K A N S A S P A R A L E G A L A S S O C I A T I O N

. . . I N B R I E F

Official publication of the Kansas Paralegal Association

March 2003

KPA Mission Statement: The Kansas Paralegal Association (KPA) is a non-profit, professional organization comprised of three districts in the State of Kansas. KPA affirms the paralegal profession as an independent, self-directed profession in affiliation with the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (NFPA) and maintains working relationships with state and local bar associations. KPA provides a local forum for exchange of ideas, creative development, continuing education, and promotes recognition of the profession as an integral partner in the delivery of legal services.

FROM THE EDITOR

By Debra D. Christy, RP

Publications Director

dchristy@cityofstfrancis.net

This month debuts our first totally online newsletter. It will still be mailed to those who request it or who do not have access to the internet. I will be notifying the board members when each newsletter is posted to the website. Each district director will in turn notify their members so they may access the newsletter, print it off or simply read it online. In addition, the newsletter will be submitted electronically to NFPA.

In this newsletter you will current news on NFPA and agenda topics for the upcoming NFPA convention to be held later this month in Rhode Island (additional information on our website).

Also in this issue are district and board reports submitted by the KPA board members.

The ABA announces Online CLE now available. In addition, please check out the information that effective March 20, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas will require that all documents submitted for filing in civil cases be filed electronically.

IN THIS ISSUE:

NFPA UPDATE

ABA CLE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Legislative Coordinator

PRO BONO WORKSHOPS

DISTRICT NEWS

ELECTRONIC CASE FILING

Kansas Paralegal Association

PO Box 1675

Topeka, KS 66601

Internet address:

www.accesskansas.org/ksparalegals

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

KPA

ANNUAL MEETING

& SEMINAR

FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2003

OLATHE, KS

NFPA NEWS

By Brenda Kramer

NFPA Representative

January NFPA Board of Directors Meeting

The following information was excerpted from an overview of the January NFPA Board in Kansas City provided by Holly Manlove, Region II Director.

1. The Board unanimously voted to renegotiate the HMS contract. HMS is agreeable to this. Holly is on the committee to assist in the renegotiation process because her specialty is contracts.

2. The Board voted to have Beth King, the Chair of the Ad Hoc Assessment Committee, go forward with the assessment in conjunction with the Spring Convention in Rhode Island. Beth attended the meeting and will work out the details with her committee and Tecker. The approximate cost to NFPA is $10,000 plus travel expenses. Debbie Hindin-King of the Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association is the Region II representative on the committee.

3. The Board worked on the proposed budget for the next fiscal year. The Board is trying very diligently to get a balanced budget to the delegates. They have made many cuts in various areas, but still have a little more to do before it's balanced.

Annual NFPA Policy Meeting

NFPA Annual Policy meeting will be held March 27 - 30, 2003 in Newport, Rhode Island. Elections for the next NFPA Board will be held at this meeting. The slate of candidates for NFPA 2003/2004 Board of Directors is as follows:

President

Dianna Smiley - Sacramento Valley Paralegal Association

Linda Hightshue - Indiana Paralegal Association

VPPD

Susan Gleason - Connecticut Association of Paralegals

VPPI

John Goudie - Wisconsin Paralegal Association

Kristen Farmer - DAPA

VP/Membership

Elva Gonzalez - WSPA - nominated by WSPA - ACCEPTED NOMINATION

Treasurer/Director of Finance

John Kastan - Minnesota Paralegal Association

Secretary/Dir. Of Operations

Colette Lemke Illinois

Julie-Ann MacDonald - Maryland Association of Paralegals

Region I Director

Beth King - Oregon Paralegal Association

Region II Director

Holly Manlove - KPA

Region III Director

None

Region IV Director

Debbie Ford (Philadelphia)

Tom Bruno (Lycoming)

Region V Director

Janice Amato - Central Massachusetts

Education Co-coordinator

Patricia Lyons - RIPA

Coordinator Positions Membership Growth Coordinator

Isabel Quintana

Armed Forces Coordinator - Laura L. Schnurpel

Leadership Training Coordinator - Patricia J. Gustin

Bar Association Coordinator - Helen M. Federline

The NFPA Board will present delegates a budget for approval. Only two agenda topics and seven bylaw resolutions have been presented for debate and vote. A brief summary of these items is listed below:

Agenda Topics:

1) Education Criteria - The NFPA Board has proposed that the term of office for NFPA Education Coordinator be changed from three to two years.

