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The Hybrid Paralegal
Do you
have the technology know-how for this new career?
By
Milton Hooper
May/June 2007 issue
Computer technology and the management of information in the law office
have evolved from word processing and spreadsheets to managing huge
document databases and creating Hollywood-style productions for
courtroom presentations. This evolution of technology has created a new
legal career niche which merges the skills of a paralegal and a computer
specialist into a legal technology specialist, more commonly known as a
litigation support specialist.
A Mixture of Skills
Document management was
one of the starting points for the litigation support career field, but
now the litigation support position also involves courtroom
presentations and trial graphics.
Courtroom presentations
encompass anything from creating digital presentations to setting up
projectors in the courtroom. This is where the law firm uses technology
in some way to visually present its case. Some lawyers use a projector
and a document camera, while others take advantage of courtrooms wired
with multiple monitors and electronic podiums. I always call it “putting
on the show,” and in many respects, it’s much like a television
production. This makes sense considering that today’s jurors are getting
their information through visual media, such as television and the
Internet. The key component in determining the use of computer
presentation technology is thinking about how the jury will receive and
process the information.
Trial graphics blurs the line between artistic ability and computer
expertise. It’s not necessary to manually draw charts and diagrams for
court anymore; however, an artistic mindset is necessary when developing
trial graphics. Scaling, color schemes and other graphic artist skills
are essential for creating professional and accurate visual aids.
Fortunately, today we do not have to use a paintbrush or pen. There are
several graphics programs such as
CorelDraw,
Microsoft
Visio and
SmartDraw, which can be used to create professional presentations
for use in court. Some litigation also requires the use of animation.
For the most part, computer animation projects are still outsourced to
vendors since many offices don’t have the payroll for a full-time
computer animation position; however, a litigation support specialist
possessing the aptitude for computer animation could increase his or her
worth to the office.
Most attorneys are
“linear thinkers,” which means they are limited in their creative
ability. A person who has a mixture of paralegal, computer specialist
and graphic artist skills can give his or her attorney another dimension
and the ability to think outside of the linear box.
Paralegals and Litigation Support
Paralegals are a good fit
as litigation support specialists because of their knowledge of
courtroom procedures and local rules. A person who only has technical
knowledge will not understand when to display exhibits or the importance
of preserving annotations made to documentary exhibits that are used in
witness testimony. The technology is only useful if you know what the
rules are for preparation and display in the courtroom. A paralegal
background can be instrumental in understanding what is and isn’t
allowed.
Gary Melhuish, manager of
litigation support services at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll in
Philadelphia, encourages paralegals to look at the litigation side of
the litigation support position. “The best litigation support personnel
are able to not only operate the relevant software, but make intelligent
and practical suggestions to the attorneys on how the software can
assist in the review, production and presentation of evidence,” he said.
Gigi Pereira, who is the
U.S. Department of Justice account manager for SRA International in
Alexandria, Va., thinks paralegals are well-suited for litigation
support responsibilities. Pereira has trained hundreds of litigation
support specialists in the DOJ and has kept them informed of future
trends in litigation technology.
“Most paralegals pick up
the litigation support skills and technologies quickly because they have
been using the technology in school,” she said.
Pereira has been involved
in litigation support for more than 20 years. She began her career in
1987 as an information specialist supporting law firms and corporate
legal counsel on large civil litigations. Today she trains paralegals
and legal secretaries in an Automated Litigation Support Boot Camp
course she developed where students get hands-on training with case
processes and technologies.
While a paralegal
background is helpful, this doesn’t mean that all paralegals possess the
abilities to perform the technical aspects of this job, nor do all
computer specialists transition well into this position. It takes a
person who can think and work creatively with the right blend of legal
and technical knowledge.
Combining technical
skills with a legal background has worked well for Barbara Norton.
Though recently retired, Norton has 12 years of experience as an
investigative technician in the Trial Support Services Unit for the San
Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Norton got her start with law
during her 11 years of service as a reserve police officer in Chula
Vista, Calif. She said you must be creative but provide litigation
support in a way that stays within the legal boundaries. “You have to
use some kind of visual to best determine the proper way to show
something,” she said. “You have to relate to the jury [members] and make
them understand what is going on.”
Whether you work in a
district attorney’s office, a private law firm or corporation, or as a
private litigation support contractor, it takes a variety of skills to
be successful in litigation support.
