The Estrin Report

In Search of the Rest of Your Career

We all start out headed in one direction, and darn it, if we don’t end up in another.

There are estimates that people have three to five completely different careers in one lifetime. That’s a lot of time invested when including the decision-making process, transition time, learning curve and years to gain a little experience.

Let’s introduce the concept of career-changing rather than changing careers. This means taking charge of your present career and changing it to best suit your needs. Change is hard. I should know. Starting out in paralegal management years ago, becoming an entrepreneur; moving as an executive to a $5 billion corporation; exec in an $80 million company; then back to entrepreneur, all the while staying in the legal field, I created a pattern of pushing change on myself rather than opting for a secure road. There were no “accidental” jobs.

Leveraging your background is always a good strategy. I am relieved I didn’t take my mother’s
advice to be an elementary school teacher to have “something to fall back on, just in case.” Geez, for additional insurance, she wanted me to marry a dentist – in the Valley – with a pool, and yeah, a guesthouse in the back. <sigh> Things were different back then.

Twenty years in the legal field taught me to listen closely to those desiring “something new, something different”. “Something different” is about creating an emotion people can get excited about instead of routine and repetitious duties. Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen a legal professional get energized about a job in order to put more profit in a partner’s pocket. However, when I suggest a change to an organization where a legal professional makes real difference, faces light up.

A career move may be complex. You may say you want to make a difference but in truth, only want something beyond the tedium. As stops come up and fear of the unknown sets in, commitment to radical change becomes hampered in reality. You may only be trying on the idea for size. Be
honest. Are you committing to exploration or are you committing to change? Or, are you just fooling around? What you commit to will have a profound effect on the outcome.

It’s okay if you don’t know in what direction to head. Here is an opportunity to use your fact-finding skills to make an intelligent decision about your next career move.

Strategy #1: Leverage your prior work experience so that it is strategically aligned with anticipated changes. What you do now affects your future position. This may mean a new practice
specialty; transfer from law firm to in-house legal department or government; an “up and out” leap to a related area such as litigation support, recruiting or marketing; a climb up the ladder to management, vendor or teaching position.

Strategy #2: Take baby steps. Plans for big successes often result in big failures. Chop up the path to your goal into small, palatable steps. Simplify your process and your self-esteem will zoom each accomplished step.

Strategy #3: Research your goals. Understand where you’re headed along with the impact it will have on your career and personal life. Change can be frightening, so keep the road positive. Experiencing anxiety does not mean you made the wrong decision. Keep the transition simple and don’t compound problems. For example, if you are considering switching jobs, don’t quit your current position until you’ve found another. Maybe you can tough it out. With proper research and flexible plan, you’re in the home stretch.

Strategy #4: Put structure into your plan. Identify what works. Get a flexible plan with a checklist. Find someone to talk to with good input and another viewpoint. Choose wisely, though. Negative Nancys can kill the best formulated plans.

Strategy #5: Impulsivity lacks deliberateness and can cause setbacks.  Go slowly. Create a bridge to your career change. You might hold on to your current situation; take a hiatus or back-to-school break. Consider a transition job while implementing your strategy.

Strategy #6: As you reach your goal, your new world begins but it can’t happen by itself. You have to work at it. In my situation, I started two adventures: a legal professional training company and the Organization of Legal Professionals, creating a fresh career path. (Hmmmm…..In the back of my mind, was I somehow listening to my mother?)

Changes for me included: how, where and with whom I work; hours I put in; less stress; much more creativity and increased intellectual stimulation. Oh, and there is one major factor: I’m having a
great time.

Career changing, while risky, can be exhilarating, stimulating and overwhelming at the same time. The legal world around us has changed significantly in just a few years. To keep up or even just to stay in it, we all need change. The most profound thing you can do for your career is to discover and lead a truly authentic life by bringing the best of who you are to whatever you choose to do.

15 Ways to Leave Your Lawyer ...And Set Yourself Free

 

Last Impressions

Last impressions are as important as first and doubly important in the paralegal field where “everyone knows your name.” People talk, and when they’re talking about you, it’s important that the conversation remains positive.  Ensure that today’s co-workers become tomorrow’s dependable references and contacts. Here are a few suggestions:

Time to Get Ready, Freddie. . .

1.      Know when it’s time to move onto better things:  Working for someone is a dating relationship, not a marriage.  It’s just the reality of today’s workplace.

Don’t Cause a Storm, Norm . . .

                2.  Never leave in a huff:  No matter how perturbed you are, it’s never a good to walk off a job.  The legal community is very small.  You are not going to want to burn any bridges.

Upgrade Those Skills, Jill. . .

            3.         Take a look at your current skills before leaving: Have you been in one job so long that you have failed to familiarize yourself with the three T’s: technology, techniques or tactics?  If your skills aren’t current, you may have a long wait between jobs.

Don’t Try to Look Back, Mack. . .

            4.         Don’t get fooled by counteroffers:  Remember why you are leaving.  A counteroffer from your firm does not always mitigate other issues.  Once you get used to the increase, will other problems cause you to want to leave again?  For example, “Is that battle-ax of a supervisor down the hall going to leave soon or not?

Create a Truce, Bruce. . .

