It’s been a very very very long time since I have posted here. I am pretty sure it was something I did but for over a year I was not able to find the blog. I’m not sure what I did but I most likely clicked when I should have kept myself from clicking ….. the blog went missing. I kept seeing your comments and your questions but I was not able to interact. I’m so sorry.
Again…. not sure what I did today but here I am. I have regained access to the blog and I am ready to go.
So……… without dwelling in the past and trying to figure out what happened, I want to concentrate on the future and figure out where to go from here. I know I want to post more about what it is that we, as paralegals do. I want to help you navigate the career development maze and help you learn from my mistakes so that hopefully it won’t take you as long as it has taken me to get ahead. Most of all, I want to work with you and be here for you. Please continue to send me your emails and your thoughts and your requests. I am sincerely happy to be back and I can’t wait to have a cup of coffee and a chat.
Recently I received an email from Online Paralegal Programs letting me know about a new study they have conducted regarding the job outlook and educational requirements for the paralegal profession. If you know me by now, I’m always always interested in those statistics.
Although those statistics are important to know what got my attention this time was the fact that they took the time to research some very important paralegals. Makes us all proud to belong to such a great profession.
I have been given permission to post the graph here on my site. I think it’s really important to share this type of information. One of the things I seem to always be saying is that I’m not a paralegal by accident. Some of us really enjoy what we do and we have carefully picked our profession. I am not a paralegal because I couldn’t be anything else. It’s true that I fell into the profession by a happy coincidence….. I needed a job and that small law firm was hiring. I was eager and they were willing to give me a chance. That’s all I needed. The rest is history and I have since fallen in love with what I do….. I’m one of the lucky ones.
As most of you know reading is one of the ways I relax. I’m not much into watching television so, after a long day, while the husband relaxes watching whatever shows he enjoys watching I am usually sitting or laying down next to him reading on my iPad. These are some of the bits of the things which caught my interest.
After a Summer full of activities and sometimes spending more money than most of us budgeted for the fall is a great time to revisit our spreadsheets, or Mint or whatever method you use to make sure you are going to have enough to enjoy the holidays. Mint published a great list of Money Moves for Fall.
Are you guilty of pointing fingers? Do you sometimes get annoyed at how some people seem to have it so easy and seem to be struggling to get ahead? Well, I know I am guilty of that, sometimes. We’re all human and sometimes we can’t help but be a bit jealous or envious of those who seem to have it all. This week I read a great article in brainpickings.org. Sometimes what looks like privilege to us is actually the product of many years of struggle. Take a moment to read this article and then take some time to actually assess if you agree. Some Thoughts on “Privilege.”
Every morning and every evening when I’m commuting from New Jersey into New York for work I wonder if other people go through the same annoyance as I do. For instance, last night, the subway was so crowded I couldn’t find a place to hold on to. I’m short, so I can’t reach the top railing — you know the one that hangs above you head — so I need to rely on the poles. Well, unless I morphed into Gumbywoman I was not going to be able to hold on. I tried to balance myself without holding on which makes for an interesting commute. Good thing I was not wearing heels. This morning I found some pictures Proof that Rush House is Kinda Terrible Everywhere which made me feel much better. Misery does love company, after all.
While we’re on the subject of pictures….. What’s this about? I do’t even know what to say to that. Is it really necessary to post a notice like this? What are we coming to?
You all know I really enjoy being a paralegal. Maybe I’ve always been lucky and I have never been treated disrespectfully because I’m a paralegal. Sure, I have been disrespected. However, not because of my chosen profession but because some people are just jerks. They can’t help that and honestly not something I can change. It’s their problem and I can only feel sorry for them. When I saw this article in Legal Cheek, I thought it best to write something here in case some of you are thinking about becoming paralegals. It’s funny and some of them are probably going to wind up in my Pinterest but it’s not what the profession is about. Remember you do have a choice in everything you do.
Hello everyone. I just wanted to catch up and ask for an opinion as well as let you know what I’m thinking. As you probably know I’m dividing this blog into two different blogs. It has come to my attention that many of you are not interested in seeing beauty or fashion articles on this blog. However, it’s also been made clear to me that some of you really like those types of articles.
After some thinking I have decided to start another blog dedicated to The Paralegal at Home. All the things I do when not at work. All articles about beauty, fashion, cleaning, decorating, organizing a home, etc will be found there. I am leaving this blog as it was intended to be. A blog about being a paralegal. Here you can find all the things we originally started talking about. How to be a paralegal, how to research and what is expected of us in the crazy work we all live in.
