Take Control of Your Paralegal Career

What Are you Afraid of?

“Do one thing every day that makes you scared.” I am sure you’ve all heard this saying. I never really thought much about it until yesterday when I read it somewhere and started thinking about it. Turns out, I had just done something that I was petrified of doing. So much so that I had even thought of canceling it and toss it up to “ohhh it’s never going to happen.”So, what happened?

Bback in December I decided to schedule a meeting with the CAO of the firm where I work … Yep, I have a day job. One I actually enjoy but one where things are getting a bit overwhelming and if something doesn’t happen soon I will not have the energy to continue doing it and that would be a disservice to the firm. I am 100% sure of that but the trick is to convince the powers that be of that fact.The meeting was scheduled in New York for yesterday and as the day and time approached my mind kept telling me that I should just cancel…. Maybe I’m getting sick. the weather is really cold and I don’t want to make the commute to Manhattan. Nothing is going to come of it anyway!!!! These were all thoughts going through my mind. I stayed strong and didn’t cancel. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not that strong. I didn’t cancel it, not because I was strong but because I was afraid to upset the CAO. Turns out being a chicken is not such a bad thing some times.

At the time of the meeting I slowly walked to the corner of the building where his office is located and knocked on the door. I remained at the door waiting for an answer.  When he turned around he was on the phone. “Crap, (pardon the language) he’s busy and now he’s going to tell me he has no time for our meeting.” After all, who am I to think that he’s just going to drop his call and talk to me. He’s probably on the phone with the GC and without a doubt the GC is much more important than me any day.  I was prepared to motion to him some gesture that would let him know I’d reschedule or call him and turn around to leave. However, he smiled and asked me to come in. Wow….. ok, so maybe it’s not the GC.  Maybe it’s another paralegal and that’s why he can interrupt his call.

Gosh!!!!! Is that really all that important? What business is it of mine if he’s on the phone and who he’s on the phone with? I walked remained standing and he continued on the phone. He looked at me again and motioned for me to sit down…..Ok, this is getting serious. He’s really interested in what I have to say. I sat, I waited….. He was still on the phone. When he hung up he apologize for making me wait!!!! How nice but appropriate.

Looking back now, that I have taken a few breaths and have had time to think about it.  I am just as important as anyone else at the firm and I have ideas and thoughts and in this case suggestions and opinions that are for the good of the firm. He needs to listen to what I have to say and I need to tell him what I went there to tell him.The meeting lasted the full 30 minutes we had scheduled and actually went a bit over. The entire time he picked my brain about how I would go about implementing the suggestions I made and not once….. Not even once did it seem to me that he was being condescending.

I requested the meeting because I have ideas on how to make the department run more smoothly and how to engage the group of the population who is currently feeling left out.  I have metrics of how some of the things I’ve implemented have made a difference. Not just for the team but for the cost cutting goals of the firm. I had ideas to share of how we can go about training the population and have implemented some of that training without ever being asked to do it and have emails that show how well the program is going. I was prepared. For 30 minutes he asked questions and I answered. I told him that while still performing my full time duties I developed a network of paralegals and some administrative assistants who have volunteered their time to take on additional assignments outside of their own day-to-day in order to learn other business and help them grow their careers. I’ve managed to grow that network globally and continue to do my work even receiving a great review at the end of 2017.  I told him that there is a need and I’m the person he should be looking at to continue providing this service to that group of “forgotten” people.

He agreed….. Did you hear me? He agreed.

No, I don’t have a new job. I still walked out of his office with the same title and job I had when I walked in 30 minutes earlier but I managed to make it clear to him that we do need to keep this momentum going if we want our people to be happy and to perform. That can only benefit the firm. He agreed!!!!! Again!!!!!! But this time he promised me that he would call a meeting with me toward the start of next month so we could discuss in more detail a new role.

So….. there you have it. I said all this not so that I could brag…. There is nothing to brag about….. I was terrified. I was so afraid that I couldn’t even enjoy the weekend before the meeting. However, as terrified as I was I stood my ground and managed to quiet the voices in my head and not cancel the meeting.

I managed to face someone who is way above my pay grade (not more important than me) and tell him how I can help him make better use of his resources and in the process make those resources happy and more willing to take on more work. Saving the firm money and providing a service to our clients and employees. I managed to put my fears aside and ask for what I wanted and honestly……. I think I will be getting a call and will probably be in a new role at some point next month.

