SOURCE

PARALEGAL

SOURCE

The Association of Trial Lawyers of America Spring 2006







MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

By Dennyce Korb, Chair

ATLA Paralegal Advisory Task Force



Happy Spring! deserving paralegal to attend the con-

vention free of charge. For further infor-





I

t was my good fortune to attend the mation and a nomination form, visit

ATLA winter convention in ATLA’s Web site at www.atla.org/mem-

Honolulu, Hawaii in February. The bers/poy_award.aspx.

ATLA conventions are great no matter

where they are held—I would have gone We have had an 18% increase in our

to it even if it had been in Fargo (no paralegal membership in the past year—

offense intended to Fargo —I have great that’s exciting! I am very hopeful that

friends there, and it’s a wonderful city, more of our paralegal members will take

just maybe not in February!)—but the initiative to ask their employers

going to Honolulu in the middle of win- about sending them to the ATLA

ter from South Dakota was awfully nice! Annual Convention. The value of what

you will gain at an ATLA convention

The Paralegal Advisory Task Force electronic data and records that are avail- goes far beyond the dollars spent to

had a very productive meeting. We final- able in the modern hospital. Finally, I attend. I know some law firms give

ized plans for the paralegal education don’t know how many of you have had employees who have given outstanding

program which will be held on Tuesday, the frustrating experience of requesting a efforts a trip as a reward. A trip to the

July 18, at the ATLA annual convention complete set of medical records from a ATLA convention is a win-win all the

in Seattle. Our theme is The Nitty- hospital only to go to depositions and way around. For the paralegal, you get

Gritty on Medical Records. Most of us find that the defense attorney has the opportunity to meet and network

have occasion to work with medical received records that you weren’t given. with paralegals and attorneys from all

records in our cases at times. This pro- John Leighton, an outstanding attorney over the world; you can see some of the

gram will include our own Janabeth from Florida who has handled many newest and most innovative products for

Fleming Taylor (a name you will surely complex and high-profile cases, will your office in the exhibit hall; you have

recognize if you read postings from the speak about the fundamentals of the dozens of outstanding educational pro-

ATLA paralegal list server (or several hospital chart, and how to tell if you’ve grams to choose from every day of the

other ATLA list servers) speaking on the really gotten everything. convention which will make you a better

topic of Medical Terminology: Cracking paralegal; you are surrounded by people

the Code. Janice Kim from Hawaii will By now you should have received a list who are enthusiastic about the work that

talk about how to prove pain and suffer- server e-mail about the Paralegal of the we do, and that enthusiasm cannot help

ing with the medical records. I’ve heard Year Award. The winner of the award but rub off on you and give you the

Ms. Kim speak on a number of previous will receive free airfare, hotel accommo- incentive to return to the office ready to

occasions at ATLA conventions, and dations, and registration to the 2006 keep fighting for the people we repre-

she’s a dynamite speaker. Attorney James Annual Convention in Seattle. The sent.

Frickleton from Missouri is going to award is sponsored by Thomson West.

help us understand the wide variety of It’s a wonderful opportunity for a At the meeting in Honolulu, we again

(Message, cont. on page 2)



1

Reflections on My First ATLA Convention

Nita Backes, Paralegal

Phillip Paul Weidner & Associates, PC

Anchorage, AK









W

hen our office manager

informed me that my boss

(Phillip Paul Weidner)

thought I would benefit from atten-

dance at the ATLA Winter Con-

vention, I was thrilled. I live in Alaska.

The ATLA Winter Convention was in

Hawaii, taking place in February.

What’s not to like about this picture?



Our office was buzzing the week

before the convention. All six attor-

neys from our office were registered for

the convention, so there was a lot of

work getting their schedules cleared,

and all documents filed that had dead-

lines, as well as sending letters to clients

and opposing counsel informing them

of our absence from the office that

week.