To kicky this new schedule off. I will start by doing a series on research….. internet research, Lexis research and Westlaw research. I also want to do a series on how I use my iPad. How to use the iPad at work, the different apps I work with and how I manage to totally give up paper in my life as a paralegal.
Please take a moment and go check out the new blog at The Paralegal at Home and like and subscribe to the feed. I am hoping that by doing things this way you can better find your way to the things you most want to see. Let me know if you have any trouble or if you would like to see something different.
Yep. I just looked at my last post and it was written over a month ago. Shame on me. How can I expect you guys to be interested or stick around here if I don’t take the time to say hello, at least. Anyway, this is not an excuse or anything like that. Actually, if I’m serious about wanting to help you or make this blog grow, nothing should be standing in the way, right?????
So what happened in the time I have been away from the blog? Well, I changed positions at work. If you recall I was working in compliance. I left my paralegal role in one large bank and joined the compliance department of another large bank. Did I like it? Yeah, I guess I enjoyed it well enough. I didn’t like enough to stay, though. I am glad I did it. Why? you might ask. Well, it taught me two things? 1) that I really, really (can I say really one more time?) really…. haha… like being a paralegal. 2) Compliance is not for me.
So what do I see as the biggest difference? Both roles involve regulatory change management, both roles involve research of the various regulators in charge of our money and what our financial institutions can or cannot do with our money. Most of the day is spent trolling those regulatory bodies, in both positions….. So why would I take this position is if sounds like the same thing? Well, the reason is the actual role.
A compliance officer advises the business. The compliance officer is much closer to the business than the lawyer. Although the lawyer must be familiar with the business, the lawyer really does not, and has no time to be concerned with the intricacies of the business….. that’s the compliance officers’ job. So the lawyer interprets the law and hands it over to the compliance officer to give it a second look and say….. Well. Here’s what legal says, here’s what we do and here’s what we have to stop doing in order to remain in compliance with what the regulator is saying. There is so much “advising” that needs to be done that the compliance officer has no time to read and interpret.
Don’t get me wrong. I do like knowing the business and I learned quite a bit about the big money machine. However, I learned these past few years that I am ok with knowing the business superficially enough to know it but my passion is in really knowing the law.
As a paralegal I have the time to really get into the regulators’ heads….. Sometimes not a happy place to be and most of the time a frustrating proposition. If you have tried to read a bill, a proposal and eventually a new law….. Holly heck….. Yesterday I was actually wondering if the law was written in English….. that, at times, is the fun of it.
So, why did I go back to the legal department? Well, it came down to what my passion is. My passion is reading and writing and learning the law. My passion is to sit with books (these days the computer or the iPad) and read, highlight, make notes, and eventually be able to put into words what I believe the law addresses. In compliance, while I got to look at new laws, if I were to stay and follow my passion, as stated above, my role would have morphed into a data entry person. There is no time to read, understand and digest it. If I were to move up in a compliance role, I would have had to give up that passion. I would have had to rely on legal to really get into the weeds of the law so that I could get into the weeds of the business. I would not be able to spend as much time as I would like in being well versed in the legalities of what is or is not allowed. Someone else would have to do that and I would have to take their word for it.
I chose to follow my passion. I am busier than I have been the past 3 years, since I came to this new firm. However, I am happier than I have been at this firm. There is something to be said for figuring out who you are and doing what comes naturally to you. I enjoy being surrounded by words and then taking those words, which at times are a bit incomprehensible, and have them make sense to someone who does not get a chance to sit and analyze them. I have that luxury now. Research and analysis is my thing. That’s what I enjoy doing.
So, I’m often asked what my advice is for someone just getting started in their career. My advice is to figure out what you love to do. To figure that out, thing about what you can spend hours on and not mind, what would you do even if you were not getting paid for it and then go out and find a place where you can do that and get paid for it as well.
I hope all this works. I have been in my new role for a month now and it looks like things are finally getting settled and I’m not playing catch up. I will try to go back to some type of schedule on the blog so you guys don’t forget about me. I’m also thinking, I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Would you guys like a YouTube channel to go along with this blog? Think that’s a good idea? Would you subscribe? Would you guys want to see have a YouTube channel to go along with this blog?
Let me know. Nice chatting with you all and I’ll see on my next blog post.