            5.   Mend broken fences:  Make peace with any an adversary.  Take her aside and mention a few things you enjoyed about working with her.  Keep the conversation short. Playing politics here?  You betcha.  However, it’s better to leave with colleagues sorry to see you go - so much better than that beastly dancing in the hallway the moment you become a mere memory. 

Extend Your Hand, Fran. . .

            6.         Build lasting bridges:  Have a close relationship with a coworker?  Let him know  what you learned from him. So what if you kept getting passed over while he got all the goodies!  Get over it. You’re on to a whole new adventure.

Write a Good Plan, Stan. . .

            7.         Prepare a detailed status memo:  Nothing is worse than to leave colleagues confused about what you were doing.  Write a detailed memo outlining current matters.  Leave in an orderly and organized fashion.

Try to Leave Clean, Dean. . .

            8.         Leave your desk in order:  Return all borrowed books, equipment and whatnot you borrowed from Milton in 1989. Perk up or, what the heck, throw out dead plants. Answer all emails. That last impression is as important as the first.

Respect the Firm, Herm. . .

            9.         Take only what you are allowed: All the tools that you used such as books, software programs, post-its or coat trees belong to the firm.  Do not take anything with you including forms or client files. 

Hire a Good Guy, Sy. . .

            10.       If you are hiring your own replacement: Make certain the person is right for the job.  You won’t score any points by being remembered for approving the hire from hell.

Put on Your Tie, Clyde. . .

            11.       Firm up outside contacts:  Use your departure news to reconnect with vendors who can be very helpful.  They have inside knowledge of the industry and can be critical to your future success.

Know When to Go, Flo. . .

            12.       Give proper notice:  A no-brainer.  You’re a “short-timer”.  Anything beyond a month is usually too long – you can start to get on people’s nerves.

Pick Up Your Files, Miles. . .

            13.       Make certain you know what is in your personnel file: Each state has different laws protecting employees’ rights to access to personnel files.  In this day and age of reference reluctance, it is very had to get a firm to commit to anything more than name, rank and serial number.  You may need reviews and letters for future job searches.

Have a Good ‘Tude, Dude. . .

            14.       Maintain a positive and professional attitude:  Don’t start coming in late, leaving early or using up personal days because “it no longer matters.” Your attitude could be the final impression your co-workers remember and it’s so much nicer if the memory is pleasant.

And Set Yourself Free.

            15.       Ace the exit interview:  Anticipate questions about the firm and staff.  Be prepared to answer why you are leaving and be diplomatic.  Although the exit interview may seem like the time to spout off all those things you have been saving up for years, don’t say anything you don’t want repeated. Offering suggestions to improve is one thing but harshly criticizing someone revengefully is quite another. Leaving thoughtfully with an eye toward the future is the only way to go.   

 

 

Warning: Shift Ahead - Are You Ready?

A paralegal wrote in with this question:

Is it worth it for a paralegal to sit for the eDiscovery Certification Exam?

Of course, I jumped right on this question!

As Chairperson of the Organization of Legal Professionals (OLP) and a co-founder of the International Paralegal Management Association, author of 10 books on legal careers and Editor-in-Chief of KNOW, The Magazine for Paralegals (ok, ok...lol), I have strong opinions about the value of getting the CeDP - certification in eDiscovery for paralegals and legal professionals.

The legal market is leaning towards less work done by lawyers and more work done by paralegals. Lately, its all over the news in articles, reports...I even just viewed an international expert on CNN claiming the same thing.

As this change occurs, paralegals are going to face even more competition for their jobs.  Employers are going to weed out and keep the best of the best.  Certification means two things:  you have the knowledge and experience to qualify as an expert in the core competencies of a given arena.

Think towards the future. Sure, you may be set for now - but let's face it. A few years ago, did anyone think (in the cushy economy) that a deep recession was coming and thousands upon thousands of legal professionals - in the very best law firms, mind you - would get laid off and to this day, may be having problems finding work? No.

However, in competing for jobs, the ones with the best experience and education stood a better chance of qualifying.  Yes, some may have had to take a cut in salary or a step back. But many, many did not. Why? Because they had the qualifications to beat out other paralegals for a highly coveted job.

Education means everything in the law firm environment.  Many times, it's how you are judged. Common questions that abound in the law firm include: Was your paralegal program ABA approved?  And for lawyers:  What school did you go to? Where did you rank in your class? These questions regarding qualifications are asked because law firms want the best of the best. No matter what law firm you go to. The best of the best wins every time.

OLP created a very strong certification exam, the CeDP. It took 18 months to develop by a team of 27 experts - attorneys, law professors, consultants, litigation support professionals and included paralegals. It is one of only two exams available today. I believe OLP is the only organization that saw the value of the paralegal's hands-on expertise and input in developing this exam. (I could be wrong.)

OLP developed the exam with Pearson Publications (a $7 billion company). Pearson provided the technology for the exam and OLP provided the content. Pearson provided the psychometrics (a science to ensure fairness and non-bias) and five Ph.Ds. Pearson also has expertise in highly valued exams such as the LSATs, GRE and GMATs.

Do yourself a favor. Think to your future in this field. As a member of the legal community for 25 years, I can assure you, education and the open acknowledgement of education (degrees, certification, etc.) and experience counts heavily in this field.