2) PACE Exam Criteria - The Washington State Paralegal Association has proposed an Alternative Experiential Minimum Criteria in addition to the current criteria to sit for the PACE exam. The proposed Alternative Experiential Minimum Criteria would serve in lieu of a Bachelor's Degree by substituting six years of substantive paralegal experience in addition to a two-year Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies from an institutionally accredited and/or ABA approved paralegal education program.

By-law Resolution

1) Balanced Budget - The Minnesota Paralegal Association has proposed a new provision that would require the annual NFPA fiscal budget to be balanced.

2) Default Payments - The NFPA Board of Directors has proposed this by-law amendment to (a) change the timing of default notices sent to associations/members of NFPA from 15 days of their due date to 30 days of their due date and (b) change the amount of time an association/member can remain in default on payment to NFPA from six months to two months.

3) E-mail Voting - The Minnesota Paralegal Association has proposed an addition to Bylaw Article V to allow delegates to vote by e-mail.

4) Approval of Expenditures - The Minnesota Paralegal Association has proposed this bylaw change to reduce the amounts the NFPA Board of Directors can approve from retained earnings/reserves without delegate approval. Amounts are reduced from $7,500 for administrative matters to $2,500 and from $10,000 for policy matters to $5,000, with the aggregate in any fiscal year reduced from $50,000 to $20,000.

5) Board Votes - The NFPA Board has proposed this resolution to change the number of votes required by the board when taking action against the advice of professionals and in breaking/breeching contractual obligations. Currently, all board actions are determined by a vote of the majority of those present, so long as a quorum is met. The proposed amendment would require a 3/4 vote of the board when taking action against the advice of professionals and in breaking/breeching contractual obligations.

6) NFPA Board Meetings - The NFPA Board has proposed this bylaw change to reduce the number of yearly meetings of the Board. Currently, the board meets before and after each national meeting of the delegates. Delegates will be meeting only once per year going forward as a result of an earlier bylaw change, therefore this change is necessary to reflect that earlier bylaw change.

7) Sustaining Member Benefits - The NFPA Board has proposed this bylaw change to allow more benefits to sustaining members.

If you have any questions about these proposed agenda topics and resolutions, please contact your NFPA Representatives by e-mail: Brenda Kramer at

brenda.kramer@securitybenefit.com or

Celia Elwell at celia.elwell@okc.gov.

200 ABA CLE Programs Now Online at West LegalEdcenter

West LegalEdcenter now offers 200 online American Bar Association (ABA) continuing legal education (CLE) programs on its site at www.westlegaledcenter.com. This equates to approximately 450 hours of programming from the ABA. The programs are from ABA sections and CLE institutes, as well as from the annual meeting programs. "The American Bar Association strongly advocates online CLE as an important means of continued learning for legal professionals," said ABA President Alfred P. Carlton. "Online access to the best of the ABA's CLE programs has been of great interest to our members. West LegalEdcenter technology gives us the opportunity to bring these

REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

December 14, 2002

Members present were Jamie Dismang, Machelle Scogin, Debra Christians, Raquel Lusby, Traci Girrens, Tera Prickett, Donna Moranville, and Brenda Kramer. Traci Girrens held proxies for Debra Christy & Stephanie Struve. Jamie Gebauer, Mary Dalton, Lisa Has & Celia Elwell were unable to attend.

Old Business

Jamie called the meeting to order. The minutes for the October 12, 2002 KPA Board of Directors conference were submitted to Board for approval. Motion was made to approve the minutes as amended for grammatical corrections; Motion passed.

Secretary

Machelle Scogin had nothing new to report.

Treasurer

Debra Christians presented the Treasurer’s report. The balance in the Operating Account is $1,239.16. The balance in the Special Account is $7,851.61. The total balance is $9,090.77. Motion was made to approve the Treasurer’s report; Motion passed.

