The Empowered Paralegal

Tennessean.com now carries an announcement of Loretta Calvert’s presidency of the American Association for Paralegal Education. This is no surprise to active members of AAfPE, especially those attending the AAfPE National Conference when Loretta became President-Elect a year ago when I was elected as Secretary. But for the rest of you here’s a bit about her and AAfPE from the announcement:

Loretta Calvert is the new president of the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE).

The national organization promotes quality paralegal education, develops educational standards and encourages professional growth.

Calvert is coordinator of paralegal studies at Volunteer State Community College.

Calvert graduated from New York University School of Law in 1998.

She has been an AAfPE board member, a reviewer for the Educator magazine and an active member of AAfPE’s Alternative Delivery Task Force.

I first met Loretta at AAfPE’s Southeast Regional Conference several years ago and have been impressed with her ability, energy, and dedication to improving paralegal education at Volunteer State Community College in her capacity as an instructor and coordinator of the paralegal program and nation wide through her work with AAfPE. I look forward to working with her on the Board Directors this year.

 

 

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I’m in San Diego for a meeting of the American Association for Paralegal Education Board of Directors Meeting. What issues in paralegal education do you think should be on our agenda?

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I recently traveled to New Orleans for the American Association for Paralegal Education South Central Conference admirably hosted by Tulane University’s School of Continuing Education Paralegal Studies Program directed by Sallie Davis. My own presentation, I believe, went well. The conference overall was an excellent example of what professional associations can do for the profession – in this case the profession of educating paralegal students by providing opportunities for members to meet, network, and share knowledge.

I particularly benefited from the presentation by Ernest Davila, J.D., Paralegal Program Director, San Jacinto College, Houston, TX, on getting the most from time and financial resources, the Using Media in the Classroom presentation by Joni Johnson, Adjunct Instructor, Tulane University, and the Teaching E-Discovery: Practices and Pitfalls presentation by Lois Elliot, also an Adjunct Instructor at Tulane University.

Even though I’ve been through fairly extensive time management training, it seems as though I pick up something new at every time/resource management presentation. For those practicing paralegal who could use time and workload management assistance (and who cannot!) I suggest, of course, my own The Empowered Paralegal: Effective, Efficient, and Professional”
and posts here in the related categories.

E-Discovery, of course, is becoming ever more important and complex. Practicing paralegals involved with e-discovery may want to join the Organization of Legal Professionals an organization that focuses on e-discovery training and certifications and The Paralegal Knowledge Institute’s courses on e-discovery. In the interest of full disclosure, I am associated with both of these organizations. I am on the OLP Advisory Council, although it seems to do quite well without my advice, and I have taught in a PKI webinar.

Perhaps though the best lesson I learned is that it is possible to go to New Orleans and have a great time without straying too far from my medical restrictions on sodium and alcohol!

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There is proliferation of website proporting to give information about paralegal careers, educational opportunities, and the like. Unfortunately some, even if well-intentioned, ought not to be relied upon by anyone. For example, one such site (no, I will not give a name or link) states, “Obtaining paralegal certification in Colorado is relatively simple witih some excellent community college and degree programs available to those seeking a paralegal qualification.” Aside from the poor proofreading and editing (yes, I expect more from this type of website than I do of a blog), this is quite misleading and contributes to the general confusion regarding the distinction between obtaining a paralegal certificate and getting paralegal certification.

I do not believe that Colorado as a state requires or provides for certification of paralegals. (Please feel free to forward me the information if I am wrong on this.) In any case, this website provides no information on paralegal certification either as it pertains to Colorado or to certification exams offered by NFPA or NALA. Rather they offer some, not really helpful information regarding some paralegal programs that provide paralegal certificates and degrees.

Bottom line – if you want to know about paralegal education go to a well-established, respected source such as the American Association for Paralegal Education. (Disclosure: I am on the Board of Directors) Likewise for paralegal certification: check the websites for NFPA, NALA, and comparable professional associations. FMI: Check out The Paralegal Professionalism Anthology.

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One task assigned to me in my new position of Secretary of AAfPE is updating the list of our member institutions – over 330 of them-in terms of which have and which do not have ABA approved programs. Since there are only 260 ABA approved programs, it is clear that many AAfPE members are not ABA approved. Yet, my experience has been that AAfPE programs are programs every bit as good as the ABA programs. Certainly it is impossible to distinguish the many Program Directors and faculty members attending and presenting at AAfPE conferences as being from either an ABA approved or a non-ABA approved program.

Many ardent discussions occur on the internet as to whether ABA approval is beneficial to programs as a marketing device or to graduates as a tool for gaining employment. I suspect that the answer depends on more on geography than anything else.  This is not to say that there should not be some firm criteria for assessing a good paralegal program. Indeed, I argue in many posts here for the need for uniform educational standards.  However, it is not at all clear that the ABA should be the organization making these determinations, at least not in isolation. AAfPE does have representatives on ABA committees and does provide members for site review committees, but has little to no control over final decisions by ABA regarding its conception of the proper way to educate paralegals. Within AAfPE (American Association for Paralegal Education) there is some ongoing discussion about whether the ABA is the correct institution to be “approving” paralegal programs: does it make sense to have lawyers rather than educators determining what makes a good educational program, even if the topic being taught it law?

