Texas Personal Injury Practice for Paralegals
Agenda
Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before the start time.
Monday, June 24, 2024
8:30 am – 4:00 pm CDT
Understanding Texas Personal Injury
Presented by: Chris Mazzola
- The development of personal injury law in Texas
- Statutes and regulations that affect liability law
- An overview of liability law in different types of personal injury cases
- Automobile accident
- Slip-and-fall
- Medical malpractice
- Product liability
- The law of damages
- Recent developments and anticipated changes in Texas law
Negotiating, Mediating, and Settling Personal Injury Cases
Presented by: Chris Mazzola
- Creating comprehensive and effective settlement brochures
- Preparing for and assisting with the negotiation process
- Preparing for and assisting with mediation
Investigating and Evaluating a Personal Injury Claim
Presented by: Laura Grove
- Obtaining information from/about the plaintiff
- Using (and not using) investigators
- Identifying and locating parties and witnesses
- Investigating/documenting the incident
- Interviewing witnesses
- Obtaining information on damages
- Identifying and obtaining other relevant information
- Helpful resources
Litigating Personal Injury Cases
Presented by: David Ragsdale
- Drafting, filing and serving initial pleadings
- Participating in the discovery process
- Drafting admissions, interrogatories and requests for production of documents
- Responding to discovery requests
- Deposition practice: preparing for, attending and reviewing
- Working with expert witnesses
- Preparing for and assisting at trial
Handling Ethical Issues
Presented by: Olaide A. Banks
- Maintaining client confidentiality
- Avoiding conflicts of interest
- Avoiding the unauthorized practice of law
- Communicating with clients, the court and opposing counsel
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.
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Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)
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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
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Credits
Paralegals
6.5 CLE Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)
NFPA - National Federation of Paralegal Associations
6.5 CLE Credits (Including 1.0 Ethics Credit)
TBLS - Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Pending
Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public and offers 6.5 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hours, to Texas paralegals. Paralegal certification is not required to participate in this webinar.
This webinar has been approved by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) for 6.5 total CLE credits, including 5.5 general credits and 1.0 ethics credit.
HalfMoon Education has applied to the Texas Board of Legal Education (TBLS) for course approval. This application is currently pending.
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).
On-Demand Credits
The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format may not be eligible for the same credits as the live presentation; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate.
Speakers
Olaide A. Banks
Banks & AssociatesMr. Banks is the principal attorney at Banks & Associates, PLLC, a Houston-based law firm focused on meeting the needs of government and construction contractors throughout Texas. He is a trusted advisor for licensed professionals, CEOs and managers in construction firms, and government contractors. Mr. Banks was licensed as a CPA in 2003 and has more than 20 years of experience as a lead accountant and CFO for successful government contractors. He earned his B.B.A. degree with a double major in Accounting and Finance from the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston and secured his J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law. Mr. Banks is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Association of Corporate Counsel and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is a member of the Construction Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
Laura Grove
Loewy Law Firm: Austin Personal Injury AttorneyMs. 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.
Chris Mazzola
Partner with Patterson Law Group in San Antonio, TXMr. Mazzola graduated from the University of Houston in 2006 with a B.S. in Kinesiology with a focus in Sport Administration. While at the University of Houston, He was accepted into the Sales Excellence Institute at the Bauer College of Business and obtained an advanced certificate in Professional Selling. After graduation, he went to work for a major insurance carrier for three years before embarking on law school. In 2012, he obtained a law degree from St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. During law school, Mr. Mazzola served as a senator for the Student Bar Association, chair of the Young Alumni-Law Student Chapter, participated in numerous mock trial competitions, and was a member of the External Advocacy Program’s Competition Negotiations team. In addition, Mr. Mazzola was a staff writer on The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race on Social Justice where his article on how the law often criminalized victims of human trafficking received Credit with Honors. Because of his experience as a staff writer, he worked as a TA in the Legal Research and Writing program.
David R. Ragsdale
Attorney at Ragsdale Law FirmMr. Ragsdale’s law practice provides legal representation for individuals and families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. In law school, he studied to become the kind of lawyer who made an important difference in the lives of clients. He aspired to stand up to large corporate interests and others that were unwilling to take responsibility for injuries and damages they caused. Mr. Ragsdale now has more than 28 years of experience fighting for individuals and families in state and federal courts in Texas. He has handled thousands of cases and obtained millions of dollars in damages for injured clients. He was recently recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in North Texas. Mr. Ragsdale completed mediator’s training at the SMU Center for dispute resolution and conflict management, and he has have served as a mediator and successfully mediated the settlement of over 50 lawsuits.