Membership

Stephanie Struve, VP Membership, submitted a written report. Stephanie reported that KPA currently has 144 members for the year. District I has 37 members, District II has 37 members, and District III has 70 members. She also listed 2 new members to KPA. Omnidox in Kansas City has agreed to print our Membership Directory at no cost.

Education

Raquel Lusby, Education Director had nothing to report. Jamie reported that District II Education Liaison, Glenda Van Syoc is working with the Washburn University students through a Mentor program and also planning and giving a Mini-seminar in February 2003.

PublicationsDebra Christy, Publications Director, submitted a written report. The December newsletter has been mailed out and most members should have received it by now. The last newsletter was mailed first class since we didn’t have the minimum number to meet the bulk mailing rate. She is in the process of posting the newsletter to the website. We did have some storage space issues with INK regarding the website but they have increased our storage size. She also wanted additional input regarding sending the newsletter out to the membership by email instead of regular mail.

District I

Traci Girrens, District I Co-Director submitted a written report. We had a large turnout for our speaker for the month of October. Bill Meeks, Registrar of Deeds, spoke about the changes with UCC filings.

We had another big turnout for the month of November when several members from the Federal Clerk’s Office came to speak about the ECM/EF – Electronic Case Management/Electronic Filing system that will be implemented after the first of the year in the Federal Courts.

In December, we chose not to have a speaker but instead a social hour playing “Legal Pictionary” where the members had to draw legal terms like juror, pleading, courthouse, etc.

District II

Lisa Hase, District I Co-Director submitted a written report. Our September speaker was Sharon Customer, owner of Legal Assistance Company, which provides continuing education seminars for Legal Assistants in Kansas. She discussed her business and how she started and its current successes.

Our October speaker was Lisa Welker, a Kinko’s Document Management Specialist. She discussed how she works directly with our Topeka Kinko’s representatives to determine document database needs so that your records are easy to manage and develop and has spent the last three years focusing on integrating technology into the practice of law.

Our November speaker was Shauna Holman-Harries, Corporate Senior Manager, Employee Relations & Human Development at Westar Energy. She discussed her job duties and responsibilities.

Our December luncheon will be at the Brickyard Barn Inn. District II has adopted the YMCA’s Battered Women Task Force as their Christmas project.

District III

Donna Moranville, District III Co-Director submitted a written report. Our November speaker was Special Agent John Brunell from the FBI who gave a presentation on profiling techniques. The membership also voted to change their meetings to bi-monthly meetings in odd months to even months.

District III hosted its annual “Saturday with Santa” on December 7^th. Thirty children attended the event, which included time with Santa, sing-a-longs, Christmas movies, coloring, goodie bags, juice and treats. District III also will be hosting a mini-seminar on Trial Preparation & Presentation on Saturday February 1, 2003 at the Johnson County Courthouse. KPA members will also participated in speaker panels at Johnson County Community College to an audience of students considering the paralegal profession as a career.

KBA Liaison

Mary Dalton, KBA Liaison submitted a written report. The KBA Legal Assistant Committee met on Saturday, October 14, 2002 however due to receiving late notice of the meeting, Mary was unable to attend but provides notes regarding the meeting.

The Committee is interested in creating

and publishing brochures containing the “Guidelines for Utilization of Legal

Assistants, Questions and Answers and Standards.”

The committee discussed the cost and benefits of KBA Associate membership. The suggestion was made to include associate members in the KBA annual meeting & include CLE events for legal

assistants/paralegals.

The Committee also discussed the issue of licensing legal assistants/paralegals. The Committee is interested in recruiting new members and the next meeting will be in February 2003.

Pro Bono

No report submitted.

Education Committee, Kansas City Liaison

The Board heard about Tara Schuck’s experience of appearing on TV while participating in speaker panel at Johnson County Community College.

NFPA

Brenda Kramer, NFPA Primary Representative, presented a written report. Brenda reported the new NFPA Board has been installed and are busy working on a variety of current issues.