For more information, please visit OLP's website at www.theolp.org or contact me at chere.estrin@theolp.org.

 

 

 

 

What??? Consider a Career with a Legal Support Provider?

 

Legal Service Providers (LSPs), also known as vendors, have awakened to the fact that legal professionals have tremendous buying power.  While the extent of that authority varies from firm to firm and east coast to west coast, no one can deny that legal professionals influence the firm or in-house legal department in the selection of suppliers of services and goods.  This is verified through the number of exhibitors at any one conference, the current increase in newsletters, blogs and fortunately or unfortunately, the number of direct sales calls you may now receive.

By giving you buying power, firms bestow an additional responsibility:  to wisely and prudently spend dollars.  The buying power enables you to maximize your name on the recommendation, and perform factual research into the service or product.  It also puts your reputation on the line.  As with anything else, when the selection is great, such as a responsive new software package, the firm responds with “Wow, did we pick a winner!” When the selection is bad, the firm responds with “Who selected that miserable package anyway?”

Your experience selecting products and services gives you a unique advantage – understanding what law firms want. While some law firm professionals believe that taking a position with a vendor is “going over to the dark side,” careers with legal service providers can be fun and lucrative. If you are through with the billable hour monkey on your back, here’s a whole other avenue you can take and still stay in the legal field.   Vendors seek out legal professionals in order to utilize their legal background, purchasing and decision making abilities, contacts and knowledge of the marketplace. 

Usually, the first reaction to taking a position with a vendor is, “I don’t want to go into sales.”  People may feel it’s not “dignified” nor hold as much status as being a member of a law firm.  You may feel that your law firm career has been derailed.  I once asked a Vice President of an eDiscovery solutions company if she felt any less dignified working for a vendor than being employed by a law firm.  Her response was, “Actually, at precisely 5:00, I head down to the parking garage, get into my Mercedes, and drive home to my house on the hill. I don’t have to worry about anxiety-ridden attorneys, billable hours or unreasonable requests at 10:30 at night. My lifestyle is very different from the one I had in the law firm.” Folks, think outside the ole box! There are more positions than sales existing within the vendor world.

Vendors need general counsel, marketing, project managers, paralegals, research professionals, eDiscovery, litigation support and IT professionals.  They also need expert consultants, technology officers, strategy officers, trainers, database managers, trial technicians, HR staff, outsourcing experts, general managers and more.

Let’s circle back to this sales position. If you have the right personality, you may want to consider it.  Generally, most LSP’s provide a base salary or draw against commission.  A standard salary would be anywhere from $60k to $100k, depending upon experience, knowledge and standing in the community.  From there, you may receive a commission from either the net or gross revenue.  It also depends on what type of LSP you choose.  Staffing, teaching positions or copy companies may pay less; eDiscovery, software providers, consultants may pay more.  While you don’t have to hit billable hours, you may be required to hit target numbers.  Accountability is something, isn’t it?

The size of the company will vary.  You may find yourself in a start-up, an entrepreneurial enterprise, a major player in the legal market or even in a publically owned company.  You may be stationed virtually and hold meetings via Skype. You could be in a national or even international company, dealing with clients in Asia or Europe.  Anything is possible.

The environment will be different from a law firm.  Decisions are not made by consensus as in a law firm and there is a corporate ladder open to your climb, too often never found in a law firm – even for attorneys. High expectations are generally not less but your entire organization’s reputation usually does not rest on one major client.  You may have more interaction with the public than you do now.  Some law firm legal professionals, attorneys included, rarely, if ever, interact with clients. You may even find yourself standing at the photo copy machine for the first time in years.  There may not be any yearly bonuses and if you are currently in a major law firm crossing over to the vendor side, you may miss all of the added support and goodies that you currently receive - the firm retreat, attorney parties, and the like.  If you’ve never been invited, there you go!  You aren’t missing a thing.

 

Participating in Salary Surveys Can Lead to Big Surprises

Here's what's lacking in this market: Reliable salary surveys that the average law firm employee can get their hands on. Sure, there are lots of surveys out there but they are either a) an informal survey that isn't entirely accurate; b) available only for top executives; c) done by an association without the psychometrics, analytics and other precision tools that make a survey accurate or d) so pricey that once purchased and read by the Executive Director, it's read once then stashed away in a plain brown envelope and hidden in the firm's vault.

Why would you participate in a salary survey?

Most of the time, administrators fill out the survey. That's fine because they are sure to give accurate information and not have a temptation to inflate the numbers. However, they then base their raises and bonuses on what the market is saying. As a paralegal, it is most likely that you have no idea what factors are going into your raise. Furthermore, you have absolutely no idea whether you are within the market range for comparable positions. You just know that the firm is giving 2-3% increases this year and that's that.

Participating in employee surveys empowers you to get the information you need in order to move your career forward. Why should the numbers be either inaccurate or hidden from you? Word-of-mouth doesn't work either as you know from the game, telephone.

I remember once when I was a paralegal just starting out. It was the end of my first year and I was in my first performance and compensation review. The HR Manager told me that I was getting an 8% increase and I had done a great job. I was stunned. "What?" I said. "I'm only getting an 8% increase?" I don't know what I expected but 8% sounded way too low. Somehow 10% was my magic number. 8% was a fantastic raise but who knew?

