vol 4, issue 2 - 03-05-15

HOUSTON PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION MARCH 5, 2015 Vol. 4, Issue 2

An Affiliate of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc.

Table of Contents

Go Texan social ................... 1, 7

Paralegals in Big Law .............. 2

Sustaining members ................. 5

Spring CLE .............................. 6

Calendar of Events ................... 8

Committee members ................ 8

Houston facts ........................... 8

HWAC Race ............................ 9

Brown Bag CLE .................... 10

Paralegal Ethics handbook ..... 11

TBLS new website ................. 11

Houston Paralegal Association

P.O. Box 2466

Houston, Texas 77252

www.hpatx.us

Important notice: When you register for an event or

renew your membership online,

always use the same email address

that is currently on file in your

Profile. If a different email

address is used, the system will

create a second account for you,

which will generate messages that

you have not paid or that your

membership has expired. Thank

you for your attention to this

detail!

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for

coming out and making the

Go Texan Happy Hour at

Tejas Grill & Sports Bar on

Feb. 19 a success!

For more photos, see p. 7

http://www.nala.org/


By 2009, the Great

Recession caught up with

attorneys-at-law, starting the first

mass layoffs in a profession once

thought recession-proof. By most

accounts, law firms mainly

thinned their support staffs,

although the lock-step process

for associates to make partner in

their 8th or 9th years at a firm

was now history. Many partners

were “de-equitized,” asked to

work more billable hours, or

asked to retire—leading to an

exodus of established partners

starting their own offices and

taking their clients with them.

The business of law would never

be the same. And how did many

firms explain the end of Big-

Law’s golden age? … A

meteorite named Technology.

Nearly anyone who has

worked with the defense bar or

outside counsel understands that

attorneys usually inhabit a

dimension called the Billable

Hour. Lawyers in the Billable

Hour usually cannot predict costs

of legal services, and the longer

they take to wrap up a case or

deal, the more the client pays.

The fact that we still have the

billable hour—while ignoring or

under-utilizing countless

advances in technology that lead

to more efficient workflow,

predictable legal spend, and a

real-world focus on productivity

rather than hourly totals—speaks

volumes about the romance

between law firms and the billable

hour. Yet, “technology” is often

singled out as the bad guy behind

the need for reduced head counts

and outsourcing solutions.

Bearing in mind Big-Law’s

love for the billable hour, it should

not surprise us that non-billing,

soft-target support jobs underwent

the most change and restructuring.

And the role that’s endured the

most change may likely be: the

paralegal.

The American Bar

Association does not distinguish

between paralegals and other

legal assistants, giving this

definition: “A legal assistant or

paralegal is a person, qualified

by education, training, or work

experience who … performs

specifically delegated

substantive legal work for which

a lawyer is responsible.” The

ABA and I do not see eye-to-eye

on this definition.

This Present Revolution

Not that long ago, nearly

every lawyer had his own

dedicated secretary, and each

office had at least one paralegal.

It was unusual to see a legal

Paralegals in Big-Law: Unsung

Heroes of the ‘New Normal’

Continued on page 3


secretary working directly with

more than one lawyer. A lawyer

needing to have something done

often would say, “my secretary

can handle this” or “my secretary

will let you know when this is

ready.” Not many years ago, I

can’t recall hearing the phrase

“the secretary” or “one of the

secretaries”—just “my” secretary.

After the Great Recession

and a lot of layoffs, a ratio of four

or five lawyers per secretary

became more common. Those at

law firms tasked with speaking to

the survivors of mass layoffs

would often say that a seven-to-

one secretarial share was around

the corner. By necessity, the Great

Job-Responsibility Shift followed.

By 2012, most of the Am

Law 200 had decreed their

lawyers proficient with software

such as Word, Excel, and

PowerPoint, and that they hardly

needed secretaries or even a word

processing department any more.

Yet I knew associates who did not

know how to log into their

computers and would phone

assistants to log them in while

they were coming up in the

elevator. Some legal secretaries,

usually the ones assigned to more

seasoned partners, were rebranded

as “professional assistants” with

timekeeper numbers so they could

start tracking and billing their

time. Other secretaries and word

processing staff were assigned to

a resource center overseen by a

manager; while saying this was

forward-thinking, these firms

were actually recreating the “steno

pool.”

