Our local court reporting school at WESTEC/Taft College is holding an informational meeting about the exciting field of court reporting. Details on attending the program and general information regarding becoming a court reporter will be discussed. I’d recommend anyone interested in exploring the possibility of a rewarding, high paying career to attend. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the WESTEC Training Facility, (North Kern Training Center), 5801 E. Lerdo Hwy, Shafter, CA 93263. Please RSVP — 387-1055 or 477-4922 and ask for Gary Shaw or the Court Reporter’s Program.
Calling All Future Court Reporters
July 13th, 2010KCPA Annual Awards
June 17th, 2010The recipients of this year’s Kern County Paralegal Association’s annual awards were announced at their June luncheon.
Paralegal of the Year was awarded to Lou Stoker. Lou has worked for the law firm of Chain Cohn Stiles for more than 25 years. She is a Certified Legal Assistant with an Advanced Paralegal Certification in discovery.
Outstanding Member of the Year is Hana Tarin. Hana has been employed with the law firm of Chain Cohn Stiles since 1996. Since that time, she has worked for David Cohn, Managing Senior Partner, as his medical legal assistant.
The Volunteer(s) award went to Connie Turk, Ana Sanchez, LeAnn Banducci, and Dee Fringer.
The Jeannie Connor Scholarship went to Allisha Banks.
Congratulations to all for their well-deserved recognition for outstanding work!!
PowerPoint vs. ExhibitView
June 11th, 2010Check out this YouTube video that demonstrates how quick and easy it is to use ExhibitView for presentations. http://bit.ly/bqcGx7
Kern County Paralegal Association News
June 10th, 2010Kern County Paralegal Association announces their new board for 2010-2011:
President: Kayleen Wills
Vice President: Trinette Lidgett
Secretary: Allisha Banks
Treasurer: Tammy Bresette
Programs Director: Leslie Larson
Membership: Janett Coats
Teen Court/ Pro-Bono: Starlene Parson
Newsletter: Kayleen Wills
Community Affairs: Leslee Vincent
Webmaster: Makala Colemen
CAPA Primary: Tina Anderson
CAPA Secondary: Barbara Haubrich
Public Information Officer: Barbara Haubrich
What is in Brian Panish’s Toolbox?
May 26th, 2010The Kern County Paralegal Association’s May luncheon featured Brian Panish, trial attorney and partner of Panish, Shea & Boyle, and the 2010 California American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Trial Lawyer of the Year. Introduced by both David Cohn of Chain Cohn Stiles and Warren Paboojian of Baradat & Paboojian, Panish began his presentation acknowledging and thanking paralegals for all their efforts and hard work and “for making lawyers look good.”
With a stellar career consisting of 100 verdicts and settlements in excess of one million dollars, and 14 verdicts in excess of 10 million dollars, Panish shared his thoughts and ideas on trying cases to the new juror, i.e., the Millennial or Generation X juror. He shared the following tips that he called the “Tools of the Trade”:
• Interactive Graphics
• Powerful Story Themes
• Bring the Event to Life
• Powerful Photographs
• Passion
Today’s jurors are inundated with information and they want their information instantaneously, and that is the biggest difference in trying a case in front of the “new juror.” Whatever the case, Panish says, it’s important to captivate the jury. What better way than interactive graphics to captivate and to deliver a visual and instantaneous message.
After sharing several great stories about some of his most successful cases, and even using the Gerry Spence line from the famous Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee matter, Panish illustrated the importance of having a powerful story theme. He believes that it’s not the greatest lawyer who wins the case but the best story. In the Silkwood case, he says, Gerry Spence interchanged the deadly plutonium that Karen Silkwood was exposed to with a vicious tiger. He repeatedly came back to that theme and repeated to the jury, “If the tiger gets away, Kerr-McGee must pay.” Well, of course, Kerr-McGee did pay.
Panish also stressed the value of bringing the event to life. He played a chilling 911 call at an accident scene and the last radio transmission of a passenger jet before it crashed. It had quite an impact on the KCPA audience. One can only imagine the impact to a jury.
Photographs can also be a powerful tool, Panish says. He cautioned not to overuse them, though, as it may desensitize a jury. He said to use a disturbing photograph sparingly for more impact.
He believes that the most important tool of all, though, is passion. After all, he says, juries gravitate to the better story so you better be passionate about delivering the story. He played a video of a passionate closing argument by an attorney in a high profile case to illustrate his point. Passion is definitely the hammer in the Panish toolbox.
