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.