Some law firms offered

buyouts to legal secretaries that

included lump sums of $25,000,

up to 26 weeks’ pay, and

subsidized health insurance for up

to 18 months. One firm offering a

much less attractive package

retired around 40 secretaries, for

a one-time severance payout

conservatively estimated at $1.4

million. Another firm’s very

attractive buy-out had about 30

accept, costing the firm well over

$2 million. This was a time when

some firms were seeing double-

digit increases in gross profits

and profits per partner (PPP).

Some who took buyouts rode off

into retirement, while others

secured jobs at competing law

firms. However, some secretaries

with about 10 years’ experience

who left firms with a nice check

were rehired within six months.

The Forgotten Paralegal

While millions were spent

on reducing headcount,

paralegals were mostly

overlooked in the training

budgets, with an assumption they

would keep up on their own with

the ever-changing technologies

driving all this change. Paralegals

were now expected to do

associate-level work, such as

first-pass document review, more

in-depth legal research, attending

trial, and summarizing the

transcript of the day’s testimony.

Some paralegals were even

expected to create graphics and

present videos and documents at

trial.

At the same time, work that

had been almost exclusively for

paralegals was now done by the

new “technology experts”

previously known as attorney

Continued on page 4

Continued from page 2


paralegals—who often spent their

days working with title

companies completing closing

checklists and preparing closing

binders—had a difficult time

metamorphosing into litigation

paralegals—who often work in a

file room preparing witness

binders for deposition and trial.

Some paralegal disciplines

involve travel, while others have

more predictable business hours. I

was once tasked with cross-

training a paralegal on document-

review software, so she could be

involved in a large litigation

matter. This person was very

competent with wills and estates,

but struggled with reviewing

thousands of discovery

documents and creating an index

of privileged documents.

What can be even more

amazing is how a paralegal that

bills 1500 hours per year at even

$250 per hour makes an employer

$375,000 annually, before

partners start discounting their

clients’ bills. With a high-end

salary of $75,000, a paralegal

often generates higher profit

margins for the firm than most

associates. We must remember

that associates have higher hard

and soft costs, including

insurance, membership dues,

continuing education, and

investments in marketing and

promoting their services inside

and outside the firm. On the other

hand, paralegals often pay

professional association fees from

their own pockets, attend brown-

bag “lunch and learns,” and do


associates. This often ended in

problems such as collecting and

Bates-stamping documents

outside of a database, which

prevents any track-back system

to the original documents—

something a paralegal would

avoid with a load file and coded

fields. Associates were also now

working with huge,

multifunctional devices on their

desks, doing tasks formerly

performed by the drastically

reduced ranks of legal

administrative assistants,

formerly known as legal

secretaries. Some associates

would work a loophole where

they could use a partner’s

professional assistant when

doing work for the partner.

During the shuffles in job

titles, responsibilities, and

expectations, most paralegals

were in a limbo without clear-cut

job duties, while now billing 1500

hours a year to justify their

employment. To “reward”

paralegals’ work to both generate

revenue and modify their work for

the new normal, some firms cut

paralegals’ pay by 20%, with

incentives to recoup their former

incomes by meeting higher

billable-hour marks.

Due to these and other recent

events, there has been a “time

famine” for associates who are

looking to make partner as well as

for paralegals in certain niche

disciplines. This scramble for

billable time has led to a loss of

mentoring and a resistance to cross-

training of paralegals, leaving the

paralegals once again to fend for

themselves.

In addition, paralegals’

practice specialization does not

lend itself well to cross-training.

For example, when real estate work

dried up, the practice’s Continued on page 5


not network and entertain

clients over dinner. The cost to

recruit and retain a paralegal is

far less than a firm’s investment

in an associate, with most

paralegals covering their annual

pay in their first three months of

employment.

Most significantly,

paralegals rarely have the “up or

out” mindsets of many

associates, as they cannot

become co-owners of any law

firm. For this reason, their hours

are usually the easiest for

partners to write off when they

need to reduce the total legal

bill. Placing paralegals in a

general “support services” role

makes it easier to discount bills

while leaving associates’ and

partners’ time untouched—to

not remove value from the legal

services or impact the partner

realization-rates, which

ultimately could result in lower

profit-per-partner numbers.

Coming Saviors of Big-Law?

