ParalegalGateway's Weblog

Deputy Prosecutor and Paralegal Allegedly Caught Having Sex in Restroom

SEATTLE – A Thurston County senior deputy prosecutor who King County sheriff's deputies say they caught having sex in a stall of a women's restroom at Qwest Field during a Seahawks game in October has been charged in Seattle Municipal Court.

William J. Halstead, 39, is charged with first degree criminal trespass and obstructing a public servant.

King County Sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said Qwest employees spotted Halstead and a woman in the women's restroom near Section 138.  At the time, there was a long line of women waiting to use the facilities. 

Urquhart said deputies who were working the game got a call that there was a man in the women's restroom having sex with a woman in one of the stalls.

Urquhart said while it isn't illegal for two people to have sex in the restroom, it is illegal for a man to be in the women's restroom.

"It doesn't matter whether they were having sex or not, the fact of the matter was he was in the women's restroom, at Qwest Field, during a football game, and that's against the law," said Urquhart.

Deputies say once outside the stall, Halstead gave them a hard time and was arrested for trespassing and obstructing a public servant and thrown out of the game. 

The woman, who is a paralegal in the Thurston County prosecutor's office, was not arrested.

Thurston County Prosecutor Ed Holm said the two will face discipline, depending on the outcome of the case in King County.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Atlanta Lawyer Tuberculosis Patient

ATLANTA (AP) -- The tuberculosis patient under the first federal quarantine since 1963 is a 31-year-old personal injury attorney who practices law with his father in Atlanta, a federal law enforcement official said Thursday.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to talk about the case, identified the patient as Andrew Speaker. A medical official in Atlanta also confirmed the name on condition of anonymity.

The man has a rare and dangerous form of tuberculosis that has proved resistant to drugs. He arrived at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center for treatment Thursday, walking under his own power after flying from Atlanta with his wife and federal marshals, hospital spokesman William Allstetter said.

He looked healthy and tan, and "he said he still felt fine," Allstetter said.

Doctors plan to begin treating the man immediately with two antibiotics, one oral and one intravenous. He also will undergo a basic physical exam, a test to evaluate how infectious he is and a CT scan and lung X-ray, Allstetter said. Doctors hope to also determine where he contracted the disease.

He will be kept in a special unit with two rooms and a ventilation system, Allstetter said.  (more>>>)

Paralegals Honor Hamilton Woman

FORT WAYNE — The Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association celebrated its 12th anniversary Wednesday with a luncheon at the Window Garden Cafe.

The Paralegal Recognition Award was presented to Deb Killian of Hamilton, and the Outstanding Member Award was given to Susan Hall of Fort Wayne.

NIPA presented the Marilyn Morlen Scholarship to Catherine Myers, a student at International Business College.

In recognition of contributions made by paralegals to the legal profession and the community, Mayor Graham Richard proclaimed May 23 as Paralegal Day in Fort Wayne.

Bombing in Iraq Kills Paralegal

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Five paratroopers from Fort Richardson were killed last week in three separate attacks, an Army official said Monday.

Army officials on Monday identified the three soldiers who were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Iskandariya. They were:

• Spc. Coty Phelps, 21, of Kingman. Phelps was a paralegal who joined the Army in September 2004, and was stationed in Alaska a year later. Phelps was assigned to division's Headquarters Company.

• Staff Sgt. Jesse B. Albrecht, 31, of Hager City, Wis. He was a motor transport operator who joined the Army in June 1993 and was assigned to the Alaska base in September 2005.

• Pfc. Victor M. Fontanilla, 23, of Stockton, Calif. He also was a motor transport operator who joined the Army in October 2005 and was assigned to Fort Richardson the following April.

A fourth soldier was injured and was transported to the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq, Hyde said.

On Friday, two paratroopers were killed by small arms fire, but in different incidents.

The two small arms fire deaths were announced Monday.

One paratrooper, whose identity has not been released, died from wounds suffered in Hamiuah.

The other soldier, Sgt. Ryan Baum, 27, of Aurora, Colo., died from wounds he suffered in Karmah, U.S. Army Alaska spokesman Capt. Richard C. Hyde said.

Both Baum and the unidentified soldier were assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. Baum was assigned to Fort Richardson in June 2005. (Source)

Judge Repremanded for Actions in Paralegal Matter

An Ontario Court judge was given a warning yesterday for a "slip from grace" in tampering with court transcripts.