Getting the Education
Since this career is
relatively new to the legal field, you can’t obtain a college degree in
litigation support. The best approach to prepare yourself for a
litigation support job is to develop a plan that will provide the best
training in legal and technical skills. If you have the legal
qualifications, you should seek certification in information technology,
such as database management or computer graphics. For example, Microsoft
offers a
Certified Database Administrator certification for professionals who
implement and administer Microsoft SQL server databases. A certification
such as this show case your technical ability.
“It’s important for
paralegals to seek out litigation business process training in addition
to the technologies that are used most frequently by law firms, service
bureaus and the federal government,” Pereira said. “Too often,
paralegals don’t realize that there are [more] efficient and time-saving
ways to capture, process and manage evidence than the traditional
methods typically taught in school or learned on the job.
“Additionally, paralegals
need to understand the full life cycle of a typical case from
investigation/complaint through trial,” Pereira added. “Unfortunately,
many paralegals never get the chance to see their cases through to
trial as most settle, but it is important to experience a trial and see
how the evidentiary process and associated technologies work together in
the courtroom.”
Perhaps the best way to
understand the technical side of the litigation support position is to
work with the technical support personnel in your office or, if your
office already has a litigation support manager, get involved with what
he or she does.
Lorryn Abbott, a
litigation technologies project coordinator for Skadden Arps Slate
Meagher & Flom in Los Angeles, did just that. She got her start when the
litigation support manager of the Reed Smith law firm where she worked
as a paralegal recognized her technology skills. Abbott had been using
those skills to provide input to the litigation practice group attorneys
on technology issues. She also worked closely with the litigation
support department on database design. After a year and a half as a
paralegal, Abbott worked as a member of the litigation support team for
another year and a half and then worked for two years as a hybrid
paralegal with technology skills. “They basically threw several
databases my way,” Abbott said. “It was trial by fire, but I learned how
to do it and it helped me gain the confidence of the litigation support
manager.”
Working within the
parameters of her paralegal job, Abbott was able to align herself with
people who already were working in litigation support and gain their
confidence. “My background as a paralegal benefits [my current] position
[also], as the majority of the work I coordinate comes from the
paralegals,” Abbott said.
As Abbott’s experience
shows, the best method of certifying your credentials is to evaluate
your own skills and abilities, then decide how to best gain experience
in the areas where you are lacking.
Katie Manns, a 20-year
paralegal and a litigation support manager at Phillips Lytle in Buffalo,
N.Y., suggests that learning the software well as a paralegal will make
for a smoother transition to a litigation support position. “If you have
at least one [software application] under your belt, it’s easier to make
the jump to another vendor’s product,” Manns said. “I am not sure a
degree in litigation support exists, but someone who has worked as a
paralegal for at least five years in the litigation arena and has
knowledge of some of the litigation support programs would be the best
candidate [for a litigation support position].”
Melhuish also encourages
taking advantage of free courses offered by litigation support
companies. “The more that you learn about the process and inner workings
of the programs, the more valuable you will be,” he said. “Technology
people are a great resource, but oftentimes they are not proficient in
the application of the program. That is the biggest value that you [as a
paralegal] bring to the table.”
Making the Transition
Making the transition to
an actual litigation support position might require more than the right
education and technology skills. Some offices are slow to embrace this
or any new position due to strict budgets and tight payrolls. It’s
tempting for law firms to dump litigation support duties on current
positions in the office, such as a paralegal or the office manager,
rather than hiring a full-time litigation support specialist. Doing this
can create a potentially bad experience with litigation support.
Litigation support is a tool — if you do not use it wisely, you will not
get the appropriate quality from it. If it’s not at least 50 percent of
the job description, you are doing more harm than good.
If there is no room on
your firm’s payroll for a dedicated litigation support specialist, take
a look at your office structure. If you truly feel that you have the
aptitude to contribute as a litigation support specialist, talk to your
supervisor about it. You might suggest shifting your duties so you can
show the firm what you can do. At the very worst, volunteer to take on
the responsibility. I know when you see the word “volunteer” you
immediately think of more work and more hours, but some sacrifice now
might pay off for you later. If you truly are talented in litigation
support, it will become evident.
Manns advises considering
several factors before advocating for a litigation support position in
your firm. “The best way is to decide what role you want to take in the
litigation support area. Can you work closely with the IT department?
Will you have all new projects go through you? Do you have enough
hardware/software support? The last thing you want to do is begin a new
position and spend, spend, spend.”
Once you have decided
this is something you want to do, Manns recommends “tak[ing] it to the
head of your department. Once you get those attorneys that you are doing
the work for to buy into the idea, it has a smaller chance of failing.”
This approach worked well
for Manns when she decided that she wanted to work in litigation
support. “[I] approached the partner in charge of the trial department
paralegals and discussed the idea of becoming somewhat of a liaison
between the IT group, who was designing databases for the trial
department, and the attorneys, who were desperately trying to make sense
of the hundreds of boxes of information.”
Keep in mind that the
opportunities to transition into a litigation support position are not
limited to your law office. From New York City to Macon, Ga., litigation
support opportunities are growing. Law offices are recognizing the need
for a specialist who understands both information technology and legal
procedures.
If you still can’t find a
litigation support position in a location where you want to work, there
is always the option of employment with a litigation support contractor.
Dexter Savoy is senior
litigation support consultant and court-certified videographer for
Dexter Savoy Associates in Washington, D.C. By being one of the first in
this position, he was instrumental in the creation of the litigation
support specialist position in the United States attorney’s office.
After 18 years with the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission as a
litigation support specialist, he started Dexter Savoy Associates, where
he is responsible for the planning and management of litigation support
activities and services in both the civil and criminal area of law,
pretrial, trial and post-trial. He performs pretrial work such as video
depositions and “Day in the Life” videos that are used for settlements.
In addition, he handles animations, forensics, databases, document
imaging and litigation graphics.
To get started as your
own contractor, Savoy suggests “watch[ing] for federal contracts in the
area of litigation support. I haven’t found a law firm yet that didn’t
need good paralegal help.” While Savoy hires paralegals to work for him
on a temporary basis, he knows of other contractors who hire paralegals
on a long-term basis.
Regardless of where you
end up working in litigation support, working around litigation support
specialists and IT professionals can help you get there. Watch what they
do, and offer to help whenever possible. As Norton said, “It takes about
six months of strong mentoring before one has grasped the intricacies of
case exhibit presentation.”
And Savoy added this
advice: “I would probably tell others, above all of the other items we
have talked about, be a good communicator. You need that ability to sell
your litigation support services and yourself to your office or
clients.”
The Future of Litigation Support
Litigation support will
continue to grow as a vital function of law offices in both the private
and government sectors. There are several reasons why this career field
will become more essential to the law office.
Document management will
continue to be an issue. The ability to process paper into electronic
formats quickly and efficiently will be important.
Pereira foresees that
technology is going to force attorneys to practice law in ways that many
might not be prepared to take on. “The recent amendments to the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure will also likely cause some changes to
established legal practices that the industry has relied on for many
years,” she said. “Paper discovery will become more and more of a
distant memory as native electronic file discovery becomes more common.
Attorneys and paralegals will have to embrace technology as a survival
tool in the age of increasing evidentiary file volume and complexity.”
E-discovery has created a
new concern as more and more evidentiary issues involve e-mails, hard
drives and other electronic storage media. “It’s absolutely vital,”
Abbott said. “Attorneys generally don’t speak technical language. They
know that e-discovery is necessary but don’t necessarily want to know
how it works, as long as they get what they need.”
A liaison will be needed
between the IT staff, attorneys and vendors. It’s important to have a
clear understanding of the discovery process as well as a technical
background and understanding of the tools. These tools include scanning
technology, search tools, review tools and OCR. It’s essential to speak
different “languages” such as technical, attorney and vendor. “With
vendors, you need to be able to explain the legal and technical so they
will know not only what the requirements are but why,” Abbott said.
The “CSI effect” will
influence attorneys to do more visuals in presenting their cases to a
jury. Although jurors get an inaccurate view of real-life cases through
the depiction of legal and criminal investigation television shows, the
visual technology will put pressure on lawyers to do more.
Norton has already
experienced this expectation in San Diego County. She said there will be
more demand for this specialty. “This is an up-and-coming field, with
more and more prosecutors seeking professional-looking exhibits.”
So as you can see, this
career field is not just a passing fad but is definitely here to stay to
meet the demand for technology and legal expertise. The evidentiary
rules are already evolving to address the changes in how we process
information. Someone will need to be there to understand the changes and
implement procedures to deal with them.
In deciding if a career
move to a litigation support specialist is for you, you must evaluate
your skills honestly. Do you have the knack for this job? Do you have
the proper mix of legal and technical aptitude? Are you creative but
understand the legal boundaries? You can’t simply jump into this because
you “like computers” or you want to play with the “cool toys” in this
field. However, if you do possess the right skills, you can
substantially increase your worth. The way to get your foot in the door
is to fill the void with your strengths. Is your firm in need of better
trial graphics? Do they need a Microsoft PowerPoint expert? Can you
improve the area of document management? When you make your lawyers look
good and give them the edge in using technology, your stock will rise
and you will reap the benefits.
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