March - April 2012March - April 2012

 The ballots have closed and the results are in! 

New WSPA Officers and Directors were sworn in by NFPA Region 1 Representative Theda Yandell at the Spring CLE held at the Red Lion Hotel on April 22nd in Seattle.

Following below are the winners from the WSPA Elections for the 2011-2012 term of office (June 1 through May 31, 2012).  Some Commitee Chairs are still open.  Please contact president@wspaonline.org if you would like to be considered for one of our open committee roles!

Officers:

2011-2012 President:  Brenda Cothary

(see additional officers in story continuation)

Current WSPA Members are invited to attend a complimentary Advanced Records and Information Management and Litigation Readiness Symposium, scheduled for Thursday, May 26th at the Doubletree Suites at Southcenter, 16500 Southcenter Parkway, from 8 am to 2:45 pm, organized by Contoural, Inc. of Mountain View, CA.  WSPA is a proud Co-Host of the Seattle Symposium.

At this symposium, learn about best practices in records and information management and litigation readiness. Hear how legal, records management, and IT professionals working together have successfully met these challenges. Independent experts from Contoural will present real-world strategies and best practices. Professionals from companies just like yours will discuss how they became compliant and ready, and what they discovered along the way. Attendees will have an opportunity to network and interact. If you are looking to increase your records management effectiveness, become litigation ready and less dependent on outside discovery vendors, or have started this process and are stuck this is the symposium for you.

Highline Community College features a Paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association, and is designed for students with strong verbal and written skills, individual initiative and discipline, and high ethical standards.

WSPA is pleased to honor student leaders at Washington State schools that have formed Paralegal Student Associations, by providing a complimentary one-year WSPA student membership to each school's student association President. 

Highline College Paralegal Association's current President is Jerri Corbett and she is the newest recipient of a free one year WSPA Student Membership!  Jerri and her fellow leaders are now at work on professional development event called “Beyond Highline” set to take place in late April or early May 2011.

Registration for the pilot exam has now closed.  Watch for details of the national roll-out of hte exam this Fall! 

Registration now open for PCCE!  As announced a few weeks ago, WSPA is excited that Washington State has been selected as one of only a handful of test sites for the new Paralegal Core Competency Examination (“PCCE”) coming nationwide later this year! 

Highline Community College in Des Moines, WA, south of Seattle, has agreed to host the pilot exam, which will be a "paper and pencil" version, rather than the computer based version when the test goes national.

The Paralegal Core Competency Exam  (see PDF brochure here) has been developed by Professional Examination Services, and will be offered via pilot tests at selected locations throughout the contiguous United States only on June 11, 2011.  Those wishing to participate in this pilot test will need to apply online between April 1 - 30, 2011 (click here to register).  The reduced application fee for this pilot test will be $65.00.  When the test goes national, the registration fee will be $215.  Seating at each site is limited and will be filled on a first come, first served basis.  It is not necessary to contact the testing site directly to register.

WSPA encourages its members and friends to consider making a donation to support Japanese victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami.  There are many ways to help.  Seattle's King5 TV has a web page with information about the disaster and links to organizations that need your help, with donations going to the American Red Cross and their Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund.

You can donate online here, or in person at any US Bank branch in Washington. Be sure to tell the bank your donation is for Northwest Response.

WSPA encourages Paralegal Students to apply for the 2011 NFPA/Thomson Reuters Scholarship. The scholarships are $3,000 and $2,000, and include a stipend for the winners to travel to the 2011 Annual Convention to be personally recognized by NFPA and Thomson.

This year's essay topic is:
"The economy has had a strong impact on the practice of law. As a paralegal student, who will soon be graduating, describe the current legal job market in your community, and how your paralegal education can give you an advantage in securing paralegal employment."

2011 Thomson Reuters' Scholarship Application is available at here.

Make plans to join us at the 2011 Spring Continuing Legal Education and Annual Paralegal Awards Program, which will be held on Friday, April 22nd at the Red Lion Hotel in Seattle.  Hurry!  Registration closes Wed. April 20th at noon!

This program features eight special 90-minute CLE breakout sessions, in two concurrent tracks covering such topics as Legal Ethics/UPL issues, Legal Writing, Intellectual Property, Free and Low-cost Online Legal Research Sources and more!  (Click on "Read More" button below then scroll down for full Agenda).

Attend for either a full day, half day, or just join us for some networking during the delicious Annual Awards Luncheon! (6.0 WSPA CLE Credits if attending all 4 90 minute long sessions.)  

WSPA is excited to announce that Washington State has been selected as one of twelve test sites for the new Paralegal Core Competency Examination coming nationwide later this year!  Highline Community College has agreed to host the pilot exam, which will be a "paper and pencil" version, rather than the computer based version when the test goes national.

The Paralegal CORE Competency Exam (PCC)^TM is designed to test the knowledge and skills of paralegals who have recently graduated from a paralegal education or training program or who are in their first two years of practice as a paralegal.  The exam is focused on those essential aspects of practice in which an entry-level paralegal would be expected to be competent.   This exam helps meet the need of an entry-level exam for those paralegals that have not yet met the qualifications to sit for the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) that is already offered by NFPA.

TCC has had a long tradition of delivering both high quality paralegal graduates, and encouraging student leaders.  WSPA is pleased to honor student leaders at Washington State schools that have formed Paralegal Student Associations, by providing a free, one-year WSPA student membership.  TCC’s Lawrence J. Novak, President of the Tacoma Community College Lambda Juris Law, is the newest recipient of a free WSPA Student Membership.  TCC students were also present in large numbers at the recent WSPA Paralegal Career Night and Student Dinner, held January 28th in Seattle.

Do you know someone that should be recognized as Paralegal of the Year?  Or how about a good candidate for a $500 Paralegal Student Scholarship?  WSPA will be taking nominations for its annual awards from March 1, 2011 through April 1, 2011.  Nomination forms are available at: www.wspaonline.org. Nominations can be made in multiple categories as long as separate forms are used for each nomination.  In addition, individuals can self-nominate for certain awards.  Winners will be recognized at the Spring CLE and Awards Luncheon on April 22, 2011 at the Red Lion Hotel in Seattle.  Please contact Brenda Cothary, 2011 Awards Committee Chair at AL-West-Director@wspaonline.org with any questions.

To download the Nomination Form click here.