Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.

Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 
8:30 am – 4:00 pm CST (including a 30-min. break)

 

Agenda
Basics of Law Office Management and Operation in Texas
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

Beginning a Civil Case
Drafting complaints
Obtaining service of process
Drafting answers
Asserting crossclaims and counterclaims

Legal Ethics for Legal Assistants
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
Types of evidence: documentary, demonstrative, physical, circumstantial,
testimony, computer-generated
Rules for admissibility of evidence
Reasons for inadmissibility
Preserving and managing evidence

Document Drafting and Editing
Legal terminology
Drafting legal documents
Editing legal documents
Updating legal references
Proofreading skills

  

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

Attorneys & Paralegals:
6.5 CLE Hours

NFPA:
6.5 CLE Credits, Including 5.5 General CLE credits, 1.0 Ethics Credit

NALA:
6.5 CLE hours (5.5 substantive CLE hours, 1.0 legal ethics CLE hour)

 

Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public and offers 6.5 CLE hours to attorneys and paralegals in Texas.

HalfMoon Education is an approved CLE provider for Texas attorneys (No. 8306). This course has been approved by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for certification and recertification continuing legal education requirements for attorneys and paralegals in the following specialty fields: 6.50 hours in civil appellate law, civil trial law, family law, and personal injury trial law.

This course has been evaluated and approved by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) for 6.5 total CLE credits (5.5 general credits, 1.0 ethics credit).

This course has been evaluated and approved by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) for 6.5 total CLE hours (5.5 substantive CLE hours, 1.0 legal ethics CLE hour).

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).

Speakers

Ashley DeHart

Attorney with Gray Reed & McGraw LLP

Ms. DeHart is a compassionate advisor and tenacious courtroom advocate with significant experience representing clients in challenging family law cases all over Texas. Her practice covers all aspects of family law, including divorce proceedings, complex marital property characterization and valuation, premarital and post-marital agreements, enforcement actions, child custody and support matters, modification proceedings, adoptions and other child-related issues. Ms. DeHart brings a creative and detail-intensive approach to helping clients reach the best possible outcome in every case, whether it involves a complicated marital estate with considerable assets and business interests at stake, or an emotionally-charged custody battle where the best interests of the children take center stage. Although she is ready to litigate aggressively when necessary, Ms. DeHart focuses on minimizing pointless antagonism between the parties and resolving disputes amicably before they land in the courtroom. During her final year of law school, Ms. DeHart served as a judicial intern in the 246th Family District Court in Houston. This experience gave her an inside look at how judges evaluate complex family law issues and effective strategies for delivering compelling arguments in the courtroom. She also worked as a criminal law paralegal for seven years while attending college and law school. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law and her B.A. degree from Texas A&M University.

Casey S. Erick

Shareholder with Cowles & Thompson, P.C., Dallas, Texas

 Mr. Erick focuses on commercial litigation and employment law. He has represented clients in both litigation and transactional matters that span across commercial law, labor and employment, real estate, consumer protection and general litigation including, but not limited to breach of contract, corporate trade secret theft, tortious interference, defamation, personal injury, fraud, and various other kinds of civil litigation. Mr. Erick is a member of the State Bar of Texas and Dallas Bar Association. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. degree from Baylor School of Law.

Laura Grove

Laura Grove is an experienced and Board Certified Paralegal with a demonstrated history of working in the legal and medical industries. She is skilled in medical record summarization, drafting pleadings and discovery, e-filing, demand preparation, negotiation, subrogation and reductions.

Aimee Pingenot Key

Attorney with Goranson Bain Ausley, in Dallas, TX.

Ms. Pingenot Key exclusively practices family law. She has been selected for inclusion in Texas Monthly “Rising Stars” each year since 2006. Prior to practicing law, Ms. Pingenot Key was the program director of a supervised visitation facility for families in Austin as well as an elementary school teacher with the non-profit program, Teach for America. She received a B.A. degree in Psychology, with honors, an M.S. degree in Social Work, with honors, and a J.D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Pingenot Key is board certified in family law and speaks and writes frequently on issues in family law.

Mari Wise

Board Certified Family Law Attorney at The Wise Law Firm

Ms. Wise is a Board Certified Family Law Attorney at The Wise Law Firm. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin with honors, majoring in Psychology, and she earned her J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston. Ms. Wise was admitted to practice in Texas on February 8, 2001, and has been Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2011. Ms. Wise is a member of the State Bar of Texas, its Family Law Section, its Texas Technology Section, and then the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association and its Family Law Section, the Fort Bend County Bar Association, and Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists.