in the Apple Store
and Google Play for your mobile devices! Through this app,
you may register or access previously purchased NALA
Campus Self-Study programs and Advanced Paralegal
Certification courses. Today, there are 32 self-study programs offered by NALA through these web-based educational programs. These include: * 7 Certified Paralegal examination prep courses * 3 general education courses * 22 Advanced Paralegal Certification courses CLE Credit is available for completion of web-based programs, on the basis of 10 hours for the general review and CP Exam prep courses, 20 hours for completion of multiple module APC courses, and 10 hours for the one-module APC PI Specialty courses. Check the courses for more info. NALA Campus Self-Study courses and the Advanced Paralegal Certification courses are on the internet at www.nala.org>Continuing Legal Education>Online Education. Click below for access to the apps for your mo-bile devices:
Coming soon ...
APC Board Announces Completion of
New Course for Family Law Paralegals
The Advanced Paralegal Certification Board has announced the completion of the third course in the Family Law series - Dissolution Case Management. This course concentrates on practice and procedure in the area of marriage dissolution case management. Modules in the course begin with the legal framework that provides the substantive and procedural structure for marriage and dissolution; legal requirements, obligations, and benefits of a valid marriage; the process of marriage dissolution; issues to be resolved in dissolution cases; information intake, client interviews, and case assessment; preparation and initiation of a dissolution case; discovery in a dissolution case; and resolu-tion of the case, including entry, enforcement, and modification of court orders. The course is in final production stages and will be available in early 2014. Access all of the 22 programs now available plus general review courses, and Certified Paralegal exam review programs, through your mobile device!
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APC Board Releases New Course for Family Law
Paralegals!
Family Law - Dissolution Case Management
Against a background of Constitutional and federal law, state law is the primary law of
marriage and divorce in the United States. Basic principles and models of divorce, including
alimony, child custody, and property division, remain fairly consistent through all states and
territories. Applicable law, rules, procedures, and terminology may vary significantly from
state to state and within states from city to city. "Custody" and "alimony" in one court may
be "parenting time" and "spousal support" in another. However, from traditional models to
modern innovation, through variations in practice and terminology, the basic underlying
purpose of this area of practice is to resolve all issues in dissolution of a marriage, in a
manner that is efficient and fair to all persons involved.
This course concentrates on practice and procedure in the area of marriage dissolution case
management. Modules in the course begin with the legal framework that provides the
substantive and procedural structure for marriage and dissolution; legal requirements,
obligations, and benefits of a valid marriage; the process of marriage dissolution; issues to
be resolved in dissolution cases; information intake, client interviews, and case assessment;
preparation and initiation of a dissolution case; discovery in a dissolution case; and
resolution of the case, including entry, enforcement, and modification of court orders.
Click here to open "Role of the Paralegal" in dissolution case management. This is the basis
for this advanced course.
This is the third in a series of four advanced courses for Family Law Paralegals. Certified
Paralegals who successfully complete this course will receive an Advanced Paralegal
Certification in Family Law-Dissolution Case Management.
For more details, click the APC logo above or visit the advanced courses available in the
iStore or Google Play through the Paralegal CLE app.
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LEAP Class of 2015!
Applications Due May 15 ...
NALA's Professional Development Committee is now accepting applications for the LEAP
class of 2015. The class members will be announced this summer at the 2014 NALA Annual
Meeting of Members, in Charleston, South Carolina. The LEAP curricula is designed to
support NALA members who are also serving as leaders of their state and local NALA
affiliated organizations by reading the latest in association management and developing
skills that support leadership growth. Read more about the LEAP classes on the web at this
link.
Remember, LEAP is open to members of NALA who are also Certified Paralegals. There is no
cost for participating in this year-long, web-based training, however LEAP class members are
expected to attend the NALA Annual Meeting of Members at the end of their year. The 2015
Annual Meeting of NALA will be held July 22-24, 2015 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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New Practice Tests for the Certified Paralegal Exam Now Available!
Since introduction of the computer based testing for the
Certified Paralegal examination, examinees requested the
experience of taking the examination. Examinees have also
requested more practice tests for the Certified Paralegal
examination.
NALA put the two requests together and announces the
availability of practice tests for the Certified Paralegal
examination on the same testing environment as the Certified
Paralegal examination itself.
The practice tests have been developed from the web-based
Certified Paralegal review programs on NALA Campus.
If you have taken a NALA Campus course, you will recognize
many of the questions.
Features:
* Practice tests may be accessed through https://
app.testrac.com/nalap/delivery. The practice tests are
delivered on exactly the same platform as the actual Certified
Paralegal examination.
* Participants will receive instructive feedback on most
questions. The feedback describes why the answer is correct or
incorrect. Upon completion of a test, participants will have an opportunity to download the
question item feedback.
* Participants also receive feedback describing how they scored on the exam based on the
subject category of the question.
* The Judgment & Analytical Ability practice test includes a bonus handout - an assignment
and sample memo for self-grading.
* The practice tests are about 1/2 of the entire Certified Paralegal examination.
To Purchase:
* Individual sections: $30 each for Communications, Ethics and Legal Research; $40 each
for Substantive Law and Judgment & Analytical Ability.
* Purchase of all five sections: $85 (50% discount if all five sections purchased)
Paralegal Schools: Vouchers are available for quantity purchases. Contact NALA for details.
Upon purchase, a login will be provided. Practice tests may not be downloaded for future
reference, nor printed. Printing and reproduction of the test questions is strictly prohibited.
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WE LOVE OUR SUSTAINING MEMBERS
APPLE ONE
ATKINSON-BAKER COURT REPORTERS
ATTORNEY’S CERTIFIED SERVICES
AWE AND ASSOCIATES
CHAIN | COHN | STILES
DOWLING | AARON, INC
EDWARD J. THOMAS, APC
ESQUIRE DEPOSITION SOLUTIONS
FIRST LEGAL SUPPORT SERVICES
GKL CORPORATE/SEARCH
THE KARCHER LAW FIRM, APC
KEHELER’S CERTIFIED SHORTHAND REPORTERS
KERN LEGAL SERVICES, INC.
KLEIN DeNATALE GOLDNER
TEJON RANCH COMPANY
WOOD & RANDALL Become a Sustaining Member of KCPA Today!
As a Sustaining member, your company’s employment ads run as needed at no charge, your
company’s ad runs monthly in THE PARALEGAL POST, and your company’s name and website link
are placed on KCPA’s website, www.kcpa online.org. Sustaining Membership is only $125.00 per
year. A great value! Please contact our Member Services Director, Shontice Yates at
[email protected] and become a KCPA sustaining member today!
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P.O. Box 2673
Bakersfield, CA 93303
www.kcpaonline.org
President, CAPA Secondary, Webmaster
MAKALA E. FOSTER CP
(661) 395-1000
Vice President
KAREN CLEMANS, CBA
(661) 395-1000
Secretary
ERICA ALAJARIN
(661) 663-4231
Treasurer
BOBBIE MILLER, CLA, ACP
(661) 322-1777
Programs/Education Director
NANCY BOLES
(661) 395-1000
Newsletter Editor
SASHA GADBERRY
(661) 395-1000
Member Services
SHONTICE YATES
(661) 395-1000
Community Affairs
KRISTEN FOSTER
661-324-2866
Public Information
LESLIE LARSON, ACP
(661) 665-5066
CAPA Primary Representative
JENNIFER RODGES, ACP, CAS
(661) 395-1000
Student Representative
KATY KARCHER
(661) 326-1959
Kern County
Paralegal Association
KCPA 2013/2014 Board