Members of the Phillip Paul Weidner & Associates Law Firm with the chair of the ATLA

We all met at the airport at about Minority Caucus. Left to right: Lisa Rosano, Ana Cristina Weidner-Tafs, Staci Yandle (Chair,

11:00 p.m. for our 1:15 a.m. flight. We Minority Caucus), Phillip Paul Weidner, Nita Backes

arrived in beautiful Honolulu at about

6:30 a.m., with whatever sleep we

could each get on the flight. After 8:15 a.m. From then on it was semi- tion was too quickly over. With more

check-in at the Sheraton, we were off nars, receptions, pre-receptions, illus- than one seminar or event going on at

to the Convention Exhibit Hall to pick trations and demonstrations from the the same time, it was sometimes diffi-

up our registration packets and sched- Exhibit Hall, dinners, more seminars, cult choosing which to attend.

ules. We headed to our first seminar at more receptions, etc., until the conven-

I’m so glad I attended the Women’s

Caucus Brunch, and not just for the

(Message, cont. from page 1) champagne—I met some powerful,

compassionate women that made a

discussed implementing a paralegal If you have any questions about strong impression on me. Women I

achievement recognition program. We attending a convention, please feel free hope to meet again.

are getting closer to putting this pro- to call me anytime at 605-348-7300 or

gram in place. We hope to be able to e-mail me at dlkorb1@aol.com. I would At the Roscoe Pound reception I

offer an additional incentive for atten- be more than happy to tell you about learned how devoted and adamant this

dance by paralegals at ATLA education- my experiences and perspectives. If your group is in working to protect citizens’

al programs and seminars by creating a employers would like to speak with the rights to civil justice, so much so that I

program to earn certain designations attorney I work with about why he became a member, as did the rest of

from ATLA, such as ATLA Advanced believes it’s important for paralegals to our office (at the encouragement of

Paralegal, ATLA Distinguished Para- attend ATLA educational programs, I our boss).

legal, and ATLA Master Paralegal (these know he would be happy to discuss that.

names are suggestions only—no final I purchased two Patriots tickets from

decision has been made). A paralegal I hope to see many of you in Seattle the silent auction at the Civil Justice

would earn these various levels of in July! Foundation reception. My oldest son

achievement by attending continuing and his wife live in the East, it was his

education programs offered by ATLA. (Reflections, cont. on page 3)



2

(Reflections, cont. from page 2) a room with Liza, another paralegal our own office setting.

from our office, and Lisa, our newest

birthday, and it was for a good cause. attorney. Three women, who work The hardest part of the trip for me

ATLA staff at the ATLA booth in the together, amazingly (with only a was sitting in an air-conditioned meet-

Exhibit Hall were fabulous in helping request for more hangers), shared one ing room when the sun was shining

me understand and get signed up for room, one closet and one bathroom outside. Luckily, most classes were

the ATLA Exchange. I had my own with a flow—it just flowed. We became over by 1:00 p.m., which allowed time

personal tour of the information avail- friends, more so than before our trip. for swimming, shopping, sunbathing,

able. I have not had time to explore the We already have a fabulous office staff, and various tours before the next

site since my return to Anchorage, but but now we have this history together reception.

look forward to doing so, as it offers an that binds us even more.

incredible amount of information avail- One of my favorite parts of Hawaii,

able at my fingertips. My boss and I were the first ones on other than the sunshine and warmth

the dance floor at the closing reception. and fragrance of beautiful flowers, was

The feeling of camaraderie between We had never danced before, and I was referring to my flip flops as “shoes.”

fellow ATLA members was heart warm- pleasantly surprised at his dancing flair.

ing. My boss, who is on the ATLA I’m back in Alaska, boots on, and

Board of Governors, personally knew a I filled at least one notepad at each back to work. However, the materials I

lot of people there, and introduced me seminar. There was so much informa- received, the notes I took, and the new

to many of them. I felt not only wel- tion that seemed relevant, I just kept information I gained will stay with me,

comed, but also included in each and writing. We still have one attorney who benefiting both our office and myself. I

every event I attended. I loved the hasn’t yet returned from Hawaii. so admire Phillip Weidner for recogniz-

piano sing-a-long in the Presidential When he gets back to the office, we ing the value of our attendance at the

Suite after the closing dinner. plan to get together, go over what was ATLA Winter Convention. I definitely

learned, and discuss how we will incor- hope to return to another ATLA

And speaking of camaraderie, I shared porate some of that information into Convention, and to Hawaii.









