|
|
Joan Wiley Named to
Inaugural LEAP Class
Nevada Paralegal Association member Joan E. Wiley, ACP, has been named to the inaugural class of 15 paralegals from throughout the nation to participate in NALA’s new Leadership Enhancement and Preparation (LEAP) program. The class will have its first meeting during the 32nd annual NALA convention this July in New Orleans.
Michelle Erdmann, ACP, Chair of NALA’s Professional Development Committee that conceived and developed the LEAP program, announced the class selection in June, stressing the important role these participants will play.
“Preparing future leaders is crucial to the success of our Association,” she said. “These first LEAP participants will set precedents and tradition for the future of the program, the Association, and the paralegal profession. We envision the LEAP program as an ongoing part of NALA’s mission to remain the leading paralegal association in the nation.”
The class will be divided into smaller teams that will undertake research and reading assignments. There will be monthly Internet “Webinars” on subjects ranging from general information on the paralegal profession and the structure of NALA to specific leadership skills such as public speaking and association governance.
No program is scheduled for December, and May and June are to be devoted to team projects to demonstrate the participants’ grasp of LEAP objectives. All groups will be doing a presentation at the 2008 convention. There is the possibility that one group (or more) will be chosen to do a presentation to the membership at the meeting.
There is no enrollment fee for the program, but participants have a significant time commitment and incidental costs associated with buying texts and attending the requisite annual convention meetings at the beginning and end of each “LEAP Year.” Each participant who successfully completes the program will receive a Certificate of Completion.
Other members of this first class are: Patty H. Allred, ACP, Salt Lake City, UT; Mona H. Chandler, CP, Daingerfield, TX; Amy Jo Clingan, CLA, Jacksonville, FL; Ruth S. Conley, CLA, Houston, TX: Julie M. Daniels, ACP, Wichita, KS; Ida Farhat, ACP, Lansing, MI; Kristine M. Hill, CLA, Pensacola, FL; Melissa M. Klimpel, ACP, Bismarck, ND; Susan K. Lewis, CLA, Cheyenne, WY; Louise C. Mulderink, CP, Chattanooga, TN; Kathleen M. Rosenstock, ACP, Glendale, CA; Debra L. Overstreet, CP, Broken Arrow, OK; Lorena A. Shingleton, ACP, Charleston, WV; and Melissa M. Wickerath, CLA, Ankeny, IA.
More information about LEAP may be found on the NALA Web site at www.nala.org, or by contacting NALA Headquarters at 1516 S. Boston Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74119; (918) 583-5485.
My journey into the child welfare system began a year ago when I decided to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for Clark County. After reading article after article in the local newspaper about the deplorable state of the child welfare system in Clark County, I felt a strong desire to help. Knowing that I am not cut out to be a foster parent, I considered other options. I was familiar with the court appointed special advocate program (CASA) in my home state of Nebraska, so I checked out the Clark County program. With a little research, I learned the Clark County program is a government program, rather than a non-profit organization as is common in other states. Further, I learned the local program has a champion in Judge Gerald Hardcastle who firmly believes children in the protective custody of the county benefit from having a volunteer assigned who monitors their situation and provides feedback directly to the judge via a court report and verbal comments.
I signed up to meet with the CASA training coordinator to learn more about the program and ultimately attended the 40 hour training program which provides background information on the Clark County child welfare system and a mini course on abused and neglected children.
Upon graduating from the training program, I received a court order assigning me as a CASA to a sibling group. Many of my classmates were given the tough assignment of advocating for teenagers. After listening to CASAs discuss issues related to older children in the foster care system, I have a great deal of respect for the men and women who take on this challenge. I recall the difficulties related to my daughters’ emotional tantrums in their teenage years and the teenagers in the foster care system often have much greater issues to deal with than the typical friend betrayal or clothes crisis of my daughters. The teens in foster care often carry baggage related to abuse/neglect and multiple placements. Many have a general sense that no one cares about them.
In my case, I was handed a case involving three brothers ages 3 y/o, 2 y/o and 6 months, which has recently grown to a sibling group of four. I first met the two older boys in Child Haven, where they were ultimately housed for six months. My visits with the boys there afforded me the opportunity to view the problems of that facility first hand. Eventually, the two older boys were reunited with their little brother in a caring foster home. I currently find myself embroiled in issues related to termination of parental rights, grandparent rights and sibling rights as permanency decisions are contemplated.