Let’s say it doesn’t work out (but it will)! Even if I am not in a new role. Even if nothing comes of this meeting. I am super proud of myself that I was able to quiet the voice within and do something that made me scared. What have you done that makes you scared? I would love to hear from you. It doesn’t have to be professional. What have you done in any aspect of your life that made you scared? How did it feel afterwards?Ok…. Back to work now. I hope you enjoyed this post and keep ideas coming. I can’t wait to hear from you all.

XoXo

Photo from Google Images

Goals and Plans …. Ohhh My!!!!!!

Start of the New Year is a time when we are all setting goals and making plans or maybe you’re not. However, if you’re not, you should. Well, only if you plan on accomplishing something and succeeding at something. Don’t worry, this is not another one of those articles that will preach to you about how to make goals or what goals you should be making. Goals are very personal and without being you, I could never tell you what your goals should be. I can tell you that studies show that people who make goals (notice I said goals, not resolutions) tend to become more successful than those who don’t have goals.

So what is a goal? A goal is the end of result, the idea of what the future is going to look like. Sounds easy right? Well…. it’s not hard to make goals and then just sit back and wait for the goals to happen. However, that to me sounds more like a resolution. In order to accomplish a goal, one must create small steps which when put together will bring you to your goals. We’ve all heard of SMART Goals (I won’t bore you that). But it is smart to set SMART goals….. just sayin’

From the picture above you can see that TheParalegal has a few goals. This is is going to be dedicated to you, my readers and friends. 2017 was dedicated to my day job. I achieved all the goals I set out for myself…. not to say that I no longer have goals in that department, I do. There are few lofty goals I want to achieve in my day job but I’m going to put in more effort here. Even those lofty goals are things I can take less time to create. 2018 is dedicated to TheParalegal and to you.

I can hear you all telling me to stop talking and list on the goals I am setting for TheParalegal:

1. Write an e-book
2. Post at least once per week
3. Create a section on the blog for templates we all use
4. Develop Webinars on Paralegal Training and Maybe even Lawyer Training

For each of these I will have to set manageable steps. Keeping in mind that they will be accomplished at the same time as the other goals for my day job. Not an excuse but a reality which I have to take into consideration. Then there are those other smaller things I want to try to accomplish, like only using my own pictures. That means I will also need to take more pictures and learn how to edit them (thinking of take a photography course). I also want to be a little more active on Facebook so go join me there and keep me accountable.

I think 2018 is going to be a great year for TheParalegal and for all of us. I think we are going to accomplish so much together.

Send me your thoughts. What forms do you reach for the most that would be helpful to have here? What is the thing you’re always looking for help with that I can help you figure out? What types of webinars would you like to see? Should we start with live videos? What platform should we use?

I want to end this article by thank you all for spending some time with me in 2017 even though I know the articles were sporadic and I was all over the place. Happy New Year to all.

XoXo

— the photo above is of my actual planner while I brainstormed ideas for the blog.

The Handwritten Note

Perhaps we can bring up this lost art again. I can’t help but think and remember with nostalgia how great it felt to receive letters from friends when I moved from Portugal to the United States. I would read those letters over and over again. One of those friends even went as far as include a leaf from one of the trees on the street where we grew up. Why have we stopped writing letters?I know this post has nothing to do with being a paralegal and honestly I understand that at the end of the year there is a whole lot more I can be sharing with you. However, I was reading through my email this morning and one of the sites I read regularly had a post about the lost art of letter writing and I couldn’t’ help myself. Letter writing is an art, but not a difficult type of art. No need to go to art school and, if you can write an email, you can write a note to someone and it will be much more appreciated. Writing, putting pen to paper, gives your brain the ability to really make sure the words are exactly those you want to convey. There is a much stronger connection between you and your feelings when you are not clicking away at a keyboard. I’m determined to bring back this art and I’m starting with my blog family.

Notepaper, cards, pens….. Ohhhh My!!!!!

The next time you are out, anywhere, pick up some nice cards, post cards, notepads. Every time I am out and find a funny (I like funny) or pretty card, or a piece of stationery that speaks to me, I pick it up and put it in a box in my office. Not having to go out to find the perfect birthday card, feel better card is half the battle for me. I keep thank you notes, birthday cards, even condolences and feel better cards. I know, not something we want to think about, but things happen and having it handy is the best way to ensure the card is sent out.