In the new normal of the

legal industry, the winners and

survivors will be the firms that


courageously and tenaciously

pursue project management

and process improvement—as

their clients have been doing

for decades. To accomplish

this, firms need to look to their

paralegals, who have been

finding new and better ways of

working, even with little or no

training or support from above.

Big-Law’s greatest yet

hidden resources for project

management skills are their

best paralegals. As paralegal

blogger Jamie Collins has said:

“If you are truly embarking on

an utterly impossible project,

then you will accomplish all

that is humanly possible within

the time allotted. . . . Paralegals

do not surrender; they go down

in a blaze of glory.” © 2014 by Daniel H. Gans. All

rights reserved.

Dan Gans is the Director of Trial

Support at TransPerfect Legal

Solutions. Previously at boutique

firms and in the Am Law 100, Dan

has spent more than 15 years aiding

and abetting attorneys with litigation

support, IT, and paralegalism. He

can be reached at:

[email protected].

Sustaining

members

Please help support our

Sustaining Members by

utilizing their services. It is

through their continued

support and generosity that

HPA is able host low-cost

social events, CLEs and

maintain affordable

membership rates.

Confidential

Communications Int'l Ltd

(CCI)

Depo Texas

Kim Tindall & Associates

Magna Legal Services

Merrill Corporation

Professional Civil Process

Research & Planning

Consultants, LP

Team Legal

U.S. Legal Support

Worldwide Court Reporter,

Inc.

Not an HPA member?

Or know someone who should be?

Register here for the benefits of membership!

http://www.recordsdiscovery.com/



http://www.depotexas.com/

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.merrillcorp.com/

http://www.pcpusa.net/

http://www.rpcconsulting.com/

http://www.rpcconsulting.com/

http://www.teamlegal.net/

http://www.uslegalsupport.com/



http://hpa.wildapricot.org/page-1331843


GET READY FOR THE BEACH!

HPA's Annual Spring CLE Seminar New this year! CP Exam Review

Join us at the historic Hotel Galvez & Spa in Galveston, Texas on Friday, April 24, 2015 for

our annual Spring CLE Seminar.

When: Friday, April 24, 2015

Time: 8:00 am - 4:45 pm

Where: Hotel Galvez & Spa

2024 Seawall Blvd.

Galveston, TX 77550

(409) 765-7721

The popular Social will be Thursday, April 23 in the East Parlor from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

A block of rooms has been reserved for our event at Hotel Galvez & Spa. The room rate is

$140 on Thursday night for a double room, if booked by March 27, 2015. To reserve a

room, please contact the hotel Reservations Desk directly at 409-765-7721. Please say that

you are attending HPA's Paralegal Seminar to get the room rate.

We have created a "Roommate Search" topic on the Forum page for those looking to share

expenses.

http://www.hpa.wildapricot.org/event-1833903?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=4/3/2015

http://www.hpa.wildapricot.org/page-1430417/1510844


GO TEXAN HAPPY HOUR!


2014-2015 Officers and Committee Chairs

President

Gina Holder

President-Elect

Montye Holmes, CP

1st VP – CLE Chair

Kimberly R. Henry, MA

2nd VP – Membership Chair

Rhonda Harshbarger, CP

3rd VP – Public Relations

Chair

Stephanie Rodriguez, ACP,

TBLS-CP

Treasurer & Finance Chair

Linda A. Carrette, MBA, CP,

TBLS-CP

Secretary

Angella C. Bailey

Parliamentarian

Nichole Moore

NALA Liaison

Carla Valenzuela, CP

Website Chair

Ruth Conley, ACP

Seminar Committee

Mary C. Shiloh,

TBLS-CP and Patti

Burns

Newsletter Chair

Diane Mathews

Houston Facts

Things you might not know about the Bayou City

Q: Houston has the ______

largest Hispanic and

Mexican population in the

United States. A: Third.

Q: The __________ is the

largest medical center in the

world. A: Texas Medical Center.

Q: How many people work at

the Texas Medical Center?

A: More than 52,000.

