Paralegals

Fake Associate Gets Probation After Repaying Firm $150K in Salary

A paralegal who posed as an associate at Anderson Kill & Olick, collecting more than $200,000 in pay, was sentenced to probation. Brian Valery, 33, of Massapequa, had pleaded guilty to grand larceny in October, but received a light sentence because he’s already repaid $150,000 to the Manhattan firm, Newsday…

Jan 30, 2008 10:23 PM CST

Paralegals Sue Over Regulation By Canadian Bar Association

A group of paralegals in Ontario, Canada, has filed a court challenge to a new regulatory scheme that puts them under the authority of a bar association. While the paralegals welcome regulation, they believe they, like lawyers, should be under the authority of a group in which they are full-fledged…

Jan 23, 2008 6:15 PM CST

Hawaii Ponders Controversial ‘Law Practice’ Rule

The Hawaii State Bar Association is asking the state’s supreme court to revise an ethical rule against the unauthorized practice of law, clarifying that nonlawyers can’t select, draft or complete documents that affect individuals’ legal rights. However, the proposed rule change is controversial, and the Honolulu Star Bulletin has editorialized…

Jan 22, 2008 8:10 PM CST

Md. Law Firm Office Mgr. Stole $700K

A too-trusted former office manager for a Maryland law firm pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing more than $700,000 from Nagle & Zaller over a six-year period. Authorities say Christine McClain-Sloane, 41, embezzled the money between 1998 and 2005 by fraudulently writing nearly 250 firm checks and making some 1,400 charges…

Jan 16, 2008 6:55 PM CST

Paralegal Sues Holland & Knight for Raising Conflict that Cost Her a Job

A paralegal has sued Holland & Knight for tortious interference for raising concerns about a conflict of interest caused by her planned move to a new law firm. Paralegal Patricia Dillman had landed a new $200,000 job at Hughes Hubbard & Reed when the offer was abruptly withdrawn because of…

Jan 3, 2008 7:54 PM CST

Lawyer-Poet a Tough Trial Opponent

Being a trial lawyer isn’t that different, in some ways, from being a poet, says Forrest Hainline III. He should know, since he does both. In addition to trying business cases, the San Francisco partner of Goodwin Procter also pens succinct poems on topics ranging from reverent to racy, reports…

Dec 3, 2007 9:18 PM CST

Cert Granted in Paralegal Fee Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that decides the rate of reimbursement for paralegal services when a winning party seeks attorney fees against the United States. At issue is whether the plaintiff may recover paralegal fees at the prevailing market rate or at their actual cost,…

Nov 13, 2007 4:05 PM CST

Sea Change in Legal Secretary Job Duties

A sea change from the way law practice was conducted when senior lawyers learned the ropes means that the traditional job of legal secretary will, within the foreseeable future, be a relic of legal history. But, in the meantime, today’s legal secretaries must perform not only the job they used…

Nov 7, 2007 1:13 AM CST

Admin Charged in Law Firm Embezzlement

A longtime administrator has been charged with allegedly embezzling more than $200,000 from a New Orleans law firm through a fraudulent bank deposit scheme. Lisa Mayerhafer, 41, who had worked for a decade at Gertler, Gertler, Vincent and Plotkin, is charged with bank fraud in a federal criminal case, reports…

Oct 16, 2007 12:29 AM CDT

Column: Legal Secretary Isn’t ‘Furniture’

Many lawyers are frustrated when they deal with their legal assistants (and vice-versa). But a new column by a legal secretary seeks to narrow that gap by telling attorneys what their staff members wish they could tell the boss. Legal assistants aren’t “furniture,” writes the anonymous 15-year-veteran in a New…

Aug 31, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

NY Lawyer Lived Happily Ever After (Sort Of), After Acid Attack on Girlfriend

Once a New York trial lawyer, Burton Pugach today is an improbable white-mink-clad movie star. Convicted in an infamous case of putting out a contract to have his girlfriend blinded with lye, after she left him for another man, the 80-year-old has made headlines ever since as the bizarre case…

Jun 7, 2007 12:37 AM CDT

Paralegal Pleads Guilty to Escrow Thefts

A paralegal has pleaded guilty to taking nearly $700,000 from escrow accounts at the law firm where she worked. Amy C. Smith worked at Abel and Reynolds in Mount Pleasant, S.C., according to the Post and Courier. Smith said she thought she could move money in and out of the…

Jun 5, 2007 8:21 PM CDT

Disbarred—but Not Barred from Work

In some states, disciplined lawyers can still work as paralegals or clerks

Jun 5, 2007 7:57 AM CDT

Moving To Mumbai

More Firms Are Outsourcing Support Services to India. Will Legal Work Be Next?

Apr 1, 2004 5:06 PM CST