Family court Justice Marvin Zucker admitted to the Ontario Judicial Council that he committed judicial misconduct by making deletions and additions to court transcripts in a case where paralegal Harry Kopyto was trying to represent a woman battling a supervision application by Jewish Family and Children's Services.

In July 2005, Zucker refused to allow Kopyto to represent the women because of his history and for being "adversarial" in court -- remarks Zucker later removed from transcripts.

Zucker apologized to the OJC, admitting it was wrong, but he stuck to his guns about not letting Kopyto represent the woman.

"She faced the possibility of losing her children," Zucker said. "I had grave concerns proceeding with Mr. Kopyto and I felt it was imperative for her to have legal counsel." Kopyto was disbarred in 1989 for bilking Ontario Legal Aid of more than $150,000, said Zucker's lawyer, Phil Epstein, who sat on the disciplinary panel that disbarred Kopyto.

Zucker made a "slip from grace," said OJC chairman Justice Robert Blair, who issued Zucker a warning and ordered him to write a letter of apology to Kopyto and his client.

Calling the outcome "outrageous," Kopyto said it proves judges are above the law. (Source)

Paralegal Technology Review: Cirilab Research Workbench and Right Click to Knowledge Series Suite: The Next Generation in Knowledge Management?

As a litigation paralegal and techno enthusiast, I'm always excited about some new software product or other, many of which I learn about from subscribing to TechnoLawyer. But, when new software comes along that consistently gets the rapt attention of even those who despise technology, well now, that's impressive.

That's precisely the response that Cirilab's Research Workbench and Right Click to Knowledge Series software provokes, and, in my view, rightly so.

SOFTWARE THAT READS DOCUMENTS?

Cirilab's groundbreaking technology is founded upon its Knowledge Generation Engine, which basically "reads" unstructured content — a document, collection of documents, and even a Web page or Web site — from which it creates a thematic map (Knowledge Signature).

Extracting relevant information from the vast amount and varying sources of electronic data in the law office of today presents a unique technological challenge. But Cirilab has proven that cutting to the chase is simple; once recurring themes and concepts are revealed, you can quickly and easily decide whether a document warrants further review, or can be discounted as insignificant or irrelevant.

An advantage of exposing all existing themes within a document collection is the ability to quickly and easily locate documents with common themes, without ever actually having to construct a search query. The generated taxonomy of themes returns documents with similar thematic content. As a research project continues, you can add more documents to the collection and reprocess them, to produce additional thematic Knowledge Maps, which further refine and update your research. (more>>>)

Fort Worth Paralegal Leslie Stokes Named Legal Professional of the Year

Paralegal at Law Offices of Steven C. Laird earns state's highest honor

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Leslie G. Stokes, Certified PP, PLS, TSC-CL, at the Law Offices of Steven C. Laird, P.C., in Fort Worth, has been named Legal Professional of the Year for 2007-2008 by the Texas Association of Legal Professionals. 

Ms. Stokes, a native of Fort Worth, was presented with the award at the Texas ALP's recent annual meeting in Arlington. She has worked as a paralegal at the Laird firm for the past six years.

Ms. Stokes works under the supervision of two attorneys on complex medical malpractice and personal injury cases. She is involved in every aspect of trial preparation, including handling upkeep of case files, meeting with clients, monitoring deadlines, coordinating and scheduling depositions, hearings, mediations, and expert interviews. In addition, she researches legal issues, drafts pleadings and discovery and does background research on witnesses.

"Leslie is an invaluable member of our legal team," says firm founder Steven C. Laird. "Without her and our other paralegals, we lawyers wouldn't be prepared to set foot in a courtroom. She is very deserving of this honor."

Ms. Stokes has served as an officer of the Fort Worth Association of Legal Professionals, including two terms as its president. The Fort Worth Legal Secretaries Association honored her as its "New Member of the Year 1993-1994" and "Legal Secretary of the Year 1995-1996." In addition, she was recognized as one of eight Tarrant County "Women in Law" in 2002.

The Law Offices of Steven C. Laird, P.C., is a Fort Worth, Texas, law firm that represents individuals and families in cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, trucking accidents, medical malpractice, construction site accidents, products liability and business litigation. Visit the firm's Web site at www.texlawyers.com.

For more information, please contact Bruce Vincent at 214-559-4630 or bruce@legalpr.com.

Paralegal by Day; Roller Derby Queen by Night

The art of falling is one of the most crucial skills in roller derby. It hurts, yes. But it hurts a lot more if it's done incorrectly.

