April 2008

Professional Development & Education Conference Recap | NALS Mentoring Program | From the Certifying Board

What IS the NALS Regulation/Certification Committee? | NALS Award of Excellence | And the Winner Is...

What IS the NALS Regulation/Certificaiton Committee?

What IS the NALS Regulation/Certification Committee?

Since there are new members joining NALS every day, we thought we should give you all an overview of the program of work of the NALS Regulation/Certification Committee. Below are the projects on which we are working:

• Regularly reviewing State Bar Association, State Legislature, and State Court web sites looking for information about proposed or ongoing activity regarding regulation of paralegals, legal assistants, or other legal support professionals. We are also including in a database whether or not the associations allow paralegals to be members and/or have paralegal committees, and if so, the requirements for membership.

• Regularly reviewing the web sites of local, state, and national legal associations for the same purposeCwatching for regulation information or activities. These include such sites as the American Bar Association, the National Association of Legal Assistants and its affiliate associations, the American Association for Paralegal Education, the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, etc., just as a sampling. We also monitor forums and message boards when possible (some are password accessible only).

• All committee members are asked to look through whatever legal magazines are available to them personally or through their employer. These would include magazines from other paralegal associations, the ABA, State Bar Associations, and other state or national legal-related associations, as well as keeping an ear out at meetings or in other settings for any information regarding regulatory activities or other information that would be of importance to our membership as a whole.

• All of the information gathered over the past several years since this committee was formed has been entered into a database for current and future reference. As new information is gleaned from various sources, it is added to the database.

• When we find regulatory activity taking place in a state, we immediately try to get NALS members (not necessarily members of this committee) there involved on task forces or committees so that NALS is included in decisions that are made regarding the regulation.

• The committee also provides information to be included in the E-News online newsletter, and we write articles to be included in the Leading the Way online publication.

What is regulation anyway? It is any form of governmental, court, or bar association oversight or limitation on how we do our jobs as legal support professionals. Types of regulation include licensure, voluntary or mandatory certification, and voluntary or mandatory registration. Regulation also includes various classes of paralegals or document preparers that have been created in some states.

We always welcome assistance from all NALS members in helping us locate regulatory information. Please contact us any time you hear or see something that you feel would be of assistance to the committee and to other NALS members. Email addresses for the co-chairs of the committee are at the bottom of this article. Here are the members of the 2008-09 committee:

We welcome back the following continuing members:
Robin Kunce, PLS, Nevada
Cyndi L. Ronfeldt, PP, PLS, South Dakota
Sherie A. Sasso, PP, PLS, Wisconsin
Carole M. Schneider, PP, PLS, Michigan

We welcome the following new members:
Tina Boone, PLS, Tennessee
S. Caroline Bryant, PLS, Idaho
Sharon Coates, PP, PLS, Nevada
Virginia Cuaton, New Jersey
Stephanie Freundel, New York
Nancy Gates, PP, PLS, CLAS, Mississippi
MaryKathryn Largent, Georgia
Gina Negrin, New Jersey
Alison K. Schemmer, PP, PLS, Alabama
Lynn Sternhagen, PLS, CLA, Wisconsin

Thank you to all of these special NALS volunteers! And thank you to any of you out there who provide assistance to this committee.

Co-Chairs:
Antoinette B. (Toni) VanSchaick, PP, PLS, New York, ToniVPLS@aol.com

Jill J. Hale, PP, PLS, CLA, Arizona, wandr@cableone.net