There's a lot of misunderstanding about paralegals. I get asked all sorts of questions, and that's okay. The paralegal profession is relatively new and technically still in its infancy stage, as such each state has it's own definitions of what paralegals are. Back in the '70s and '80s, lawyers became pretty overwhelmed with case loads they needed help with all the research and writing court cases need. In today's courts there are so many lawsuits filed that back up the system that only something like 25% actually end up going to court. (that number may actually be smaller)
Lawyers asked their assistants to help them do research, writing briefs and motions and filing the documents with the court. Paralegals assist the lawyers by doing the above, and this frees up the lawyer's time to see clients and present cases in court. Lawyers go to school for many years to be able to practice law and are officers of he court. Paralegals either by experience or education are able to assist lawyers in firms. We are not practitioners of law, and can not act as a lawyer by giving advice or advocating for in court.
Other countries do allow Paralegals to perform duties as a lawyer but not here in the US. In Arizona as a paralegal I can act independently in some functions (like writing wills, preparing bankruptcies, divorce preparation packets and sale/lease agreements as well as a few others) but we can not offer legal advice. If you ask me for advice, I can show you various laws and forms but I will tell you to seek a lawyer.
A friend once told me that paralegals do the work that lawyers get paid for, and while this is true- there's a reason for that. If there comes a malpractice suit against the case I'm working on, the worst thing that can happen to me is I get fired, and some restitution paid. But with the same malpractice suit my supervising attorney can lose his license, be disbarred an have to pay way more in restitution. Their name is on the case, not mine. I assist them because they have an in depth knowledge of the finer workings of the law.
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Life Gets In The Way.
February 4th, 2006, 11 years ago. It feels like a lifetime ago. Before that day, I was a music student on the road to becoming a music director. I was in the marching band playing the Alto Sax with the Riverside Community College Marching Tigers. That was something I thought I could do forever.
But Life got in the way.
On that day, after dealing with some major loss in my personal life my friends decided to take me out- teach me how to drive a stick-shift. So we went to a road that was hardly used, and started the lessons. I believe I did fairly well at first, but got bored and got in my car and I clearly remember heading home.
I woke up in a hospital bed to my mother telling me,"it's ok you were in an accident." I couldn't talk, couldn't move a muscle in my body. I found out 8 weeks had passed... after sometime I found out what really happened that night, and it was al my fault and I'm just glad my friends are ok.
Turns out, I never went home that night, I engaged my friends in a street race. We were flying down the road, I took a sharp turn at over 100 miles an hour then spun out, flipped and rolled the car several times before it came to a stop upside down in a ditch.
My friends got me out of the car then called emergency and I was airlifted to a hospital in Riverside. After waking up and spending a few months in physical rehab therapy, they sent me home and I was going to outpatient therapy, where i met some of the best therapists ever. I decided then to go back to school, wheelchair bound and all my limitations I decided to finish getting my ge done, and possibly go into history or english or both.
But Life got in the way.
I had recently started dating a girl I met in high school, while I was dating her best friend. Well this girl who I was falling in love with was moving to Arizona, and I was living with my mom in California. After doing the long distance thing for almost a year, I made the decision to move in with her family and put my education on hold. I moved December of 2008, we got married October of 2009. It was a beautiful ceremony in the backyard, with planted flowers and morning glories... it as just so awesome.
Shortly after we were married we decided (as a family) to move to Indiana, where my wife and her sisters were from. I was definitely excited, we were going to get a huge house and start our own farm and live off the and. This was after the huge credit crisis hit so it seemed like a no brainer.
But life got in the way.
Soon after moving (16 of us moved) fighting and arguments started happening. People moved out- soon there was only 6 of us left paying the bills there and we all were not happy. So we decided to move back to Arizona, we were happier here and not struggling as much here. We moved in 2014, my wife Amber was 8 months pregnant with our first child. I immediately put in an application for walmart, got hire that summer as a greeter. My second job after almost 9 years f being unable to work.
I also got hooked up with Vocational Rehab and they were going to help me go back to school.. Which I started in spring of 2015. Our daughter Olivia was born on May 3rd 2014, and shes a major inspiration for me to go to college. Everything was going so well until we were told in October of lat year that we had to be out of the rental we were renting.
This time life would not get in the way.
With no where to go (no one would rent to a family of 8 and 2 dogs for what we could afford) so we moved up to the Grand Canyon to live and work up here, with the intention of eventually moving back to Prescott. Amber and I just love it there. I had 1 semester of school left, and I was going to finish. While taking care of my daughter, my niece and nephew somehow I found time to do school work, and I completed all my classes.
Last night was graduation, and through it I was thinking just everything I've been through and everything I've done to get there. One of my classmates was helping me stand while i was onstage, but I walked and got received recognition for this accomplishment. It may have been almost 12 years late, and it isn't what I originally wanted but I graduated with an Associates of Applied Science degree in Paralegal Studies.
My mom, mother-in-law, baby brother, my wife, daughter and my sisters-in-law and their families where all there to watch me graduate. I was fighting back tears the whole time because I finally did it. Thank you everyone. I love and Appreciate you all, thank you father God for watching over me and guiding me. And thank you Amber and Olivia, for constantly pushing me and knowing I can do this.
But Life got in the way.
On that day, after dealing with some major loss in my personal life my friends decided to take me out- teach me how to drive a stick-shift. So we went to a road that was hardly used, and started the lessons. I believe I did fairly well at first, but got bored and got in my car and I clearly remember heading home.
