EDITOR'S COLUMN
In his speech at the Past-Chairs Breakfast in Dallas in June, Mr. Tom Hanna said that as we move through our daily lives it is sometimes good to stop and ''make a pile of stones'' to mark our progress. He was talking about the Division and the way it all got started and how our anniversary meeting was a good time to look back on how far we have come. I like to think of this issue as our own little ''pile of stones.'' This issue features articles from Mr. Hanna who was Executive Director of the Bar at the time the Division was formed and instrumental in its establishment, from a past chair of the Division who talks about what it was like in the early days, from people who have been involved in the running of the Division in more recent years and from those who are looking to its future.
I used to think I had been around a long time, having been a member of the Division for more than 8 years. It was very enlightening to listen to those who were around back in 1981 when the paralegal profession was just beginning to be recognized in Texas. Although we often complain about our status in the legal profession and our lack of professional recognition, it is truly amazing to look back and see where we were 15 years ago. Texas has been and continues to be a leader in our profession and a look back at our history explains the reason why. Not only were our charter members true visionaries, but they had strong support from a few well-placed attorneys who could see the advantages of supporting us.
Now that we have this ''pile of stones'' marking our progress thus far, we need to look to our future. We have established ourselves as vital members of the legal team but our status as true legal professionals can always be improved. Having developed a strong organization, we now need to decide what we can do to improve our professional status and to make ourselves even more indispensable in the legal community. This is an exciting time to be a legal assistant. The Division and our profession can go in a number of directions and I am thrilled to be a part of the process. There are no limits to how far we can go and I intend to be around 15 years from now to make another pile of stones.
The Publications Committee has established themes for the next 5 issues of the TPJ and they are as follows: December, 1996-Criminal Law; March, 1997-Arbitration/Mediation; June, 1997-Litigation; September, 1997-Probate, Estate Planning; December, 1997-Real Estate. These themes were selected for at least two reasons. First, we all agreed that they were topics of interest to legal assistants and second, we hope to provide informative articles that will assist those taking the Specialty Certification exams in those areas. We encourage all of you to consider submitting an article on any topic within those general categories. Sharing your knowledge and experiences with other legal assistants can be rewarding for you, but it is also very helpful for those receiving the benefit of your knowledge. It's a way to become part of our professional growth process.
TEXAS PARALEGAL JOURNAL
Fall 1996
©1996 Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas