The Paralegal Voice

It’s common for professionals to confuse having a job with having a career. In this rebroadcast episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin defines what it means to have a successful paralegal career and gives 30 tips on how to live out your calling. Some of her tips include setting goals, keeping your resume updated, and improving public speaking skills. She concludes the episode with a couple of bonus suggestions, including how to handle unforeseen challenges within your calling and what to consider when changing your career.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

Aspiring paralegals can get caught on a job carousel. You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. In this episode of the Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin talks to Julia Dunlap, president of the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE), about how paralegal education has changed, trends in the profession, and what employers are looking for when hiring a paralegal. They also discuss ways for young paralegals to get off the job carousel, including investing in certification and which school to choose.

Julia Dunlap is the American Association for Paralegal Education’s president for 2017 and the director of legal education for UC San Diego Extension.

Even if you qualify as an extrovert, the pressure of networking can be stressful for many legal professionals. In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin talks to Carl Morrison about why networking is so important for lawyers and what they can do to improve their professional social skills. Some of his tips include asking open ended questions, joining a professional association, and working on both your passive and active networking. Social media is a critical aspect of maintaining professional relationships these days, so Vicki concludes the show with do's and don'ts of posting on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Carl H. Morrison is a Senior Certified Paralegal for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, working in the areas of litigation, gaming, employment and corporate law.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

It’s common for professionals to confuse having a job with having a career. In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin defines what it means to have a successful paralegal career and gives 30 tips on how to live out your calling. Some of her tips include setting goals, keeping your resume updated, and improving public speaking skills. She concludes the episode with a couple of bonus suggestions, including how to handle unforeseen challenges within your calling and what to consider when changing your career.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

Time is not something you can create more of or borrow when you need it, yet it is one of our most valuable resources. In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin talks to Adam Camras, CEO of Lawgical, about managing your law firm’s time effectively. According to Adam, one of the best ways to do this is by taking advantage of technology and apps, like Google Express and Uber. Additionally, Adam says, paralegals and other legal professionals save time by outsourcing, staying healthy, and even using a standing desk. Using these hacks and Vicki’s closing tips can help you dedicate more time to the important things in your life and career.

Adam Camras is the co-founder and CEO of Lawgical, a company that owns and operates leading legal brands including Legal Talk Network, Serve Now, and Serve Manager.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

Many of us are petrified by public speaking, but it can open up doors in our careers. So what do you do if making presentations scare you? In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin talks with Toastmasters recognized public speaking expert Vicki Kunz about how to seeking and properly preparing for public speaking opportunities. Together they discuss the importance of introductions, advanced preparation, and delivery as well as other gems of gab including numbering your note cards, using large text, and having “back pocket topics.” Make sure to stay tuned for Vicki’s career tips near the end of this episode.

Vicki Kunz is the Insurance Risk Manager of MDU Resources Group, Inc. and has attained the Competent Toastmaster designation (CTM) and the Competent Leader designation (CL) from International Toastmasters. She has over 20 years experience as a paralegal which includes managing two law firms and establishing a paralegal department.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

Similarly to most organizations and companies, social media can be very beneficial for nonprofits. They use Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms as tools for communication, networking, and engagement with their audiences. Social media facilitates fundraising, volunteer recruitment, spreading a message, advocacy and awareness, and transparency about current events and actions. But it is particularly important for employees of nonprofits to take care when posting certain content, as they are subject to the federal tax classification 501(c)(3). But what does this mean and what should paralegals working in these organizations watch out for?

In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, Vicki Voisin interviews Kate Redman, who practices community enterprise law, about organizations that have the 501(c)(3) status and how they can implement an effective social media policy in accordance with the law.

Kate Redman is a partner with Olson, Bzdok & Howard in Traverse City, Michigan, where she practices community enterprise law.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

When building a law firm there are many variables that an attorney must account for to ensure that their business runs smoothly and is successful. In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin chats with Brown & Associates, PLLC Certified Paralegal Alicia Mercer about legal project management, what the job entails, and why having a project manager is beneficial to the health and well being of any law firm.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin chats with NALA President Cassandra Oliver about the organization and the significance of paralegal certification. Cassandra opens the interview with a brief history of NALA starting with its incorporation back in 1975, and shares that they recently celebrated their 40th anniversary last year. She touches on the importance of continuing education in the profession, how it allows paralegals the opportunity to manage their careers, and lists the self-study courses and on-demand webinars that NALA offers to assist paralegals toward that aim. The bi-monthly “Facts & Findings” publication also provides educational articles written by paralegals, attorneys, and experts to help working paralegals stay abreast of trends, current events, court rules, cases, and recent developments in the field. Cassandra offers insight into her decision to continue her career development and lists values, like providing a set of distinguishing standards that create more opportunity for advanced promotions, that a paralegal certification program brings to the industry. She explains how integral participating in Toastmasters International has been for her success in the field and closes the interview with her thoughts on the biggest challenges paralegals face today and the future of the profession.

Cassandra Oliver is the president of NALA and a paralegal in the legal department at the Williams Company in Tulsa where she works with litigators and assists the environmental attorney.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.

In this episode of The Paralegal Voice, host Vicki Voisin talks with the State Bar of Michigan practice management advisor JoAnn Hathaway about her tips to help law firms go paperless. She shares that there are many procedural steps involved in transitioning a company from a traditional filing structure to a paperless system and that it's imperative to have a paperless policy to ensure that no one deviates from the process. She encourages any company embarking on this conversion to take inventory of their goals for going paperless and to decide what the firm hopes to accomplish by making this change. JoAnn then goes into her top ten policies that firms should implement if they are going paperless, like making your policy searchable and developing a feedback and monitoring system to determine the success of the transition, and closes the interview with suggestions of resources that law firms can utilize to simplify the process.

JoAnn L. Hathaway is a practice management advisor for the State Bar of Michigan. Ms. Hathaway previously worked as a legal liability claims director and risk manager, paralegal, and legal administrator. She is an Adobe Acrobat Certified Expert, and holds software certifications in LexisNexis Time Matters and Billing Matters software. She is active in the ABA Law Practice Division, serving on the Publications Board, Law Practice Today Editorial Board, and State and Local Bar Outreach Committee. She is a frequent speaker on law firm technology, insurance, and risk and practice management topics.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Boston University, NALA, and ServeNow.