ATLA 2006 Annual Convention

Meet and share ideas with paralegals, lawyers, judges, and

law professors from around the world during ATLA’s 2006

Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington, July 15-19.



Paralegals are welcome and encouraged to attend all

convention education programs and social events. If you’re

a first-time attendee, you can take 50% off the convention

registration fee!





For More Information and to Join ATLA

Fax: Use ATLA’s 24-hour, toll-free Fax-on-Demand service at 800-976-2190

and request Document #1300 for convention information or #1700 for

membership information

Email: convention@atlahq.org or membership@atlahq.org

Phone: 800-424-2725 or 202-965-3500, ext. 613 (convention) or ext. 611 (membership)





Register on line until June 16th at www.atla.org/convention



3

Brave New World:

Tackling Electronic Discovery

Angelique Hart, Law Offices of Rohn and Cameron

Saint Croix, VI









W

e all know that it is nearly enough or do not handle enough EDD

impossible to practice law to warrant in-house resources. For

without the aid of technolo- these firms, there are many electronic

gy—computers, printers, fax machines, discovery vendors that offer different

e-mail, and Blackberries. I can remem- search, retrieval, review, and sorting

ber a time before all of this electronic software and services that you may

gadgetry when a typewriter and white- want to consider. Some such vendors

out were my best friends! I would not are:

want to return to that for the world,

but as the legal technology industry • Kryptos Forensics (http:/ /www.

has propelled forward over the years, kryptosforensics.com/)

so has its implication on discovery. • MetaLINCS (http:/ /www.metal-

One study “estimates that discovery of incs.com/)

e-mail occurs in nearly 100% of federal • Zantaz First Discovery (http:/ /

civil....cases and major employment www.zantaz.com/solutions/edis-

disputes.1” Law Technology News covery_litigation_support/index. Angelique Hart

(http://www.lawtechnologynews. php)

com) has a specific section dedicated to • Dativision (http:/ /www.daticon. on our own, or to connect us with

EDD (electronic data discovery) in com/?l0=1&PID=1-articles-capa- experts and consultants who specialize

addition to the long-standing basic bilities-sub-6) in it—so if you find yourself dealing

tenets of legal technology. Thus, it is /

• Servient Corporation (http:/ www. with this issue, don’t reinvent the

now the norm to expect that you will servientcorp.com/) wheel!

either be faced with producing or hav- • Case Central (http://www.casecen-

ing to review electronic discovery, if tral.com/pro2a_discover.html)

you have not dove into this realm head • Fios, Inc. (http:/ /www.fiosinc. 1 The Sedona Principles: Best Practices



first already. com/ppc/electronic_discovery.html Recommendations & Principles for

?source=google) Addressing Electronic Document Pro-

Many attorneys may shy away from duction, 1 (Jan. 2004).

requesting electronic discovery due to For those working at firms where 2 Electronic Data Discovery Primer, Law



the common fear that it is time-con- outsourcing is not a possibility, there is Technology News, A. Barsocchini (Aug.

suming and complicated. But more an interesting newsletter from 2004 2002).

cutting-edge, aggressive firms are dedicated to this topic on LexisNexis at

requesting it, particularly in cases (http://www.lexisnexis.com/applied

“related to defamation, trade secret discovery/lawLibrary/newsletter/ED

and intellectual property theft, sexual

harassment in the workplace, fraud,

S_Apr04.pdf) that discusses the impact

of EDD on the paralegal or case man-

We Need Articles

breach of contract, divorce proceed- ager’s job and how to devise a plan to from You!

ings, and spoliation of evidence.2” approach dealing with this new “ani-

mal.” We need articles for the

The biggest challenge is in producing Paralegal Source newsletter.

and, the most likely scenario for many Whatever your take is on this issue, it If each of you would write

of us, reviewing large amounts of elec- is important to bear in mind that elec- just one article, we would

tronic data. Firms that handle EDD in- tronic discovery is here to stay. While have a tremendous bank to

house, likely have a task force or an it may seem daunting and complicated,

choose from. Please e-mail

entire department devoted to scan- it behooves us to become more aware

ning/OCR/retrieval and production of it and familiarize ourselves with the your article to Nathalie

of EDD. best resources and approaches to Etori, ATLA staff liaison at

EDD. The resources are there—either nathalie.etori@atlahq.org.

