The Estrin Report

Seminar Speaker Alex Lubarsky

Alexander H. Lubarsky, LL.M., Esq., is a practicing litigator & legal technology enthusiast.

In 2003, Alex was elected to the California State Bar Law Technology Executive Committee. He is a certified trainer/consultant in the four major litigation support applications: Introspect, Summation, Concordance, & CaseMap. Alex has taught litigation support courses to students at various law schools & paralegal schools throughout California.

A regular speaker on the topic of litigation support systems, Alex has made presentations at several legal technology conferences & State Bar events throughout the nation.

Alex has held past positions with Lexis/Nexis, Summation Legal Technologies Daticon, Inc., & Fios, Inc. He is currently with ZANTAZ, Inc. , a leading provider of local & ASP litigation support databases.

He has also written various articles for legal technology publications such as Law Office Computing & The Bottom Line. He is currently authoring a textbook, Computer Applications for the Paralegal, for Aspen Law & Business Publishers. Alex has trained & consulted for hundreds of law firms, corporate legal departments, & government counsel offices.

A sixth generation San Franciscan, Alex has remained a member of the law faculty at San Francisco State University for over a decade. He currently lives in Burlingame, California with his wife, Sharon, & two children. He can be reached at alubarsky@zantaz.com.

Seminar Speaker Mark Gorkin

The Stress Doc™, Mark Gorkin, MSW & LICSW, is a psychotherapist, Motivational Humorist, an acclaimed Keynote & Kickoff Speaker, & OD/Team Building Consultant. The Doc is also a speaker for Estrin LegalEd Paralegal SuperConferences. 

His diverse clients include DuPont Corp.; Skadden Arps; SAP to the Australian Embassy; the City of Suffolk, VA; & Human Resource Associations, including the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) & the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA). 

Mark is the author of Practice Safe Stress:  Healing and Laughing in the Face of Stress, Burnout & Depression, & The Four Faces of Anger: Transforming Anger, Rage, and Conflict Into Inspiring Attitude and Behavior.  He is also America Online's Psychohumorist™ running weekly Shrink Rap™ & Group Chat sessions.  His award-winning, USA Today "HotSite" has been cited as a “workplace resource” by National Public Radio.

Seminar Speaker Jeannie S. Johnston

Jeannie S. Johnston is the founder & CEO of Paralegal Gateway, Inc. (also known as ParalegalGateway.com). The world's largest online paralegal portal is “where Paralegals connect.”

Jeannie attended Athens Technical College (ABA Approved), in Athens, Georgia, where she obtained her Associate of Science degree in Paralegal Studies. She has worked for law firms in Knoxville, Tennessee & Atlanta, Georgia & previously owned a temporary staffing firm. 

In addition, Jeannie has written for Legal Assistant Today & is currently a member of the Paralegal Advisory Board at Athens Technical College. She was recently hired as the Director of Recruiting, Paralegal Placement, for Hudson Legal in Atlanta. 

A Georgia native, Jeannie now lives in an Atlanta suburb with her husband, Daniel, & their three furry children: Tricksy (the dog), Riley (the cat), & Carson (the cat).

Seminar Speaker Malcolm Kushner

Malcolm Kushner, “America’s Favorite Humor Consultant,” is an internationally acclaimed expert on humor & communication. A co-creator of the humor exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Kushner has also written several books, including Public Speaking for Dummies, which has sold over 100,000 copies. Other publications are: Presentations for Dummies, The Light Touch: How to Use Humor for Business Success, & Vintage Humor for Wine Lovers.

Since 1982, he has trained thousands of managers, executives, & professionals how to gain a competitive edge with humor. His clients include IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Digital Equipment Corporation, AT&T, SONY, Aetna, CIGNA Healthcare of California, Baxter International, & the IRS.

Kushner has been profiled in Time Magazine, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, & numerous other publications. His television and radio appearances include CNN, National Public Radio, CNBC, "Voice of America," & "Larry King Live."  Prior to becoming a humor consultant, he practiced law with a major San Francisco law firm.

For more information, and lots of humor you can use in your next presentation, check out The Museum of Humor & Kushner Group websites.

The Museum of Humor.com promotes humor skills among speakers, writers, teachers, clergy, & other professional communicators. But mostly, it's meant to give you a kick in the laughs. The Resources section provides material for speakers sorted by type of humor: quotes, one-liners, anecdotes, definitions, etc. It also features tools for creating humorous material.