If you want to empower yourself, OLP/NUIX and OLP/ZYLAB would like to invite you to participate in two very sophisticated salary and utilization surveys: The OLP/NUIX eDiscovery Salary Survey and the OLP/ZyLab Litigation Support Salary Survey. Go spend the next 9 minutes and find out if you're in or out of the game. It will be the most informative 9 minutes you've spent in a long time.

http://www.theolp.org/Surveys

Take the surveys today and move your career forward!

Would you give your Facebook password to a prospective employer?

Hot controversy these days, on whether, if asked, you would provide a prospective employer your Facebook password.  Candidates these days are being asked during the interview for their Facebook password before they have a chance to go home and cleanse the bad stuff. 

 Years ago, employers would ask women what kind of birth control they used. (I remember being asked during an interview with Pacific Bell telephone when I was 18 years old.) The feeling was that if the candidate used none or used something that wasn't consistent, they would get pregnant and leave the job. Women were often turned down because of what type of birth control they used. It has nothing to do with whether they could do the job. Catholics, in particular, suffered a great deal of discrimination.

In many states, a credit check is performed. This was not allowed (or wasn't done) in California. However, the reason that a credit check was performed was to see whether you were responsible and paid your bills. Candidates with poor credit histories were considered to be possible risks for stealing money from their employers. It had nothing to do with whether you could do the job.

Women, not men, were asked how many children they had. Too many (whatever that number was) or even one was sufficient cause for candidates to not get a job because there was that nasty old child care issue and employers figured that mothers (not fathers) would have to run home everytime the child cried.

Men who were married were considered a better risk than men who were not. Men who were married were considered "stable" and therefore would be a better risk than someone who was still "sowing his oats". It had nothing to do with whether the candidate did a better job than the next candidate.

The practice of judging morals, how someone should be living their life, privacy, viewpoints, all have nothing to do with whether the person can or cannot do the job. This punitive action will cause people to seek other avenues to express themselves in this day and age of social media. Hopefully, there is enough of a pushback from the general public that will allow laws to be created to prevent workers from being judged on criteria that has absolutely nothing to do with their performance, credibility and honesty while on the job. Employers are entitled to information that leads to judgment on whether the candidate can perform adequately and competently on the job. Not how they live their personal lives.

You Coulda Fooled Me.....

I read what I thought would be a same old, same old topic today in Paralegal Society but it didn't turn out that way.  The guest post, by Stacey Wagner, was about business casual but the piece actually gave me a poke in the old gray matter evoking this lesson:

Some years ago, I did some consulting work for the Marine base at Ft. Lejuene for JAG officers, attorneys and paralegals who were departing the service. Just before I was to go on with my talk, there were a couple of consultants from the corporate department of Nordstrom who talked with the officers about how to dress in the corporate world.

They showed some pictures of a man and a woman. The woman was dressed in biz casual with nice jeans and a colorful shirt, designer sunglasses on her head and comfy shoes. The man was dressed in a casual brown suit with brown shoes. The consultants asked, “What do you think these people do for a living?” The reply from the audience was an overwhelming secretary for the woman and used car salesperson or junior manager for the man.

Then they showed another set of pictures of a man and a woman. The woman was dressed in a beautiful navy blue suit, not too conservative, with navy shoes and a nice handbag. The man was dressed in a navy suit, white shirt, beautiful tie and carrying an expensive leather briefcase. “What do you think these people do for living?” they asked. The audience responded with lawyer or CEO for the woman and financial investor, head of a bank, senior exec for the man.

Turns out the man and the woman in the first set of pictures were the same man and woman in the second set of pictures. Goes to show. Clothes can make the person.

10 Ways to Sink Your Paralegal Career - Guaranteed

It's a game, really, this business of careers.  If you think about it, every move should be strategic,  every decision made carefully, and  each accidental event acknowledged as it affects your outcome.  To top it off, the results are win, lose or draw. 

Why we make the bad choices we do can sometimes be thrown into the mystery category but other times, it's because we're just plain unaware that these actions (or non-actions) are guiding the outcome of our careers.

Here are 10 top reasons why your career may be stalled, dead-ended or become routine and repetitious:

1.           You Are Your Own Worst Career Manager

If you don't watch out for your career and goals, no one else will and you may become a candidate for right-sizing, downsizing, merging or purging. A critical task for all paralegals is to examine your current skills.  Check current job listings to find out what you may be missing. You must identify and evaluate your skills to determine if they are still relevant and in demand. If your skills are not relevant, are in low demand or if you have gaps in your skills, start making a plan to update them immediately.  Your action plan might entail self-education, classes or a new or additional practice specialty. Develop and implement this plan with realistic and measurable objectives that will solidify and enhance your skills. This holds true for professional knowledge as well. Read trade journals, paralegal publications (KNOW, the Magazine for Paralegals is a good one- www.paralegalknowledge.com), attend conferences, take online courses (avoid travel and expense), learn what new products vendors are offering; join your local paralegal association; attend office meetings, read law blogs, and join forums.   

