I am not the first paralegal to go to law school, nor will I be the last, but it’s been a very enlightening experience to say the least. Someone once asked me how the education that I received at SPC for being a paralegal compares to the education I’m receiving at Stetson, and I think it all comes down to this: my paralegal education taught me the “how” of the legal process, but my law school education is teaching me the “why” behind those processes. This realization helped to answer a question myself and every other paralegal I know has always asked: why do new associates not have the practical skills necessary to practice law?
Now I know the answer: you are not taught the practical day-to-day skills that you will use far more than drafting an appellate brief, a memorandum of law, or how you will comport yourself in a courtroom when you are attending law school. I think the assumption is that your supervising attorney will train you in these practical skills but anyone who has spent longer than 30 minutes in a law firm knows that your supervising attorney will most likely have little to no time to train you on these matters and will just assume you know these things and therein lies the rub. You have very stressed associates that feel like a fish out of water and who are spending hundreds of non-billable hours trying to figure these things out and while your paralegals will be more than happy to assist during business hours they aren’t around at 11:30 pm when you are trying to make a midnight deadline.
This is where I would like to offer some assistance to maybe help ease your stress levels when you start your legal career. This week we discussed technology and in the spirit of that discussion I give to you my non-exhaustive list of legal software and applications you should become familiar with before you begin your legal career. All these skills can be self-taught through watching instructional videos on YouTube. I will provide a few of my favorite channels but by and large anyone can search for these skills online by a quick google search.
1. Adobe Acrobat DC or Pro
Almost all jurisdictions require you electronically file your pleadings with the court who all generally require those documents to be in PDF format. In the State of Florida, not only are pleadings required to be submitted in PDF, but they are also required to be converted into PDF/A format to make the document searchable.
Skills to learn in Adobe:
- How to convert a Word document into a PDF file.
- How to make a PDF into PDF/A format.
- How to remove metadata from a document.
- How to insert Exhibit stamps on documents.
- How to insert pages into an already existing PDF document.
- If your office uses Adobe Sign, this is another great skill to learn how to use so you can send documents to clients for electronic signing.
2. E-Filing Portal of your Jurisdiction
Florida uses their own e-filing portal, and it is much the same for other jurisdictions. Federal filings use the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) to file documents and PACER to retrieve case information. Doing a small bit of research on your end is going to save you a thousand headaches when you are desperately trying to file something before a time sensitive deadline.
- Florida E-Portal instructional information can be found HERE.
- PACER instructional information can be found HERE.
3. Microsoft 365
If you have a basic understanding of how to use the Microsoft 365 software suite you will be leagues ahead and it will make your life so much easier. I’m breaking down these skills into each program.
a. Microsoft Word (some of these you learn in RWI and RWII)
- Know how to create and use Tables in a document.
- Know how to create a Mail Merge document.
- Know how to set margins and tabs.
- How to set up Styles for section headings.
- How to create a Table of Authorities.
- How to create a Table of Contents.
- How to create document headers and footers.
- How to insert page numbers.
- How to initiate a page break.
- How to insert footnotes and end notes.
b. Microsoft Outlook
- How to schedule outgoing e-mails (this is great for when you want to communicate with a client, but you don’t want them to think you are accessible at 2:00 am when you are writing your missive).
- How to create form e-mails. This is super helpful for routine e-mails you send clients.
- How to send calendar requests.
- How to set Rules.
- Some Rules that are good to set is one for when you are out of the office. This can create an auto response and also forward your e-mails to another firm member so they can answer any emergent e-mails.
- Conversely if you are monitoring someone else’s e-mail while they are out you can set a rule to have their forwarded e-mails delivered to a separate folder so it’s easier for your to keep those e-mails separate from your own.
- I personally set all e-filed pleadings and entered orders to be delivered to a separate folder so those don’t get lost in the shuffle.
- How to flag e-mails for later follow-up.
c. Microsoft Excel (or a number challenged lawyer’s best friend) HERE is my favorite YouTube channel to learn new tips and tricks.
- How to sort entries by column.
- How to name columns.
- How to create Pivot Tables.
- How to use functions such as:
- SUM
- SUMIF or SUMIFS
- TRIM
- How to create a drop-down list.
4. Cloud Based Case Management Platforms
Most firms use cloud-based case management platforms and the most popular now are Clio, Smokeball, MyCase, and Needles. Try to find out which system your firm uses beforehand (a good question to ask during your interview) and search YouTube for instructional videos or go to the company website and watch the available tutorial videos. Just taking an hour one day to sit down and get a quick overview of how the software functions will be invaluable. The skills you should understand for each software are as follows:
- How to save documents to the system.
- How to make changes to those documents and make sure those changes are saved to the system.
- How to log phone notes.
- How to save e-mails.
- How to enter your billable time.
- How to use the client portal features.
- How to set calendar entries.
Like I said, this is a non-exhaustive list but a good start to help you be prepared and hopefully save you a lot of stress in the long run. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
This was extremely helpful! The technological aspects of it seem so trivial until you're actually faced with having to use it. Nothing should be overlooked!
ReplyDeleteOn the list of cloud based case management software, one you may not have heard of is Needles. It is designed primarily for use in PI law firms. The others listed are more generalized and can work for many types of practices.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that while you can obviously Adobe Acrobat to convert a PDF to PDF/A (Archival) format for efiling, you can also change settings in Word so that Word will directly export a document to PDF/A format. Go to File>Export>Create PDF/XPS and then select Options in the file save dialog box. One of the Options at the bottom will be "PDF/A compliant."
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DeleteThis is extremely helpful for those who have never worked in a law firm. I, for one, can attest to everything you have said here. I have been a paralegal for years at a small boutique law firm in Miami Beach. It's almost like a survival guide for paralegals starting out in the law.
ReplyDeleteJen, I couldn't agree more. I am also a paralegal at a small boutique firm in Tampa, and the practical skills that I have developed when it comes to legal software has proven invaluable. As part time students, we are in a unique situation where we are given the opportunity to develop skills and gain experience that some of our full time classmates may never have exposure to before being thrown into practice full-time. The expectations of associate attorneys go far beyond knowing how to use softwares like you discuss, so familiarizing ourselves with them prior to passing the bar is essential. Shockingly, there are many practicing attorneys that will never need to use the e-portal or Pacer depending on where, or in what field, they practice. A friend of mine is starting his employment at a large firm in the fall, and his practice doesn't expect attorneys to know how to use the e-filing systems because they have staff that handles that for them. Nonetheless, there will certainly be circumstances that present themselves where he would benefit from knowing how to use the systems, even if it's not something that is regularly expected of him.
ReplyDeleteOf course new associates should learn how to e-file and do the other basic tasks, even if they have staff to do those things in their current employment. Few lawyers stay in their first jobs for more than a few years. We know statistically that most lawyers eventually end up in solo or small firm practices where they likely won't have staff to perform these functions. They are jeopardizing their future if they fail to learn all the tasks necessary to practice law.
DeleteBeing naturally suspicious of authority, could it be that the law firms don't want their lawyers to learn skills that could make it easier for them to leave the firm and start their own practices or go with a smaller firm? That, along with generous pay and benefits, lead to lifestyle creep that form a sort of "golden handcuffs" to limit a lawyer's options down the road.
Totally agree with these, Jen! We've been making the transition to fully cloud based and fully Microsoft. The cloud based document management software on its own is a huge cost-saver for the firm, as we're not spending crazy amounts to store everything on site anymore and provides better peace of mind for security and data back up.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the inside information! The tips for MS Word and Outlook I can use immediately. Did not realize your secret is self-teaching through YouTube! I will try it next time!
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