I woke up in a hospital bed to my mother telling me,"it's ok you were in an accident." I couldn't talk, couldn't move a muscle in my body. I found out 8 weeks had passed... after sometime I found out what really happened that night, and it was al my fault and I'm just glad my friends are ok.
Turns out, I never went home that night, I engaged my friends in a street race. We were flying down the road, I took a sharp turn at over 100 miles an hour then spun out, flipped and rolled the car several times before it came to a stop upside down in a ditch.
My friends got me out of the car then called emergency and I was airlifted to a hospital in Riverside. After waking up and spending a few months in physical rehab therapy, they sent me home and I was going to outpatient therapy, where i met some of the best therapists ever. I decided then to go back to school, wheelchair bound and all my limitations I decided to finish getting my ge done, and possibly go into history or english or both.
But Life got in the way.
I had recently started dating a girl I met in high school, while I was dating her best friend. Well this girl who I was falling in love with was moving to Arizona, and I was living with my mom in California. After doing the long distance thing for almost a year, I made the decision to move in with her family and put my education on hold. I moved December of 2008, we got married October of 2009. It was a beautiful ceremony in the backyard, with planted flowers and morning glories... it as just so awesome.
Shortly after we were married we decided (as a family) to move to Indiana, where my wife and her sisters were from. I was definitely excited, we were going to get a huge house and start our own farm and live off the and. This was after the huge credit crisis hit so it seemed like a no brainer.
But life got in the way.
Soon after moving (16 of us moved) fighting and arguments started happening. People moved out- soon there was only 6 of us left paying the bills there and we all were not happy. So we decided to move back to Arizona, we were happier here and not struggling as much here. We moved in 2014, my wife Amber was 8 months pregnant with our first child. I immediately put in an application for walmart, got hire that summer as a greeter. My second job after almost 9 years f being unable to work.
I also got hooked up with Vocational Rehab and they were going to help me go back to school.. Which I started in spring of 2015. Our daughter Olivia was born on May 3rd 2014, and shes a major inspiration for me to go to college. Everything was going so well until we were told in October of lat year that we had to be out of the rental we were renting.
This time life would not get in the way.
With no where to go (no one would rent to a family of 8 and 2 dogs for what we could afford) so we moved up to the Grand Canyon to live and work up here, with the intention of eventually moving back to Prescott. Amber and I just love it there. I had 1 semester of school left, and I was going to finish. While taking care of my daughter, my niece and nephew somehow I found time to do school work, and I completed all my classes.
Last night was graduation, and through it I was thinking just everything I've been through and everything I've done to get there. One of my classmates was helping me stand while i was onstage, but I walked and got received recognition for this accomplishment. It may have been almost 12 years late, and it isn't what I originally wanted but I graduated with an Associates of Applied Science degree in Paralegal Studies.
My mom, mother-in-law, baby brother, my wife, daughter and my sisters-in-law and their families where all there to watch me graduate. I was fighting back tears the whole time because I finally did it. Thank you everyone. I love and Appreciate you all, thank you father God for watching over me and guiding me. And thank you Amber and Olivia, for constantly pushing me and knowing I can do this.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Day out with Mama
My Mom flew out here last week and we've bee having a blast. So great just hanging out with my Mommy and Olivia just loves Gramma Rose. we have watched several movies together, gone to the park a few times and down to Williams- it's been great. Ad I graduate this week so thats gonna be extra fun.
Well yesterday we went with Mom to the Yavapai Lookout Point/Geological Museum and that was exciting. The museum isn't very big and just shows the layers of rocks, the type of rock-layers, the age of rocks and they have a huge model of the canyon. Its pretty neat, then we looked at the canyon... it amazes me everytime i see it- just the scale and size of it all.
It really is awesome, I think everyone should see it at least once.
My mom and I were talking about the desert, how beautiful it is. We both agreed that it's very pretty and peaceful. Then mom said that maybe that's because of who our ancestors are- that we feel like were home in the dessert. I never thought about that but it makes sense, we have Navajo blood in us and maybe more. Thats interesting to think about.
Well yesterday we went with Mom to the Yavapai Lookout Point/Geological Museum and that was exciting. The museum isn't very big and just shows the layers of rocks, the type of rock-layers, the age of rocks and they have a huge model of the canyon. Its pretty neat, then we looked at the canyon... it amazes me everytime i see it- just the scale and size of it all.
It really is awesome, I think everyone should see it at least once.
My mom and I were talking about the desert, how beautiful it is. We both agreed that it's very pretty and peaceful. Then mom said that maybe that's because of who our ancestors are- that we feel like were home in the dessert. I never thought about that but it makes sense, we have Navajo blood in us and maybe more. Thats interesting to think about.
Now... I ride my scooter/cart all around the place but I decided to use the bus and go with my mom. Which Went fine, the first time. We had a very nice us driver who was helping me out and I kept apoloizing about the trouble he said, "No, it's k, that's what we're here for." And we drove fro Maswik to the visitors center to get on another bus... only tha bus driver said, "You cant bring that on the bus." I said, "oh this bus?" and he said, "None of the busses." Okay, well he should inform the other guy then... so w were pretty upset but i told mom to take the us, Ill just ride to the Geo Museum.
When we got there I culd tell mom was really mad, she wanted to complain to someone about that. I told her it's ok, and that's why I usually don't bother with he busses. We went to the museum enjoyed it, and then went to Maswik for lunch. It was a good day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)