Paralegals

Grand jury to investigate paralegal’s death in lawyer’s bathtub

An investigating grand jury will be convened in the death of a paralegal found dead in the bathtub at the home of prominent Philadelphia lawyer. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office has confirmed that the investigative grand jury will look into the death of 26-year-old Julia Law, report the Philadelphia Inquirer,…

Jun 7, 2013 2:29 PM CDT

$36 an hour is average pay for law firm paralegals, survey shows

A new survey finds that pay for paralegals is increasing even as law firms are billing for their work at lower rates. The average expected pay hike for paralegals was 3 percent, according to a press release. At the same time, rates that law firms charge clients for paralegal services…

May 31, 2013 10:54 AM CDT

Sending female intern’s horror-film clip to local law firms gets ex-partner suspended for 3 years

Updated: A former partner of a well-known Indiana law firm has been suspended from practice for three years for persuading his paralegal to impersonate that firm’s managing partner and send an email attaching a horror-film clip in which a new hire seemingly was onscreen in a state of undress. Arthur…

May 20, 2013 4:49 PM CDT

Law grad paralegal says employer asked her to be his ‘third wife,’ made her feed him with chopsticks

A recent law graduate working as a paralegal says a New York attorney talked to her about pornography, repeatedly pitched her on the benefits of polygamy, asked her to become his “third wife” and insisted that she feed him with chopsticks at a restaurant. Sarbrina Rafi makes the allegations against…

Apr 12, 2013 5:52 PM CDT

7th Circuit OKs $25K student-loan discharge for ‘destitute’ paralegal

A “destitute” paralegal who has made reasonable efforts to repay her student loan debt is entitled to a bankruptcy discharge of the remaining $25,000 or so despite the fact that she never enrolled in a federal income-contingent repayment plan, a federal appeals court has ruled. Reinstating a bankruptcy court’s determination…

Apr 10, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

Paralegal jobs being overtaken by technology, analysis reports

It was just two years ago that the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted an 18 percent growth rate in paralegal jobs through 2020, but now, according to an Associated Press analysis, a lot of that work is being taken over by technology replacing humans. “Those (paralegals) without technology knowledge and…

Feb 7, 2013 9:10 PM CST

Bad coffee leads to embezzlement case against law firm worker

A really bad cup of coffee that burned the lips of a Wisconsin law firm worker resulted in a criminal case against a co-worker who is now accused not only of tainting the beverage with a foreign substance but embezzling from her employer. Kay Lee Gysbers was released on a…

Feb 7, 2013 3:36 PM CST

Bar probes 3 lawyers accused of setting up opposing counsel for mid-trial DUI arrest

The Florida Bar is investigating three lawyers accused of playing a role in the mid-trial drunken-driving arrest of their opposing counsel in a hard-fought radio shock jock defamation case. C. Philip Campbell faces a driving-under-the-influence charge after he was arrested Jan. 23 at the wheel of a paralegal’s car as…

Feb 5, 2013 9:08 PM CST

Man who tricked judge into awarding $3M default judgment against sex-crime victim gets more time

Already convicted more than a decade ago in an Ohio sex-crime case involving two 14-year-old victims, a Washington, D.C., man is now facing another five-year term for schemes involving deception. One targeted a victim in the 2000 sex-crime case, and resulted in a $3 million default judgment in favor of…

Jan 29, 2013 9:43 PM CST

Wrong Turn En Route to Lunch with Sis Led Paralegal to 50-Year Career at Crowe & Dunlevy

A wrong turn en route to lunch with her sister led to a 50-year career at an Oklahoma City law firm for Jo Balding. Stepping off the wrong elevator, she found herself at the firm then known as Crowe, Boxley, Dunlevy, Thweatt, Swinford & Johnson, reports the Oklahoman. So, on…

Nov 5, 2012 7:34 PM CST

Judge Orders Paralegal and His Legal Nonprofit to Pay $2.2M, Bars Further Work for Inmates in NJ

A New Jersey judge has ordered a paralegal and his nonprofit legal assistance organization to pay $2.2 million and stop doing work for inmates in the state. The order last week in the Essex County Superior Court case came after Bruce Buccolo and the Project Freedom Fund failed to respond…

Oct 16, 2012 4:45 PM CDT

Paralegal Blows Whistle on Ex-Boss, Says Cash Went in Book on Shelf; Lawyer Suspended for One Month

A paralegal who once worked for Iowa attorney Sara Anna Kersenbrock blew the whistle on her former boss, filing a 2010 disciplinary complaint that resulted in a one-month license suspension. In a Friday opinion (PDF), the state supreme court imposed the sanction, rejecting a public reprimand proposed by the court’s…

Sep 24, 2012 6:00 PM CDT

Law Firm Sues Regions Bank over Alleged Paralegal Pilfering

A Nashville law firm has sued Regions Bank in an effort to recover law firm money deposited by a paralegal accused of embezzling $126,000. The Fisher Law Group alleges paralegal Timothy Sharpe deposited checks written to the law firm into his personal account at the bank over the course of…

Aug 23, 2012 12:09 PM CDT

Fish & Richardson Lets 14 Staff Members Go

A Boston-based intellectual property boutique is laying off 14 paralegals and litigation support staff throughout its offices. Fish & Richardson attributed the cuts, which took place Tuesday, to a “smaller budgets for outside legal services,” Reuters reports. “While our caseload continues to grow, client demands for more cost efficiency meant…

Aug 3, 2012 11:30 AM CDT

Well-Known UK Law Firm Launches Low-Cost Paralegal Team

A well-known commercial law firm headquartered in Scotland has launched a new “firm within a firm” paralegal initiative intended to provide clients with a cost-efficient alternative to using attorneys for work such as basic due diligence, document review, filings, registrations and searches. The new Dundas & Wilson Legal Servivces Unit…

Jul 19, 2012 4:18 PM CDT