As a CASA, I am to advocate for the “best interests” of the child. Each case is different and the “best interests” of the child varies, but in my very limited experience, the real importance of having a CASA assigned to a foster child relates to consistency. I have been involved in my CASA childrens’ lives for just over a year, and in that short time, their case has been assigned to four different case workers. The foster mom and I are now the only people on the case who personally witnessed the transformation which took place in the older boys once they were transferred out of Child Haven and into a private home. As a result, I am strongly committed to this sibling group and I will do what I can to ensure they are allowed to grow up together.
Please consider being a voice for a child in the Clark County foster care system. The caseworkers truly care about the children, but their workloads are out of control and they simply do not have the time to adequately monitor all of the children assigned to them. This is one volunteer opportunity in which you truly have the ability to make a real difference in the life of a child.
Susan Lindhorst, ACP
Advanced Certified Paralegal
I was fortunate to attend this year's annual convention with Joan Wiley, ACP, Vice President, and Connie Valentine, NALA Liaison.
The conference, as usual, was fantastic. On Wednesday night, we went to dinner with 20 other members of Region 9 and our Region 9 representative. What a wonderful opportunity to meet Carolyn Yellis and spend some "face-to-face" time with her discussing the paralegal professional, the recent California legislation, and how it could impact Nevada.
Joan Wiley has been selected to participate in the inaugural LEAP program that is being sponsored by NALA. This is a program NALA is putting together for members to learn new leadership skills to apply to their respective associations as well as hopefully put to use in future years as leaders in NALA. We wish Joan the best in this endeavor over the next year. Of a special note regarding the LEAP program, NALA received a number of applications, and Joan was one of the 15 selected to participate in the inaugural group. Please take a minute to congratulate Joan on this selection. This brings NPA more into the national spotlight.
FACT: Did you know that there has never been a NALA officer or director from Nevada?
New Orleans is a wonderful city, though they are still working to bring the city back to pre-Katrina standards. Connie and I took time on Thursday afternoon to see the IMAX movie "Hurricane in the Bayou." A very sobering and thought provoking film, and one that makes you want to help, no matter how small, and to really appreciate what the people of New Orleans and all the other agencies, public and private, have done to try and rebuild this beautiful city.
NPA always raffles off one of those flashing signs "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" that greets our visitors as they come into town from the south side. We collected a stack of business cards for that raffle that measured 3-4" tall. The sign has become a fixture at the raffle and the attendees always look forward to that drawing!
New ideas and discussions will be coming in the next few months as we analyze and review information we have all gleaned from attending the conference. Hopefully information that will make NPA an organization you can be proud of and one that you want to support.
Pat Altstatt, ACP
Chairman, NPA Education/Certification and Webmaster
Are you an active member – the kind that would be missed;
Or are you just content to say your name is on the list?
Do you attend the meetings and mingle with the crowd;
Or would you rather stay at home, complaining long and loud?
Do you give up a little time and help to make things click;
Or leave the work to just a few, and talk about the “clique?”
There’s quite a program schedule that means success is done,
And it can be accomplished, with the help of everyone.
So come to the meetings and help with hand and heart;
Don’t be just another member, but take an active part.
Think it over, member, are you right or wrong?
Are you an active member, or do you just belong?
Professional – Lissa is the senior paralegal at the law firm of Shea & Carlyon, Ltd., a firm practicing in creditor rights, insolvency, bankruptcy and civil litigation. She has been with Shea & Carlyon since their incorporation in 1996. Prior to that, she worked at Community Legal Services in Arizona, where she first fell in love with the law and cut her teeth as a paralegal. She has been in the legal field for over 17 years.
Lissa passed the CLA exam in 1998, the CLA specialty exam in bankruptcy in 2004, and the Certified Bankruptcy Assistant exam in 2005. She is also a member of the Legal Assistant’s Division of the State Bar of Nevada and the National Association of Legal Assistants.
Personal – She is married with an 18 year old daughter and a 3½ year old daughter, two cats and a big dumb but loveable dog. Her husband works at Costco and is a full time student at UNLV. She has an identical twin sister who is also a Certified Legal Assistant and a former NPA member (you may have been fooled by her), who has since returned to Arizona. She is an avid Jacksonville Jaguars fan and is completely addicted to Diet Coke and chocolate of any kind.
It is with a lot of excitement (and not a little trepidation) that I take over the helm of the NPA for the next two years. I have some very big shoes to fill, succeeding our past two presidents, Pat Altstatt and Denise Harper. These two remarkable women, with the assistance of the board of directors serving with them, have accomplished so much in bringing us to where we are now, in such a short period of time. Under their tutelage, the NPA regained its NALA affiliation and went from just a few dedicated members striving to resurrect the NPA from the ashes of the Clark County Organization of Legal Assistants (CCOLA), to the thriving organization we now are, with close to 50 members. These members have given, and continue to give, so much of themselves and their time. Instead of asking ‘why?’ they asked ‘why not?’, thinking outside of the box and refusing to take no for an answer.