Pens……. Yes, the pen. I have recently re-found my love for the fountain pen and I have to say that it has made me want to write even more. I’ve been journaling and just enjoying the process of writing…. Heck I may write a book. I do believe that the writing utensil is as important, if not more important, as the paper you use.

True story — I do not have New Years Cards so this is now a problem for me. I received a Christmas card from someone I did not expect and now I’m at a loss. I can’t send a Christmas card because Christmas is over but I want to send a card to let the person know how appreciative I was of the fact that they thought about me. I need to go out and buy a New Years card or I can send a regular card (but that doesn’t seem enough). It’s been a week and I haven’t done either and now…….. if I don’t do it soon it’ll be too late and I will have missed my opportunity.

Handwritten! — operative word

The timing is perfect!!! This has been bugging me for a while. We all love the cards we receive with the family pictures and the family dog wearing a Christmas sweater but …. and I don’t want to complain because I think it’s kind of the sender to think about me and send me a card. However, when you’re merely just inserting pictures into an envelope, can you really call it a handwritten note? Fine, if you want to send me a picture I appreciate it but can you say a few words? Even if you just say “Merry Christmas from blah, blah family” Just something, anything. A few words wishing a the receiver well or thanking the receiver for a nice gesture made towards you.

I recently was listening to a blog, on my way to work, about a man who decided to write 1 thank you note per day for a year. That has turned into a thing and now he has a network doing the same thing and writing a thank you note to whomever every day. The crossing guard who helped your child cross the street this morning, the newspaper guy who sold you the paper on this freezing morning, the barista for making your latte just so :). Who doesn’t like to feel appreciated?

Let’s do this!

So, here is my challenge. Let’s do this. Let’s bring back the handwritten note. It does not have to be thank you. It can be anything. It can be a “just because you’re you” or “I found this funny card and thought of you.” Let’s write a note at least once a month to someone we know and let’s meet here at the end of 2018 and talk about how we changed the world.Thanks for reading this far. The next post will be about Paralegaling…….I promise (is that a word?)XoXoP.S. If I don’t write before the New Year, I hope you all have an amazing New Year’s Eve. Be safe and stay warm (for those of us in the North East)

Finally Here

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.

Ana

Famous Paralegals

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.

Enough about me…. Please shut me up.  Here is the one page study from Online Paralegal Programs .

 

Source: Online-Paralegal-Programs.com

In The News – What has the Paralegal Been Reading

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.

XoXo

Ana

Announcement – Some Good Changes

Once again, I’m sure you have noticed, there are a lot of changes going on here at The Paralegal.  I have recently decided to simplify this blog by taking the nonprofessional articles and publishing them on another blog — The Paralegal at Home.  There you will find all the fashion, home decoration and renovation, etc., basically all the stuff I do and get involved in when I’m not working….. Yeah, I know, we sometimes have time to have a life too.

By creating a blog dedicated to outside interests, albeit still paralegal related, – – Yeah, I’m still a paralegal, even if it’s the weekend – – I have gone back to the original purpose of this blog which was to bring you profession related articles, legal news and events and from time to time some miscellaneous type information all related to what you need in order to better do your job.

So, what exactly is the plan for this blog “The Paralegal”?

1. Mondays – The plan for Mondays is to publish a recap of the previous week.  A Week in the Life – – I want to give you a flavor for what happens on a day to day in this paralegal’s life which may present challenges, how I overcome those challenges any tips I may have come across that may help make your life easier.
2. Thursdays – One of the things I plan to bring to you on a weekly basis is a rundown of legal news.  And in the News – I’m still not sure how this is going to turn out and it will be a work in progress.  For now the plan is to publish a weekly post, I’m thinking on Thursdays.  I will be honest with you, the reason I picked Thursdays is because that schedule will give me almost an entire week to write the articles.  I want to be consistent but as we all know, consistency is not a luxury paralegals have a lot of.  Some days I may not be able to get out of the office until late and with a two hour commute I won’t have the energy to sit in front of the computer…… Don’t worry I still love you all.  I just won’t do the blog any justice if I try to force myself to write anything.  Trust me, you would not be interested in seeing it.
3. Sundays – I’m still going to dedicate Sundays to my Paralegal Humor.  I really enjoy looking for those little cartoons/commits around the internet.  I’m thinking I may even include some humor from other sources such as Pinterest (and you can go and follow me there), Facebook (you can friend me there as well).