2.         Breadth, Not Depth of Skills

You do not want to be a one-trick pony. In today's paralegal field, there is a greater emphasis on the breadth of your skills not just on the depth. Many new and emerging technologies and practice specialties have recently emerged.  Law firms expect you know in-depth about many things instead of the old, "knowing just a little about a lot of things."  Skills are now a blend of what were once separate and distinct. As an example, litigation paralegals are now expected to not only understand the process of litigation but to thoroughly understand eDiscovery and related technology.  In most cases, you cannot have just one skill. This means it is the breadth, not the depth of knowledge and experience that wins - or keeps - paralegal jobs. Ask yourself, “Why set myself up for extinction?”     

3.         Don't Be a SMEL (Subject Matter Expert on Life)

We all know these folks - the ones who have the answer to everything.  They’re annoying, really.  There is a vast difference between self-confidence and overwhelming arrogance; the former can be an asset, whereas the latter can be a career buster. If you are viewed as unable to work as a team player (either from your end or your colleagues refusal to work with you) you can be creating a Resume Generating Event (RGE)  and promoting yourself as a candidate straight into the career-ending avenue of the field. If you find that managers and coworkers are making excuses to avoid working with you, wake up!  Do not make a habit of claiming sole credit (or pass the blame on to others) for the success of an assignment. Make sure others are mentioned. Seek input from your team; your colleagues will not only feel as if they have contributed to the project but may surprise you with unique solutions.

4.         Not Being a Tall Tree

You want to be noticed in a positive manner. Do not try to blend into your paralegal department to avoid attention. Even though the economy appears to be recovering, layoffs have not diminished and consolidations, mergers and splitting up are still occurring.  Don't try to go unnoticed.  Even though it may seem to be a good idea; it most likely will backfire. Be noticed, but in the right context. Becoming more proactive, showing initiative, motivation and participation is important. Be positive. High-profile assignments at your firm can offer a prime opportunity to prove your value and demonstrate unique skills to attorneys and supervisors. Don’t be shy about acknowledging your achievements and be sure they are known by higher authorities.

5.         The Living Resume

You’ll hear over and over to keep your resume up-to-date. There must be a good reason. Your resume may be viewed by people who are not familiar with the paralegal position nor your specialty, so you need to sell yourself (and a resume is your sales brochure) in non-technical terms. Describe the scope and types of projects that you've worked on. While providing examples and quantifying the success of the project is a good idea, don’t go overboard!  For example, saying that you worked on a winning team in a $6 million award is one thing but  to claim victory as the sole hero is not too kosher.  

The accuracy of your resume is important. There is always the temptation to "enhance" your education, accomplishments, titles and roles. If a prospective employer investigates the veracity of your resume, you might have a potential career-ending situation. If you are not an expert on a particular skill as stated in your resume, you will have a hard time fulfilling that role once on the job.  Busted again!

6.         The Written Word (and Picture) Remains

What you write in emails and instant messaging can be used both for and against you. It is very easy to send a message, but will that message be received and understood by your recipient with the same intent you had sent the message? This message is a permanent record of communication, which may be archived under State and Federal mandates. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, all electronic correspondence can be used as evidence in legal proceedings, both for and against you. There is an assumption that electronic communication is private between you and your recipient, unless the recipient decides to forward on to someone. If you must discuss personal or confidential matters, this might be a time to use a phone or discuss it in person. Any inappropriate emails, texts or pictures (even if just forwarded) may become a Resume Generating Event.

7.         Don't Burn Those Bridges

What a temptation it is to “tell all” in the exit interview!  Telling your boss and colleagues what you really felt about them, particularly when you’re angry, is a potential future career buster. People talk to other people. Good references must always be available.  Bear in mind that the paralegal profession is a very small world. Any comments you Tweet, Blog or post on a Social Network site (positive and negative) are easily searchable. You don’t know when you will need a former boss or colleague to help you land a great position, so don’t alienate them. Your reputation is a precious commodity, one that you do not want placed in jeopardy.

8.         Don't Disconnect or Isolate

The reach of social networks and professional sites should not be underestimated – even for paralegals. Take a look at LinkedIn.  It is quite common for contacts to see if you are on LinkedIn or Facebook. There is some current controversy over potential employers who invite candidates for an interview and during the interview, ask for their Facebook password.  These potential employers want to see what you’re really saying now before you have a chance to cover up some of the not-so-great stuff. However, you are doing yourself a professional disservice by not creating an account on these sites. You do not have to be an avid Facebook or Twitter fan and create 5 posts a day. Besides, it cuts into billable time. You do need the visibility for your professional reputation. These sites are perfect for updating professional activity. It’s just no longer possible to remain a paralegal wallflower and advance your career.  That’s sooo ‘90’s.

9.         Technical Complacency, Ignorance or Denial

Never make the assumption that you have all the computer skills you need. New technologies are emerging at a furious rate and to remain relevant, you need to learn these new skills. The latest hot field is the Cloud (and also the Private Cloud) along with Predictive Coding.  Law firms are now clamoring for paralegals that have these skills. On the other hand, demand for support staff is rapidly diminishing as support for desktop OS is almost over. If you want to have a viable career and you do not want to worry about becoming extinct; find out what your firm is currently utilizing or find out from legal software vendors what is coming up. They have a handle on it. If you don't learn new skills, you run the risk of getting a reputation as technologically incompetent. 

