It’s a Newsletter!!!

Hello all.  There is no post this week only because I’m working on getting the newsletter set up to go out on the 28th of February….. Not much time left and I want to make sure I dot all my i’s and cross all my t’s (easier sentence to say than to write).

I am also working on some research regarding how the paralegal profession will be impacted by all the machine learning that we keep hearing about.  The past couple of months this has been the topic of conversation around the office and recently, while working with one of the paralegals on my team to set up her goals for the year this question came up.  Let me ask you, is this something you are thinking about?  What is your number one concern?  How are you preparing for when the time comes?

Anyway, the newsletter comes out on the 28th and the next post will be out on Saturday.  Sorry about the confusing schedule but I’m hoping to get things back to normal as I get myself ahead a bit.

Have an awesome week and I will see you soon.  Please if you are not subscribed to email list, do so now so you can get the newsletter in your inbox.

Thanks again

Ana

 

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

In the News This Week

Hello, it’s me again. This week has been pretty slow reading week. Besides trying to get done with the book that I’ve been reading and getting my yard ready for the fall, I have barely had the time to read much else. There were, however, a few articles that caught my eye….

So, if you don’t know already, I have don’t watch much television. Actually throughout the day, if and when I’m home the television doesn’t even get turned on…. If it does it’s the news or some mindless home show. If I’m going to sit in front of the television, it’s normally to watch a documentary or my guilty pleasure (of which I don’t feel guilty at all), The Big Bang Theory. So on Monday, you better believe I was parked in front of the television to watch the double episode of the Big Bang Theory…. I love nerds. Which leads me to another show which I may start watching. New this season it’s called Scorpions and it comes on right after the Big Bang Theory….. why not. I’m in front of the television already.

Anyway, I much prefer reading, if I have time to kill (I don’t have much of that these days).

If you follow me on Twitter, and if you don’t you should, you probably saw when I tweeted the article from thelegalinteligencer.com, Why I Became a Paralegal in the Diverse Area of Corporate Law. Sometimes we need to take on things which may at first blush sound and look boring to us. You never know what can happen. I never thought I’d be so happy doing regulatory work at a bank but I am truly having a lot of “fun” at work….. don’t get me wrong, it’s still a job and I still get frustrated, but it is a great area to be in these days. Go ahead, take a look at the article and tell me what you think.

The Corporate Counsel also had a great article about titles. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get hung up on titles. As long as I’m doing what I like to do, I don’t really care what you call me. I know that the title usually dictates what is budgeted for raises and other compensation. However, I believe that if you are doing a good job and your manager is happy with you, he/she will find a way to circumvent the title thing. I would hate to have a title just for the sake of having one and be totally miserable every day. No thank you!!!!

I’m not really sure how I came upon this blog, A dude With a Blog, but one of the articles really caught my attention. Have you ever wondered if the people you meet on line are really what they claim to be? Apparently, in Amsterdam, this student found how how easy it is to “fool” everyone online. Sometimes the people we “know” are really not the people we know. We can be anything we want online. Zilla Van Dan Born, the student mentioned above, pretended to be traveling all through Asia and was able to lie to her entire family about it. She was not being mean at all, so don’t all start hating her. This was a project she was doing for school…… No harm was done to anyone and I’m sure they are now having a good laugh about it. Take a look at the article. I found it very interesting.

As you can see, I did not spend a lot of time reading this week. I have a lot of catching up to do. What have you been reading this week? Send it over, don’t just keep it to yourself.

Hope to see you soon and while you’re here, go check out my other blog The Paralegal At Home. See you there?

And in the News – Funny and Not so Funny News

Judge Judge Carl Barbier issued an order against BP lawyers and remanded them to file a new brief and this time limit the brief to 35 double spaced pages. Over and over again we hear jokes about how difficult it is for lawyers to be succinct  Now, it appears, BP lawyers have proven that to be true. I suggest they give the job to a paralegal and call it a day. We can summarize anything.

So, I’m not really sure what to think of this article from Above The Law (great blog by the way). Apparently a lawyer dressed up as Thomas Jefferson at his Own Disciplinary Hearing. Have they all lost their minds? What’s that about?

In New Jersey, Governor Christie signed a bill into law that will completely change the way alimony is awarded. According to this new law, if a marriage lasts less than 20 years, the alimony will not exceed the length of the marriage, except in exceptional circumstances. What do you think? A good or bad thing?

The NYCLU is scheduled to go to court next month to defend itself against charges that it has been providing inadequate staff and money for constitutionally required defense lawyers. I can’t wait to read that decision.

Photo credit goes to http://www.clipartpanda.com