Files seem to take on a life of their own and the problem is that most of them are not happy creatures. Left to their own devices files can grow into these incredible monsters. Trouble is that with so many other things creeping up on us every second of the day the time we have to dedicate to these monsters is very short. The file monster is not very forgiving either. It totally demands your attention, at least a few hours a week.
More often than not we can find new paralegals sitting on the floor of their office (or the paralegal area) totally bewildered looking down at a bunch of papers not knowing which end is up. How could this file have gotten like this? Good question. The attorney must have gotten to it. But he only had it for a couple of hours……. Yeah, it usually only takes them a few minutes. Especially if they are looking for something in a hurry, on the way to court or on a call with a client….. it doesn’t take much to get a file looking like it’s been through a hurricane.
Usually what I do is sit down on the floor with them and encourage them to cry if they have to. It’s ok….. I’ve cried too. Heck sometimes I still do!!!!!!! All those non-billable hours spent organizing a file to find it back at my desk looking like that? Anyway….. it wasn’t done on purpose. Filing and organization is not one of the classes in law school. That’s why they hired you. You got this.
First things first: Let’s separate the papers into piles that make sense. A legal file is made up of a few subsections:
1. Correspondence – you know what that looks like right? usually has a date up at the top with the name and address of the lawyer or sender way at the top of the page. Don’t worry about the dates for now. That’s not important, not at this stage.
2. Pleadings – This can be confusing for a new paralegal. Sometimes discovery can look like a pleading so the way I explain the difference to new paralegals as well as the way I learn it and keep it straight is by knowing that all pleadings get filed with the court. So, if it has a court stamp at the top or if it’s something that was sent to the court clerk for filing you can bet it’s a pleading. That goes into a second pile. Make sure you have all the pages. Usually the last page is the signature page and all pages are numbered. Easy enough right?
3. Motions – This is one is a tricky one. Some law firms file the motions along with the pleadings. After all, they are filed with the court. I don’t necessarily disagree with that. By doing it this way your pleading file will tell a story. Making it easier to figure out why a pleading has been filed with a court. However, I like to keep motions separate from the rest of the pleadings. My reason for that is that usually he attorney will need to pull motions out of the file or respond to a motion and he/she doesn’t necessarily need the whole pleading file. Also, sometimes the attorney needs to go to court to argue a motion. There is no need to have the complaint and the answer (it’s only going to cause the same chaos you are now facing if the attorney has to pull papers out of a file for one little motion). So for me, keeping it separate is key. If necessary I can make copies of the motions, mark them duplicate and note where to find the originals. Then I put a copy in with the pleadings and the original in a motion folder….. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.
4. Discovery – This is going to be all the other things that look like a pleading but don’t get filed with the court. These are answers to interrogatories, responses to document requests. The funny thing is that sometimes some of these may look like correspondence. So you will have to read the first and second paragraphs of the letters to make sure it’s not a letter supplementing answers to interrogatories.
5. Misc. – Depending on what type of file these could be anything so you will have to label the folder accordingly. If it’s a personal injury file this is probably going to be your medical records, your accident report, the retainer agreement (very important that you find this one) and all other papers that do not fall nicely into any of the above four categories.
Ok, you see, not so bad. Now you have a more organized chaos on your floor and a little bit more room to move around. So we can move to a different area to dry our tears.
Next you are going to one pile at a time. Let’s say you picked the correspondence file. I usually pick this one because it’s usually the largest pile and because after reading the correspondence I’ll more of less know what should be in the other piles. I will also know the story of the file a little bit better. So go ahead, read on. It can be fun. I have found some really funny letters written by the clients or the adversaries and it always makes for some good humor while doing a really boring job. While you are reading this file make sure you put it chronological order. At this point, if it’s a very old file, I start making piles with the correspondence. I separate it by year. Make sure you start with the oldest correspondence. Work your way to the present. Now the correspondence is done. Have you noticed? There aren’t that many more papers. All the other stuff is just bulky but usually not as much as the correspondence.
By doing the largest pile you will feel more accomplished and you will feel like you can conquer any other task thrown at you. Be ready, other tasks will be thrown at you….. Just a thought.
Now pick up the pleadings. You also want to make sure you file these in chronological order. Most firms file pleadings in pronged folders. If this is the way your firm operates then go ahead. They are less expensive than three ring binders so usually that why they do it that way. I like the three ring binder because if I have to get a pleading out of the file I don’t have to get all the other pleadings out. Anyway, in this case you have to go with what you’re given. Wait… Don’t put them in yet. At this point, punch holes in the the papers and organize them. Next sit at your computer and let’s start the pleading board.