Check out the Organization of Legal Professionals  eDiscovery certification exam and its upcoming Litigation Support Certification exam. Also, check out the Paralegal Knowledge Institute  for webinars and excellent online, interactive paralegal continuing legal ed courses.

10.       Lack of Soft/People Skills

In today’s market, paralegals that assume simply having updated skills will give them a ticket to career advancement, have their heads buried deep in the sand.  Today, the successful paralegal also has to have excellent people and communication skills. We all know of the paralegal that walks on water – can do any assignment, in fact.  But there are times when it is the paralegal that walks on the grass who is promoted over the water walker. This is due to soft skills. Paralegals with excellent communication skills, that interact with colleagues, clients and attorneys, are those in demand. If you want to move into the ranks of the MVPs (Most Valuable Paralegal), get involved in areas that emphasize your people skills in addition to your paralegal skills.

Above all, be responsible for your own career.  Being the master of your ship instead denying what’s going on at the helm, guarantees a move forward in a growing, changing and fantastic journey.

(With thanks to Randy Muller, MCT, MCTS, MCSE, CEH's for inspiration from his article.)

A Mature Paralegal's Story in Today's Legal Market

Today we hear from our guest blogger, Karen George, FRP, from Miami, Florida.        

      
               I am a paralegal.  I am a “mature” paralegal.  I rose through the ranks to become a paralegal.  I didn’t take a class, get a certificate or any other degree (AS/BS).  I am of the “original” paralegals, that worked her way up to Paralegal.  I have knowledge gathered through years of doing the work, I have experience in many different areas of law.  I learned through trial and error, asking questions, watchi

            Here is one “mature” paralegal’s story.  Sit back, this is going to take you down memory lane and a road, the new, the young, the recently certificated, college educated paralegals who lament not being able to get a job, have not traveled and will never will.  This is a story of a time gone by.

             The year is 1976:  I started working for a law firm shortly after graduating high school as a runner.  In those days fax machines were few and not very good.  Remember the rolls of fax paper?   In those days, there were two choices to get your product out, mail or hand delivered.   I did the hand delivering.  I took an interest in the documents I handled, copied, and filed in the court.  I asked the legal secretaries questions, I read everything I got my hands on and my legal education began. 

             I watched the legal secretaries typing away at their Selectric IIs, rollers jammed with multi-colored carbon paper.  On each of their desks sat a row of various colored “white out” bottles.   These legal secretaries were the heart of a law firm.  They were amazing working machines.  Legal secretaries answered calls, scheduled hearings and depositions and typed like their fingers had wings.  These women (in those days only women were legal secretaries) knew every in and out in the legal field.   I wanted to be a Legal Secretary more than anything in the world!  I took a Legal Secretary course at night and “graduated” with a certificate saying I had successfully completed the course of Legal Secretary.  I was thrilled and excited.  I was A Legal Secretary!

          The year is 1981:  Do you remember the Lanier dedicated word processor?  Wang?  Amtex?  The dot matrix printers that had to have a muffler placed over them because they made so much noise when they printed?  The print wheel, that always broke?  Floppy discs that were huge and truly “floppy.”  Then the smaller hard discs came out that held “a little bit more” information?   With all the word processing machines, every office still had a Selectric II with correction tape, “just in case.”   Is this a walk down memory lane for some of you?  It is for me.  I have seen many changes through my years in the legal work force.

            I worked as a legal secretary but on a word processor.   In the beginning I worked for one attorney, then two, then three.  With the advent of the Word Processor, firms realized they could assign more than one attorney to one legal secretary and the game was on to see just how many attorneys could be assigned to one legal secretary before she went into meltdown.  I was young, I was good, I was fast and I learned - a lot.   The day came and I was tired of being a legal secretary and I became a word processing operator.  No classes needed for this “move up.”  All I needed was the ability to type fast (I could do that), have knowledge about legal document formatting (I knew that), know legal vocabulary (I had that) and knowledge of certain word processors.  I was qualified.  First, I was a word processing operator and then I got promoted to word processing supervisor.   I enjoyed the work just being dropped off and handing the product back to the secretary to finalize.   But this got old after a while as well.  My “break” was over and I wanted more.

           The year is 1995:  What to do?  I wanted to be on the creative, thinking side of the legal work I had been typing the past years.  I didn’t know it exactly but what I wanted was to be:  A Paralegal.   Paralegal was just becoming a buzz word in the law firms around this time and it seemed like the next logical step – for me at least.

        How do I become A Paralegal?  I started taking some courses at a local college at night, and applied for a paralegal opening in my firm.  I was hired, quickly started doing the work, we had a trial out of town and there went my classes. 

        At this point, I had been officially in the legal industry for 18 years.  Oh My Goodness time does fly when you’re having fun.

          I have honed my paralegal skills through years, I am a senior paralegal (and not because of my age!).  I have taken classes as I found them interesting, relevant and necessary.  I became a Florida Registered Paralegal when registration opened up.  I became involved in the associations of my profession.  I attend continuing legal education courses to meet my requirements and have broadened my mind and my knowledge base because of them.  I attend trials, depositions, interview witnesses, do site inspections, answer discovery, draft discovery, prepare complaints, various motions and memoranda of law, I prepare witnesses and clients for deposition and trial and I guide my attorneys on various matters as it becomes necessary.   I help to keep my firm up to date on changes in the Rules, Statutes and new case law that is relevant to our areas of practice as they hit the boards.  I am an integral part of the firms practice of law.  I am integral but I am not indispensable.  This brings me to where so many senior paralegals are today, experienced and unemployed.

