the paralegal postfeb 12, 2013 · the paralegal of the year nomination and scholarship application...
TRANSCRIPT
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P res ide n t ’s Me ss age
In this issue:
Kern County Paralegal Association February 2014
The Paralegal Post
As I was riding up in the elevator from lunch, I made
small talk with a co-worker who said “Did we have a
winter? I think we had a 4-5 day winter in the
beginning of December.” Can you believe that we’re
actually in winter time right now? I only realized it
because I had about 5 inches of snow and ice on my
roads in Tehachapi. Where did our winter go?
February Luncheon and Community Affairs
I hope you all plan to join us on February 13, 2014
for our MCLE luncheon with Marisol Alcantar who
will be speaking on Filing Updates and How to Avoid
Being Pinked—we all know how frustrating it can be
to be pinked by the court! Remember to bring your
books and electronic media for the Book Drive to
Benefit the Bakersfield SPCA at the luncheon as well.
If you have a lot of items you would like to donate,
please coordinate with Michelle Hill to make
arrangements.
CAPA
Have any of you attended the CAPA Team Talks that
were offered by CAPA last year? What were your
thoughts? Would you have attended if they were
offered at a different time? CAPA is looking to start
the GOAL program again and would like your
thoughts on what would be the most convenient for
you to attend (i.e., during lunch, after work,
weekends, etc.). Please send me an e-mail at
[email protected] to let me know! If you
have any ideas for topics to be presented, please let
me know that as well.
As a reminder, the GOAL program is a means to
provide information to help you become a better
leader. This isn’t just directed at those on boards,
but can be applied in both your professional careers
and personal lives as well.
CAPA Educational Conference
The June Educational Conference will be on June 28,
2014 in San Diego. The San Diego Paralegal
Association is planning a Paralegal Day gala the
night before as well for all Educational Conference
attendees! It’ll prove to be a fun and educational
event. Please keep a look out for further
information!
KCPA Board
Our election committee will be beginning shortly. If
you are interested in being on the board for the
2014—2015 year, please contact me at
[email protected]. We’ll also be sending out
the Paralegal of the Year nomination and Scholarship
application in the next month or so, so start thinking
about paralegals in our community that have done
an outstanding job.
Paralegal Coaching
Vicki Voisin, The Paralegal Mentor’s latest e-mail
indicates that she dedicates her Friday’s to privately
coaching paralegals who want to move their careers
forward. She said, “If you're tired of feeling stuck,
why not spend some time with me to design a career
plan that fits your life and your goals? Send an email
to [email protected] for more
information.”
Social Media
Do you follow either KCPA or CAPA on Facebook or
LinkedIn? If you don’t, I would suggest doing so!
Both KCPA and CAPA’s social media sites keep you
up-to-date between newsletters on changes on court
information throughout the state, information on
CLE being offered that you may be interested in, and
give you general tips and tricks that you might find
useful. If you’re interested in following either or
both KCPA or CAPA and are not able to locate them,
let me know and I’ll help you out!
KCPA Calendar
KCPA has put together a calendar for 2014 that
includes a quick reference to when the Kern County
Court is closed and when KCPA is having its MCLE
lunches! You can download it here: http://
kcpaonline.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/kcpa-
calendar.pdf.
In closing, I thought I’d share this as a reminder: we
all make mistakes and we handle those mistakes
differently, but one thing to keep in mind, regardless
of the mistake, is that you can learn from it—whether
it be in your personal or professional life. I found
this quote and thought I would share: “If you so
choose, every mistake can lead to greater
understanding and effectiveness. If you so choose,
every frustration can help you to be more patient and
more persistent.” - Ralph Marston
I hope you all have a wonderful February and that
you join us for our February 13, 2014 MCLE
luncheon!
Happy Valentines Day! - Makala Foster
President’s Message Page 1
Community Affairs Page 2
KCPA’s MCLE
Presentations
Page 3
February Luncheon
Announcement
Page 4
Attorney Stick—Craig
Braun
Page 5
Who’s in Charge...You or
Your Inbox?
Pages 6-7
6450 Compliance and
You
Page 8
Coming Soon Page 9
Sustaining Members Pages 10-
15
2013-2014 Board
Members
Page 16
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February
Book Drive to Benefit the Bakersfield SPCA
March
Business Clothing Drive to benefit the
The Mission at Kern County for use in the Christian Life Training Program
Community Affairs
By: Michelle Hill
Chances are that living anywhere in or near Bakersfield, you have felt a pang of pity
once or twice after driving past a cold, skinny, shivering dog or cat left to live in the
streets. For animal lovers, the pity is likely followed by a sense of compassion and a
longing to help. Some of us have even taken home a helpless stray animal a time or
two in our lives. Unfortunately, as individuals there is little we can do to end the problem
of animals suffering as strays or at the hands of abuser. However, when many
individuals pull together the load can be lighter and many things can be accomplished in
support of our animal neighbors. The Bakersfield SPCA is an independent, non-profit
organization founded in 1949 and advocates the general welfare and humane treatment
of animals through shelter, prevention of pet overpopulation and adoption. For our next
community affairs opportunity, KCPA is organizing a book drive to donate to the
Bakersfield Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) for their book sale
held annually in the spring. Please visit their website at www.bakersfieldspca.org to
view the Adoption Gallery and find out more about this worthy organization. Book
donations may be submitted at the February general meeting or to Michele Hill c/o
Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance 615 California Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93304.