She requested feedback from the membership in regards to NFPA including questions, comments & concerns. She also reported that NFPA is trying to focus on educational opportunities and marketing of paralegals/legal assistants to attorneys.

Brenda also reported NFPA has formed a committee to determine whether an assessment (quality review or reengineering review) should be performed on NFPA. The purpose of the assessment would be to help NFPA re-focus on benefitting the profession and alleviate all of the internal bickering at the NFPA level that we have seen over the past several years. The entity that NFPA has been working with (Tecker) has recommended that an assessment would NOT be beneficial to NFPA at this time. He thinks NFPA's problems are strategic, not operational. Instead, Tecker is recommending that he perform an "intervention" for $10,000 to help NFPA develop a strategic plan. The committee is looking for feedback from member associations about what their next steps should be.

Brenda reported that the NFPA Board met telephonically on December 12 in executive session. This meeting was called to discuss an issue that could lead to litigation. The Board hopes that they are taking the necessary steps to avoid that. As many members are all aware the terms of the contract are unclear regarding the payment of HMS in relation to the canceled Rochester convention. The contract itself states how this type of situation should be remedied, that is through mediation or arbitration. The board and HMS both agree that arbitration is the best course of action for all involved. During the conference call, the board gave the President and the Secretary and Director of Operations the authority to arbitrate this issue. (HMS was not on this call). We have decided to use the services of The American Arbitration Association.

Once we make application, the names of several arbitrators will be given to us. Both parties will submit a confidential position statement and will include any documents, which they feel the arbitrator will need to render his/her decision. We will be assigned a case manager. If the arbitrator has any questions or needs clarification, the arbitrator will contact the case manager with the question. The case manager will then contact the parties involved and relay the answer to the arbitrator. This way, neither party will have access to the arbitrator. Since there are not very many documents that will need to reviewed, the turn around should be pretty quick.

Also, as directed by delegates, the NFPA Board has been in the process of obtaining information from NFPA's CPA and legal counsel regarding the monies paid to HMS for the Rochester convention. The question has been asked of both the CPA and the attorney as to whether there was an accounting error made, as well as whether there was an error made in paying HMS on gross revenue rather than adjusted revenue. The CPA has informed the Board that the accounting procedure used was proper and that the payment of the fees was noted in the budget report. To the best of his knowledge, there was never any intent to hide these fees, nor was there a misappropriation of funds. It is simply a matter of preference, by the Treasurer, as to how the money paid was noted on the budget report. The CPA further stated that HMS was paid pursuant to the contract they have with NFPA for revenue generated. He further stated, however, that the contract does not clearly state whether HMS is paid on gross or net revenue. Since NFPA has never had a situation such as this occur, there was no precedent on which to rely. The CPA also noted that this type of situation is not likely to occur again. The attorney advised the Board that the contract is ambiguous with respect to whether HMS is paid on gross or net revenue. He stated that a case could be made for either interpretation. He concurred with the CPA that it is an accounting preference and that the disbursement was not hidden, it was merely listed as an expense and noted as such. The attorney further stated that based on our contract, which contains an arbitration/mediation clause, that it would be in NFPA's best interests to try to negotiate a settlement with HMS. He stated that it was likely that NFPA could incur up to or in excess of the amount in question if the matter is litigated. The Board is simply acting on the advice of counsel.

Karen Belcher, NFPA President, and Patricia Lyons, NFPA Secretary and Director of Operations, spoke to Lu Hangley last week regarding a refund of the payment in question. While HMS maintains there was no wrong-doing on its part and that the fees paid to HMS were paid pursuant to the contract, HMS has indicated that they will entertain an offer

from the NFPA Board in an attempt to negotiate in good faith. The Board voted at the meeting following the Cleveland convention to try to negotiate a settlement

to resolve this matter. The Board was acting in accordance with the terms of the contract which provides for dispute resolution. If NFPA is suddenly without a management company, the Board of Directors will be responsible for ALL of the daily operations of NFPA and not merely administering policy and directing the Management Company. It will fall on the shoulders of not only the Board members, but the delegates to make sure that this association continues to function.

A law suit will also cause an additional financial burden on NFPA. It is very likely that this lawsuit may not be covered by D&O insurance.

