The Estrin Report

The Empowered Paralegal - A New Book for New Paralegals

For those of us who are "old" hands at this, the information presented in a new book by Robert E. Mongue, The Empowered Paralegal, may seem pretty obvious.  However, when I think back to when I was brand new on the job, (and very, very young), my first day was very powerful.  The lesson I learned - remembered for a lifetime - was just how much I didn't learn in school. Like, for example, how to properly answer the phones; fill out a time sheet; organize a litigation file correctly and the all-time show stopper:  understanding the attorney's understanding of the paralegal.

In The Empowered Paralegal, Effective, Efficient and Professional, Robert Mongue answers all these questions and more. Identifying job tasks unique to the paralegal, Mongue undertakes to explain the mysteries of handling and preparing clients, file management, managing your attorney, office policies, meeting deadlines, managing your litigation and more.  The book explains the nuances and subtleties necessary to ensure your career is very successful right from the beginning.

Read this practical, easy-to-read guide even if you have a couple of years of experience.  It's the stuff of superstars who somehow innately know how to make their job seem effortless and smooth, much to amazement of others mired down in chaos.  This book is a useful adjunct to any course, especially "Introduction to Paralegalism" and is effectively designed for the student in an internship seminar or those entering the field.

About the author:  Robert E. Mongue is an assistant professor of legal studies at the University of Mississippi.  He has over thirty years of experience as a trial and appellate attorney. His practice emphasized representation of individuals, small businesses and major U.S. and foreign corporations. He is the developer of The Empowered Paralegal workshops, seminars and custom in-house training.  He is also a member of the Advisory Council of The Organization of Legal Professionals (The OLP) www.theolp.org.

I also highly recommend his excellent blog:  The Empowered Paralegal as the best blog for paralegals that's out there in cyberland.

ISBN-13
978-1-59460-685-4

Price: $20.00
Available through Carolina Academic Press www.cap-press.com Tel: 919.489.7486 cap@cap-press.com

"My Mommy is a Paralegal" - New Book for the Kids

The question of what is a paralegal has been around since the career started.  Explaining it to an adult is one thing, but try explaining it to a child who has never seen a court room, judge or even an office building.  What does mommy do all day long, anyway?  The concept can be hard to grasp for a small child.

Loni Morganelli and I came up with a concept for a book for the 3-8 year old children of paralegals.  "My Mommy is a Paralegal" has delightful illustrations by Jessica Maturo.  Written by Loni Morganelli, the book explains in charming pictures and words, a day-in-the-life of a paralegal from the child's point of view.  We had a fun time putting it together and hope that kids and their parents love it as well.

For those who are dads, hang on....we're coming up with one for you too.  And, we've also published "My Mommy is a Lawyer" because we didn't want anyone to feel left out.

The softcover book is 24 pages long.  It's available at www.knowparalegal.com. 

"45 ways we torpedo our careers"

Very helpful, if sometimes painful, career guidance in a new book:

"Read a few pages of Anita Bruzzese's book and you probably will see yourself.

"And, you're almost guaranteed not to like the picture you see.

"'We hear all the time that people aren't happy in their jobs because of the boss, or because of the company, or because of something else,' said Bruzzese, author of the book 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy (Perigee Trade, $14) 'Never once have I heard from someone who blamed their troubles at work on themselves.

"'I just got to thinking that can't be right. Some people do create their own problems.'"

New book about the Supremes

Jeffrey Rosen, author of "The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America," made a funny appearance on The Daily Show tonight:

His book also sounded very funny. Of course, that could have mostly been Jon Stewart....

"In this compelling work of character-driven history, Jeffrey Rosen recounts the history of the Court through the personal and philosophical rivalries on the bench that transformed the law — and by extension, our lives. The story begins with the great Chief Justice John Marshall and President Thomas Jefferson, cousins from the Virginia elite whose differing visions of America set the tone for the Court's first hundred years. The tale continues after the Civil War with Justices John Marshall Harlan and Oliver Wendell Holmes, who clashed over the limits of majority rule. Rosen then examines the Warren Court era through the lens of the liberal icons Hugo Black and William O. Douglas, for whom personality loomed larger than ideology. He concludes with a pairing from our own era, the conservatives William H. Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, only one of whom was able to build majorities in support of his views." [Publisher's description]

"Help, I’m Surrounded by Jerks"

If you're this unlucky, so sorry!, but help might be found in the books described below:

"CERTAIN mortals have the power to sink hearts and sour moods with lightning speed. The hysterical colleague. The meddlesome neighbor. The crazy in-law. The explosive boss. A mélange of cantankerous individuals, they are united by a single achievement: They make life miserable.

"You call them jerks, dolts and nitwits. Psychologists call them 'difficult people.' In fact they are difficult in so many ways that they have been classified into species like the Complainer, the Whiner and the Sniper, to name but three.