Source: City of Houston Website

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 7, 2015 HAWC Race Against Violence

8:00 a.m. AIG Campus at Whole Foods Market – Montrose

March 17, 2015 Brown Bag Luncheon

11:30 a.m – 1 p.m. “"Things I Should Know about the Harris County Justice Community”

April 23, 2015 2015 Spring CLE Seminar SOCIAL

6 – 7:30 p.m. East Parol, Hotel Galvez & Spa, Galveston, Texas

April 24, 2015 2015 Spring CLE Seminar

8 – 4:45 p.m. Hotel Galvez & Spa, Galveston, Texas

TBD

http://www.houstontx.gov/abouthouston/houston-facts-and-figures


http://www.hpa.wildapricot.org/event-1865861






Get

Connected

Fan page is open

to all

Group for HPA Members only

www.hpatx.us

Join HPA's Team for the

HAWC Race Against Violence

Please join the Houston Paralegal Association (HPA)

team in the 2015 HAWC Race Against Violence!

HPA members, families, friends, and Houston area legal services

providers, join in efforts to help end domestic violence.

Your contribution to the HPA Team will help to:

-provide counseling services, free of charge, for survivors

-support the 24-hour a day, 7-day a week hotline

-have a safe and secure place to live for women and their

children at the Women’s Center 120 bed Emergency Shelter

-offer education for youth about healthy relationships and how to

stop dating violence before it starts

Help us meet our goal by walking or running with us, and by making

donations through our team members. We look forward to seeing you on

race day, and thank you for your support.

Click here to register for HPA's team or contact HPA Team Captain Stephanie

Rodriguez at [email protected]

http://www.hpa.wildapricot.org/

https://www.facebook.com/HoustonParalegalAssociation

https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2060103&trk=anet_ug_hm

http://www.hawc.org/en/support-us/rav-reg?kwoTeamToJoinId=2LV6LM2



The HPA Newsletter is

published monthly by the

Houston Paralegal

Association to its members.

It is intended to be a

publication to share news,

upcoming events, and items

of interest for its members.

Any opinions expressed

herein are those of the

writer, and not necessarily

those of the HPA.

Publication herein does not

imply endorsement.

If you wish to submit an

item for publishing

consideration, please

submit them to

[email protected]. The

deadline for publication in

the next month’s newsletter

is the 20th

of the preceding

month. The editor and

board members reserve the

right to edit submissions.

© 2015 Houston Paralegal

Association. All rights

reserved.

Brown Bag CLE

presented by HPA

"Things I Should Know about

the Harris County Justice

Community"

Speaker: William "Bill" Murphy,

Director of Communications

Harris County District Clerk's Office.

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Bring your own lunch

Tuesday, March 17

You will be taken on a tour of the Harris County District

Clerk's office and the Harris County Courthouses. Here

is your chance to learn the answers to the questions that

you always wanted ask.

Register for the event here.

Got a question?

Looking for advice?

Visit the

HPA Forums

to connect with local paralegals.

http://www.hpa.wildapricot.org/event-1865861

http://www.hpa.wildapricot.org/page-1331846


Job

hunting?

Check out

the

HPA Job

Bank

for local

openings.

(MEMBER’S ONLY – must

be logged in to access)

TBLS ANNOUNCES NEW WEBSITE

FOR PARALEGALS

TBLS is pleased to announce the official launch of our new

website specifically for the Paralegal Specialization program. This

site is an information, public-facing web site designed to promote

the presence, and exclusive status, of the TBLS paralegal

certification process. It also acts as an Intranet for the Board

Certified Paralegal (BCP) community and Texas attorneys

interested in specialized paralegal matters.

We have just concluded final stages of development and want you

to have the first look this weekend of our new site at www.tbls-

bcp.org. This is only the initial phase of the website with plans for

more video, online member services and social media options.

The Texas Board of Legal Specialization would greatly appreciate

your feedback and/or comments, please let us know what we can

do to enhance the site.

Paralegal Ethics Handbook

available for reduced rate! The Paralegal Ethics Handbook, 2014ed. is an essential resource for experienced paralegals, those new to the profession, as well as attorneys who supervise paralegals. The Handbook is also an important reference for paralegal students and educators.

How to Order and Save 20%

Customers that wish to order the book can purchase online through Legal Solutions. The handbook is available as a one-time purchase or as a subscription. To receive the members only 20% discount, at CHECKOUT enter Promotion Code WPD20 and the 20% discount will be applied. Or call 1-888-728-7677. Offer valid for this book only; expires 12/31/2015. The Handbook includes:

Specific ethical considerations in 22 practice areas. How to determine whether an action may be an ethical

violation. State-specific rules and regulations for all 50 states as

well as the District of Columbia.



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vol 4, issue 2 - 03-05-15

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