Et Al.

At NALA’s Annual Convention the Affiliated Associations across the nation are asked to select one person from its membership who has stepped out of the ranks and gone above and beyond the call of duty. Typically, the recipients of this award have engaged in a  wide variety of activities ranging from starting local organizations to lobbying state bar associations to admit legal assistants as members; they all shared one common goal—the betterment of the profession as a whole. From this elite group, one individual is then selected to receive the NALA Affiliated Associations’ Outstanding Contribution Award. This award represents the best of the best from all across the nation.  In June NALA announced that this year’s recipient is our own Kim Cantu, LAD board member and president of the recently formed Legal Assistants of North Texas Association (LANTA), a NALA affiliate. 

Kim, who was recognized at the Annual Convention’s Award Banquet, was selected based on her history of service to the profession in the North Texas region, and more specifically to her efforts in founding LANTA. Her remarks were as follows:

I am honored to have been selected to receive the NALA award. However, it must be noted that one individual cannot reach such a point of achievement alone. It takes the belief, determination and consistent help of others. My selection as the recipient of this award is because of other dedicated paralegals, who also believe in our profession, the betterment of our legal community and have an interest in giving community legal assistants and paralegals an additional “choice.”  I owe a great deal of appreciation and thanks to those serving as LANTA’s driving force, not behind me, but at my side. My gratitude is extended, first and foremost, to Linda L. Rushton, CLA. After hours of conversations, Linda gave me the courage to come to the forefront, call others to the undertaking and work to create our new NALA affiliate in Dallas, Texas.  Others joining forces and expending countless hours of work to put Dallas on the map and make our new NALA affiliate come alive are Kathryn H. Brady, CLA, Claire DeVreeze, CLAS, Allen Mihecoby, Joncilee Miller, CLA, Selena Nunez, CLA, and Linda J. Wolf, CLAS.   A special thank you to each of you for making LANTA a reality!   Be proud of YOUR achievement too!

Congratulations to you, Kim. This award was certainly well deserved!

LINDA WOLF ELECTED NALA SECRETARY 

NALA Press Release

During the week of July 10-14, 2002, the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) held its annual convention in Savannah, Georgia. Linda Wolf, CLAS, was elected Secretary of NALA. This is a one-year term.

Linda has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism from Baylor University in Waco and was a reporter for the Waco News. She has been a legal assistant since 1980 and earned her CLA in 1985. She was one of the first of three legal assistants in the country to earn her CLAS in Intellectual Property in 1995.

She is a member of the Dallas Area Paralegal Association (DAPA) and the Legal Assistants Division of the State Bar of Texas (LAD) since 1982. She previously served a two-year term as the Treasurer of NALA. Linda has served on the certifying board for NALA, acting as the Chair during 1999-2000. This past year, Linda agreed to serve as Elections Sub-chair for the State Bar of Texas Legal Assistants Division. Linda is a founding member of the Legal Assistants of North Texas Association (LANTA), which was founded in 2001. She is currently serving her term as president-elect.

2002-2003 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Front row, seated, left to right:  Ellen Lockwood, CLAS, Mary McDowell, CLA, Rhonda Brashears, CLA, Melissa Sherman, CLA, Carolyn Goff, Kim Cantu, CLA.

Back row, left to right: Mariann Porter, CLA, Pam Horn, Lynda Barron, CLAS, Eyvonne Palmer, CLAS, Pat Hammer, CLA, Sandy Eaves, CLA, Virginia Coronado, Melinda Jackson, Karla Schwemmer, PLS, RP, Tamara Null, CLA, Carol McRoberts, CLA. Not pictured: Michele Garcia.

Rhonda Brashears–President

Rhonda is a legal assistant in the firm of Underwood, Wilson, Berry, Stein & Johnson, P.C. in Amarillo, Texas, and has been in the legal profession for 15 years. She specializes in personal injury and civil trial defense law. She received her B.G.S. degree from West Texas A&M University in 1998, her CLA designation in 1996, and was board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law in 1998.

Rhonda has been a member of LAD since 1990, and served as Director of District 7 from 1996 until 2001, Secretary from 1999 to 2001, and served on various committees throughout the years. Rhonda is also a member of the Texas Panhandle Association of Legal Assistants, where she has served as President, President-Elect, Treasurer and NALA Liaison.

Rhonda is also a part-time instructor at Amarillo College, teaching paralegal classes in their Paralegal Studies program; she also serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee for Amarillo College’s Paralegal Studies program. Rhonda has been married to her husband Rod for 9 years and they have two children, Cody and Caitlyn.

Melissa Sherman–President-Elect

Melissa was born and raised in Fort Worth and she and her husband are now raising their three daughters in Crowley, a Fort Worth suburb. She graduated Cum Laude from Texas Women’s University, in Denton, Texas, with a Bachelor of Science in Government emphasizing Legal Assistance and a Minor in Business Administration. She obtained her CLA designation in 1992 from the National Association of Legal Assistants. She became certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law in 1995.

Melissa began working in the legal field in 1985 while attending college. Upon completion of her degree in 1990, she began working as a paralegal in the legal department for Transport Life Insurance Company in Fort Worth, Texas. Melissa moved to Amis, Bell & Moore in April of 1993. Amis, Bell & Moore, now Amis & Bell, is an in-house legal office for Farmers Insurance Group of Companies defending Farmers’ insureds in litigation. Melissa works with three attorneys handling all aspects of personal injury defense litigation including client contact, discovery, medical summarization, drafting pleadings, investigation, pretrial preparation, and assistance at trial. She also assists with administrative responsibilities, specifically regarding paralegal work distribution.

Melissa has served on the Board of the Fort Worth Paralegal Association in many capacities, including President in 2000. She has been involved in the Legal Assistant’s Division as District 3 Membership Sub-Chair, Elections Sub-Chair, Director, and as Secretary on the Board of Directors. She is enjoying reacquainting herself with the Board as President-Elect this year. She is also on the Texas Board of Legal Specialization - Legal Assistants Civil Trial Exam Commission. Melissa has authored and presented several articles on various litigation topics at CLE events around the State.

Ellen Lockwood–Treasurer

Ellen Lockwood, CLAS, received her Bachelor of Music (BM) degree from Southwestern University and her paralegal certificate from Southwestern Paralegal Institute (now Southwestern Professional Institute) in Houston.

She served on the Board of Directors of the Legal Assistants Division from 1995 to 1997 and served as Treasurer of the Division from 1996 to 1997. She has been back on the LAD board since 2001. Ellen has also served as the Chair of the Professional Ethics Committee of the Division since 1997, as well as serving on various other Division committees. She is also a past president of the Alamo Area Professional Legal Assistants. She is frequent speaker on paralegal ethics.

In addition to her involvement in paralegal organizations, Ellen is also involved in Dachshund Rescue and keeps up with her own herd of three dachshunds and two cats.  

Ellen has ten years of paralegal experience in civil litigation and intellectual property. She is currently employed as the Intellectual Property Specialist for Clear Channel Worldwide.

Mary McDowell–Secretary

Mary has been a Legal Assistant for Cotton, Bledsoe, Tighe & Dawson in Midland, Texas, since January 1998, working in the areas of personal injury, employment law and oil and gas litigation. She was previously employed by McMahon, Tidwell, Hansen, Atkins & Peacock in Odessa, Texas, and  by  Richard Booth, when he was a sole practitioner.

Mary received a B.A. in History from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas and entered the legal field in 1996 after receiving an Associate in Applied Science  (Legal Assistance) from Midland College, Midland, Texas and the CLA designation from N.A.L.A. in 1995. She also taught a CLA Review at Midland College for several years. She has been active in Legal Assistant’s Association/Permian Basin by serving in the following positions:  President, Second Vice President, Secretary,  N.A..L.A. Liaison, various chair positions, and  LAA/PB Representative to TAPA. She is currently serving as District 11 Director and Secretary for the Division  and was previously the Membership Subcommittee Chair.

Mary describes her family as consisting of a son and daughter and their spouses, two grandsons, a “herd” of cats, and two dogs.

Carolyn Goff–Parliamentarian

Carolyn was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, and graduated from West

Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree. Immediately upon graduation, her first job was with the State’s largest and most prestigious firm that allowed rotation for new hires from department to department until a “good match” was struck between lawyers and legal assistant. She settled into Tax and Estate law and worked for the firm until leaving to raise a family.

Wanting not to loose the skills she acquired and needing to stay abreast of the ever-changing legal field, Carolyn created her own company and began free-lancing for attorneys while her children were young. She returned to full-time work in 1982 for a defense firm focusing on Personal Injury law and became the Legal Assistant Administrator in 1992 (she had completed 21 hours towards her MBA). Her husband, who worked for Union Carbide Corporation, was transferred to Texas in 1994 and they moved their family to the Clear Lake area outside Houston. Carolyn then joined Mills, Shirley, Eckel & Bassett in Galveston where she is the senior legal assistant to two partners.

Carolyn has always been involved in professional organizations. In West Virginia she worked with a group of legal assistants in 1982 to organize Legal Assistants of West Virginia, Inc. (LAWV) and was its charter president. She served on the Board for numerous years and remained active until leaving her home state in 1994.

After becoming employed in Texas, Carolyn joined Galveston Area Legal Assistants (GALAA) and served in various capacities as an officer or Board member. Then in 1999 she joined LAD and was appointed Director of District 13 by the Board of Directors to serve a vacancy in the 1999–2001 term. She ran for re-election and is currently that district’s director for 2001–2003, in addition to holding the position of Parliamentarian.

Carolyn says that her passions are: (1) her family which includes Bill, her husband of 28 years, Christina, their daughter, who holds her doctorate in pharmacy and is a practicing pharmacist in Kentucky, and Gregory, their son, who is a junior at the University of Oklahoma majoring in scenic and lighting design (and Katy, the family’s newest member, an 8 month old yellow Labrador Retriever); (2) her career as a legal assistant, spanning 29 years and the involvement in this developing profession; and (3) her hobbies, which include travel (she spent 12 days in France this summer), gardening/ landscaping (which she designed at their new home), and handcrafts (a skill she is using extensively in helping her daughter with her fall wedding).

ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Left: Debra Crosby accepts the Award of Excellence from Erin Brockovich, keynote speaker at the Bar Leaders’ Luncheon
Top: Charter Members were recognized at the Annual Meeting Luncheon
	Above: Supreme Court Justice Harriett O’Neill, keynote speaker at LAD’s Annual Meeting Luncheon, inspired, amused and informed attendees
Martha Jones and Sandra Walker at the Bar Leaders’ Luncheon.	Rhonda Brashears receives the gavel from outgoing President Kristine Farmer.
Rhonda Brashears, Carolyn Goff and Kristine Farmer enjoy life at the Head Table at the Annual Meeting Luncheon.
Attendees Enjoying the Bar Leaders’Luncheon	Annual Meeting Chair Laurell Phillips speaks at the Annual Meeting Luncheon.