We are fortunate to have an excellent board of directors in place, and to have established committees to guide the NPA. All members are assigned to a committee upon joining. You can choose a committee that suits your interest, or be assigned where needed the most. It is completely up to you how much time or input you want to give. Committee chairs will be contacting all of their committee members via email periodically, to introduce themselves and open the lines of communication. Each and every member is a valued and integral part of the NPA. Each member has a different perspective, with different ideas, and the board is always delighted to hear from you. The NPA cannot continue to grow or even exist without you.
I would also like to take this opportunity to provide a little background information on the NPA and where we are currently at as an organization.
The NPA was founded in 1978 as CCOLA. It is governed by its board of directors which consists of the elected officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and NALA Liaison), and the appointed committee chairs (Education/Certification Committee, Public Relations Committee, Membership Committee and Pro Bono/Community Service Committee). Additional board members are appointed by the President as deemed necessary. The Board is guided by the NPA by-laws and rules, which are approved by the NPA general membership.
All board members serve on a voluntary basis. The board meets formally on the first Wednesday of each month, but is in communication by email and telephone almost daily. The board meetings are open meetings and all members are welcome to attend. Feel free to contact me for location and time (which sometimes varies).
Some of the tasks we address at the board meetings include, but are not limited to, approval of new member applications, planning of monthly meetings for CLE credit, planning the annual seminar, developing ways to increase membership and benefits to our membership, fundraising, and planning of community service events.
The NPA dues that are paid go to cover the expenses of the NPA. For example, we pay a monthly website maintenance fee (graciously reduced on a pro bono basis) to our website administrator, Scott Houdek and Las Vegas Graphics. A small portion of the annual dues goes to the Susan West Memorial Scholarship Fund, to provide scholarships to paralegal students enrolled in CCSN. The NPA also contributes to sending the NALA liaison to the annual convention, and has additional expenses, such as postage, office supplies, promotional materials, or other items as approved by the board. All financial statements and reports are available for review by the membership upon request.
· We launched a new and greatly improved website this past year. Please take a moment to navigate around it, and give us some feedback. You can register as a user whether you are a member or not, and you can also post jobs directly on the website.
· We published our first quarterly newsletter and are close to publishing our second.
· We are on target to establish our scholarship program for the fall semester.
· Additional projects we are working on are the development of a mentoring program for new paralegals; a presentation to give to various lawyers’ groups, law firms and individual attorneys regarding the utilization of paralegals; outreach to students in the various paralegal programs; and working with PASN and the LAD to address common issues affecting paralegals in Southern Nevada and the profession as a whole.
Paralegal associations are the voice of the paralegal profession. Our power is in our membership. Our strength is in our numbers. The larger our membership body the louder our voice will be on issues that directly affect our profession, such as certification, regulation and unauthorized practice of law. If we want to be respected for the professionals we are, if we want to influence the way paralegals are viewed by lawyers and the legal community, then we must strengthen our voice and increase our impact. I would ask each of you to talk to one non-member paralegal this entire year. Just one. Invite them to a meeting, or tell them about the NPA. Ask them to go our website. If they have any questions at all, have them call me, or any other board member.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President. Please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone or email if you have any thoughts, suggestions, comments or complaints. My contact information is listed on our website. I am very excited about the future of the NPA, and the paralegal profession, but if we wish to continue with our progress and growth, we simply cannot do it without the active participation of you, our valued members.
A Message from the President.
Moving Forward …
As I wind down my second and final year as President of Nevada Paralegal Association (“NPA”), my thoughts drift to how naïve I was two years ago when I was only getting ready to step into this position.
Previous Page | Next Page
|
DISCLAIMER: The information accessible at this web site is provided for informational purposes only. In some instances, the opinions expressed in certain materials contained on this web site are the opinions of the individual authors and may not reflect the opinions of NPA. NPA does not endorse, and is not responsible for, any third-party content that may be accessed through this web site. The hypertext links herein are provided for your convenience only and NPA disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for them, including any content or services provided to you by such web sites. NPA does not warrant that this web site or any third party site, or any of its functions, will be error free, or are free of viruses or other harmful components, or that any connections may not be interrupted.
|
|
|