Upcoming Association Events

Within this section, we aim to keep you up to date on the latest events in the paralegal community. Included within these events you will find all kinds of meetings, seminars, gatherings, and much more.

If you would like to see your upcoming event included on this list and in our next printed issue, please fill out this simple form and let us know about it.  Please note that there must be at least 2 months lead time.

National

May 5 to May 8: ALA’s 37th Annual Exposition

The Association of Legal Administrators will hold its 37th Annual Educational Conference and Exposition at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California, will present “Explore Leadership — The Art and the Adventure.” Sessions will focus on a number of different competency areas, including communications and general management, financial management, human resources, the legal industry, office operations and management, and an idea exchange. Some of the topics will cover 21st century legal trends, business insurance, globalization, law libraries, technological solutions for file management, outsourcing, small firm technology planning and effective electronic discovery policies. For more information, visit www.alanet.org/conf.

May 9 to May 10: NFPA Pro Bono Conference

The National Federation of Paralegal Associations will hold its Annual Pro Bono Conference May 9 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and May 10 from 8 a.m. to noon at Faegre & Benson in Minneapolis. Topics and speakers will include “Wills for Heroes Program” presented by Susan Link, a partner at Maslon Edelman Borman and Brand; “Pro Bono Ethics” presented by Julie Bennett, assistant director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility; and “Paralegal in the Clinic Setting” presented by Martha Delany, attorney and clinics director of Volunteer Lawyers Network. Other topics will include how to build a pro bono movement within your association, how to get your student population involved in pro bono and pro bono versus community service, plus discussions on the NFPA 24-hour pro bono commitment and review of the Equal Justice Conference. The cost is free for members and $75 for nonmembers, and includes all materials, snacks, breakfast and beverages. For more information, contact Mary McLaughlin at (925) 757-7020 or [email protected].

May 27 to May 30: National Notary Forum

The National Notary Association will hold its 30th Annual Conference and fourth International Forum on eNotarization, eApostilles and Digital Evidence at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans. The conference will feature four certificate tracks, an eNotarization lab, three luncheons and a growth and opportunity expo. There also will be a Notary Signing Agent Section Network Mixer: “The Art and Science of Skilled Networking” and four networking sessions for specialties, including an eNotarization Section Networking Meeting: “Secure eNotarization Today”; a Legal Professionals Section Networking Meeting: “Balancing Obligations as Both Legal Professional and Notary”; an Immigration Section Networking Meeting: “The Notary and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service”; and a Small Business Section Networking Meeting: “Set Up Your Business with Help from the Small Business Administration.” Additionally, there will be eight excursion options, including a swamp tour, a Creole cooking demonstration, and a plantation tour and luncheon at the plantation mansion. For more information, call (800) 876-6827 or visit www.nationalnotary.org/conf08.

Western

May 9: Full-Day CLE

The Alaska Association of Paralegals will present a continuing legal education session focusing on discovery and ethics from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage, Alaska. The cost is $85 for members, $50 for students and $95 for nonmembers. For more information, visit www.alaskaparalegals.org.

May 30: Unfair Competition and Legal Document Assistants

The Alliance of Legal Document Assistant Professionals will host “Rogue Document Preparers: Unfair Competition and LDA Compliance” from noon to 1 p.m. at Best Western Orange County Airport North in Santa Ana, Calif. Orange County Deputy District Attorney Tracy Hughes will discuss her experiences successfully prosecuting civil and criminal cases against non-attorney, noncompliant legal document preparers and what can be done to stem the tide of unregistered document preparers who advertise to the public. Hughes also will address questions regarding what legal document assistants can do to protect their businesses against unfair competition from illegal operators. The cost is $15. For more information, contact Suzanne Ervine at (619) 564-4869.

June 19: Paralegal Day Celebration

The San Francisco Paralegal Association will hold its 36th annual celebration of California Paralegal Day from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Bar Association of San Francisco in San Francisco. Keynote speakers will include Melvin E. Irvin, CP, president of the California Alliance of Paralegal Associations and Theresa Prater, RP, Region I director of the National Federation of Paralegal Associations. The day also will feature a seminar, “Legal Malpractice and Business & Professions Code §6450,” as well as exhibitors, awards and a drawing. MCLE credit is pending. The cost is $75 for SFPA and CAPA members, $40 for students and $85 for nonmembers, and includes lunch. For more information, contact Rhoda Singer at [email protected].

