Paralegal Pie

Collated vs. Uncollated

OK I have to admit it, I struggle with the concept of collated vs. uncollated.  I can't be the only one because a few years ago I wrote an article where lawyers weighed in with things they wish their paralegal knew and the difference between collated and uncollated documents was mentioned.

My friend Chi Ho made this "diagram" for the collated challenged.

Hope it helps.  Download Collate v Uncollated

PACER Issues

If you have been attempting to file a document via ECF over the past week you have probably run in to some issues.  This is the first time I recall an issue with PACER.  

A co-worker of mine found this article which may explain what has been happening with PACER.. Interesting... very interesting indeed. 

 

Was Pacer shutdown due to a cyberattack? Group claims responsibility

Posted Jan 27, 2014 7:19 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weis

Why did Pacer and several federal court websites shut down temporarily on Friday?

A group called European Cyber Army claimed responsibility in a tweet while media reports gave differing reasons for the shutdown, report the Washington Post blog the Switch and ZDNet.

“Government of #USA!” the Twitter message read. “We have taken the liberty of #Nuking your website http://USCourts.gov ! We are the #ECA #EuropeanCyberArmy.”

Politico had an early report on the issue. A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told the publication the problem was due to a denial of service attack, which is caused when a website is inundated with traffic in an effort to shut it down. Politico also obtained a court clerk’s email message that said the problem appeared to be a “national cyberattack on the judiciary.”

Then an FBI spokesperson told Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) late Friday that the problem appeared to be caused by technical issues in federal court computers rather than a cyberattack.

On Saturday, however, the FBI said it was reassessing that analysis. Meanwhile, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts was sticking to its assessment that the outage was the result of a malicious attack.

Charles Hall, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, told the Washington Times that court officials had no comment on any groups claiming responsibility on social media. The attack began at 3:22 p.m., he said. Pacer appeared to be working again at about 7 p.m., the article said.

 

Something Fun for Friday Afternoon

Check this out http://www.smithmag.net/

It is ridiculously cathartic!  It is ridiculously fun!

Federal Courts and Government Shut Down

I always thought that I would be the first one to welcome anarchy.

Turns out anarchy is best viewed from quite a distance.  I wasn't that concerned over the government shut down.  I figured I wouldn't be effected, although I do have empathy for those employees that are furloughed.  Other than having my passport renewal delayed a bit, I didn't give it much thought... until I realized that I work for a law firm that has a case pending in just about every federal court in the country.

OK so now I am concerned, and confused.  I found this resource which was of minimal help to me right now but could be an enormous help in the future. 

Federal Court Information During Government Shut Down

 

Innocence Project

Imagine, if you could, being in prison.  

Imagine, if you possibly could, being in prison for a crime you didn't commit. 

I can barely tolerate waiting on the subway when there is a ten minute delay.  I couldn't possibly imagine being in prison for a crime I didn't commit.  I don't think you can either. 

Trust me, I know that prisons are full of guilty people, but there are also innocent prisoners.  Some of these prisoners have been put to death for a crime they did not commit.  Prisoners have actually been found innocent AFTER they have been put to death.  That should give you pause the next time you want to cry "not fair" shouldn't it?  We all know that life if not fair and the sooner you learn it the better off you will be.  But this goes beyond "not fair" this is taking away someone's life whether it be the death penalty or life in prison. 

Everyone feeling sad now?  GOOD!  Now here's what you can do about it.  Contact the Innocence Project.  Many states have local offices where you can get the training that you need to help someone who is innocent. You can help fix the system.  You can be a catalyst for change. You can be someone's hope. I double dog dare ya!  When you can help someone who has no choices, it feels so damn good.

Here is a link to the Innocence Project that will help you understand what you can do to help  What I can do to help

The link to the Innocence Project website is  Innocence Project

If you need more information or have questions please email me.  

 

Ted

I feel the need to be uber inspiring today.

Have you heard about "Ted?" 

Ted is a website (of course) of video speeches of ideas worth spreading. 

If you logged on today you would find:

        Onora O'Neill :  What we don't understand about trust. 

        Andreas Forgacs : Leather and meat without killing animals.

        Marla Spivak : Why bees are disappearing.  * I was once told that Albert Einstein told us humans to be very afraid when the bees disappeared.  I spent weeks trying to verify this statement and could find nothing to substantiate the statement. Maybe Marla can shed some light on this bee situation. 

C'mon this is an awesome sample of what you can learn!  Type anything in the search box and I bet my good eye you will find an awe inspiring speech with an idea that is definitely worth spreading. 

www.ted.com  -- check it out, then pass it on to someone else and inspire them.

Might also be a good spot to find, lets say, an expert? 

We all make mistakes... but I had some help with this one

Our firm uses Best Authority to generate Tables of Authority for briefs.  Its a wonderful product and I have never had any problems with it... until last week. 

We were trying to get a brief out the door, you know the scenario -- its late, everyone is tired, everyone is trying to pitch in to help.  I ran the Table of Authorities using Best Authority, kept the Table of Authorities to print cases that were unreported for the brief and handed the brief off to another paralegal for proofreading (remember I cannot proofread unless everyone in my office suddenly goes blind) that's the rule.  

I go through the Table of Authorities and start printing cases.  I check them twice and send the cases down to the attorney.  The attorney calls and tells me that I am missing cases.  Ummm... no I'm not.  Yes you are.  I don't think so. Want to see it?  Yes!  

Turns out that Best Authority did not pick up all the cases on the Table of Authorities.  All of the cases were cited properly.  I have always checked the Table of Authorities to make sure that the cases are cited to the correct page, but in the 10 years I have been using that software it never occurred to me to check to make sure it picked up every case. 

Learn from my mistake!

Beloit 2017 Mindset List

Anyone who has ever read this blog knows that I wait with bated breath for this list every year.  It's the Beloit 2017 Mindset List for incoming freshman.  The list is  60 items that make this graduating class different from all others.

It can be found at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2017/

I was a bit disappointed this year.  In previous years I seem to remember being shocked at some of the items on the list.  This year, not so much. Only two really stuck out for me.

#19.  Plasma has never been just a bodily fluid

#60. They have always known that there are "five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes" in a year.   * how do they know this... is it a rap song I missed... because I didn't even know it.

Don't let me taint you to the list.  Check it out. I always think its important to keep on top of what our young people are up to, before you know it they may be sitting on your jury.

Medscape Physician Compensation Report for 2012

Very interesting on so many levels.

http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2012/public?src=ptalk&firstbullet

Feeling Blue

Just about every person that I spoke to this week was feeling "blue" - maybe its waiting for spring, tired of winter or any number of reasons.

So here are a few quotes that I keep close by that help me when I am feeling blue or green or coral.

1. If at first you don't succeed, see if the loser gets anything.

2. If you make a rug of yourself, don't cry when someone walks on you. (My grandmother)

3. The harder I try, the luckier I am.

4. And our credo: Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc. We gladly feast on those who would subdue us. Not just pretty words. (Morticia Addams)  -- this is my all time favorite quote

5. I never let my schooling interfere with  my education. (Mark Twain)

6.  If money were no object ______________.  (my friend Cathy)

Feeling any better?