The summer has been busy, as I knew it would. Here is what I have been doing: Ran two 10k’s, finished one book, “Summer and the City” (so good), attended numerous baseball games to watch my son, survived two camping trips with three little kids under the age of 6, swam in every pool and lake within a 20 mile radius, avoided at least two trips to the ER because my kids think they are invincible on a playground, gone to one movie (Final Harry Potter movie, also so good), participated in Relay for Life, stayed busy working and listened or watched the Casey Anthony Trial. As you can read from my tweets, I was with the majority of the country–shocked and EXTREMELY confused when the jury came back with a Not Guilty Verdict.

Everyone has their two-cents on this, and here is mine. I enjoyed watching the trial very much. It was better than any Lifetime Movie I have ever seen. The lies, the allegations of abuse, and a young pretty mom on trial for killing her beautiful daughter. You couldn’t write all the twists and turns that came up during this trial. I thought the jury would be in deliberation for at least a week because there were too many lies that they needed sort through and tons of evidence to look at provided by the State. In addition, First Degree Murder with the death penalty was not the only charge they could have convicted her with. There were several other ‘options’ they could have chose from. Here are the Verdict Forms that they had to complete. There was lots of information to absorb and so many lies thrown into the mix that it confused the jury enough to raise ‘reasonable doubt’. They came back with a Not Guilty Verdict in less than 11 hours. Just going through all the other charges and scenarios they could have convicted her of would have taken 11 hours alone to deliberate!! Now NO ONE will ever be charged OR held accountable with the death of this little girl and that is complete injustice. Mr. Baez made a statement after the trial, “I get to go home and tell my little girl that I saved a life today.” Well what about Caylee, Mr. Baez? Even if it was an accident like you stated in your opening statement, Casey did nothing to save her and what the hell do you call that!!?? Now they are trying to pass “Caylees Law” where it would be a crime if a parent/guardian fails to report a child missing or dead. I support the law, but do we seriously need a law to enforce this? Parents have of MORAL/ETHICAL obligation to report an accident or death of their child! Did the jury really need a law in writing, in front of their face, to know that is a form of child abuse?! It is devastating that this is how it turned out, however, we have to accept the jury’s verdict and Judge Perry imposed the maximum sentence for lying and now she is free. I do not do criminal work, and this is why, I obviously don’t understand it.

Anyway, my goals for the rest of the summer: one more camping trip, one more book to read “Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me”, finish a 60-mile relay race with 6 other ladies, and I will boycott anything that ‘TOT Mom’ does to make money off the death of her daughter.

I have received several emails from other paralegals asking about how to start a virtual (freelance) paralegal business, which I am happy to answer! I was super excited when I was contacted by Vicki Voisin, The Paralegal Mentor, who is the author of Paralegal Startiegies, a weekley ezine for paralegals, to contribute to her blog. So I gathered all the emails I received, combined all the questions I was asked and created a post. Check it out– “My Journey from Law Office to Home Office.” While you are there, make sure to sign up for Vicki’s FREE ezine and check out her resources and previous blog posts for more amazing paralegal tips and trends in the legal field.

I have always worked for small business owners and becoming one myself as a virtual paralegal to assist other small law firms or solo practitioners. The services that a small/solo firm or a virtual paralegal provide are of no lesser value as an attorney or paralegal working at a larger firm. We are just as educated and experienced, but we are able to keep costs significantly lower by minimizing operating expenses. There is less expense for payroll, overpriced ‘office’ space, improperly used computer software and unused equipment; therefore, attorneys are able to provide legal services to the public at a lower rate. The benefit of a small firm is that they are able to provide a quality service to their clients that larger firms may not. When an attorney has less operating expenses and does not have the stress and pressure of reaching a ridiculous billable monthly hour requirement, he/she can be more focused on a clients case. Instead of a file being handled by a handful of different people (attorney, associate, paralegal, legal secretary and receptionist, all of which is figured somehow into clients costs) a file is handled mainly by the practicing attorney, eliminating the number of hands the file passes through, which not only reduces costs, but can also minimize mistakes.

With the economy, there is a need and market for attorneys to provide affordable legal services to the public. Attorneys can do this and STILL be very successful in their own practice by focusing on the quality service they provide rather than the number of files they need to get through in a month, taking advantage of technology and utilizing virtual paralegals.

What stuck out to me in the video (something I believe we all struggle with) is letting go of software/devices we are comfortable with or not utilizing the software/devices we do have to its full potential. Now, I am not saying you need to have the most current device or up-to-date software at all times–they change so frequently! There are circumstances when you should continue to use the same technology device or software program, because you do know it, it does what you need it to do, so why change? When the technology and software you do use starts costing you money, it’s time to upgrade. If you are spending more time performing a task that could be completed in half the time with a better software program or device, it is worth the time and investment to upgrade. If mistakes are being made, deadlines being missed and you feel disorganized, it’s time to utilize technology advances to better run your practice and a virtual paralegal can help with that. The ABA TechShow video stated it best–not utilizing technology can have you working at a disadvantage compared to other firms!

Technology can feel overwhelming when it appears there is so much to learn. But thanks to twitter and blogs, you can learn a lot of information quickly and, even better, it’s FREE! If you haven’t joined Twitter yet, do! It’s easy to learn and a great way to communicate and connect with other professionals. In addition, start following/subscribing to blogs—you can learn valuable information from educated, experienced individuals. Here are a couple legal blogs that I have come across, but believe me, this isn’t even a dent in all the great legal blogs out there:

PDFforlawyers—Everything you need to know about PDF, including Adobe Acrobat

JimCalloway—Tips on law practice management and technology

Don’t have time to read blogs, check out, LegalTalkNetwork—these are actually podcasts, so you can multi-task while listening!

The ABA TechShow is a conference worth attending and I would love to say I am going, but unfortunately I am not. However, the good news, I am sure I will get to read about the highlights of the seminars on twitter and blogs.

Second, new laws have taken effect regarding the filings of limited liability companies. The initial LLC document will no longer be titled “Articles of Organization,” but rather “Certificate of Organization.”  To read more about the Statutes that took effect January 1, 2011 click here: Limited Liability Company Statutes 1-1-11

First, if you haven’t done so already, invest in a computer program to keep track of all your income and expenses.  It is worth the investment and there are several different types of computer software–QuickBooks, Quicken, and Peachtree to name a few.  (I personally like QuickBooks)

Second, begin organizing all the paperwork/receipts similar to how the items are categorized when you file taxes. For example, if you file a Schedule C Form 1040—group your expenses into advertising, car/truck expenses, etc., and create file folders by the same name.  File the receipts as you receive them and keep the most recent receipt towards the back.   

Third, you should ALWAYS keep your business and personal expenses separate.  But, if it does happen that you need to use your personal account for a business expense, don’t throw that receipt away.  That’s a write-off you’re throwing out the window!  Keep the receipt by placing it in the appropriate file folder and mark it as “paid out of personal account” as a reminder to add it to your buisness expenses at the end of the year. 

Fourth, if you use your vehicle for business purposes write down the mileage of your vehicle at the beginning and end of the year.   Then each time you travel for business write down the odometer mileage at the beginning and end of your trip.  Keep a notebook in your vehicle at all times that is specifically for tracking mileage only. 

Finally, when you turn in your books to your accountant ask questions and lots of them.  Make sure you are getting every tax break you DESERVE!  Listen to your accountant about any new tax changes that may affect you and ask for advice on how to plan for next year. 

The key to successful bookkeeping is ORGANIZATION.   If you are not good at organizing or it is not something you enjoy doing, than hire out so that it is done correctly and, most importantly, you can spend time the way you want!  

A tax refund is not a gift from the government. It’s your money that you loaned the government interest free! ~Dave Ramsey

Bankruptcy: United States Bankruptcy Courts

Corporations: Nebraska Secretary of State

County and District Court filings (including divorce, protection orders, child support, adoption) Nebraska Judical Branch

After reviewing the sites and forms, if you still have questions, the advice I can give you is to contact an attorney.  If you do not have the funds to hire an attorney, there is Legal Aid of Nebraska or you can search for more information at the Nebraska State Bar Association.

*Please note that the sites given are legal resources for the State of Nebraska. If you know of a great (and legit) legal resource that would be helpful to the general public, please email and let me know!