Monday, December 15, 2014

Happy Holidays from RPA!

By Donna Strauss, ACP

RPA has had another successful year offering continuing legal education and other benefits to its members.  As 2014 comes to a close, we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and happiness in celebrating the holiday you observe.  Also, for some holiday fun, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Festivus (for the rest of us) on December 23rd, Happy National Chocolate Day on December 24th (my favorite!), Happy National Flashlight Day and Happy (Bah) Humbug Day on December 21st

Oh, and Happy New Year!  Here's to an educational 2015!


Click here: http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/december.htm for other Bizarre and Unique Holidays

Monday, November 3, 2014

Corn Bread Hospitalitly

By Teresa Clark, ACP

October was a month of Successful Service for members of the Richmond Paralegal Association ("RPA"). The scheduled events on October 7 and October 11 were well attended and as promised, afforded immeasurable personal reward! 

On October 7th, members prepared and served a feast of Chili, corn bread, salad and desserts to patients and their families at the Hospital Hospitality House (HHH), and led a game of Bingo afterward.  The food, all excellently prepared and served, was gratefully consumed by all.  Several patients and their families stayed afterward to play bingo. 

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Be a Volunteer – Participate!

By Lee Ann Wilson and Linda Richards

It is said that “to do things for others” affords immeasurable personal reward.  This is one philosophy of the Richmond Paralegal Association (“RPA”), and during the month of October, its membership is scheduled to “participate!”  Two group volunteer activities have been scheduled by RPA for its “Month of Service.” 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Leadership

By Kitty Bice, CP

What is leadership? What makes a good leader? Is it a call? Can you become a leader, or are you born to lead? All good questions and there are a lot of websites that will describe the characteristics of a good leader. Leaders are proactive, good listeners, humble, delegate to and motivate others, organized, resourceful, open-minded, good communicators, open to change, educated, objective and adaptive. There are different types of leadership skills: authoritarian, democratic, transformational, charismatic, autocratic, transactional, and laissez-faire.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Importance of Networking

By Darlene Yeary, ACP

According to Webster’s Dictionary, networking is defined as “the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically :  the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business.”

So, what does networking mean to us as paralegals? There are so many ways that networking can play a role inside and outside the office.  For inside the office, every day you go to work, you have the opportunity to meet new people, so you are networking. In my position as a real estate paralegal, I end up speaking with title companies and Buyer’s or Seller’s counsel’s paralegal.  As you work through the transaction and especially towards the end of the transaction when the deal is going to close, you end up speaking to those individuals more and more and you begin to form a relationship with them.  After the transaction has closed, it is a great time to look them up on LinkedIn and form that connection.  You never know when you may run into the same scenario again and you will remember how helpful they were to you.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

10 Reasons Why We Care about Social Media

By Katie Lehnen

You probably feel inundated by the social media wave from all angles.  Many of us use social networking in our personal lives, whether to keep in touch with friends and family across vast distances, or to connect with new friends.  We also use social media in a professional capacity, to promote businesses, post resumes, and network with current and potential employers.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

3 Things Paralegals Should Know About 529 College Savings Plans

By Jillian L. Sherman, ACP, VCA

It’s time to celebrate!  Across the country, May 29 is recognized as 529 College Savings Day (also known as 529 Day). This initiative raises awareness about the importance of saving for higher education and the tax advantages of 529 plans. Paralegals are essential to so many things, including helping clients understand how their situation impacts or is impacted by a 529 account.  In honor of 529 Day, here are some of the considerations (just 3!?) paralegals should know about 529 accounts offered by Virginia College Savings Plan℠ (Virginia529℠).

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

4 Tips for Effective Internet Research in the Information Age

By Stephanie Meharg, CP

A typical case research assignment begins for me something like this: Stephanie, please find for me everything you can on this company, or industry, or potential expert, or lawyer, or judge.  I think they might be somewhere out west, maybe Arizona.  Now you know what I know. Go!

So where is a busy paralegal to turn when faced with this assignment?   Most companies have a website these days, most experts are affiliated with a university, there’s www.martindale.com for attorneys, Google, Wikipedia, Bing, and EVERYONE has a Facebook account.  Easy right?  Not always.  People, need I remind you that this is the information age.  There is a TON of stuff out there.  Finding what is relevant and useful in a vast sea of  “everyone’s got an opinion and a computer” is pretty daunting.  You can easily find yourself running in circles.  So where do you start?

Monday, March 10, 2014

2014 LegalTech NY

By Jillian Sherman, ACP

eDiscovery is the name of the litigation game these days.  There is so much more to legal technology though, and LegalTech NY is a great place to learn about it.  Each year, ALM puts on this conference in early February in New York and a West Coast conference later in the spring in Los Angeles.  LegalTech includes over 21 tracks and hundreds of exhibitors, all dedicated to legal technology and various law practices.  Lawyers, IT staff, law office managers, and paralegals come together for three days for CLE, the exhibit hall, a fantastic opening reception, and incredible presentations.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Pro Bono

By Beth Cheatham

What is pro bono?  If you work in litigation like me you have probably had experience with pro bono plaintiffs or defendants.  In that setting, pro bono indicates that the party is not represented by counsel.  Those cases can be a challenge because the opposing party is often unsure how to properly respond to pleadings and discovery and how to conduct themselves with the court.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Work/Life Balance

By Donna Strauss, ACP

As paralegals, we take our work very seriously and tend to take it home with us, either physically on our smartphones and/or briefcases, or mentally as we continue to think about work long into the evening.   In order to keep healthy, we must maintain a good work/life balance.   Trying to juggle a healthy balance is difficult.  Many of us not only work full-time, but take classes to better our career, volunteer with organizations close to our heart, raise children alone or with a spouse, and some even work a second job to make ends meet.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for the Richmond Paralegal Association! This blog will not take the place of RPA On The Record, the association's official newsletter, but will enhance communication between our board and our members.  We will add posts monthly so be sure to check back often!

Cheers!