For those of you who don’t know what a pleading board is….. it’s not a scientific term. Yeah, I know, lawyers like to speak in their own language. I find it interesting. A pleading board is a table of contents. Begin by entering the name of the first pleading and with number tabs separate each of them. So your pleading board will look something like this:
1. Complaint ………………………………………… January 1, 2014
2. Answer to Complaint ………………………….. March 15, 2014
So on and so on and so on….. continue until you’ve listed all the pleadings. This always gives me such satisfaction. By the time you’re all done it will look so pretty and the file starts to take shape. It’s starting to look more like a legal file and not so much like a crazy pile of papers and you are taming the monster.
Once you are done with the pleadings move on to the motions. For me, each motion resides in it’s special folder. I worked at a law firm where the motions had a special color folder….. actually all documents had special color folders. I liked that very much. It made it easy to find the documents you were looking for. However, if that’s not what you have then a regular manila folder is fine. Just make sure you label each folder appropriately and include the date the motion was filed with the court. All corresponding documents go into that file. So when you pick up the motion file you have the entire history of that motion.
Same thing goes for discovery. The only difference is that discovery (answers to interrogatories, responses to document productions) will have to be broken apart. Reason? Well, answers to interrogatories and responses to production of documents come with large documents. If this is a personal injury file you will have medical records and these are very bulky at times. So what I do is keep the responses neatly in the folder and then right behind those I put in files for each of the records received with the responses. So I will have hospital records, doctors’ notes and records, auto accident…. etc.
The last thing you have left on your floor will be the misc. stuff. These can be anything. There will be attorney’s notes, which I suggest you keep in a separate file. Attorneys sometimes take notes on post-it notes, napkins anything they can get their hands on when they’re on the phone or speaking to a client on the way out of the court house. make sure you put all these in the folder. I normally make a copy of the post notes so they are the same size as the other papers in the file. It ensures that these little papers are not going to get lost and the file looks neater.
You will have deposition transcripts and these although not necessarily misc. stuff need their own folders. Most of the time there will be a manuscript and a regular transcript. I keep both together with my summary.
There you are. In a few hours we have organized a file. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you longer than a few hours. My suggestion is that you do it when it’s a quiet in the office and you have a few straight hours to do it. Remember most of it is going to be non billable time so make sure you can afford to do that. It needs to get done so you will have to find the time to do it. Maybe it can be done over the course of a few days. This way you are not losing that much time on your billable hours. Also remember some of it can probably be billed.
1. Are you reviewing the medical records as you go along? If you do, remember to bill for review and analyze medical records pertaining to …..
2. Are you going to respond to document productions? or Interrogatories? Then bill time for the review of documents (name the documents) to assist in the preparation of responses to…..
Most of all, have fun. Organizing a file is a boring job but you can make it fun. See if you can tell a story. See if you find something no one else has found. I would always compete with some other paralegals when working on large files to see who could come up with the best story or the better angle.
Being a paralegal can be and is fun if you take pride in what you do. I have been doing it for 20 years and I still think it’s one of the best career choices I ever made.
Let me know how you do and if you have questions, please feel free reach to to me. I’d love to hear from you.
Ok, so this is just my humble opinion but it’s based on facts which as a paralegal, I am trained to do. So what are the fact? Why are paralegals your greatest asset?
What are the facts?
Fact – Paralegals cannot represent clients in court. Yes, that is true. We cannot go to court with the client and represent them by ourselves, that is. I have been to plenty of courts with my attorneys and sat right next to them through the entire proceeding. We can and do assist during a trial by providing research on the spot and since most of the time we know the file inside and out we can pull out discovery while the attorney is on his feet and make his/her life easier by having all the documents marked and ready for review by the witness. Makes the attorney’s life so much easier. At least that’s what I’m told. Another fact, we do all this at a lesser cost than a first year associate. That is welcomed news for the client. Imagine, having a helping hand in court who is knowledgeable about court proceedings and the file for half the cost, most of the time. Trained properly a paralegal can provide more help than a first year associate when she/he sits next to the attorney in court.
