Greetings!
I think the majority of us probably uttered a collective sigh of relief when the political campaign season ended, but what an incredibly exciting season it was! I have to admit, I felt a shiver of pride when I voted in the Democratic primary, and my choice for the major party candidate was between a woman and an African-American man. I knew that no matter what the end result was, history would be made, and I would be a part of it. And indeed, history was made! My faith in the people of this country, and in our political system, is always given a boost after every election. People who have spent the past many months so divided peacefully accept that there was a winner and a loser in the election, and then they roll up their sleeves and go to work together, side by side.
Paralegal Program for the Annual Convention in San Diego, July 11-16, 2009
The Paralegal Advisory Task Force has been hard at work putting together a half-day paralegal program for the annual convention in San Diego July 11-16, 2009. The planned theme of the program is, “The Paralegal’s Motto: Be Prepared.” The program will include presentations on document production, deposition preparation, preparing for mediation, arbitration, and settlement, and preparing for trial through the use of trial notebooks. Many thanks to the members of the PATF who participated in planning the program, and especially to Regina Valenti who volunteered to spearhead the planning process. Planning these programs is always a challenge as we try to come up with topics that will be of interest to our varied group of members—people with vastly different amounts of experience, some working for sole practitioners, some independent paralegals, and some working in very large firms, and working in many different areas of law. We add to that the fact that we are only allotted one-half day for a program as AAJ gets more requests from groups who want to have programs every year than they have space and time to accommodate. We always welcome your suggestions and requests regarding program topics you would find interesting and helpful, and we try to incorporate as many of those requests as possible in our planning.
If you haven’t ever attended an AAJ annual convention, I hope you will make this your first year. And don’t think that the half-day paralegal program is all that is offered that will be of value to you! Paralegals are welcome to attend nearly all of the educational programs offered during the convention, and in most cases, you will get as much or more out of the programs as the attorneys do. When the program schedule becomes available on the AAJ website, I would urge you to take a look at it. I don’t think you will find anyplace else where you can pick up as many morsels of wisdom to help you with the cases you’re working on, presented by some of the best trial lawyers in the country. If you are attending convention for the first time, your registration is 50% of the regular paralegal rate. And if you are at the convention, please plan to attend the meeting of the Paralegal Advisory Task Force which will be held. All paralegal affiliates are invited to attend the meeting, whether you are on the Task Force or not. An e-mail listing the time and location of the meeting will be sent out on the listserve prior to the convention.
And if you just can’t wait for July, join us at the semi-annual convention in New Orleans February 7-11, 2009. Even though the PATF will not have a program in New Orleans, there is still plenty of great education to be had, and the PATF will have a business meeting, so please join us for that. Visit the AAJ website for details about programs and registration.
Paralegal Membership in Litigation Groups
Recently the AAJ Nursing Home Litigation Group (NHLG) announced on its listserve and on the Paralegal listserve that it will offer a reduced membership fee of $75.00 for paralegals in the NHLG. Paralegals wishing to join the NHLG must of course be AAJ paralegal affiliates, and an attorney from their firm or their AAJ sponsoring attorney must also be a member of the NHLG. I have been a member of the NHLG for approximately four years, and it is a fantastic group of people who offer some great educational programs. If you are involved in doing any nursing home litigation, this group is a must.
I want to take this opportunity to clarify the parameters regarding paralegal membership in various AAJ litigation groups as it appears from some of the messages on the paralegal listserve that there may be some misunderstanding. Paralegal membership in AAJ litigation groups is not new or recent. It has always been dependent upon the individual litigation group. Each litigation group devises its own by-laws. Some have elected to allow paralegals to be non-voting members of the group, and some have elected not to allow paralegals to be members of the litigation group. AAJ does not control this--each litigation group makes this decision. Often litigation groups that allow paralegal members require that an attorney from the same firm, or their AAJ sponsoring attorney, also be a member of the litigation group. But this, again, is a decision made by each litigation group.
Most of the AAJ litigation groups have their own listserve, and as a paralegal member of the litigation group, you will be able to post inquiries and receive postings on the litigation group listserve. The listserves are an incredibly valuable tool where much information is freely and unselfishly shared. Some time ago it came to the attention of the leaders of the AAJ Sections and Litigation Groups committee that the defense bar was beginning to routinely request the production of listserve inquiries and postings during discovery. Attorneys have strongly resisted production of these postings pursuant to the work product privilege, but the defense bar was also citing the fact that some postings were made by non-attorneys. They were attempting to make the argument that allowing access to the listserves by non-attorneys destroyed the work product privilege. While these efforts were successfully resisted, the possibility that the contents of these listserves may be subject to discovery was of grave concern to the Sections and Litigation Groups committee and to the Paralegal Advisory Task Force. For that reason, the two groups came together and, after researching the subject, devised language to be incorporated in the signature block of paralegals who post to listserves which is designed to protect the work product privilege. Therefore, it is essential that you incorporate the following language into your signature block for every listserve posting you, as a paralegal, make: This communication is under the general direction of _____________________, my AAJ sponsoring attorney. Repeated failure to incorporate this language in your postings may result in termination of your access to the listserve.
I want to emphasize that the inclusion of this language is not meant to be degrading to paralegal affiliates in any way. The attorney members of AAJ value the input and participation of paralegals in these groups. But protecting the listserve postings from discovery is essential.
In closing . . .
Remember that the good life is marked with little deeds of love and helpfulness done throughout each day. When we extend ourselves and do the little extras that are open to us, we make the world a brighter, better, and more lovely place in which to live. The world is moved forward not only by the mighty shoves of heroes, but also by the tiny pushes of each ordinary person.
Dennyce Korb, CP
Chair, AAJ Paralegal Advisory Task Force
