Agenda / Content Covered

1. Case Law and Statutory Law
   10:00 — 11:15, Patricia Lee
   1. Combing Through U.S. Code and/or State Statutes
   2. Navigating Common Websites for Statute or Case Law Searches
   3. Reading and Understanding Cases
   4. Legal Citations
   5. Validating That the Case Is Still Current
   6. Controlling vs. Persuasive Cases
   7. Managing Too Much or Too Little Case Law
   8. Navigating Through Research Technology
2. Locating People and Finding Background Information
   11:15 — 12:00, Karin Scheehle
   1. Strategies for Locating People Online
   2. Social Media Investigative Research
   3. Arrest and Criminal Records
   4. Bankruptcies and Litigation History
   5. School Records
   6. Property Records and Past Residences
   7. Investigating Attorneys and Judges
   8. Researching Witnesses
   9. Investigating Businesses
   10. Verifying Online Information
3. Legal Writing Fundamentals
   12:15 — 1:00, Angela Gonzalez
   1. Legal Writing vs. Other Forms of Writing
   2. Preparing Documents
   3. Legal Correspondence
   4. Briefs and Memoranda
   5. Subpoenas
   6. Building Blocks of Communication: Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Paragraphs
4. Reviewing and Summarizing Legal Opinions
   1:30 — 2:15, Patricia Lee
   1. Illustrating the Core Legal Issue
   2. Comparing Opinions and Conclusions From Multiple Sources
   3. Legal Memo Essentials
   4. Sample Memo Review
5. Addressing Common Legal Writing Problem Areas: Grammar, Citations, Organization
   2:15 — 3:00, Angela Gonzalez
   1. Top English and Legal Writing Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization Errors
   2. Proofreading: Commonly Overlooked Mistakes
   3. Organization and Citation Issues
   4. Addressing Substantive Mistakes
6. Effectively Organizing the Results of Your Investigation
   3:15 — 4:00, Karin Scheehle
   1. Creating Case Investigation Notebooks
   2. Organizing Evidence and Files (Small vs. Intensive Investigations)
   3. Preparing Chronologies, Summaries, and Reports
7. Paralegal Ethics
   4:00 — 5:00, Karin Scheehle
   1. Finding Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest
   2. Avoiding UPL
   3. Preserving Confidentiality
   4. Legal Ethics of Billing

Accreditation Details:

ANGELA M. GONZALEZ is a paralegal at Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C., in Wausau, Wisconsin. She received her Master's degree from Jagiellonian University in Krakaw (Poland) and taught English to adults in Poland and Hungary. Ms. Gonzalez determined a law degree would round out her higher education adventures and earned her Bachelors of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London. While working as a paralegal in Budapest (Hungary), she developed a passion for research and drafting documents in a law firm setting, which led to her continuing her legal experiences when she returned to the United States in 2009. Her varied background earned her the ability to communicate easily with anyone on any topic. As a paralegal at Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C., she's able to sit with a grieving client and empathize or celebrate with a client who has just survived a drawn-out probate process for a loved one. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Gonzalez was a civil litigation legal assistant and paralegal, as well as a corporate paralegal where she spent much of her time preparing work product in due diligence matters and multi-national business transactions. At Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C., Ms. Gonzalez specializes in trust and estate administration.

PATRICIA LEE is a partner in the law firm Hutchison & Steffen PLLC, practicing primarily in business and commercial litigation, including but not limited to, partnership/shareholder disputes, contract enforcement/defense, non-competition agreements, and commercial lease review and litigation, family law, trademark registration and litigation, collections, mechanic’s liens/foreclosures, and medical claims billing. She is the current president of the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association Foundation and was appointed by Governor Gibbons to serve as chair of the Nevada Crime Commission. Ms. Lee is currently on the Board of Directors for the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and she was named Legal Aid's Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. She became the first Nevada attorney to receive the American Bar Association’s national Pro Bono Publico Award for her demonstrated outstanding commitment to volunteer legal services for the poor and disadvantaged. She earned two B.A. degrees from the University of Southern California and her J.D. degree from George Washington University Law School.

KARIN M. SCHEEHLE is a litigation paralegal for Gallagher & Kennedy in Phoenix, Arizona, working on multi-million dollar personal injury cases. She has more than 30 years of experience working in the legal profession and is an experienced litigation paralegal, law firm administrator, and technology manager. Although the vast majority of her experience has been in litigation, she has also worked in other areas of the law, including real estate, corporate, admiralty, and administrative law. Ms. Scheehle has assisted in more than 50 trials in California, Texas and Arizona, including the largest securities trial in Maricopa County where more than 9,000 exhibits were marked and more than 60 witnesses testified. She specializes in technology enhanced case management and electronic trial presentation. Ms. Scheehle received her certified paralegal designation from the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and several advanced certifications in litigation, personal injury, and e-discovery. She has a B.S. degree in management, graduating with honors; and an M.B.A. degree with emphasis in technology management. Ms. Scheehle is a certified case logistics administrator and a certified ediscovery specialist. She has taught numerous seminars both locally and nationally, predominately in the areas of litigation, technology, ethics, case management, and law firm management. Ms. Scheehle has had articles published in both local and national publications. She has also served as a guest lecturer at several legal assistant schools and currently teaches as adjunct faculty in the ABA approved legal studies program at Phoenix College in Phoenix, Arizona. Ms. Scheehle served on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Paralegal Association for 15 years and NALA's Board of Directors for 10 years. She also served on NALA's Certifying Board for three years and on the Professional Development Committee for three years (including two years as chair). Ms. Scheehle served on several NALA committees tasked with developing advanced certification courses and is a frequent lecturer for NALA Campus Live and co-presented technology-related seminar tracks at three NALA national conventions.