Many firms, however, are not large to help us master electronic discovery



4

Ideas for the Law Firm—

Research Using google.com

Janabeth Fleming Taylor R.N., R.N.C.

President/Owner of Attorney’s Medical Services, Inc.

Corpus Christi, TX









E

very day we are asked to “find” Search for pizza 75662 or pizza

something....I’ve found Google Marshall, TX, and up will pop a little

to be a good research tool for compass with results. Click the compass,

many tasks. Some of the more common and you’ll get a full listing of nearby

uses in the plaintiff law firm are given results, with distance, maps, directions,

below: related Web pages, phone numbers, and

When using Google’s “advanced more. You can narrow it down by cate-

search” feature, you can limit your gory and distance, and look at a map of

search to PowerPoint files. On the “file all the results.

format” section, set the search parame- Google has added more search by Janabeth Fleming Taylor

ter to return only files in the format number features:

“Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt).” Then UPS tracking numbers—example

enter your search term, e.g., search: “1Z9999W999999999” News Headlines—Enhances your

“Laminectomy”. Or you can use your FedEx tracking numbers—example search results with the latest related

search terms plus the word “Power- search: “999999999999” news stories.

Point.” It is also useful to use Google to USPS tracking numbers—example Search By Number—Use Google to

locate images, most of which can then search: “9999 9999 9999 9999 9999 access package tracking information,

be downloaded and used in PowerPoint. 99” U.S. patents, and a variety of online

The image search is selected from the Vehicle ID (VIN) numbers—example databases.

main (home) page of Google, not on search: “AAAAA999A9AA99999” Similar Pages—Display pages that are

the advanced search page. UPC codes—example search: related to a particular result.

Another tool is the “cache” feature. “073333531084” Site Search—Restrict your search to a

The cache feature will highlight with a Telephone area codes—example specific site.

different color each search term every- search: “650” Web Page Translation—Provides

where it occurs in the Web page/docu- Patent numbers—example search: English speakers access to a variety of

ment. “patent 5123123.” Remember to put languages.

Ever do a search and still feel like you the word “patent” before your patent

have too many results? Instead of trying number. New Search Features:

a new search, you might have more luck GOOGLE for Mobile Devices—If you

narrowing down the set of matches More Google Web Search have a mobile device and need to

you’ve already generated. Google makes Features Google something, they released a

this process easy through a “Search Google has many special features to mobile page you can navigate to via your

Within” feature. After performing a help you to find exactly what you’re Palm, Pocket PC or phone. Just load

search, click on the “Search within looking for. Go here to find more infor- http://www.google.com/xhtml in your

results” link that appears at the bottom mation on the feature listed below and browser and it will come up.

of the results page, next to the search many more: http:/ /www.google.com/ GOOGLE—Desktop Search—Google

box, on the results page. help/features.html. Desktop Search is how our brains would

Select the number of results per page, Cached Links—View a snapshot of work if we had photographic memories.

the default is 10, but you can select 20, each page as it looked when we indexed It’s a desktop search application that

30, 50, or 100 if you wish. Using the it. provides full text search over your e-

“New Results Page” feature allows you Calculator—Use Google to evaluate mail, computer files, chats, and Web

to keep your search page open, and any mathematical expressions. pages you’ve viewed. By making your

link clicked on will open in a new brows- Definitions—Use Google to get glos- computer searchable, Desktop Search

er page/window—this eliminates back sary definitions gathered from various puts your information easily within your

browsing and repetitive search requests. online sources. reach and frees you from having to man-

File Types—Search for non-HTML ually organize your files, e-mails, and

Yellow Page Directory-type Search file formats including PDF documents bookmarks. To download and read

Feature and others. more information on this feature, go to:

Google Local integrates yellow pages- Local Search—Search for local busi- http://desktop.google.com/about.ht

style information right into your search. nesses and services. ml.



5