HOUSTON PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION

Transcription

1 HOUSTON PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION An Affiliate of NALA The Paralegal Association Report to the NALA The Paralegal Association July 19, 2017 Orlando, Florida

2 HOUSTON PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION 2017 Report to NALA The Paralegal Association Table of Contents Executive Committee Roster... 3 President Report... 4 President-Elect Report... 5 NALA Liaison Report st Vice President/Continuing Legal Education Report nd Vice President/Membership Report rd Vice President/Public Relations Report Secretary Report Treasurer's Report Parliamentarian Report

3 HOUSTON PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & COMMITTEE CHAIRS ROSTER Executive Committee President Stephanie Rodriguez, ACP, TBLS-BCP 1st Vice President CLE Committee Chairs Clarisa Hernandez President-Elect Montye Holmes, ACP, TBLS-BCP Secretary Jennifer Armendariz Nichole Moore 2nd VP Membership Committee Chair Sharon Jones, ACP 3rd Vice President Public Relations Committee Chair Jennifer Evans, CP, TBLS-BCP Treasurer Finance Committee Chair Ruth Conley, ACP Parliamentarian, Election Committee Chair Shirin Tello NALA Liaison Linda Carrette, ACP,TBLS-BCP Annual CLE Co-Chairs Exhibitors Gina Holder Committee Chairs Speakers Mary Shiloh, TBLS-BCP All HPA Board Members Job Bank Rose Marshall Newsletter Team Social Jennifer Evans, CP, TBLS-BCP Standing Rules Committee: Carla Valenzuela, CP 3

4 President s Report Stephanie Rodriguez, ACP, TBLS-BCP HPA President As President of the Houston Paralegal Association, I preside over all Executive Committee meetings and membership meetings and maintain files of HPA records and activities during my term (September 1, 2016 through August 31, 2017). HPA is an affiliated association of NALA-The Paralegal Association, and we encourage continued education and certification through both NALA and the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for Board Certified Paralegals. As President, I represent HPA at the Houston Bar Association quarterly meetings. HPA s annual meeting and election of officers was held on August 10, 2016 at Wedge International Tower, 39 th Floor Conference Center, 1415 Louisiana, Houston, Texas The slate of candidates was presented and the electronic voting results were announced. Our membership is steadily increasing each month and our membership dues continue to be held at an affordable price for individual membership, particularly those paralegals whose firms do not pay the membership fees. We also offer student membership at discount rate for those students enrolled in paralegal certificate or paralegal degree programs. Our continued goal is to bring quality continuing education to our profession and we hold monthly Brown Bag CLE events at no cost to the paralegals who attend. We have the gracious support of various law firms offering conference rooms to our association at no cost and our Sustaining Members support the event as dessert sponsors. We also hold a full-day CLE event annually in Galveston where we offer a variety of topics, including litigation, real estate, bankruptcy, probate, hospitality, and general security categories. We actively seek out attorneys and other professionals to bring interesting and educational information to our CLE events to provide our membership with substantive CLE credit approved by both NALA and TBLS. HPA also supports TAPS through sponsorship of the annual CLE event. HPA supports local charities, including the Child Advocates and the Galveston Island Humane Society. HPA maintains a social media presence with a website, a Facebook page, and a LinkedIn page, and we are again in the process of producing a bi-monthly newsletter. HPA maintains a job bank on its website and provides networking opportunities to its membership by sponsoring several social events and activities throughout the year, including a holiday social in December, a spring social in April, a summer social in July, and a fall social in September. On October 27, 2016, HPA sponsored the Texas Paralegal Day luncheon with special guests from the Paralegal Division and Houston Corporate Paralegal Association. Our keynote speaker was Cassandra Oliver, the NALA President, who spoke to us about the future of the paralegal profession. 4

5 President-Elect s Report Montye Holmes, ACP, TBLS-BCP HPA President-Elect As President-Elect, I attend all monthly Board Meetings, and support the President and HPA in planning and implementing all activities which include CLE brown bag and annual full-day programs, networking socials, CP Exam study groups, and various community events supporting local charities. In addition, the President-Elect is HPA s designated representative to attend the annual Texas Alliance of Paralegal Associations (TAPA) meeting in April each year. There are approximately 25 paralegal associations throughout the state of Texas. This meeting is the forum for a robust exchange of ideas between associations, which also includes the Paralegal Division of the State Bar of Texas. In addition to our NALA liaison, I am excited to be representing HPA at the 2017 NALA Conference & Expo in Orlando this year. NALA Liaison Report Linda Carrette, ACP,TBLS-BCP HPA NALA Liaison As the HPA NALA liaison, my responsibility is to communicate the activities of NALA to both the HPA board as well as its members. The NALA liaison must also prepare and submit reports to NALA as required, and work with the NALA Affiliated Associations Director in relaying information pertaining to HPA as an affiliate. In addition, as a NALA affiliate, HPA sends a delegate to the NALA annual meeting each year. The NALA liaison not only observes NALA s annual meeting, but also participates in the election process by voting for officers and other matters appearing on the ballot. NALA has been undergoing many changes the last several years, including the addition of its new Executive Director, Greta Zeimetz. In addition, NALA has launched an updated web site, revamped the format of the annual meeting, and has reduced rates for their NALA Campus LIVE! Webinar education presentations. HPA began another NALA CP Study Group on June 10, 2017 and is looking forward to guiding the members of our study group to successful completion of the NALA exam, prior to the implementation of NALA s new exam specifications, effective with administration of the 2018 examination period. It is a very exciting time to be a NALA affiliated association! I am thrilled to be HPA s official designated representative at NALA s 2017 Conference & Expo in Orlando. I plan to represent HPA at all NALA sponsored events, including the general session, membership forum, member exchange and affiliated associations annual meeting, and NALA s 42nd annual business meeting. HPA hopes that each of you has the opportunity to come by and visit us at our table at this year s event! 5

6 First Vice President/Continuing Legal Education Chair Report Clarisa Hernandez Nichole Moore 1st Vice President Continuing Legal Education As 1 st Vice President/Continuing Legal Education Chair, our responsibility is to organize continuing legal education opportunities for our members in the form of Brown Bag CLE Luncheons and our Annual Spring CLE Seminar. Brown Bag speakers are invited to give a one hour presentation and attendees earn 1 hour of CLE credit. The Annual Spring CLE Seminar is an all-day event held in April and attendees can earn up to 6 hours of CLE credit. CLE events are open to both members and nonmembers. The CLE Seminar Speaker Committee is comprised of HPA members Montye Holmes, Ruth Conley, Sharon Jones, Mary Shiloh, and Jennifer Evans, who work with us to obtain speakers for our Spring CLE seminar. In preparation for our Spring seminar, the CLE Committee met weekly to make final preparations for our event. The chart provided below reflects the Brown Bag CLE luncheons held in This year's Spring CLE seminar was held on Friday, April 21, 2017, at the Galveston Island Convention Center in Galveston, Texas, with and a list of the speakers who presented is also set out below HPA BROWN BAG LUNCHEONS Date August 24, 2016 September 21, 2016 Speaker/ Topic Trent Walton Ethical Issues that Arise in Preservation and Collection Shannalyn West, Thomson Reuters ABC's of Managed Review Location Andrews Kurth LLP 600 Travis, Suite 4200 Houston, TX Contact: Ruth Conley RuthConley@andrewskurth.com Haynes and Boone, LLP 1221 McKinney Street Suite 2100 Houston, TX United States of America Dessert Sponsor US Legal Support DTI Contact: Nichole Moore 6

7 Date October 27, 2016 November 16, 2016 Speaker/ Topic Cassandra Oliver, ACP NALA President Texas Paralegal Day Luncheon & CLE Kate Gabriele Copyright in the Digital Age Location Wedge International Tower 39 th Floor Conference Center 1415 Louisiana Houston, TX Contact: Montye Holmes Haynes and Boone, LLP 1221 McKinney Street Suite 2100 Houston, TX United States of America Dessert Sponsor N/A Teris Contact: Nichole Moore March 25, 2017 Forum on the Utilization of Paralegals How to Effectively use Paralegals to Save You Time and Money Spaghetti Warehouse 90 Commerce St. Houston, TX N/A April 21, 2017 May 24, 2017 June 27, 2017 July 21, hours of ethics CLE Spring CLE Conference Robert Dubose Legal Writing for the Re-wired Brain Geoff Gannaway Innovative Damage Theories David Minces Wage and Hour 101 Galveston Island Convention Center Galveston, TX Andrews Kurth LLP 600 Travis, Suite 4200 Houston, TX Contact: Ruth Conley RuthConley@andrewskurth.com Winstead PC 600 Travis Contact: Kim Goldberg kgoldberg@winstead.com Wedge International Tower 39 th Floor Conference Center 1415 Louisiana Houston, TX N/A Robert Half Legal R.L. Barclay & Associates Stratos Legal Contact: Montye Holmes mholmes@hirschwest.com 7

8 Conference Agenda 7:30-8:30 Registration and Continental Breakfast (Pre-function Area - 1st Floor) 7:30 3:30 Exhibitors Hall Open (Pre-function Area - 1st Floor) 8:20 8:30 Welcome and Announcements 8:40 9:40 Tactical Civil Procedure Applying the Texas Rules to Save Your Clients Time and Money Frank Carroll, Esq., Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC, Houston, TX. 9:40-10:40 Hiding in Plain Sight - Do You Know What s Lurking in the Shadows of Your Legal Documents? Mia Breaux Lorick, Esq., Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC, Houston, TX 10:40 11:00 Mid-Morning Break (Pre-function Area - 1st Floor) 11:00 Noon Ethical Issues: When a Firm Has A BYOD (Bring your own device) Policy Cassie McGarvey, Esq. Sanders Willyard LLP Houston, TX 12:00 1:15 Luncheon ((Pre-function Area - 1st Floor) TRACK 1 TRACK 2 1:15 2:15 You Lost Me at Gigabyte: Electronic Forensic Workplace Changes Under President Trump: Protocol & Working with Computer What to Expect Forensic Examiners Kasi Chadwick, Esq. Joseph G. Chip Galagaza, Esq. Boyar Miller, Jackson Lewis, PC Houston, TX Houston, TX 2:15 3:15 A Guide to Predictive Coding In Bankruptcy/Real Estate Update E-Discovery Benjamin L. S. Ritz, Esq. Deanna Lyn Longo, Esq. Staff Attorney, First Court of Appeals Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson Houston, TX Houston, TX 3:15 3:30 Mid-Afternoon Break (Pre-function Area - 1st Floor) 3:30 4:30 How to Collect Attorney Fees without Special Session for Students Getting Disbarred Expectations of Your 1st Job Jessica Z. Barger, Esq., Wright & Close Marie Jamison, Esq., Wright & Close Houston, TX 4:30-5:30 Bingo Grand Prize Winner Announced and Sunset Social This advanced full-day conference is taught by attorneys and professionals in the legal industry, is specifically designed for paralegals and other legal professionals, and includes time for your questions. Fees include a continental breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and course materials. Wi-Fi in the Conference Center is complimentary. Approval by NALA and TBLS for 6 hours CLE 8

9 Second Vice President/Membership Chair Report HPA Membership as of June 1, 2017 Sharon D. Jones, ACP 2nd Vice President Membership Active 152 Associate 40 Sustaining HPA offers three types of memberships: Active - Persons who are qualified by education, training or work experience who are employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who perform specifically-delegated, substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. Associate - Persons who are employed as paralegal trainees and/or students enrolled in a paralegal program, and paralegals meeting criteria for Active Membership but who are not currently employed under the direct supervision of an attorney. Sustaining - Firms, agencies, corporations or other entities interested in supporting the paralegal profession and this Association. I was elected as 2 nd Vice President/Membership Chair in August 2016 for the term. My duties include providing a monthly membership report to the board, recruiting prospective members by answering all inquiries regarding membership in the association, maintaining the membership information on the HPA database which includes confirming and updating contact information, applying dues for new members as well renewing current memberships, entering information for new members. I also prepare the welcome letters, new membership certificates, and the welcome packets which contain events, HPA bylaws, code of ethics and other information about HPA. 9

10 Third Vice President/Public Relations Chair Report Jennifer Evans, CP, TBLS-BCP 3rd Vice President Public Relations As Third Vice President, I am charged with the responsibility of promoting and marketing HPA at events by advertising and other means on a local, state-wide, and national level. I am responsible for promotional items of HPA and coordinating socials. At the October 2016 Texas Paralegal Day luncheon, HPA gave each attendee a lunch bag with our logo, and each year we seek out new items for give-aways at HPA s annual CLE conference. This year, we chose an always useful laptop/brief bag, branded with the HPA logo in order to promote HPA. HPA is proud to be an exhibitor at the 2017 NALA Conference and Expo Affiliate Showcase this year. We have some special branded items to give away, along with materials to promote membership in HPA, and as always, special surprises in store at our exhibitor table. We look forward to seeing you there! 10

11 Secretary s Report Jennifer Armendariz HPA Secretary As Secretary of the Houston Paralegal Association, I am responsible for recording the minutes of the monthly Executive Committee meetings and preparing final and corrected Minutes for approval at the Executive Committee meetings. In the absence of the Parliamentarian, I maintain the orderly progression of the Meetings. I am also responsible for maintaining the HPA website. I maintain the permanent minutes of the association and I am familiar with the Robert s Rules of Order. Treasurer s Report Ruth Conley, ACP HPA Treasurer As Treasurer of the Houston Paralegal Association, I am responsible for the association s financial matters, as stated in our By-laws (reinstated 2008), including depositing all funds and issuing all disbursements on behalf of the association. I also prepare all financial reports to state and federal entities as required, and I prepare a Treasurer s Report for our monthly board meetings and an annual Financial Report for our Annual Meeting. Since January 2011, our PayPal account has been available on our web site to accept payments for membership fees and CLE events. In 2015, we also established a Square account to accept credit card payments on site at our events. 11

12 Parliamentarian s Report Shirin Tello HPA Parliamentarian As Parliamentarian of the Association, I report to the President and provide advice, upon request, to the President and the Executive Committee on parliamentary procedure. I serve as the final appeal to provide explanations or advice, but not rulings, when two or more groups have differing interpretations of the rules governing a meeting. I serve as a non-interventionist and sit in areas for visual access to the President. I am to be available to confer with the President as needed. Every meeting is governed by the Association s Bylaws, HPA s Board Code of Conduct & Agreement and Robert s Rules of Order. Additional duties handled by the Parliamentarian are: To oversee time management expectations at each Executive Committee Meeting; To make impartial and consistent so as no member s basic rights are adversely affected; To take notes at each meeting to assist with proofreading and coordinating any corrections to the minutes; To approve Check Requests before payment by the Treasurer; To perform the annual new Board nominations and elections; and To perform other duties as requested. 12

13 Houston Paralegal Association P.O. Box 2466 Houston, TX