In closing, the audience was captivated by Panish’s stories and presentation. They laughed, they cried, they winced, they shuttered. Panish definitely brought his tool box out to bring these stories to life. This was a great presentation. Thank you, Kern County Paralegal Association, and thank you, Brian Panish.
Got Pink?
April 29th, 2010Stenograph has another great machine for court reporters, the Diamante. They say it’s the most exquisite machine ever made. I know that the touch and look is dazzling. In addition to some great colors, they are also offering a Limited Edition Pink Ribbon Diamante. For each Pink Ribbon Diamante purchased, Stenograph pledges to donate a portion of the proceeds to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. This limited edition Diamante will only be available through October 31, 2010.
Interested in updating your writer, please check it out at http://bit.ly/dmndlT or www.stenograph.com.
The World of Google
April 29th, 2010At the Las Vegas STAR convention, attendees learned all about the World of Google from Daniel Bistany, the founder of offNeptune, a web services and social media consulting company. He explained the basics of Google Maps, Google Apps, Google Chrome, Google Index, Google Alerts, Google Buzz, Google Wave, iGoogle, Google Alerts ….yes, the list goes on and on. I found it quite interesting and wanted to share with fellow Google dummies a quick description:
Google Maps – Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions.
Google Chrome – Browser to be used in place of Internet Explorer. Designed to improve speed and security.
Google Index – Quick download which will index everything on your desktop.
Google Alerts – Email updates on the latest relevant Google results based on your choice of query or topic.
Google Buzz – A social networking and messaging tool.
Google Wave – Online tool for communication and collaboration. At this point this is invitation only.
iGoogle – Personalized Google page. You can add news, weather, photos, etc., from across the web to your personalized page.
Where does Google go from here? Well, Google is heading for the clouds — cloud computing, that is. Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information, are provided to computers and other devices on-demand, much like a public utility. We will be saying goodbye to those servers in our back offices. I guess with Google the sky’s the limit. Or is it?
If you are interested in learning more about Daniel Bistany and his services, check out his website at http://www.offneptune.com/.
University Thinks the Right Font Could Help Save the Earth
April 1st, 2010By ZAC BISSONNETTE Posted 8:53 AM 03/26/10 Technology, Green
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is actually making headlines this week by switching the font it uses in its emails. The school says that printing out documents in Century Gothic rather than its old font, Arial, uses 30% less ink. Check out the full article at http://bit.ly/cyesnT
A Message from Nancy K. Boles, KCPA President
March 31st, 2010“Power of Commitment” is the theme for 2010 Administrative Professionals Week, which is April 19 through 23, with Administrative Professionals Day observed on Wednesday, April 21.
Power of Commitment means something different to every person. What does Power of Commitment mean to you, individually? After pondering that question and trying to figure out what it meant to me, I Googled “Power of Commitment.” There are multiple sites using this phrase to sell books and discuss religion, philosophy, relationships, and many other topics.
A portion of the Merriam-Webster’s definition of “commitment” is:
· an agreement to do something in the future
· something pledged
· the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled (a commitment to a cause)
You don’t need to wait for New Year’s Day to make a resolution (another word for commitment). What do you want? Do you want to further your education? Make a commitment to yourself that you will sign up for that seminar in a topic you have wanted to explore. Enroll in a class in the upcoming quarter (or semester) at the college.
It could be that there is something you have been promising yourself. It may be something simple as losing ten pounds by summer, begin exercising, seeing your friends more often, getting to work on time every day. Commit yourself to it and do it!
You think that a certain organization is worthy and you have always wanted to do something to help. It could be KCPA (elections are around the corner), the SPCA, Teen Court, CASA, Boy or Girl Scouts. Commit to volunteering one day a month.
Once you have committed yourself to a specific goal, you will find a whole world opening up before you. Where you have always said “that would be nice to do,” you will now say “I can’t believe how many opportunities are out there that I’ve never taken advantage of.”
***
Happy Administrative Professionals Day (and week) to each and every one of you. Be sure to wish each of your co-workers and assistants the same, thanking them not just during Administrative Professionals Week, but every day! (That could be your commitment for this year.)
Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would otherwise never have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”
(W.N. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition.)
(Reprinted with permission from the April 2010 Paralegal Post)
Congratulations Makala Coleman!
March 18th, 2010Wood & Randall would like to congratulate Makala Coleman for recently becoming the latest Certified Paralegal in Kern County. Makala has passed the Certified Paralegal exam given by the National Association of Legal Assistants. This two-day exam tests applicants in five critical areas: communications, ethics, legal research, judgment and analytical ability, and substantive law. It is wonderful to see the dedication of our Kern County paralegals, putting in the time and effort to continue to educate themselves and further their careers in this great profession!