          The year is 2007:  The economy has essentially CRASHED.  Firms are merging, closing up, people are being laid off and paralegals are no exception.  If you were part of the flotsam of any of these economic down falls, You are a mature paralegal looking for work in a Whole New Legal World.

           I write the following for us, the mature paralegals (hereinafter “us”).   Us, the ones who grew up in the legal profession and became paralegals.  We are the paralegals who post to the blogs, imparting advice, offering suggestions, and giving encouragement to the newly minted paralegals. 

          But who gives us encouragement, suggestions, advice, a helping hand?  Many of us saw the writing on the wall and decided we had better get some “official” education and title.   Some of us became CPs, some RPs, some got a Certificate, some went to college or university and got a AS or BS.  Some of us did none of the above because we were raising our children and then helping with elderly parents.   Simply put, many of us we were taking care of everyone but “us” and now, we are scrambling to catch up in a world that with every advancing step we take, the goal moves faster away from us.  But never underestimate a paralegal!  Hear us roar, we are invincible, We Are Paralegals.

             When the hard times came to the legal industry, paralegals were part of the bottom line and many found themselves out of a job - at this stage of the game.  We licked our wounds and began putting together our resumes.  Resumes aren’t the same as we used know them , they are done differently and frankly, we don’t know the new way.  So, we reach out to friends or pay for a resume service so that we can have a resume that meets today’s standards.   

             We are looking for work in a world that is not only overrun with paralegals, experienced and inexperienced but, a world that involves things some of us haven’t had to work with at our previous positions.   We are “experienced” and yet “not experienced.” 

             I am not saying we are Outdated, I am saying a lot has been going on outside the offices we held for so many years and we need to catch up. 

          So, what do we do?  I’ll tell you what you do.  You stand up, brush it off and straighten your back.  You dress professionally and you go out there and you start looking for a paralegal job.  You join your local paralegal associations.  You talk to others who have already been down the road you find yourself traveling and you network.   You join a national paralegal association and you start studying.   You study for CP or RP.  You haven’t studied in a long time but you are A Paralegal and studying (research and analysis) is your life.   You take the test and you pass the test – sometimes eventually – but you pass.  Now you hold a designation behind your name, it proves to all who see it that you are a paralegal that has met the standard.  You are a Certified/Registered Paralegal.

             You start taking webnars, you attend CLEs (required now for your new designation) and you learn more and more.  You feel the ground beneath your feet hardening and becoming more stable.  You become experienced at the new game that is today’s Paralegal.  You just needed to train a bit.  You are back on the track and the starter has gone off!  You are the favorite to win.

             After all, you are you are invincible, you are: A Paralegal!  

The Paralegal Bill of Rights

 

Here's a great post that I caught from the Paralegal Society blog:

In The Paralegal Society’s “social club,” which is hosted on LinkedIn, we decided to have a little fun one day (actually more like a week), and we compiled the following Paralegal Bills of Rights. We wanted to share it with all of you, so you are well-versed in all of your paralegal rights! Remember, as a paralegal, you have the right to…

1. To read the minds of attorneys for the power of all that is good in the legal kingdom.

2. The right to food, family and free time — so long as there isn’t a trial this month.

3. The right to a lunch break, so long as your attorney doesn’t have a deadline.

4. You have the right to utilize the scissors on your desk as a makeshift weapon, so long as you’re willing to do the jail time associated with said usage

5. The right to telepathically give supervising attorneys and clients the ability/suggestion to provide all the information/facts/paperwork needed to successfully draft documents.

6. The right to stamp the head of the supervising attorney or client with the “DRAFT” stamp if number 5 cannot be delivered.

7. You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect by each member of your firm.

8. You have the right to help clients with difficult situations and in turn, an opportunity to earn their respect, trust and gratitude.

9. Pretty darn good pay, decent benefits and some great colleagues.

10. The right to be loomed over by your own, personal dark cloud a/k/a the keeper of the misery (we all know every office has one).

11. The right to an opinion or suggestion about a legal problem, so long as it is the same opinion or suggestion your attorney has about the situation.

12. The right to wonder “how did they DO this before computers??”

13. The right to answer your internal phone line on Fridays with: “The paralegal you have reached is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, hang up and wait until Monday.”

14. The right to mentally answer the incessantly ringing phone “Grand Central Station. Which train would you like? They all jumped the tracks!”

15. The right to tell a rude attorney: “By the power vested in me by the State of Sanity, I declare thee stupid and unruly. You may now kiss my…”

16. The right to always be asked about the one task you didn’t quite get around to performing yet.

17. The right to at attorney (or three) only they aren’t offering legal advice — they’re giving you legal work and fighting about who gets to use you today!