The fact of the matter is that ABA can often be out of step with advances in education. For example, the Masters Degree program at George Washington University – one of our countries most prestigious institutions (and I think at last count the most expensive to attend) cannot obtain ABA approval because it relies on online education. Yet, it would seem that if online education was in itself bad, GWU would know about it. Many other institutions meet all of the ABA requirements for approval but do not seek it because it is a tremendous drain on resources, both in terms of money and personnel. The costs of obtaining ABA approval are substantial and must be either passed on to students or deducted from other parts of the budget.

I’ve suggested in past posts that perhaps we need for all interested groups to chose a representative to a committee to establish a model act regarding paralegal regulation – ABA, NFPA, NALA, NALS, AAfPE.  It may be there should even be a seat at the table for a group representing “independent” paralegals. It seems that the same may be true for paralegal education.

In any case for those persons seeking a paralegal program, I continue to suggest that they start with AAfPE and see if the program they are interested in is in its membership directory.

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My post yesterday drew some queries as to where I’ve been – some suggesting that I’ve simply been slacking! While there is a modicum of truth to that suggestion, I actually have been busy. Last week, for example, I attended the annual national conference of the American Association for Paralegal Education in Baltimore, MD. It was an excellent conference highlighted (for me) by my election as Secretary of AAfPE and the progress that was made towards establishing an academic journal for paralegal educations by the Scholarly Journal Committe which I co-chair. I am looking forward to serving on the AAfPE Board of Directors.

It is always enjoyable to engage is serious (and some not-so-serious) discussion regarding the many issues facing the paralegal education and practice with faculty from institutions around the country. There were over 300 registrants this year. I will be posting more on some of those discussions and information obtained at the conference in the coming days.

In this post I will just remind paralegal students that AAfPE sponsors the LEX Honor Society. CHeck out the LEX website and check in with your program director to see if your institution has a LEX Chapter.

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Each year many of the top paralegal students in the country are inducted into LEX, the National Honor Society for Paralegal Students, sponsored by AAfPE. We at Ole Miss are proud of all the members of our LEX chapter. Here’s a story about the induction of some new members in Kentucky:

In the sanctity of Courtroom 4A in the Boone County Justice Center, Judge Steven R. Jaeger, Senior Judge of the Kentucky Court of Justice, presided over the induction of eleven (11) students from Beckfield College into the Lambda Epsilon Chi National Honor Society on July 26, 2010.

“This ceremony truly acknowledges the strength and dedication of students who have gone the extra mile in and out of the classroom,” noted Jerry Linger, Attorney at Law and Dean of Legal Studies at Beckfield College. “It is so fitting to see these men and women be recognized for their academic achievement in the courtroom.”

Beckfield College paralegal students inducted into the society included Jill Archer, William Bohl, Jennifer Duncan, Pamela Gaines, Staci Gilbert, Sarah Green-Moore, Carlita Hairston, Leah Neyer, Mary Robinson, Terry Weller, Hannah Robeyzachariah.

Lambda Epsilon Chi (LEX) is a national honor society in paralegal studies. The purpose of LEX is to recognize persons who have demonstrated superior academic performance in an established program of paralegal/legal assistant studies offered at an institution that is an institutional member in good standing of the American Association for Paralegal Education.

You can read the rest here. LEX membership is a good indication that these students will be a welcome addition to the paralegal profession. More on LEX here.

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From time to time, and with increasing frequency lately, I get requests from educational programs saying nice things about my blog and asking me to add a their website to my links roll. In exchange they offer to link to my blog. I’ve also received emails from readers asking why I do not carry such links. The answer is that (1) there are two many programs for me to link to everyone of them, (2) I do not want a link on this blog to be taken as an endorsement of a program about which I know virtually nothing, and (3) I would rather a link to my blog be based on the merits of the blog than solely a reciprocal agreement.

For those of you interested in obtaining or furthering a paralegal education, here is a link to the American Association for Paralegal Education’s membership directory search function. While I am not familiar with every program in the AAfPE membership, I am familiar with, and a member of, AAfPE and do endorse it as an organization.

AAfPE Mission Statement & Strategic Plan

Recognizing the need to increase and improve access to the legal system, the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) promotes quality paralegal education, develops educational standards and encourages professional growth, in order to prepare graduates to perform a significant role in the delivery of legal services. – June 9, 2001

The goals that AAfPE strives to accomplish:
• Promote high standards for paralegal education
• Provide a forum for professional improvement for paralegal educators
• Plan, promote and hold annual conferences and seminars
• Provide technical assistance and consultation services to institutions, educators and employers
• Promote research and disseminate information on the paralegal profession
• Cooperate with the American Bar Association and other institutions and professional associations in developing an approval process for paralegal education programs
• Promote the goals of the Association through cooperation with other national, regional and local groups and organizations interested in paralegal education

These goals are consistently met through the action of AAfPE’s members and the organization’s Board of Directors.

