DEPARTMENTS

An Open Letter to the Membership

If you have opened your Spring edition of the Texas Paralegal Journal you will note that we have made several changes in the format. We decided to do this as we were finding that many of you were not reading the magazine if the “theme” was not of interest to you.

The TPJ will now be devoted to articles of “general interest” and will include more articles written by paralegals as opposed to those written by attorneys. The articles also, for the most part, will be shorter than those published in the past. This way, if you only have a few free minutes, you will perhaps have time to read a couple.

You will also note that we have added a couple of new items: “Web Wizards” and our “Paralegal Pointers”. If there is a website that you find particularly helpful, or if you have “discovered” a rule, comment, etc. that you think could be helpful to other legal assistants, please send them to me!

We are also looking for more articles written “by paralegals for paralegals”. These do not have to be substantive or lengthy! If you have had a interesting experience, have a heartwarming story to tell, have been involved in a situation that you feel is unique (basically anything involving you and your job in the legal profession)—write it down and forward it to the Journal. If you see an article in another publication and think it would be worthwhile to our members, let us know as we can oftentimes receive permission to reprint. Of course, we are still looking for substantive articles and encourage you to put your writing talents to good use by submitting one to the TPJ.

If there is something that you would like to see included in the magazine, or if you have a comment or criticism, let us have it! After all, this is YOUR magazine. We must have your input to keep the Journal informative and interesting to all of the Division members.

Sincerely, Nancy C. McLaughlin, CLAS—Editor, Texas Paralegal Journal

Special Exceptions

The article entitled "Is Your Firm Ready to Wage Litigation in the 21st Century" which appeared in the Winter edition of The Texas Paralegal Journal was written by Jason Park not Pam Lane. Jason is a legal consultant with "e web Legal". If you would like to contact Jason, he may be reached at (972) 236-8950 or info@eWebLegal.com.

Although Elizabeth Elliott and her team were responsible for many of the "fun" activities presented at the Legal Assistant University (LAU) in September 1999, they were not in charge of all of the social events. Inda Crawford of Austin was responsible for the luncheon networking activity and Holly Bohannan put together the Thursday evening social. We in the Division truly appreciate all of your hard work!

The wrong caption was placed on the following photograph from the LAU. Long-time division member, Martha Jones (see photo) of Austin, actually appears in the picture, not Martha Maze of Beaumont, Director, Dist. 10.

Web Wizards

The following websites were HIGHLY recommended by George Sabatino, who is in Litigation Research and Technical Support at the law firm of Clark, Thomas & Winters in Austin, Texas. A frequent speaker on the topic of use of the web in the law office, George may be reached at gps@ctw.com.

www.KnowX.com
Advertised as the "most comprehensive source of Public Records on the Web," this site allows you to locate people, research businesses, run background checks and much, much more.  

   According to the publishers, this cite "provides real-time access to billions of public records."

www.docfinder.com or www.docboard.org 
This site is published by the Association of State Medical Board Executive Directors. It contains the "health professional licensing databased provided by the Administrators in Medicine (AIM) and its participating boards. This site will take you to the home page for the state in which the physician you are researching is licensed.

www.publicdata.com 
You may research an individual through the voting records, driver’s license, and criminal searches. The states for which information is available at this time are: Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Minnisota, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, and certain corporations. The publishers are always adding new states; therefore, if you cannot find the one you are looking for now, try again later.

If you have a favorite website that you would like to share with our readers, please forward it to the Editor at lad@lad.org or bslaw@prodigy.net.