7 ways to step outside of your paralegal comfort zone
Fear of change is a natural human emotion, but fear can help keep you in your comfort zone, afraid to venture out. Don’t let yourself get stuck in a rut; instead, explore new things as a legal support professional. Does any of this sound familiar? Here are 7 ways to break out of your paralegal […]
Coming soon! First virtual conference for legal support professionals
The One Legal team is excited to announce the first ever virtual conference for legal support professionals! This online event will take place next month, March 20-23, 2018. We’re working hard to put the finishing touches on four days’ worth of presentations that are geared just for you: paralegals, legal secretaries, legal assistants, and other […]
Are you a certified paralegal or a paralegal with a certificate?
And what’s the difference, again? Paralegal certificate: is recognition earned from an approved paralegal studies program Paralegal certification: when a professional has passed a rigorous legal skills test to become a certified paralegal Too many paralegals make the mistake of claiming to be certified (having passed a certification test) when instead they have received a […]
Recent tech mistakes in law firms—and learning from them
While modern technology has certainly made life easier for legal professionals, it has also created a whole host of problems. Emails, instant messaging, social media, and web-based time-trackers are undeniably convenient. Each, however, carries a risk for costly tech mistakes in law firms. These risks undoubtedly exist in any office environment, but law offices are […]
Santa Clara County eFiling for Civil cases is coming soon
Hello Santa Clara County! Legal professionals in Santa Clara County have already been electronically filing court documents in several case types over the last couple of years. Effective February 13, 2018, it will become mandatory to eFile documents for General Civil cases, as well. While some courts choose to introduce eFiling with a short permissive […]
What legal professionals need to know about eFiling
Has electronic court filing begun in your county yet? Federal Courts have long since mandated eFiling and state courts have slowly joined the march toward digital progress. Some states, like Indiana and Illinois, have implemented a statewide system for eFiling, while others, like California, are leaving it up to the individual counties to gradually choose their own approach. […]
Tips for implementing new technology at your law firm
Despite the benefits of a more tech-savvy firm, not everyone in the office may be gung-ho to learn the necessary skills and make the various changes. A large law firm may ask the IT staff to champion the conversion to the new technology, but at a smaller law firm, it may be an office administrator […]
How to start preparing for your next legal job
Planning a career move in 2018? Thinking about changing law firms? (Don’t worry, we won’t tell…) A job change is a natural progression in your professional life. But just thinking about changing jobs won’t make it happen. The transition from one field or firm to another takes focus, commitment, self-examination, and a set of goals […]
Are you an I- or a T-shaped paralegal?
The legal profession is renowned for being traditional, conservative, and extremely resistant to change. Consequently, many lawyers (and some paralegals as well) tend to avoid the unfamiliar and focus on just one thing – their chosen area of expertise. However, at a time when creativity and ideas are vital to the success of a law […]
The best free/low-cost CLE for legal support professionals
For legal professionals, part of the job is to keep up with changes in the industry, and education doesn’t stop after you get your first job. Continuing legal education (CLE) — which could cover anything from regulatory mandates, legal technology, practice management, and the law itself — will help you stay on top of new […]
[New ebook] How to produce a court-friendly PDF
With more and more courts requiring that court documents to be filed electronically, most papers are being created, delivered, and read as PDFs. In order to aid the management and readability of electronic documents, the courts have put in place several rules and requirements for the formatting and structure of PDF filings. If you’re filing […]
[New ebook] Are you prepared for eFiling at a court near you?
The fact is that eFiling is rapidly becoming a reality in state courts through the US, including California’s superior courts. Right now in California, eFiling is available in 15 courts but during 2017 it’s very likely that more than half of all of the state’s county-level courts, including massive cities like Los Angeles, will have […]
5 quick tips for educating your office about cyber security
When it comes to learning about cyber security, the first thing you notice is that there are a lot of threats out there. Sometimes the tools you use will be to blame. Other times (some might even say most times) it is down to human error. In other words, it’s you. In fact, of the […]
Simple ways to start preparing for eFiling in your law office
Originally published July 5, 2016. Updated October 25, 2016. The days of filing paper documents at courthouses in California are numbered. That’s because electronic court filing, the uploading, and submission of documents to a court in electronic form, is rapidly becoming the new standard. That’s because courts across California are clambering to take advantage of the […]
27 technology terms every legal professional should know
If you don’t know your EFMs from your EFSPs, talk of “the cloud” leaves you wondering if people are discussing the weather, or “phishing” seems like something one ought to do with a rod and reel then this post is for you! It’s true that technology can sometimes appear to be advancing so fast that […]
The top reasons court filings get rejected (and how you can avoid them)
Here at One Legal, we know a bit about getting court documents filed accurately and on time. That means we also have the inside scoop on how to avoid rejected court filings. In 2015, we filed over 600,000 documents in electronic filing courts (like Orange County, San Diego, and San Francisco) and in courts that […]