EDITOR'S COLUMN
Several of the special reports in this issue are based on papers presented at the recent criminal law seminar sponsored by the LAD. Dr. Ferrara's paper is applicable to legal assistants working in all areas of the law, but has special meaning for criminal law legal assistants. Mr. Allison's paper is obviously special because he shows such strong support for the work legal assistants can do. Don't we wish all attorneys felt like he does? Although we regularly have an ethics column, we felt that Mr. Bledsoe's paper was important because it deals with ethical issues that are regularly faced by legal assistants working in criminal law. The papers prepared by Elizabeth Elliott and Judge Gist were prepared especially for this issue and their articles are informative and funny. Part of our goal was to provide some substantive information and "how to" knowledge for those preparing for the specialty exam and their papers certainly do that. We hope that those of you interested in the field of criminal law, either because you work in the area or maybe because you would like to, will find these articles stimulating and informative.
The publications committee has been gratified with the response we have received from our readers about the new format for TPJ and we appreciate all your kind words. But, we would also like to hear from those of you who may have comments, suggestions and helpful criticisms. Our goal is to make the magazine responsive to the wishes of our readers and we can't do that if we don't hear from you. We strongly encourage you to write letters to the editor with your suggestions for possible improvements to our publications. Even more importantly, we want your thoughts about our profession as a whole. Without intelligent and thought provoking dialogue among our members, the Division has no way to develop its goals for the future. Our "Letters to the Editor" column is an ideal forum in which to begin such a dialogue and we urge you to take advantage of the opportunity.
Finally, we are soliciting the submission of articles for publication in TPJ. We have heard from a number of you but there are many more of you out there with some interest and ability in writing and you all have knowledge and experiences that could help the rest of us. Please consider submitting an article for publication. It's fun to do, its personally rewarding, and sharing your experiences with others can only help us all grow professionally. If you have questions about topics that might be of interest or the format requirements, contact me by phone, fax, or e-mail. I would love to hear from you.
TEXAS PARALEGAL JOURNAL
Winter 1996
©1996 Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas