Ab Initio. Paralegal Career Decisions By Vicki Voisin, ACP. In This Issue:

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1 Ab Initio Spring 2012 Volume VIII, Issue 1 The official newsletter of the Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia an Affiliate of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc. In This Issue: Your 6-Step Blueprint for Making Your Paralegal Career Decisions By Vicki Voisin, ACP...1 From Your President Executive Committee Standing & Special Committees..3 Welcome New Members...3 Current Membership Statistics...3 Annual Meeting Agenda and Registration...4 Annual Meeting Slate of Candidates...8 Annual Meeting Proxy Instructions and Designation Form...10 NALA Campus LIVE!: Spring 2012 Schedule - Upcoming Courses 14 About LAPSWV...14 Your 6-Step Blueprint for Making Your Paralegal Career Decisions By Vicki Voisin, ACP As a busy paralegal with family and social obligations, you will constantly be faced with decisions - - some more difficult than others. Career decisions will be among the most challenging. Making the decisions to meet and overcome your career challenges will be much less stressful if you have a clear blueprint to follow. What kind of blueprint? You need one that will support you and assist you in getting the outcome you want. It must not stop you from reaching a solution because you re bogged down, overwhelmed and paralyzed by indecision. Try this 6 step blueprint to get your breakthrough instead of a breakdown when you are faced with challenging career decisions. 1. Adjust your attitude. Attitude is everything! A defeatist attitude - one where you re sure you can t succeed and the glass is always half empty - will crush you every time. A can-do attitude - one where you re positive you can succeed and the glass is always half full - - will eliminate whatever is stopping you from making a decision and finding a solution. A can-do attitude will open you up to more possibilities, resulting in your making better decisions easier and faster. 2. Take a break. When your problems are weighing heavily on you, it s time to take a break. How? Take a walk, shoot some hoops, ride your bicycle or go for a run. How about a warm bath or a cool swim? Playing with your kids or your pets is always uplifting and so is listening to your favorite music. Throw yourself into any activity that will lift your mood and increase your energy, allowing you to put your challenges in perspective. Frequently, the right decision will come to you while you re taking a break. V ISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW. LAPSWV. ORG 3. Be clear about the outcome you want. Before you can even think about a decision, you must be absolutely clear about the outcome you want. If you don t have this clarity, you will struggle and waste time and energy in the process. The result is total frustration. Ask yourself this question: What is the outcome I want to create? Be very precise when you answer this question. Once you are clear about the outcome you want, you can focus on the solution. (Continued on page 13)

2 From Your President: Deadlines and Commitments Life is full of deadlines. Most of us have personal and business calendars that we use for scheduling deadlines. On a personal level, we schedule our personal health appointments, pet appointments, church functions, charity functions, weddings, etc. On a business level we schedule meetings, seminars, and most importantly, if you do litigation, you schedule court appointed deadlines. Some of us (in an abundance of caution) schedule reminders for our deadlines so that there is enough time to start preparing for the deadline before it actually happens. What would happen if we didn t have deadlines? Total chaos! And what is a deadline without commitment? Meaningless! Commitment, not scheduling, is what gets things done, and it's the personal commitments that really count. We are committed to our families. When there is a special family get-together or when a family member is in need, we rally around and do whatever is needed to help. We are committed to our employers. When that all important deadline comes around, we do whatever is necessary to get that job done on time and to the best of our ability. If we need help to get it done, we ask for it but we never let a deadline go by without completing the job. That s commitment. If we are not committed to our job, we wouldn t have that job. Last, but definitely not least, we are committed to our charities and associations. Without the volunteer help we do for non-profit charities and associations, like LAPSWV, they would cease to exist. A handful of volunteers cannot carry the full load. That is where commitment comes into play. It s easy to say I don t have time to help; someone else will step up and help. But what happens when no one steps up to help? When confronted with a tremendous amount of to dos and limited time to do them, we will do our best if we focus on the expectations we truly value: the association or charity group we cannot bear to disappoint; the boss whose good opinion we treasure. Meeting those expectations matters far more than merely meeting the deadlines. Commitment makes it personal. If you know you need to get something done, make that promise as public and unavoidable as possible, but make it on a human, personal level I will not disappoint you. Scheduling deadlines and making commitments are very important in our lives. In the words of Bob Seger, Deadlines and commitments, they keep comin back again. Make sure you schedule the full day of June 1 st for the LAPSWV Annual Seminar. We are very excited with the format this year. The announcement and registration form begins on page 4 of this newsletter. If anyone has the time to help pull the seminar together and be a part of the Seminar Planning Committee please contact Cindy Kline at nalaliaison@lapswv.org or Karen Nichols at president@lapswv.org. Our first seminar planning meeting will be held on April 9 th at 5:30 p.m. at the offices of Jackson Kelly. We hope you have the time to help make this a fantastic educational experience! 2 Sincerely, Karen Karen S. Nichols, ACP LAPSWV President

3 LAPSWV EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Karen Nichols, ACP Jackson Kelly PLLC P O Box 553 Charleston, WV president@lapswv.org NOT PICTURED Patricia Schoolcraft, CLA Preston & Salango PLLC 213 Hale Street Charleston, WV firstvicepresident@lapswv.org Renee Clay, ACP Steptoe & Johnson PLLC P O Box 2195 Huntington, WV secondvicepresident@lapswv.org Renee Clay, ACP Steptoe & Johnson PLLC P O Box 2195 Huntington, WV treasurer@lapswv.org Melanie Hicks, CP 159 Granby Circle Beaver, WV secretary@lapswv.org Cynthia L. Kline, ACP Jackson Kelly PLLC P O Box 553 Charleston, WV nalaliaison@lapswv.org Tammy L. Welch, CP Jackson Kelly PLLC P O Box 553 Charleston, WV parliamentarian@lapswv.org LAPSWV STANDING and SPECIAL COMMITTEES Audit Committee Fund-Raising Nominations/Elections Standing Rules Committee To be appointed by the President prior to the end of the fiscal year. CLA Study Program Nodgie Kennedy, CLA - Chair Lauren Aldridge Renee Clay, ACP Melanie Hicks, CP Sherri Rasmussen Education Patricia Schoolcraft, CLA - Chair Jill Francisco, ACP Cynthia Kline, ACP Finance Renee Clay, ACP - Chair Karen Nichols, ACP Pat Schoolcraft, CLA Nodgie Kennedy, CLA - Chair Rebecca Hopkins Terri Swindler Legislative/Regulatory Tammy Welch, CP - Chair Cynthia Kline, ACP Membership Renee Clay, ACP - Chair Melanie Hicks, CP Donna Hughes Katie Kendall Cynthia Spreacker Shannon Todd, ACP Newsletter Shannon Todd, ACP - Chair Melanie Hicks, CP Susan Tephly April Lilly, Chair Cynthia Kline, ACP Sherri Rasmussen Public Relations/ Community Service Melanie Hicks, CP - Chair Lauren Aldridge Jill Francisco, ACP Rebecca Hopkins Terri Swindler Susan Tephly Grace West Seminar Planning Committee Cynthia Kline, ACP - Chair Renee Clay, ACP Melanie Hicks, CP Nodgie Kennedy, CLA Karen Nichols, ACP Patricia Schoolcraft, CLA Tammy Welch, CP - Chair Renee Clay, ACP Melanie Hicks, CP Nodgie Kennedy, CLA Cynthia Kline, ACP Karen Nichols, ACP Patricia Schoolcraft, CLA Shannon Todd, ACP Website Cynthia Kline, ACP - Chair Susan Tephly Tammy Welch, CP LAPSWV is always seeking volunteers for the Standing and Special Committees. Want to volunteer? Just contact any member of the Executive Committee! WELCOME TO LAPSWV S NEWEST MEMBERS Diana Campbell Michael Edwards Ann Nolan Morganna Vigneron CURRENT MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS Active Members: 72 Sustaining Members: 2 Student Members: 11 Provisional Members: 0 TOTAL: 85 ACP s: 6 CLAS s: 1 CLA s and CP s: 23 3

