Paralegals

Paralegal Peeks at Part-Time Lawyer’s Check, Takes Pay Peeve to Advice Columnist

A paralegal handed the wrong paycheck by mistake wrote to the “Ask Amy” advice column to complain about pay inequity. The paralegal, who works for a small law firm, writes: “I’ve made a lot of money for the firm. Because of all my hard work, the firm has hired two…

Jul 10, 2012 12:12 PM CDT

Fired Law Firm Worker Is Charged with Hacking into Server

A fired worker at a Pittsburgh law firm is facing federal charges based on allegations she joined with two others to hack into the firm’s servers. The fired worker is 24-year-old Alyson Cunningham, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a press release. She is accused along with her husband, 28-year-old…

Jun 27, 2012 11:43 AM CDT

In Washington State, ‘Legal Technicians’ Will Be Allowed to Help Civil Litigants

Washington State’s top court has approved a new rule allowing licensed legal technicians to help civil litigants navigate the court system. The rule takes effect Sept. 1, according to a Washington courts press release. The rule allows persons who are trained and authorized by a new Limited License Legal Technician…

Jun 19, 2012 12:36 PM CDT

Staffers at Florida Mortgage Law Firm Say They Were Fired for Wearing Orange

Staffers at a Florida law firm who wear orange shirts on payday say they were fired because of their color choice. Four staffers told the Sun Sentinel that 14 employees lost their jobs at the firm of Elizabeth R. Wellborn after management concluded the orange shirts were a form of…

Mar 19, 2012 12:16 PM CDT

Tennessee Legal Assistant Accused of Using Embezzled Cash to Fund Gastric Bypass

A legal assistant accused of funding gastric bypass surgery with money stolen from her Tennessee law firm has reportedly reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Melisa Rebecca Thacker is accused of spending $3,000 on the surgery out of $180,000 she allegedly embezzled, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. According to…

Jan 30, 2012 1:50 PM CST

Paralegal Who Faked Kidnapping and Law Degree Is Sentenced for Embezzlement

A Pennsylvania paralegal who faked her kidnapping has been sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing more than $1 million, including $640,000 from the law firm where she worked. Bonnie Sweeten was also charged with stealing $280,000 from an elderly relative with dementia, withdrawing $20,000 from a child’s escrow…

Jan 27, 2012 12:47 PM CST

Federal Judge OKs Paralegals’ Class Action Seeking Overtime Pay From Texas Law Firm

A federal judge in Houston has given a green light to a group of current and former paralegals seeking approval to pursue a class against a Texas law firm. The plaintiffs contend that Mostyn Law Firm treated them as salaried workers and did not pay legally required time-and-a-half overtime for…

Jan 23, 2012 11:08 PM CST

Paralegal Used Forged $285K Law Firm Check to Take Private Jet to NYC for Spending Spree, Police Say

A paralegal at a Newport Beach, Calif., law firm allegedly stole a check for $19,500 written to her employer, had the amount altered to over $285,000 and then made the check payable to her roommate. After the check was deposited into a joint account for paralegal Alexa Johzen Polar, 34,…

Dec 13, 2011 4:52 PM CST

Baum Foreclosure Firm to Close After Fannie and Freddie Pull Files, Plans Mass Layoffs

Bad judgment about Halloween costumes worn last year by some employees of the Steven J. Baum law firm has come back to haunt New York’s largest mortgage foreclosure practice. After recent news reports that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (as well as some major loan servicers) have pulled their business…

Nov 21, 2011 6:40 PM CST

NJ Guardianship Lawyer and Former Law Office Paralegal Indicted in Alleged $800K Theft from Wards

A court-appointed New Jersey guardianship lawyer allegedly stole some $800,000 from her wards over a six-year period, with the help of her former paralegal. After a Monmouth County grand jury indictment, attorney Lynn Kenneally, 50, and paralegal Tara Howie, 40, were charged with theft by failure to make required disposition…

Nov 1, 2011 11:01 PM CDT

Legal Rebels 2011: Big Change in BigLaw

BigLaw and innovation? This year’s crop of Legal Rebels demonstrates that those are not necessarily contradictory terms. Certainly the major-firm environment has its soothing perks in salary, specialization and star power. And as the legal profession struggles under the pressures of technology, rising competition, client demands and a still-strained economy,…

Sep 1, 2011 10:19 AM CDT

Working Wiki: Paula Nascimento, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

After a typical training session for new recruits, corporate paralegal manager Paula Nascimento braces herself for the barrage of phone calls, emails and pop-in visits that always follow. But on this particular afternoon in 2009, the phone was silent, her office empty. Nascimento, 41, wasn’t insulted; she was excited. Glancing…

Aug 31, 2011 2:11 PM CDT

Attorney Facing 80 Felony Counts in Law Firm Embezzlement Case

A lawyer working as a paralegal at a small Fort Lauderdale law firm is facing over 80 felony counts in a case concerning her alleged embezzlement from Hermelee & Geffin and an attorney officed there. Charged yesterday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court with crimes including grand theft and forgery, 53-year-old Brenda…

Jul 20, 2011 4:48 PM CDT

Paralegal, Postal Inspector Face Perjury Charges re Alleged Secret Romance During Lawyer’s Trial

A postal inspector and a paralegal who allegedly had a secret romance while working on opposing sides during a lawyer’s mortgage fraud trial have been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice in federal court in Massachusetts. Joseph M. McGonagle III, 37, and Melanie M. Abbruzzese, 31, are accused of…

May 12, 2011 9:19 PM CDT

Omission on HUD-1 Form Leads to Lawyer’s Guilty Plea in Federal Mortgage Fraud Case

A Connecticut lawyer is facing possible prison time of perhaps six months after pleading guilty in federal court in Bridgeport to omitting information from a mortgage form in a real estate transaction. John Bryk, a 61-year-old Bridgeport practitioner, knew that the terms of his clients’ mortgage for the Westport home…

Apr 18, 2011 11:37 PM CDT