A popular speaker at corporate & association meetings, Kushner has been a keynote speaker at the Inc. 500 Conference & a featured speaker at the APICS Top Management Summit. His company, Kushner Group, is based in Santa Cruz, California.

Seminar speaker Patricia Dietz-Selke

Patricia Dietz-Selke holds a Bachelor's degree with Honors in International Studies (with a Minor in Management), from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, and an ABA Paralegal Certificate with Honors in Litigation from the National Center for Paralegal Training (NCPT) in Atlanta. 

Over the past 13 years, she has worked in the fields of Transportation Law, Family Law, Litigation, & Immigration Law with both small and large law firms. The bulk of her experience, and her current specialty, focuses on Immigration Law. 

Patty is employed as a Senior Paralegal in the Immigration Practice Group at Troutman Sanders LLP in downtown Atlanta. She primarily handles business immigration cases for the firm’s multinational corporate clients involving non-immigrant, immigrant/permanent resident, & naturalization or U.S. citizenship matters. 

She has taught paralegal courses for North Metro Technical College's Paralegal Certificate Program the past 10 years & for Kennesaw State University's Paralegal Certificate Program for 2 years.  In 2002, Patty also began teaching online paralegal courses for American Institute for Paralegal Studies' (AIPS) Paralegal Certificate program & its CLE/Advanced & Specialty Certificate program. 

Additionally, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Association of Paralegals (GAP) in the positions of Pro-Bono Director, Job Referral Director, & Vice President.

Seminar Speaker Patricia Eyres, Esq.

As founder and President of Litigation Management & Training Services, Inc., Patricia S. Eyres, Esq., speaks internationally, consults with organizations on developing and enforcing effective policies, and trains managers to lead within legal limits. Her workshops focus on methods for preventing costly lawsuits or minimizing disruption when unavoidable claims occur. 

Her public sector clients include the U.S. Departments of the Navy and Energy, the States of California and Texas, five cities, 15 community colleges, and three universities. Private industry clients include Pacific Life Insurance Company, James Hardie Industries, Nissan North America, Shur-Lok Corporation, Unocal Oil Refinery, Texaco Manufacturing & Marketing, Inc., Aramco Services Company, Admail West, Century Bank, PacifiCare, and George S. May International Company.

Ms. Eyres has earned the National Speakers Association’s™ Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation. The CSP is the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform skill and proven professional achievement. Her most popular presentations are “Leading within Legal Limits,” “Creating an Atmosphere of Respect,” “Prevent the Tell-Tale E-Mail Trail,” “Staying on Top of Evolving Intellectual Property Issues,” and “Managing Performance Without Pain and Without Lawsuits.”

She is the author of The Legal Handbook for Trainers, Speakers and Consultants: The Essential Guide to Keeping Your Company and Clients Out of Court (McGraw-Hill 1998). Her published articles include:

Ÿ          “Harassment Measures,” Los Angeles Lawyer (July/Aug 2002)

Ÿ          “Will Your Employees’ E-Mail Land Your Association in Court?,” Fair Dealer Magazine (Spring 1999)

Ÿ          “Keeping the Training Department Out of Court,” Training Magazine (Sept. 1990)

Ÿ          “Sexual Harassment Policies: Employer Complaint Procedures Now Essential for Legal Compliance,” Fair Dealer Magazine (Spring 1996)

Ÿ          “Legal Consequences of Sexual Harassment in Multicultural Work Settings -- When Cultural Values Collide,” Cultural Diversity at Work Newsletter (Nov. 1992)

Ÿ          “Seven Strategies to Avoid Legal Risks,” Professional Speaker Magazine (January/February 1998)

In addition, Ms. Eyres contributed the chapter “Legal Ramifications of Human Performance Technology” to the Handbook of Human Performance Technology (Jossey Bass, 1992), and added to the 1999 update. She also wrote the chapter “Training and the Law,” for the ASTD Training and Development Handbook (4th ed., McGraw-Hill 1996).

Prior to founding Litigation Management & Training Services, Inc., Ms. Eyres was supervising partner of a major law firm civil litigation department. She teaches "Is Your E-Mail a Pain in the Net?” for Estrin LegalEd.