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Among the reactions to my recent participation in the Paralegal Mentor Mastermind call is this email from Barbara Parkes, which I am sharing with permission:

Hello, Mr. Mongue. I was a participant on the Paralegal Mentor Mastermind call with Vicki Voisin on Tuesday evening. I very much appreciate what you are doing for the paralegal profession, and I agree with you that it should be more regulated. I wish there was more of a clear cut educational path for a paralegal that the ABA would approve and require on a national level. As you mentioned, just as attorneys are required to go through a three year law school program, paralegals should have to complete a program with the same curriculum at every school where it is offered, and paralegals should receive a designation at the completion of this program (whether it’s an associates degree, bachelor’s degree, certificate or certification — whichever the ABA decides upon) without which they should not be permitted to be hired by any lawyer and be titled a paralegal.

However, I think we have a long way to go to get to this point. I recall reading that, a few years ago, this very issue was brought up in New Jersey and it was decided that paralegals did not have to have specific educational requirements to be titled as a paralegal or legal assistant. I’m guessing this was decided primarily because attorneys assume that paralegals’ salaries may be raised as a result of the educational requirements and did not want this extra financial burden. How do we get past this obstacle? I think, as you do, that the paralegal profession would be more respected as a result of this requirement, and attorneys would have a clearer vision of how the paralegals were trained and what they are capable of doing. I would be interested in your thoughts.

This email addresses several substantial issues and I cannot say that I have fully formed opinions on them as they are all subject of my ongoing research.

I do believe that the paralegal profession needs a better established identity if it is to gain the recognition and respect of the bar and the public as a profession. Establishing that identity will require more than the current ABA/NALA definition of “paralegal” which describes the paralegal as “qualified by education, training or work experience”> without any content to what education, training or work experience makes one qualified. There does, it seems to me, to be more content and standardization in that regard. However, it is not clear whether that content and standardization should be through licensing, regulation, certification or another means.

Nor is it clear whether whatever form is adopted for this purpose whether it should be imposed through government. If the government is involved, this does not seem to be a federal issue, but I am concerned that each state devising its own definition and requirements will lead to a patchwork that is more confusing than it is helpful. Thus, it would seem to make sense to have some national organization or consortium of organizations develop a model or uniform act for consideration by the states.

It is not at all clear that the ABA should be the organization making these determination, at least not in isolation. Within AAfPE (American Association for Paralegal Education) there is some ongoing discussion about whether the ABA is the correct institution to be “approving” paralegal programs: does it make sense to have lawyers rather than educators determining what makes a good educational program, even if the topic being taught it law?

The same may be true on the issue of standardization of criteria for paralegals. A topic that frequently comes up on this blog and others is that attorneys frequently on an individual basis do not understand the role and abilities of paralegals. Are we to assume, then that as a group attorneys are able to best decide the criteria for those persons who fill the role of paralegal?

Perhaps we need for all interested groups to chose a representative to a committee to establish a model act – ABA, NFPA, NALA, NALS, AAfPE. It may be there should even be a seat at the table for a group representing “independent” paralegals.

I am working on an anthology on paralegal professionalism that will, in part, provide a forum for peer-reviewed articles addressing these topics from educators and professionals. Like Barbara, I would interested in your thoughts.

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Tomorrow I head to Portland, Oregon, for the American Association for Paralegal Education national conference. On Friday night we are having a joint event with NFPA that should be particularly interesting. This is my first time attending and presenting at an AAfPE national conference, so I do not know whether and when I will be able to post, but if it is at all like ABA or ATLA meetings, I should be able to at least post on the proceedings.

One topic discussed several times on this blog and I suspect will be discussed at the conference is pro bono work as a means of giving back to the profession and community while benefiting by the networking. Along that line is this from Reuters:

Peirce College and Burlington County College will host a Professional Networking Reception and Panel Discussion for paralegals on Thursday, October 29 on the Burlington County College Mt. Laurel Campus.

Professionals from the legal community will discuss the personal and
professional benefits of working with local Pro Bono and Public Interest Law
organizations. The keynote speaker is Jill Friedman, Director of Pro Bono and
Public Interest Programs, Rutgers School of Law in Camden, NJ.

Peirce College is co-sponsoring the event for the College`s undergraduate
Paralegal Studies students and other interested professionals. “Our goal is to
communicate the personal and professional benefits of volunteering with a public interest or pro bono organization,” says Cynthia Gentile, J.D., Assistant
Professor, Legal Studies at Peirce College.

On the professional side, “We want to show them how they can get their foot in the door. From a personal perspective, we want to demonstrate the benefits of volunteering, especially during these difficult economic times, when the need for more pro bono volunteers is even greater.”

Our program here at Ole Miss is currently working on providing a formal channel for pro bono work through a legal clinic and other volunteering opportunities for our students. Paralegal educators want their students to know what profession paralegals already know: when paralegals volunteer to meet pro bono and public interest needs, everyone wins.

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