June 21: California Education Event

The California Alliance of Paralegal Associations will hold its 20th annual educational conference at the Hilton Hotel in Santa Clara, Calif. The event will focus on the theme, “Strength Through Alliance — Expand Your Horizons,” and will be hosted by the Paralegal Association of Santa Clara County. Tom Campbell, former Congressman, United States senate candidate and current dean of the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, will be the keynote speaker. Other topics will include “Legal Ethics,” “Terrorism, Money Laundering and Ownership of Legal Ethics” and “Privacy in Employment.” For more information, contact Melisa Frick at (510) 420-5032.

Central

May 5: Illinois Spring Conference

The Illinois Paralegal Association will host its annual spring education conference from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Union League Club of Chicago in Chicago. The conference will offer 20 seminars covering subjects such as corporate, litigation, estates and trusts, commercial finance, technology, real estate, Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam review and ethics. Each seminar is approved for 1.25 hours of CLE credit by NFPA. Author Mary Hutchings Reed also will speak on the topic, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling.” The cost is $175 for members and $225 for nonmembers, and includes lunch. For more information, contact Yvonne Olsson at (815) 462-4620 or visit www.ipaonline.org for a brochure.

May 8: Legal Research Luncheon

The Smoky Mountain Paralegal Association will hold its monthly meeting at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, main conference room, in Knoxville, Tenn. Judy M. Cornett, JD, will speak about legal research. The cost is $10, which includes a lunch buffet and one hour of CLE. For more information, contact Kati Wheatley at (865) 546-7311 or [email protected].

May 9: Sioux City Seminar

The Iowa Association of Legal Assistants will hold its annual spring seminar at the Sioux City Convention Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Some of the topics covered will be time allocation, municipality law, estates, family law and issues for the nontraditional family, trial notebooks, types of corporations, guardianship and conservatorship, subrogation, mediation and arbitration, immigration law, contracts, tribal law and criminal law. For more information, contact Rhonda Henning at (712) 252-2424 or visit www.ialanet.org.

May 14: Legal Assistants’ Day Luncheon and CLE

The St. Louis Association of Legal Assistants will host its 32nd annual Legal Assistants’ Day Luncheon at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo. The event features two continuing legal education seminars “Individual Property Rights vs. Growth and Development: Expanding Legal Battles Over Zoning and Eminent Domain” and “The Cohesive Paralegal — How to Make Yourself Valuable to Your Firm,” followed by a luncheon. CLE registration begins at 8 a.m. The cost is $30 for the CLE seminars including a continental breakfast, $35 for the luncheon, and both seminars and the luncheon for $60. RSVP no later than April 25. For more information, contact Pat Mangum at (314) 588-7000, ext. 139, or e-mail [email protected].

June 19: Ethics and UPL

The Madison Area Paralegal Association will hold a lunch-and-learn meeting at 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace in Madison, Wis. The topic will be attorney/paralegal ethics and the unauthorized practice of law. The cost is $15 for members, $10 for students and $18 for nonmembers, and includes lunch and materials. For more information, visit www.madisonparalegal.org.

Eastern

May 20: Paralegal/Attorney Dinner

The Western New York Paralegal Association will host its annual Paralegal/Attorney Dinner from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Marinaccio’s Restaurant in Williamsburg, N.Y. Nancy Langer, Esq., will speak on “The Paralegal Role and Regulation.” The cost is $35 for members and includes dinner and dessert. Attendees must RSVP no later than May 8. For more information, contact Jeanie Gustafson at (716) 548-1587.

May 30 to May 31: Tallahassee CLE

The Paralegal Association of Florida, Inc., will host its annual spring seminar titled “Your Legal Rights: From Cradle to Grave” at the Ramada Conference Center in Tallahassee, Fla. Topics will include “Ethics and the Paralegal,” “Employee Rights — ‘Cubicle Warfare,’” “Cadaver Rights — ‘CSI Tallahassee,’” “Juvenile Criminal Rights & Juvenile Victim Rights,” “Property Owner Rights,” “Spousal Rights & Domestic Violence,” “Immigration Rights” and “Animal Rights.” The cost is $110 for members and $130 for nonmembers, and includes eight hours of National Association of Legal Assistants-approved CLE credit plus one more hour of NALA-approved CLE for attending the Certified Paralegal breakfast. For more information, call (561) 833-1408 or visit www.pafinc.org.

June 6: Connecticut Paralegal Day Celebration

The Connecticut Alliance of Paralegal Associations will celebrate Connecticut’s Paralegal Day at Antony’s Ocean View in New Haven, Conn. The event will comprise a half day of seminars including “Paralegal Ethics: What Would You Do If …” and “Profiling Jurors in Prominent Connecticut Cases,” with opening remarks delivered by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Keynote speaker Laurie Roselle will speak on the topic “Leveraging Your Experience.” The cost is $60 for members, $50 for student members and $75 for nonmembers. For more information, contact Gaile Colaresi at (203) 330-3560.