I hope this schedule works for you.  I think I can commit to this schedule and if there are some surprise posts then the better for all of us.  I have a few things I’m planning to do but since I’m not sure how to get those done I won’t discuss them for now.  Just keep checking here for more updates.

And…. What is the Plan for the other blog “The Paralegal At Home”?

I know you will be interested in checking out the other blog, The Paralegal at Home….. It’s a baby, go there and give it some love.

There, you will see fashion articles; things like, what to wear to the office, what not to wear to the office, some weekend wear and accessories.  There will be articles for the home or about the home.  As most of you know, the husband (this is what I will call him throughout) and I have recently bought a house which needs a lot of love & care so you will see some decorating ideas, wish lists, cleaning and home-keeping, organization, and some stuff that we will be doing to renovate or make it our own.  There will be articles related to make up, nail polish, skin care….everything related to the vanity/makeup table.  Last but not least, there will be some information about what I do in my spare time…. the lifestyle section.  Here the plan is to have some stuff about where I’m going, day trips I go on, information about things I find out such as a good place to eat or a great book I’m reading.  I think this is where I’m going to publish those articles which don’t really fit anywhere else on the blog…. Again, all this is a work in progress so things may change.

Now for the schedule over there……. Ready?

1. Mondays, Wednesday & Fridays – – There will be a post called “In Every Budget”  This is something I actually thought about yesterday and because it doesn’t involve a lot of writing I think I will be ready to pull it together quickly and able to publish it three times per week.  What does that title mean, I’m sure you’re asking – – Well, I thought I would pick one thing (it can be clothing, accessories, shoes, make-up, skin-care) and find a similar product for three different budges.  So I thought of aligning it with a law firm.  Here are the budges I came up with

• Managing Director/Partner
• Executive Director/Associate
• Paralegal

1. Tuesdays – – Weekly favorites.  Every week I will pick out 5 things that stood out as my favorites for the previous week.  These can be anything (clothing, shoes, makeup, tea, coffee, books, articles I read).

I hope this schedule works with all of us.  I will keep you posted as to how I’m doing and if it’s something I can live with.

In addition there may also be changes to look of the blog.  Since I will no longer be publishing articles about anything other than professional issues, there is no reason to have the same menu.  I am thinking of making things a little easier and freshen it up a bit.  So that may happen sooner rather than later….. I’m sure you will notice when that happens.

I want to thank you all of you for sticking with me even when articles were not so regular.  You never stopped checking in and send emails.  I truly appreciate it.  It kept me going even when I thought I no longer wanted to be a paralegal.  I am committed to making this a great community.

Please, don’t be shy (I know you’re not) give me your thoughts, comments and criticism.  Let me know what you would like to see on the blogs.  I will and have taken all your comments seriously  and here is the proof.

Now, it’s time to get to work.  Have a great day and I’ll see you all soon.

XoXo

Ana

The image was borrowed from ngonapoom.wordpress.com 

Compliance vs. Legal — The Past Month

Picture from notinatuscanvilla.com

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.

XoXo
Ana

Paralegal Basics – How to Organize a File

 

Cartoon from http://www.channel4Learning.com

 

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.

XoXo

Ana

Happy Friday – Orange Splash Cocktail

Yiippee, I thought it was never going to get here.  The weather is getting nicer, except for the two days of rain, but otherwise I’m really enjoying not having to carry anything else besides my purse ….. no coat, no hat, no scarf…. just my purse.  The other think I really enjoy is coming home and sitting on my deck having a nice glass of something.  I thought this orange splash looked so yummy and what do you know, you can relax and get your vitamin C at the same time.  Isn’t that what paralegals are all about???? multitasking?

Enjoy and have a great weekend.

Photo from Delish.com

Ingredients

2 ounce(s) Absolut Citron vodka
1 ounce(s) Cointreau or triple sec
1 splash(es) fresh lime juice
1 splash(es) orange juice
Sugar, for garnish
Orange slice, for garnish

Directions

Pour all ingredients over ice in a shaker or large glass and shake vigorously. Rim a glass with sugar and serve on the rocks. Garnish with an orange slice.