Myth – Paralegals can be more costly because I’ll still have to use a lawyer to sign the paperwork prepared by the paralegal – You’re right, an attorney has to supervise the activities of the paralegal. However, the paralegal prepares the documents. I’ve prepared complaints, answers to complaints, requests for productions, motions of all kinds, trial notices, subpoenas, briefs……you name it, I’ve prepared it. Some of this documents can take hours and sometimes days to prepare and are billed out at a paralegal rate…. again, half of what the first year associate’s rate. The attorney will then take an hour to review and sign and the rest is history. The paralegal prepares the cover letter, makes the copies files the documents away and all this has taken an hour of the attorney time. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of other things the attorney can busy himself/herself with. Paralegals are never going to take the place of the lawyer and we don’t want to, let’s just be clear here. Most of us do not …. let me repeat that…. DO NOT want to be attorneys. We are perfectly happy being paralegals. Can you imagine getting to the end of the month and sending your client a bill for half of what it would have cost him if you didn’t have a paralegal working on the file? Yeah, I’ll give you a little bit of time to think about that. Let me illustrate:
Bill to client for an initial meeting and filing a complaint in Superior Court in New Jersey:
Lawyer only bill $600 per hour:
Phone call or meeting with client 1 hour billed at $600
Draft Complaint 3 hours $600 X 3 = $1,800
Cost for filing the complaint $200
Grand total = $2,600
Lawyer with one paralegal, lawyer billed at $600 and paralegal billed at $300
Phone call or meeting with client for initial intake 1 hour Paralegal Time – $300
Draft Complaint 4 hours (let’s say it takes the paralegal longer) $1,200
Attorney review and sign complaint 30 minutes $300
Cost for filing the complaint $200.00
Grand Total = $2,000
So, as you can see you have saved your client $600 and in the process you, the lawyer, have been able to do something else while your paralegal is taking care of the work in the office. Instead of spending 5 or 6 hours handling this case, it has taken you only 30 minutes to review the complaint, give your paralegal instructions for filing the complaint and the client has saved $600, which to me looks like a happy ending.
Fact –Training paralegals is less expensive in the long run than training lawyers how so, you may be asking. Well, it’s normal for a first year associate to be looking to make partner at some point. What does this mean? it means that the associate eventually will be making almost as much per hour as you are billing him/her out. Adding partners to your practice can be costly and if you decide that you are not going to make them partner they will go and find that partnership somewhere else. This means that you have spent time and resources training that first year associate only to watch him/her leave your firm and go somewhere else with the knowledge you have given them. Paralegals? We don’t want to be partners. It’s a fact that most of us stay at our jobs longer than attorneys do. As long as the work is challenging and we are treated well we will stay and continue to provide you with 100% of our dedication. The longer we stay and the more time you invest in us the better we become and those 4 hours that it took us to draft that complaint up there…. eventually it will only take us 2 or 3 hours. We are resourceful and our goal is to make you look good. Training a paralegal to be the best she can be can only benefit you. We also develop great relationships with your/our clients. If you notice, we are the ones on the phone with them most often, more often than not we get to know their families, medical histories and we become the first people they call when they feel they need a lawyer. It costs them less money to speak with us so why not? So what’s a client going to do when they need a lawyer? They are going to call someone they know and trust and most of the time it’s your paralegal whom they have gotten to know and trust.
So, have I given you enough reasons to hire a paralegal or more in your practice? I can tell you that you should have one or two paralegals per lawyer in your office and if you do that you would come out on top. A well set up paralegal department, even if it’s only two paralegal with a well organized and divided work load can be the….. actually will be the greatest investment you can make today in your firm and set yourself up for the future. Don’t take my word for it…… work out the figures yourself or if you prefer, contact me for more information.
Monday is going to be a long day. I have meetings all morning and then I have to get a report finished by the end of the day for a big meeting on Tuesday. I need something easy to pull together and something smart looking. When my days shape up to be like that, I usually reach for that smart, feminine suit in my closet. Simple, classic length skirts and usually some color. I want to stand out and appear pulled together without much effort. I want to be comfortable without looking out of place. A suit is easy to match and not much thought goes into it. Especially when thinking is being done at 5 o’clock in the morning….. Ugh!!!!!!!
The color is happy making Mondays not seem as difficult as we all know Mondays can be. I like the accents on the jacket giving it a feminine look. I sure as heck want to make sure I stand out when forced to sit in a room full of dark suits. Have you noticed? Most men wear dark blue suits at the office? They look they all shop at the same place. I’ve always chuckled when I see it. It’s funny when you think that men feel better when others look the same. I always feel better if I’m the only woman in the room wearing a particular suit. How mortifying would it be to have two women in a room wearing the same thing?
I also really like this more colorful suit by Albert Nipon. The length of the skirt is appropriate for the office but the pink color is sexy and feminine. This suit can go from office to dinner without much effort. Because it’s such a simple dress, the color works without making me look too young. Not that I feel there’s anything wrong with being young but in an office setting sometimes being the youngest one in the room may be a detriment.