Just ask Mac-A-Liciou$. On this night, her skater name is $mac Down, but the 22-year-old Sonoma State student, born Leslie McGallian, will change it after she travels to a roller-derby bout in Sacramento and discovers there's another Smack Down wreaking havoc in the rink.

"Oh, yeah, I've got blood," she says, showing off the paper towel plugging her nose.

"Who else did I take down with me?" she asks, only minutes after flying head over wheels in a nasty spill that took out at least three teammates as they cornered a seemingly routine turn. She tugs her front teeth, checking to see if they're loose.

Over the past month, dozens of women from around Sonoma County, most of them total strangers lured by posts on MySpace and Craigslist and flyers posted in bars, hair salons and on street poles, have flocked to Cal Skate skating center in Rohnert Park. (more>>>)

LA Paralegal Receives Junior League Award

Los Altos resident Mary Sanbrook received the Crystal Bowl Award for outstanding volunteer at the Junior League of San Jose's annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon April 27.

Sanbrook, nominated by Trish Bubenik, executive director of the Palo Alto Area Chapter, American Red Cross, was among 16 recipients of the award. Sanbrook's mother, Fran Theiss, was also honored with a certificate for her volunteer service. Theiss donates an average of 20 hours per week to Vision Literacy as a tutor at the Santa Clara County Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas.

Sanbrook went to the Red Cross in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, ready to help in any way she could. While awaiting her interview with the volunteer manager, Sanbrook helped at the reception desk, answering phones and questions from walk-ins.

"That pretty much typifies Mary's attitude, which is, 'I can do that!'" Bubenik said. "Mary quickly found her niche in client services, aiding Katrina victims who had relocated to our area, and proved to be a very capable and caring case manager. She's been a major asset to the chapter ever since."

In addition to her compassion, Sanbrook used her experience as a paralegal law office manager to manage cases effectively. (more>>>)

Keys to a Positive Attitude

Keys to a Positive Attitude !!

By Nancy Friedman

Why do some people have such a great attitude and others a negative one? Well, we wondered the same thing and through our research we found seven keys that those with a positive mental attitude all share. How do you rate?

Choose Your Attitude in Advance: When you wake up, you have a choice. You can be in a good mood or a bad mood. You also choose your attitude. You can wake up and mutter to yourself, “This is gonna be a cruddy day,” or you can tell yourself, “This is gonna be a great day!” This choice is the start of a great attitude.

Visualize Success: Runners in the Boston Marathon picture themselves crossing the finish line. Picture yourself having a successful day. Self-visualization is a key factor in having a positive mental attitude. Will it work 100% of the time? I wish it would. However, by visualizing your success, you’ll be able to have a better handle on what does happen, and having a better chance of making it happen.

Demonstrate Humor, Energy, and Enthusiasm: We call these three items the magic ingredients. Without them, creating a positive mental attitude will be difficult. There is normally humor in every situation. Finding it is key. Sometimes you’ll need to stretch and dig a little deeper to find the humor in a situation. But once you do, you’ll feel so much better. Energy is important because without some energy in your attitude, you’ll be dragging behind everyone. Energy is closely related to the third ingredient, enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious; let’s start an epidemic!

Resist Negative Influences: It’s a fact. When we have a negative experience with a company, we’ll tell more people about it than if we have a good experience with the same company. Many times, when you hear that someplace wasn’t very good, you’ll believe the person who told you and choose not to do business with that company. However, you may only be hearing half the story. Check things out for yourself. Especially if the negativity involves a person you work with or know. We’ve all heard negative things about someone we didn’t know and then when we had the opportunity to meet them ourselves, we find that they’re not as bad as someone had alluded to. In fact they might be nice, but you need to be the judge. Take negativity out of your life. Steer clear of those who drag you down and say negative things. Being around other positive people is a good start.

Be a Whatever-it-Takes Person: This means, be a problem solver. Life is going to put obstacles in front of all of us. How we go around those obstacles is key. There’s normally a good answer to every problem put in front of us. Dale Carnegie said it best. Ask yourself, “What is the worst thing that can happen here?” Then move up from that.

Embrace Change; Expect it and Accept it: Some people are very good at handling change and some resist it. The major key to handling change is to accept it; deal with it. In most cases there’s little we can do to stop it anyway.

Be Grateful for What You Have: Many people have so much and yet those same people are often the ones that constantly complain. Why wait for some life-altering experience to be grateful? Be grateful, now.

These are the seven keys to having a positive mental attitude. Put them into practice and you will be amazed at the difference they can make.