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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. Currently, KCPA’s lunches are held at the Petroleum Club of Bakersfield—
5060 California Avenue, 12th Floor, Bakersfield, CA 93309.
The current Schedule of Speakers for 2014 is as follows:
February 13 Marisol Alcantar, KCSC Supervisor
Filing Updates and How to Avoid Being Pinked
Featured Sustaining Member—First Legal Support Services
March 13 E. Doug Jarvis, Esquire Deposition Solutions
Winning Litigation Technology
Featured Sustaining Member—Esquire Deposition Solutions
April 10 Micah Nilsson, of Dowling Aaron.
Social Media and Ethics: Shall the Twain Ever Meet
- Use of Social Media in Litigation
- Use of Social Media in Employment Practices
- Use of Social Media for Marketing
Featured Sustaining Member—Dowling Aaron
May 8 Ed Thomas
Prenuptial versus Postnuptial Agreements
Featured Sustaining Member—Ed Thomas
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 13 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
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 volunteer your boss,
please contact Nancy Boles ([email protected]) or any other board member.
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Attorney Stick
by
Craig D. Braun, Esq.
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Who’s In Charge… You or Your Inbox?
By Vicki Voisin, October 25, 2012
Think carefully and answer this question: who is in charge…you or your inbox? If you answered that your inbox is undeniably the one in charge, you’re quite typical.
The majority of paralegals tell me that their email inboxes are out of control. Does it make you feel any better to know you have lots of company? Probably not – it is frustrating when you let your email messages accumulate to the point where you don’t even want to open them.
Here are two simple tips for taking control of your email system:
Become the Email Nazi. When you receive an email message, take immediate action.
If you can give a simple answer, do that right away.
If the answer will take a while and you do not have time to handle it immediately, flag it or file it so you will remember to take care of it later. (See below for ideas for this step).
If someone else can take care of the issue, forward it.
If it is junk mail or something you do not need to take action on, delete it. Try to delete junk mail without taking the time to open it.
Remove yourself from unnecessary lists. Take care of the email clutter before it ever hits your inbox by removing yourself from email lists that do not interest you. This particularly applies to merchant email. Also, when you make a purchase be sure to check the box that you do not want further email.
Control the Hodgepodge: Maintain separate email accounts for separate activities. Most of us receive email at just one or two accounts, with everything from personal to business to junk mail flowing into them. You really need different accounts for different purposes.
It is easy to set up several accounts at www.gmail.com and (the best part) there is no cost. While Yahoo and Hotmail are also free services, I do not recommend you use them for professional email.
The method for maintaining the separate accounts is simple when you create the following:
Business Accounts
Work Account. You may already have this account where you work. Use it for business matters only and do not mix it with your personal email. (Ethics tip: A really good reason for not mixing these accounts is that under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, your personal email may be discoverable if it is part of a business account that is subject to discovery – and vice versa).
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Business Miscellaneous Account. This is the account you use to sign up for newsletters, offers, and other interesting but non-essential email. If you do not get around to reading these messages, you can simply delete them when they are outdated. Trust me, your life will not change if you do not get around to them.
Personal Accounts
Personal account No. 1. Use this account for communicating with friends and family.
Personal account No. 2. This is the account you use when you order products and receive order confirmations. Once a month, delete anything you do not need.
Personal account No. 3. This account is not totally necessary but can be very helpful, especially when you set up relevant subfolders. It is basically a reminder system. Use it to copy yourself with mail that requires action so that you can either remember to take action OR follow-up on actions someone else should take. Yes, you could use your sent mail folder for this purpose but there are no subfolders there to keep you organized.
My request to you: Take some time over the weekend to set up your separate email accounts. It will be time well spent. You will be better organized and less stressed when you let your email inbox know who’s boss.
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© 2012 Vicki Voisin, Inc.
Vicki Voisin, “The Paralegal Mentor”, delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to create success and satisfaction by setting goals and determining the direction they will take their careers. Vicki spotlights resources, organizational tips, ethics issues, and other areas of continuing education to help paralegals and others reach their full potential. She is the co-author of The Professional Paralegal: A Guide to Finding a Job and Career Success. Vicki publishes Paralegal Strategies, a weekly e-newsletter for paralegals, and co-hosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast produced by Legal Talk Network.
More information is available at www.paralegalmentor.com where subscribers receive Vicki’s 151 Tips for Your Career Success.
I’m Michele and I am the Director of Community Affairs for the Kern County Paralegal Association. I am a domestic
violence advocate, and work as a paralegal to help victims put a stop to the abuse they endure with their children and
reclaim their lives. I am proud every day to be involved in the work of saving lives. Before I became a paralegal I was
just another person living life in a community without many hopes for the future. My most significant personal
achievement has been transcending poverty. I spent my childhood living in downtown Los Angeles. At age 12, I was no
longer encouraged by my parent to go to school, so I dropped out. Eventually, I became a ward of the court until my
18th birthday. My early adulthood followed the pattern of life I was raised in. I accessed the many
services available through the Department of Human services to make arrangements for child care and
to obtain a GED. I eventually went on to complete an Associate’s Degree program at Bakersfield
College and to earn a certificate in Paralegal Studies. Through the network of people who had believed
in me and supported me, I found my calling in the world as a victim advocate. Today I dedicate my life
to helping other people transcend poverty. For the past seven years I have worked with our local legal
aid agency, Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, Inc. to accomplish the mission of promoting social
change and justice by providing high quality legal services to the low-income and senior community.
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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!
Coming Soon
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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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31 H Street
Bakersfield CA 93304
www.kernlegal.com
Phone: (661) 735-4088 Fax: (866) 241-0051
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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
MICHELLE HILL
(661) 325-5943
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