President's Message
Patricia J. Giuliano
Have you ever wondered why
we all tend to look at things
with more introspection during this
time of the year? I’m not sure why
that is because we all experience small
miracles and enjoy numerous blessings
every day.
We all know there are people
around us all year experiencing difficulties.
However, it’s at this time of the
year that we’re more likely to actually
extend a helping hand. Volunteers are
plentiful at homeless shelters, food
bank shelves are filled to capacity with
increased donations, people are picking
names from the “angel tree,” children
are singing holiday songs at nursing
homes, and church pews grow more
crowded. What this says to me is that
people are taking time to evaluate their
circumstances and are realizing the
many things for which they are thankful.
While it’s not clear why we’re
prone to be more thankful this time of
year, the important thing is that we
are.
We are thankful for our families,
our pets, and our friends. Professionally
speaking, some of us are even
thankful for the great attorneys we
work with and the firms that allow us
to practice in this very exciting and
growing profession. I think we should
also be thankful for the paralegals that
came before us with a vision for our
profession.
Only those who dared to think outside
the box and dream big would have
even imagined a paralegal division as
part of the State Bar. This association
with the State Bar has allowed us to
increase our acceptance as professionals
and partners in the practice of law.
Through professionalism and hard
work, our predecessors laid the foundation
which now allows paralegals to
enjoy appointments on State Bar Committees,
TBLS certification
exams, membership
opportunities
in the State Bar College,
and probably
most importantly, the
passing of the Texas
Paralegal Standards
by the State Bar
Board setting forth a
formal definition of
the term “paralegal.”
These same
visionaries are those
who dreamed of a
statewide seminar
with educational opportunities for
paralegals. At that first planning meeting
almost ten years ago, who would
have thought TAPS (formerly Legal
Assistant University) would be enjoying
its ninth anniversary with record
attendance of almost 300 registrants
from all across the state, and some
from other states? I tell you who
would have thought that—those who
dreamed it in the first place! Having
worked with many of these wonderful
people, I can tell you that they see
everything as a possibility and failure is
not an option.
Even though all these accomplishments
were noteworthy and very time consuming,
it was still not enough.
While continuing to look for ways to
improve and build up the Division,
Ellen Lockwood brought her idea for a
desktop ethics manual to the Board.
In true Paralegal Division fashion, the
book not only became a reality it was
published by West LegalWorks and is
being marketed nationwide. The Paralegal
Ethics Handbook is authored by
members of the Division and brings a
lot of positive attention to the Division
highlighting the professionalism
of our
organization.
All that said, these
things are available
to us because our
predecessors not
only had the dream,
they brought it to the
table and, with the
help of others, saw it
through to reality.
Whether you are the
one with the ideas, or
the creative one, or
maybe like me you’re
the “worker bee,” we need you to help
move the Division and the profession
forward. Great things like those mentioned
are only possible if we have volunteers
making it happen. I invite you
to contact your Director and find out
what help he or she needs. There are
many opportunities on the local and
state level to get involved. Some areas
of the state still need Directors to lead
and represent the members located in
those Districts. Also, TAPS will be held
in San Antonio in 2008 and there will
be a need for on-site volunteers.
In sum, when thinking of all the
things we are thankful for this season
please include those hard working
paralegals that came before us affording
us all the opportunities we enjoy in
this very fast growing profession, and
then consider your place in our future
success stories.
Happy Holidays,
Patricia J. Giuliano
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