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summer 2004 vol. 10 no. 1                                                                                                                            Return to Contents
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President's Message

Melissa Sherman, CLA

It is hard to believe that this year is almost over. It is difficult to express the level of my appreciation to the Division for allowing me to serve as your President this year. To follow in the footsteps of such wonderful leaders is truly an honor. Moreover, to work with this year’s Directors, Committee Chairs, and Sub-committee Chairs has been a lesson in selflessness and volunteerism that I will always treasure. I have also enjoyed the opportunities I have had to meet LAD members from across the state, whether in person, by phone, or e-mail, I have appreciated the sharing of ideas and opinions on matters that effect us all as paralegals.

This year’s Board has worked hard on many fronts. We continue developing procedures to implement the new mandatory CLE requirement. The new membership categories established by the membership through last fall’s by-law elections are being put in place with associated applications and procedures. We succeeded in operating on a balanced budget and have not accessed any of the Division’s reserve funds. Information based upon the Division’s on-line survey regarding “paralegal”/”legal assistant” terminology was provided to the American Bar Association and the Legal Assistants Management Association to aid their review of similar issues. The Board adopted a Resolution indicating the Division’s preference for the term “paralegal”. This is but a few of the accomplishments of the Division this year.

The Joint Long Range Task Force of the Division and the Standing Committee on Legal Assistants of the State Bar has made a submission to the Board of Directors of the State Bar to update the definition of “paralegal” in Texas. This submission is a direct result of the research and information gathering process of the Division’s Task Force over the last several years, including the public meetings held around the State. We are very appreciative of the support this effort has received from Bar President Betsy Whitaker, Bar Board Chair Kim Askew, Bar Executive Director Tony Alvarado, and the outstanding work by Bar Board Advisor to the Standing Committee, Steve Maxwell. Future changes to replace “legal assistant” with “paralegal” will follow the Bar Board’s action on this definition and next year’s Division Board will ably address those needs.

Many of you may also be aware of an issue that has come to light as a result of HB 1769. A portion of this bill addresses who must be licensed as a private investigator to conduct certain inquiries in the State. Jim Bearden, an attorney and general counsel for the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators, wrote an article that was published in the Texas Bar Journal (Volume 67, Number 1 – January 2004, page 51 entitled “Licensed Investigators”), which sets forth his interpretation of this bill. The Division is in contact with the General Counsel’s office of the State Bar as they research the bill. We continue to suggest that anyone with questions on this matter contact the General Counsel’s office. As soon as they take a position on the bill’s effect of the legal community, the Division Board will convey that information to the membership.

Finally, the Department of Labor introduced the final rules governing overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act on April 20, 2004. The regulations go into effect in 120 days and can be found at www.dol.gov. I realize that the paralegal community has been split on this issue for years. Many want to be recognized as professionals, which brings the exempt status, but does not require payment of overtime. Others want to receive overtime pay for the long hours worked and therefore desire the non-exempt status. The new regulations appear to clearly place the majority of paralegals in the non-exempt status. Specifically, they state in part:
“Paralegals and legal assistants generally do not qualify as exempt learned professionals because an advanced specialized academic degree is not a standard prerequisite for entry into the field.”

I know that the Division’s leadership will continue to monitor these and other issues of importance to paralegals in Texas. I thank you all for the opportunity you have given me this year and I look forward to seeing you at various Division events in the future.

TEXAS FORUM XXIII will be held at the Texas Law Center – Room 203, Friday October 8, 2004, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. The topic of this year’s Forum is “PARALEGAL PROFESSION: ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES”.

Reservations for the Texas Forum should be made through Denise Schumann, State Bar of Texas. Her email address is:  dschumann@texasbar.com

Texas Paralegal Journal © Copyright 2004 by the Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas.

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