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8 NOMINEES FOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICERS CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OF PRESIDENT Karen Nichols, ACP P. O. Box 553 Charleston, WV Karen is employed by Jackson Kelly PLLC as an Advanced Certified Paralegal in the Commercial Litigation Department. Karen has been in the legal profession for over 30 years and has been a paralegal for 17 years. She graduated in December 2003 from Marshall University with a degree of Associate in Applied Science, Legal Assistant, with high honors. Karen obtained her CLA/CP certification from NALA in January 2006 and Advanced Paralegal Certification in Business Organizations: Incorporated Entities in October She is currently serving on the Jackson Kelly Legal Assistant Liaison Committee, is a member of NALA, the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia and West Virginia Bar Association, is serving on the Advisory Committee for the Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College, and is an adjunct professor for the Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College. In addition to currently serving as President for LAPSWV, Karen has served as 1 st Vice President of LAPSWV from July 2010 to January 2011; 2 nd Vice President from February 2010 to June 2010; NALA Liaison from July 2009 to January 2010, and LAPSWV Treasurer from July June Ms. Nichols was a member of the Executive Committee honored by LAPSWV as the 2009 Paralegals of the Year. CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OF FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Patricia Schoolcraft, CLA 108 1/2 Capitol Street, Suite 300 Post Office Box 3084 Charleston, West Virginia Patricia is employed by Preston and Salango, PLLC, as a litigation paralegal. She has been employed as a paralegal since She previously was employed as a regulatory paralegal with the State of West Virginia and as a defense litigation paralegal with a large West Virginia defense firm. Patricia received her Bachelor of Arts degree from WVU Institute of Technology in 2003, her Associate in Applied Science, Legal Assistant, with high honors, degree from Marshall Community and Technical College in 1992, and her CLA certification from NALA in Patricia has been a NALA member since 1998, and was a member of LAWV from She is a founding member of LAPSWV. As a member of LAPSWV, she has served as Treasurer, Secretary, and Second-Vice President. She currently serves as First-Vice President. She previously served as Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, Audit Committee, Membership Committee, and By-Laws Committee for LAPSWV. CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OF SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Cynthia Cindy J. Spreacker th Avenue #250 Huntington, WV With over 13 years of legal experience, Cindy is currently employed as a paralegal with the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in its Huntington office, where she focuses primarily on Railroad Litigation involving diesel, solvent and asbestos issues along with personal injury matters. She has been a member of LAPSWV since 2004 and has served on various committees. Cindy attended Marshall University and Huntington Junior College with emphasis on legal specialization. She is a paralegal member of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia, and volunteers her time with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. 8

9 CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OF TREASURER Renee Clay, ACP th Avenue #250 Huntington, WV Renee Clay, ACP has been employed by Steptoe & Johnson PLLC since October With over 20 years of experience in the legal profession, she currently works in the firm s Huntington office and performs various tasks associated with complex civil litigation including both commercial and personal injury matters, labor and employment matters, and appellate litigation. Renee is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Marshall University where she earned her Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Education in 1991 and her Masters of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies/Adult and Technical Education in Renee has been an active member of the Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia (LAPSWV) since 2004, and has served on various committees. Renee served as LAPSWV Treasurer from 2009 to 2011, and is currently serving as Second Vice President. In February 2012, the LAPSWV Executive Committee appointed Renee to fill the vacated position of Treasurer until elections in June Renee has been a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) since 2007, when she received her CP certification in September of that year. Renee also received her Advanced Certification in Discovery from NALA in May She is also a paralegal member of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia and the West Virginia State Bar s Legal Assistant s Committee. CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OF SECRETARY Katie Kendall P. O. Box 553 Charleston, WV Katie A. Kendall obtained a Bachelor s degree in Criminal Justice (with a minor in Sociology) from West Virginia State University and has been employed as a Paralegal by Jackson Kelly, PLLC since 2007, where she currently assists attorneys in the firm s Industrial, Environmental and Complex Litigation group. Katie became a member of LAPSWV in CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OF NALA LIAISON Melanie Hicks, CP 159 Granby Circle Beaver, WV Melanie Hicks obtained an Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies in 1994 from the College of West Virginia now known as Mountain State University. She has worked for over 18 years for sole practitioners in real estate, civil litigation, family law and criminal law areas of the legal field. Melanie incorporated Paralegal Solutions, LLC in 2008 and now works as a freelance paralegal for numerous attorneys and firms performing real estate work, litigation support and contract review. She became a member of LAPSWV in 2008 and passed the NALA certifying examination in March Melanie has served as LAPSWV Secretary July,

10 Designation of Proxy Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia Annual Meeting - June 1, 2012 Huntington, West Virginia INSTRUCTIONS AND GENERAL INFORMATION 1. If you cannot attend the LAPSWV Annual Membership Meeting on June 1, 2012, you may designate two LAPSWV active members to cast your proxy vote during the meeting. One LAPSWV member will serve as your proxy holder and the second member will serve as your alternate proxy holder. The alternate is a back up to protect your vote in the event your primary proxy must cancel at the last minute or leave the meeting early. Any active member may hold your proxy with the exception of the LAPSWV President. 2. Be sure your named proxy holder and alternate proxy holder plan to attend the annual meeting. If your proxy holder and/or alternate proxy holder have to leave the annual meeting before its conclusion, another member cannot hold your proxy. No proxy or alternate proxy holder may be designated after May 4, Your Designation of Proxy and Alternate Proxy form must be sent to the LAPSWV Secretary in order for your proxy to be recorded. The form must be received by this officer no later than May 4, Remember to instruct your proxy holders how you wish your vote to be cast. Announcement of candidates was electronically submitted to the General Membership on April 2, I,, a LAPSWV active member, hereby appoint, a LAPSWV active member, to serve as my proxyholder at the LAPSWV Annual Meeting in Huntington, West Virginia, on June 1, In the event my named proxyholder is unable to hold my proxy, I hereby appoint, a LAPSWV active member, to serve as my alternate proxy at said annual meeting. Date Signature Print Name Address City State Zip Address (required) DEADLINE: May 4, 2012 This is the deadline for RECEIPT of the form by the LAPSWV Secretary. Forms postmarked May 4, 2012 will not be acknowledged unless they are in the Secretary s possession the same day. This form may be filed by regular mail or . Send this form to: LAPSWV Secretary Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia P. O. Box Charleston, West Virginia secretary@lapswv.org 10

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12 Proxy Voting If you cannot attend the LAPSWV annual membership meeting on June 1, 2012, you may designate another active member and an alternate to represent you. You must file a Designation of Proxy form (in this material) with the LAPSWV Secretary by May 4, It is prudent to file this form even if you plan to attend the meeting. Should unforeseen circumstances keep you from attending the election, then a designated proxy could step in for you. Be sure that your designated proxy and alternate are active members, and that they plan to attend the meeting. It is wise to send copies of your Designation of Proxy form to your proxy and alternate for their information. Instructions to Proxy Holders For your convenience, LAPSWV will prepare and post on the Web site an Instructions to Proxy Holder form. This form will list matters that will be voted upon. Members designating a proxy holder may use the form to instruct the proxy holder how to cast the vote. It is not required that the form is used, but members may find it handy. Please do not misdirect the Instructions to Proxy Holder form to the LAPSWV Secretary. The form is only for communications between members and designated proxy and alternate proxy holders. 12

13 (Continued from page 1) 4. Focus on the solution not the problem. There is always more than one solution to any problem but you won t recognize any of them if you are only focused on the problem. Begin by brainstorming all the possibilities. Write them down to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper. This will take a load off your mind and help you focus on your solution. 5. Consider your options. Once you are totally focused on the solution, it s time to consider your options to decide which course of action you ll take. To do this, list the criteria that must be met to guarantee you will be happy with outcome that you want. Each person has his or her individual process for weighing what is really important to them and what the outcome they want must look like. Identify what is important to you and make your list. If, once you have defined what is important to you, you are still having difficulty making a decision, you may have too many important criteria. When there are too many criteria that must be met, it will be impossible to meet them all. Delete those that are not quite so important. OR it is possible you have too few criteria, resulting in too many choices. If this is the case, you will have to add more criteria to eliminate choices that may result in a mediocre outcome. 6. Make your decision and take action. To get the breakthrough you want, you HAVE to make a decision and take action. By following the processes set out in steps 1-5 above, your best choice should be clear. The only thing left to do is take action. Your challenge: Use this 6-step blueprint to find solutions to your challenges so you keep your career moving forward. Taking action is the only way to do that. Remember, your car parked in the driveway will take you nowhere unless you put it in gear and follow a map to your final destination. Vicki Voisin, The Paralegal Mentor, delivers simple strategies for paralegals and other professionals to create success and satisfaction by setting goals and determining the direction they will take their careers. Vicki spotlights resources, organizational tips, ethics issues, and other areas of continuing education to help paralegals and others reach their full potential. She is the co-author of The Professional Paralegal: A Guide to Finding a Job and Career Success. Vicki publishes Paralegal Strategies, a weekly e-newsletter for paralegals, and cohosts The Paralegal Voice, a monthly podcast produced by Legal Talk Network. More information is available at where subscribers receive Vicki s 151 Tips for Your Career Success. 13

14 Ab Initio is a quarterly publication of Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia (LAPSWV). None of the information contained herein is intended to be nor should it be construed as legal advice. Legal Assistants/Paralegals Of Southern West Virginia P.O. Box Charleston, WV Website: Direct Comments/Questions concerning this newsletter to: Shannon Todd, ACP - Chair LAPSWV Newsletter Committee shannon.todd@steptoe-johnson.com Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia ( LAPSWV ) is a non-profit organization established in 2004 in Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia. LAPSWV promotes high standards in the legal assistant profession, establishes networking resources for legal assistants/paralegals, and provides integrity in the legal community. LAPSWV also contributes to the community by participating in a number of charitable programs. LAPSWV strives to raise professional standards in the legal assistant/paralegal profession by providing opportunities for personal growth and development through educational experiences and the networking with other professionals. Legal Assistants/Paralegals of Southern West Virginia was founded: To further education among members of the legal assistant/paralegal profession; To provide a forum for the exchange of viewpoints on matters involving the legal assistant/paralegal profession; To promote and involve the legal assistant/paralegal in the development of guidelines on the standardization of the legal assistant profession; To establish good fellowship among association members, the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc. ( NALA ), and members of the legal community; To encourage a high order of ethical and professional attainment; To cooperate with bar associations and other law related organizations; and To support and carry out the programs, purposes, aims and goals of NALA. April 2012 Evidence Part 3 Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD April 17, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Dealing with Foreign Nationals - A Beginners Look at Immigration Law Dara D. Fernandez, Esq. April 18, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Ethics and Technology Vicki Voisin, ACP April 19, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. To Our Advantage: H-1B Petitions Bobby Rimas April 24, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. NALA Campus LIVE! Spring 2012 Schedule (upcoming courses) Closings II Glenn A. Leier, Attorney April 25, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Trademark Prosecution Deborah Hampton, IP Manager April 26, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. May 2012 Freedom of Information Act Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD May 1, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Social Media Policies and Legal Issues Lesley Pate Marlin, Esq. May 2, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ediscovery: A Practitioner s Lab Michael Yager May 3, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. The Ultimate Trial Notebook Christina Koch, ACP May 4, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Mergers & Acquisitions Todd Hoppe, Attorney May 8, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Evidence Part 3 Karen Sanders-West, ACP, JD May 8, 4:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m. Deeds Glenn A. Leier, Attorney May 9, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. View the full NALA Campus LIVE! Spring 2012 Schedule at 14