[snip]

"Two decades ago there were only a handful of books offering advice on how to defang the dears. Today there are scores of seminars, workbooks and multimedia tools to help people co-exist with those they wish did not exist.

"In the spring, Career Press is to publish 151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People by Carrie Mason-Draffen. But numerous resources are already on the market, including the succinctly titled Since Strangling Isn’t an Option by Sandra A. Crowe."

More books dealing with the "jerk problem" follow...

Book: "Real Resumes for Legal and Paralegal Jobs"

Got an email with recommendations from Amazon today. I haven't read this book yet, but it sure sounds helpful for landing government jobs:

"Those who seek legal and paralegal jobs will find this book to be a rich resource. No matter what type of legal or paralegal work is sought, the reader will find outstanding samples of resumes and covers used by real people to obtain legal and paralegal jobs. Resumes and covers letters are included which will help newly minted lawyers or paralegals find their first jobs in their field. There are also sample resumes and cover letters which will be useful to the most experienced lawyers and paralegals in the profession. A 'bonus' of this book is that it includes samples of paperwork involved in getting federal government jobs: specialized resumes and the federal 'resumix' as well as the write-ups for the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) which are often required for government positions. This book will show legal-industry professionals how to maximize their career potential, get federal positions, and change fields if they want to."

Book description by the publisher.....

The 10 Best Books of 2006

Looking for a gift for people who like to read? Check out this list of both fiction & nonfiction books from the New York Times Sunday Book Review.

The descriptions of these two books put them on a list of presents for myself!

ABSURDISTAN
By Gary Shteyngart. Random House, $24.95.
Shteyngart's scruffy, exuberant second novel, equal parts Gogol and Borat, is immodest on every level - it's long, crude, manic and has cheap vodka on its breath. It also happens to be smart, funny and, in the end, extraordinarily rich and moving. "Absurdistan" introduces Misha Vainberg, the rap-music-obsessed, grossly overweight son of the 1,238th richest man in Russia. After attending college in the United States, he is now stuck in St. Petersburg, scrambling for an American visa that may never arrive. Caught between worlds, and mired in his own prejudices and thwarted desires, Vainberg just may be an antihero for our times.

THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA
A Natural History of Four Meals.
By Michael Pollan. The Penguin Press, $26.95.
"When you can eat just about anything nature has to offer, deciding what you should eat will inevitably stir anxiety," Pollan writes in this supple and probing book. He gracefully navigates within these anxieties as he traces the origins of four meals - from a fast-food dinner to a "hunter-gatherer" feast - and makes us see, with remarkable clarity, exactly how what we eat affects both our bodies and the planet. Pollan is the perfect tour guide: his prose is incisive and alive, and pointed without being tendentious. In an uncommonly good year for American food writing, this is a book that stands out.

You can find more choice books for browsing here & "100 Notable Books of the Year" here.

"Long Awaited New Edition of The Legal Research Dictionary Now Available"

Just announced on the Law Librarian Blog:

"With ths work one can find the definitions of hundreds of terms used in legal research and bibliography. The dictionary coverage includes the judicial, legislative and executive branches of federal, state, and local government. This handy reference work is useful for law librarians, paralegals, public librarians, law review staff, and law students during first year legal research and writing, and advanced legal research courses."

You can find more info & buy this book (for $26.00) here.

'Ways to get along without lawyers'

Did you know that the CA Legal Document Assistants Association is now 20 years old & has 225 members?

"Ed Sherman started a revolution 35 years ago when he wrote How to Do Your Own Divorce in California. Since then, millions of people have found they needn't resort to the adversarial and expensive step of hiring a lawyer to reach a divorce settlement. A new industry — independent paralegal services — was born.

"Sherman, 68, an attorney since 1971 and co-founder of Divorce Helpline, which has an office at 615 Mission St. in Santa Cruz, is still going strong. The author of 18 books, he has a new one coming out to help couples stay together.

"He will be among the featured speakers at the annual conference of the California Association of Legal Document Assistants Friday through Sunday in Ontario. The group has 225 members and will mark its 20th anniversary this year."

Want to simplify your life?

Are you looking for a simpler life? This article describes people, including a paralegal, who have made changes:

[snip]

"Interpretations of simplicity are as varied as the individuals who practice it. Most agree that it's about buying less, taking care of the environment and building meaningful relationships.

[snip]

"Two years ago, Linda Dalton, 62, left her Newport Beach condo and a paralegal job with a high-power law firm to move to Murrieta and be closer to her sons, both of them grown.

"She works for her oldest son, a mortgage broker, and no longer shops at Bloomingdale's for clothes or drops $200 on makeup.

"What she got in exchange: part-time work, a larger condo for half the money she got from the sale of her old place, and regular visits with her children, infant granddaughter and 86-year-old father.

"'I own my life now,' she said."

So, is your paralegal job high powered? Do you work long hours? Does simplifying sound appealing? Tell us what you think....