Fundamentals of Legal Assisting in Minnesota
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Streamable MP4/PDF
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Agenda
Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
8:30 am – 4:00 pm CDT
Basics of Law Office Management and Operation in Minnesota
Presented by: Amanda Bean
- Law office organization
- Staff roles and responsibilities
- Awareness of attorney regulation and ethics rules
- Managing contacts with potential clients and other law firms
- Participating in client intake process
- Creating, organizing and maintaining files
- Client communications
- Client billing and accounting practices
Basics of Minnesota State Civil Litigation
Presented by: Mark Karon
- Types of civil matters
- State court vs. federal court practice
- Prerequisites for litigation
- Alternatives to litigation: mediation, arbitration, negotiation
- The civil discovery process
- Preparing for trial
- Civil trials
- Post-judgment matters and appeals
Legal Ethics for Legal Assistants
Presented by: Ruta Johnson
- Attorney and paralegal ethical rules
- Specific areas of concern for legal support staff:
- Conflicts of interest
- Confidentiality
- Ex-parte communications
- Avoiding the unauthorized practice of law
- Working with clients, courts and opposing counsel
Understanding and Working with Evidence
Presented by: Steve Arnott
- Types of evidence: documentary, demonstrative, physical,
- Circumstantial, testimony, computer-generated
- Rules for admissibility of evidence
- Reasons for inadmissibility
- Preserving and managing evidence
Locating Sources of Minnesota Law
Presented by: Georgie Riebel
- Sources of Federal laws and regulations
- Sources of Minnesota laws and regulations
- Finding case law
- Using secondary sources
- Evaluating sources and information obtained
Webinar Instructions
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.
Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.
Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.
GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)
Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled
Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps Hardware: 2GB RAM or more
For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com
Credits
Paralegals:
6.5 CLE Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)
NALA:
6.5 CLE Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)
NFPA:
Pending
Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public and offers 6.5 CLE hours to paralegals. Paralegal certification is not required to participate in this webinar.
This course has been approved by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) for 6.5 CLE hours, which includes 5.5 substantive CLE hours and 1.0 legal ethics CLE hour.
This course has been submitted to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) for accreditation, which is currently pending.
Visit this course listing at www.halfmoonseminars.org for updates on pending credits. Completion certificates will be awarded to participants who complete this event and earn a passing score (80%) on the quiz that follows the presentation (multiple attempts allowed).
Speakers
Stephen Arnott
Department of Legal Studies - Hamline UniversityMr. Arnott is originally from Australia but has lived in St. Paul, MN since 1991. He has taught in the Legal Studies department at Hamline University since 2008, having previously taught family law and legal writing at William Mitchell College of Law and served as the legal instructor at the Minneapolis Business College. Professor Arnott is a past chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Family Law Section and of the Ramsey County Bar Association Youth & the Law Committee. Before entering legal practice, He was a diplomat in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, serving in Canberra and Nairobi. In his spare time, Professor Arnott umpires Australian Rules football and referees soccer.
Amanda Bean
Senior Family Law Paralegal - Heimerl & LammersMs. Bean is a family, juvenile, and adoption law paralegal with Heimerl and Lammers in Minneapolis, Minnesota with over 20 years of experience in the legal profession. In addition to dealing with any day-to-day tasks, she assists with any “fires” that arise for those in need and always puts her organizational skills to use for the clients and her team. Her attention to detail, genuine compassion for clients, and expertise in the legal field are just a few of the qualities that clients routinely compliment her on. Ms. Bean enjoys interacting with clients and assisting them through all steps of the legal process. She takes pleasure in being there for clients in their time of need by discussing procedures in plain language and ensuring the clients know what they should expect as their process unfolds. Ms. Bean is involved in all aspects of a case from beginning to end, which allows clients to feel comfortable with her and the knowledge she provides them. She is a member of the Minnesota Paralegal Association and has previously presented for the Family Law Institute, American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Gift of Adoption Fund and Minnesota School of Business.
Ruta Johnsen
Attorney - Nancy Zalusky Berg, LLCMs. Johnsen is a family law attorney and her practice includes areas of marriage dissolution, custody and parenting time matters, child support, paternity, spousal maintenance, international family law, child in need of protection and services, termination of parental rights proceedings, and appeals. Her background in child protection and juvenile justice gives her a distinctive perspective in working with families going through a variety of family transitions such as dissolution, custody disputes and child protection proceedings. Ms. Johnsen graduated from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law where she was a recipient of the Student Award of Merit. She is admitted to practice in the state of Minnesota and Federal District Court, District of Minnesota.
Mark Karon
University of Minnesota Student Legal ServiceMark J. Karon is an attorney and director of the University of Minnesota Student Legal Service. Prior to the University, he was an associate attorney with Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi, practicing in personal injury and mass tort litigation. He has experience in trial and legal counseling in consumer affairs, domestic relations, criminal defense, civil litigation and administrative law. He is also responsible for co-curricular and law-related educational programs at the University of Minnesota. Mr. Karon is also an adjunct professor of litigation practice and private practice practicum at Hamline University School of Law. In addition, he has been an instructor in torts, personal injury and product liability law, legal research and writing, case investigation and trial preparation at Hamline University in the legal studies program. Mr. Karon has also served as a professor at Inver Hills College and the Minnesota Paralegal Institute. He currently serves as international president of the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association Student Legal Services. He received his B.S. degree with high distinction from the University of Minnesota and his J.D. degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego. Mr. Karon is a member of the Hennepin and Ramsey County Bar Associations, the Minnesota State Bar Association, the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association (member, Litigation and Family Law Section), the Minnesota Association of Justice, the American Association of Justice, Minnesota Society for Criminal Justice and the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association. Mr. Karon is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs across the country.
Georgie Riebel
Attorney - Heimerl & LammersMs. Riebel is an attorney with Heimerl & Lammers practicing in the family law group. She has a strong commitment to client trust and satisfaction, protecting children, and resolving conflict in a way that minimizes stress and anxiety for everyone involved. Ms. Riebel attended Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, where she graduated in three years with honors and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with minors in Psychology and Environmental Studies. While at Lehigh University, Georgie worked as a representative for a Non-Profit Governmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations in New York. Georgie also began interning at various family law practices in Pennsylvania, where she discovered her passion for helping families through difficult and complex situations. She then attended the University of St. Thomas School of Law on a Presidential Scholarship and as a Stinson Leonard Street Diversity Scholar in 2017. She had opportunity to be the Divorce Camp intern and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts intern and volunteered as a WATCH Court Monitor, a program for combating human-sex trafficking, and as a Street Law Volunteer advising low-income and charter students about their legal rights.