New Business

The Board discussed the Bylaw and Standing Rule amendment regarding KPA voting Board members being Kansas Residents. It was determined that the change was made the previous year to the Standing Rules but was not implemented by revising the Rules. Motion to amend the Standing Rules as follows: All voting members of the KPA Board including President must be residents of the state of Kansas and or working in the state of Kansas; Motion passed.

The Board determined that the Bylaw amendment would be included in the May election ballots and would state the following: All voting members of the KPA Board including President must be a resident of the State of Kansas or working in the state of Kansas to hold the Presidency. Motion to include the proposed Bylaw amendment in the May Election Ballot was made; Motion passed.

The Board discussed and determined that the consensus of the Board is to not appoint a person to the President-Elect position who does not live or work in the State of Kansas.

The Board discussed the Seminar plans briefly. Motion was made to form a Committee to help with the Seminar; Motion passed. Interested members please send email to Jamie Dismang so that the planning can begin.

The Board discussed the recent NFPA Leadership Conference an a concern regarding two members who were unable to attend at the last minute and didn’t follow the cancellation procedure. The Board requested that Jamie Dismang contact NFPA in an attempt to resolve the situation possibly through waiver of the fee due to extreme circumstances and Donna Moranville will talk to the District III Advisory Council about paying the additional expense.

Upon motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned.

Source: Inside NFPA

From the Legislative Coordinator

By Tina Palagi

The committee is monitoring several bills that have been prefiled. One that is on the "hot plate" in Montana is a House bill being introduced by Senator Jerry O'Neil, who also is a practicing paralegal. He has been in trouble with the Commission on Unlawful Practice numerous times because he it is alleged that he is practicing law without the supervision of an attorney. He has since been elected to our Senate and is trying to pass a bill that will allow paralegals to practice without the supervision of an attorney, but just have a special license below an attorney. I will keep you advised.

Two other bills have been prefiled. The first, a Virginia bill, SB 732, which would amend and reenact Section 16.1-88.03 of the Code of Virginia, relates to pleadings by limited liability companies not represented by attorneys in general district court proceedings. Section B states "Nothing in this section shall allow a nonlawyer to file a bill of particulars or grounds of defense or to argue motions, issue a subpoena, rule to show cause, or capias; file or interrogate at debtor interrogatories; or to file, issue or argue any other paper, pleading or proceeding not set forth in subsection A." The second is Missouri Senate Bill 59. This bill would "repeal supreme court rule 5.29, relating to unauthorized practice of law, and to enact in lieu thereof one new supreme court rule relating to the same subject."

PRO BONO WORKSHOPS

Mark your calendars to attend two great pro bono events this year. The first is the NFPA Pro Bono Workshop scheduled for March 28th in Rhode Island (Hotel Registration Deadline: February 24th - Convention/Conference Registration Deadline: March 1st). The second is the NFPA Pro Bono Conference scheduled for April 12-13th in Portland, Oregon that will be held in conjunction with the ABA/NLADA Equal Justice Conference (Hotel Registration Deadline: March 7th - Registration Deadline for ABA/NLADA Conference: March 21st - Scholarships to attend are available through the link listed below).

http://www.paralegals.org/Calendar/2003Sseminar/home.html

We are encouraging all associations to send their pro bono contact to the EJC and the NFPA Pro Bono Conference. In the past, NFPA coordinated the registrations for the EJC conference. For deadlines for registering for the EJC and the NFPA Pro Bono Conference or for additional information, contact Karen S. Wolfley, RP, paralegal28@comcast.net.

Registration Information: Hotel Registration: March 7th - Conference room rates are $133 plus 11.5 % hotel tax.

EJC Registration Deadline: March 21st (https://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/ejc/registration.html)

Scholarships: The ABA Center for Pro Bono is pleased to offer 15 Equal Justice Conference scholarships covering the basic conference registration fee to encourage attendance by pro bono coordinators/managers.