18. The right to a very fulfilling career.

19. The right to participate in pro bono work to make your resume stand out during your next job search.

20. The right to turn out work that meets or exceeds “the standard” each and every time.

21. The right to meet some of the best colleagues and develop relationships that you will carry with you for life.

22. The right to do 12 hours worth of work in an 8 hour work day…did I mention you get that right “every” day?

23. The right to help pull others along once you make it onto the paralegal mountain.

24. The right to remain silent when you are internally SCREAMING as though you are a tea kettle sitting on the surface of the sun!! I believe your last minute pleading is now “ready,” sir. Thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

25. The right to receive another rush assignment that was due yesterday on top of [fill in the blank] assignments you are handling already.

26. The right to mentor.

27. The right to be mentored and advised on your career development.

28. The right to have a sound board/a shoulder to cry when you are frustrated and can’t fulfill your Rights Nos. 1-27.

29. The right to call clients from your home while enveloped in a blanket of illness, to make sure they arrive at their scheduled mediations (today).

30. The right to locate the missing document or file your boss cannot seem to locate on his own desk that are within an arm’s [his arm’s] reach.

31. The right to have the day off for opening day of baseball season….(if you’re lucky).

32. The right to have your attorney take the same week off year after year to go deer hunting.

33. The right to have your supervising attorney look at you like you’ve lost your freakin mind when you advise him that you will be utilizing one of those “fake” vacation days they give you for personal time!!

34. The right to be hospitalized without banker’s boxes and a lap top computer …even if they try to mix them in with a big bouquet of flowers and a nice greeting card.

35. The right to answer your phone “I’m sorry, but the paralegal you are attempting to reach is no longer available. Please try your call again later.”

36. The right to be promptly informed when a case you’ve worked on has settled…and not when the settlement check actually arrives at the office, but prior.

37. The right to use those valuable vacations days AS YOU DECIDE without having to answer calls from the office; alternatively – the right to leave your cell phone at home when on vacation!!

38. The right to know the outcome of the hearing for which you spent untold hours preparing the attorney and supplying appropriate documents, research, drafts, notebooks, etc.

39. The right to keep a four-gallon bottle of aspirin on your desk.

40. The right to answer your phone: “City Morgue, you kill ‘em, we chill ‘em.”

41. The right for a professional training during the internship time period.(l know that in some offices it exists already as a Informal Right, but how about to make it an Official Rule for all law firms–would’ve been more fair?–Just a thought anyway.

42. The right for being more involved in different assignments as an intern.

43. The right to ask for a raise when the supervising attorney tells you how hard it was in the office while you were on vacation for a week

44. The right for your supervising attorney to tell you how hard it was in the office while you were on vacation for a week….lol

45. The right to be treated as an equal and not be called incompetent and stupid. (Why yes, I have a bachelor’s degree and I worked my a** off to get it. I don’t have to be treated like this.)

46. The right not to hear about your divorce client’s sex life – every day when they call.

47. The right to make a run to the nearest store for a “chocolate fix!”

48. The right to NOT be hit on by your client’s wife, while being deposed.

49. The right not to be left at court with the client to talk to the judge about the case by your attorney because “it’s family court” and he doesn’t like family court.

50. The right to walk in the rain to pull your Mustang around while 2 attorneys (wearing Armani suits that apparently disintegrate when wet) wait under a nearby cafe awning.

51. The right to have your attorneys’ poor planning become YOUR emergency!”

52. The right to remake ALL of the exhibit binders when you don’t really look at the first one I give you and decide they are not quite right after they are ALL DONE…all 12 of them. [insert paralegal slamming head down on desk here]

53. The right to be the legal equivalent of a ninja — minus the weird mask.

54. The right to make someone you come into contact with a “special success project” as your own, personal way of giving back to the legal community at large.

55. The right for your boss to act as though a limb has been severed from his body when you are out of the office (for any reason).

56. The right to know exactly where every attorney and/or file is at that particular moment. I’m voting for a smartphone app that operates like the Marauder’s Map.

57. The right to an hour long lunch break with no job-related requests asked of you during that hour.

58. The right to know exactly where the document your attorney needs is located (within the multiple bankers boxes) during trial so your attorney can prove a witness is lying.

59. The right to have your attorney’s calendar linked on your smartphone.

60. The right to impress opposing counsel during a meeting at their office when your attorney asks you what his schedule is like on Monday and you look it up on your smartphone.

61. The right to gain a client’s trust when they have to talk to you instead of the attorney who is busy and you can answer their exact question.

62. The right to say, “No, I don’t want to work on that case that smells like a dead fish. Give it to another paralegal.” Oh that’s right, I’m the only paralegal working here.

63. The right to have forgotten my “Kreskin the Amazing” hat, and know, like everyone in the office, that my Partner goes to Florida every year, the same week, after Christmas, and that even though it is not on his calendar, I should have instinctively known not to schedule a mediation for that week.

64. The right to join The Paralegal Society and help other paralegals on their journeys (and in turn, myself) by contributing, writing, networking, sharing, helping, e-mailing, mingling and interacting with my fellow paralegals!!

65. And last, but certainly not least, the right to share this Bill of Rights with all of the paralegals you know!

A special thank you to each and every one of our “social club” members that participated in the creation of this fun (and very accurate) Paralegal Bill of Rights. We think we did a pretty great job with it, don’t you? Do you think we missed one? If so, please feel free to leave your addition to The Paralegal Bill of Rights via a comment. We’d love to hear it…