However, if color is not your thing. I know some women who shy away from color and some offices tend to be more conservative than others. This dark suit from Tahari is smart and without making you look trashy it also shows off your assets.
Recently someone Tweeted me a question which totally peaked my interest. They wanted to know what paralegal is more respected, the one working in-house or the one working in private practice. I have done both so I feel as if I am somewhat qualified to answer this question. I wanted to answer it here because I feel that if one person is thinking about it, others are as well.
The short of it is that I don’t feel one is more respected than the other. At least not from a client’s perspective and it all goes back to the attorney or the firm you work with. Regarding the clients you will deal with the one thing to keep in mind is that when you’re in-house your clients are people within your walls. Granted outside of usually a locked door (privacy issues) but they are all other members of the firm. These people get to know you so it becomes up to you to allow them to see your professionalism on a day-to-day basis. When you work in-house you are always being observed. Most of the time your clients wind up being your friends and are always your co-workers. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. They will get to know you on a personal basis and if you give them any reason to see you as any less than a professional they will treat you as such. So, it’s up to you to ensure that you are respected as a professional.
Being a paralegal in private practice your clients don’t see you all the time and it’s more likely that you will never develop a personal relationship with them. They will always, hopefully, see you at your best professional self so if you are prepared and know their case, chances are they will respect you as a professional.
In both instances, at least in the State of New Jersey, where I am. Paralegals work under the attorney’s license and that is the reason why I said that the respect you receive really depends on the attorney you work with. I have to say that I have always been lucky in the assignments I had. All the attorneys I worked with always saw me as an equal and always referred to me as a colleague or someone who worked with them and not for them. I think clients take cues from the attorneys and if the attorney treats his/her paralegal with respect, the client has no other frame of reference and will therefore respect you as well….. well, that is if the work product is something the client is happy with.
Having said all that. The work of an in-house paralegal is totally different from the work of a paralegal who works in a law firm. Speaking from a litigation perspective, an in-house paralegal rarely goes to court. In-house attorneys usually hire outside counsel to represent them in court. At least in the firms I have worked with. So a paralegal working in a large in-house legal department will most likely be putting documents together to send out to the paralegal who is working with the outside counsel. The difference is that the in-house paralegal is expected to be the expert in the documents. I remember sitting with the paralegals from the outside counsel’s office to explain to them the business so that they could, in turn, explain it to their attorneys who would be representing us in court.
My personal thoughts around respect are these: I believe that it is up to each individual to demand the respect they deserve. I totally believe that respect is something that is earned and not something that you get because you have a particular title. A paralegal career is a very respectable career and it should be taken seriously. We are professionals and we should be treated as such, no matter where you happen to be working. However, it is up to you to make sure you get the respect you deserve.
I hope this answers the question.
Ana
You may also want to take a look at this post I wrote some time ago.
Last month I received an email from, Jessica, a representative of Burk & Company LLC, asking me if I would do a review of a software application called RedactIt. At the time I was getting ready to go on vacation so I asked that she contact me after vacation and I would look into it. As promised, Jessica emailed me when I got back and we scheduled a meeting with a representative of RedactIt. The meeting took place over another application called GoToMeeting, and because I work a full-time job and cannot be available during the day while I’m at work (I don’t think the boss would appreciate it) we scheduled it for Good Friday. I know, I know, not very christian of me. But one’s gotta do what one’s gotta do.
I want to thank all that were present at the meeting for taking the time on a holiday weekend to walk me through the application, which I have to say; looks amazing.
For about one hour I was able to see and experience a small sample of what the software is capable of and came away not regretting my decision to agree to do the review. So why have I not done a review yet? I still have not had the time to download the application onto my computer. I am hoping to do that this weekend and then test it for 15 days. Jessica did mention that if I needed more time I could just call and they would allow me more time on my trial period. I intend on taking full advantage of the application and provide you with a thorough review of it. Just give me a few weeks.
My initial thoughts? Well, during the meeting I was advised that the software is not Mac compatible and although I can download Parallels on my Mac, I do not want to go that route. In this house we are Mac people and the only PC I currently own is a notepad that I absolutely hate. I stressed that this is a very important upgrade for me and if it is important to me, some of my readers may feel the same way. Despite this Mac compatibility problem my first impression of the application is good and I am looking forward to testing it on my own.
TheParalegal 