(http://www.nlada.org/Training/Train_Civil/Train_Civil_EqualJustice)

DISTRICT NEWS

DISTRICT II REPORT

By Lisa Hase

District II Director

At the January 16, our speaker was Christopher Swickard, Second Vice President and Assistant Counsel for Security Benefit Group, who gave an interesting presentation about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which is landmark legislation adopted due to recent corporate and accounting scandals. The Act will have a significant impact on reporting practices of public companies, their senior management and boards, on the accounting and legal professions and on stock analysts. A brief tour of the building was also offered.

On February 21, District II held a seminar at Washburn University. The program was in two sessions and featured Mediation for the Paralegal by Larry Rute and Evidence Gathering by Karen Wittman.

The speaker for the March 20 meeting has not been arranged yet but the meeting is being hosted by WESTAR ENERGY, and will be a catered lunch, menu to be finalized next week, with a cost of $8.00 per person.

The April 17 meeting is being hosted by WESTAR ENERGY, and will be a catered lunch, menu to be decided, with a cost of $8.00 per person.

Tentatively, Ronald McDonald house will be the host site of May 15 luncheon with KPA's Annual Garage Sale Friday May 16th and Saturday May 17th. Members will be able to bring donations with them to the luncheon.

District II is providing mentoring for Washburn University Legal Assistants. Glenda VanSyoc, R.P., has one more student who wishes to participate in the Mentor Program. A volunteer from the membership is needed to step up and mentor this last student.

For those of you not familiar with the Mentor Program here is a brief explanation. Washburn students currently enrolled may sign up to be paired with a KPA member who works in or is familiar with the area of law the student is interested in. The KPA members then make themselves available to the student. The involvement can be as simple as taking the student to lunch and talking one-on-one about the paralegal profession or as complicated as helping a student who needs help with their classes. Our goal is to be committed to helping Washburn students complete their education, stay in the Legal Studies field, graduate and enter the Paralegal field.

DISTRICT III REPORT

ByDonna Moranville

District III Co-Director

District III’s February luncheon was held February 20^th at Garozzo’s Restaurant in Overland Park. The speaker was Terry Hayter, Director of the Kansas City office of Children’s Hope International. Terry spoke about international adoptions. Children's Hope is a highly respected and experienced international adoption agency, which places approximately 600 children a year from China, Russia, Guatemala, Colombia, India and Vietnam.

District III’s mini-seminar was postponed due to the unavailability of the speaker on the planned date. The mini-seminar is now scheduled for Saturday, March 15, 2003 at the Johnson County Courthouse. The planned topics are Medical Records Review and HIPAA, with Maggie Campbell-Tucker of WSABE and Donna Moranville of SCL Health System, respectively, as speakers. The cost will be $25.00 per person, including students.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

By Stephanie Struve

We have a total of 169 members as of February 13, 2003.

I would like to welcome the following new member to KPA:

Cheryl Doleshal – District 3 – student

Change of address:

Julee Manahan is now working at Wallace, Saunders in Overland Park. Her phone number is 913.752.5529; email address is jmanahan@wsabe.com.

Gloria Martin is now working at Hite, Fanning & Honeyman in Wichita. Her phone number is 316.265.7741; email address is Martin@hitefanning.com.

Omnidox in Kansas City is printing our Membership Directory at no cost. The directories should be out to the members shortly.

ELECTRONIC CASE FILING

Effective March 20, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas will require that all documents submitted for filing in civil cases be filed electronically or submitted to the court in .pdf format on 3.5” disks or CDs. Please visit our web page to obtain an electronic filing registration form and take the steps necessary to begin filing your pleadings electronically.

Training on electronic filing is available for attorneys and their staff at the federal courthouses in Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City. Visit our web page for more information and to sign up for training. Also, please visit our web page to view the latest administrative procedures for electronic filing and the full text of the general order that temporarily amends the court’s local rules in order to implement electronic case filing.

Questions or concerns? Submit by e-mail to :

ksd_cmecf_helpdesk@ksd.uscourts.gov or by contacting the Clerk’s Offices in Wichita at 316.269.6491; in Topeka at 785.295.2610; or in Kansas City at 913.551.6719. CM/ECF web page: http://www.ksd.uscourts.gov/cmecf