It is time for the WSAJ annual legal staff seminar! The seminar on February 24, 2012 at the Seattle Convention Center is titled, “Taking The Mystery Out Of Medicine”.  It is geared towards paralegals AND young attorneys who may not have a ton of experience or knowledge regarding the injuries client’s incur.  While it may “technically” be plaintiff-oriented (due to it being put on by WSAJ), it will be helpful for paralegals and staff just getting into the area of practice, or who are on the margins, (dealing with areas that are closely related, but not specifically personal injury.)  There will be one attorney speaker (the rest are medical professionals!) Read more about the event below.

The Washington State Paralegal Association is currently seeking dynamic and informative speakers to present talks at our Spring Continuing Legal Education seminar.  We are looking for presentations
on a wide variety of legal topics, including litigation, ethics, corporate law and professional development.

WSPA’s Spring CLE will be held April 27, 2012 at the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Seattle.  Breakout sessions are 90 minutes long and delivered in a classroom style format of approximately 30-40 legal professionals.  Joint Attorney/Paralegal teams are especially desired.

If you or someone you know may be interested in presenting at this event, please contact Brenda Cothary at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

The December 2012 issue of the WSPA newsletter Findings and Conclusions is now available!  Read it here!

Click here for the December 2011 newsletter.

Celebrate Paralegal Week 2011 - Oct . 24 - Oct. 28, 2011!

WSPA would like to thank Governor Christine Gregoire for her continuing support of paralegals via her Proclamation saluting both WSPA and the contribution of Washington's paralegals in the delivery of legal services to citizens of the State of Washington.  Encourage your office to take time this Fall to recognize paralegals. Make plans to attend the WSPA Fall CLE set for Friday, October 28th, in Seattle.  Registration for WSPA Members is only $175 for the full day or $100 for a half day.  See the Proclamation at the Fall CLE. Click here to register securely online today!

Click here to see the Governor's proclamation.

Congratulations to all the new Washington State PCC Certified Paralegals!

On June 11, 2011, 188 paralegals took the Paralegal CORE Competency Exam™ pilot test at 12 test sites across the country. Of the paralegals who completed the test, 146 achieved a passing score of 550 or better. Those paralegals are the very first CORE Registered Paralegals™ and have earned the right to use the CRP™ credential.

The Washington State Paralegal Association salutes all those paralegals that participated in the June 2001 Pilot Run of the new PCC Exam. Washington State had the most paralegals register and take the exam, and the biggest number of passing scores (19!) of this new nationally administered exam of any of the 12 test sites! 

The current definition of a Paralegal used by WSPA and NFPA is as follows:

"A paralegal is a person qualified through education, training, or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency, or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory, or court authority to perform this work. Substantive shall mean work requiring recognition, evaluation, organization, analysis, and communication of relevant facts and legal concepts."

The American Bar Association definition is as follows: 

"A legal assistant or paralegal is a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible."

The current definition of "legal assistant/paralegal" replaces the definition adopted by the ABA Board of Governors in 1986. It adds the term "paralegal" since the terms "legal assistant" and "paralegal" are, in practice, used interchangeably. The term that is preferred generally depends on what part of the country one is from. The current definition streamlines the 1986 definition and more accurately reflects how legal assistants are presently being utilized in the delivery of legal services.

 The ballots have closed and the results are in! 

New WSPA Officers and Directors were sworn in by NFPA Region 1 Representative Theda Yandell at the Spring CLE held at the Red Lion Hotel on April 22nd in Seattle.

Following below are the winners from the WSPA Elections for the 2011-2012 term of office (June 1 through May 31, 2012).  Some Commitee Chairs are still open.  Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to be considered for one of our open committee roles!

Officers:

2011-2012 President:  Brenda Cothary

(see additional officers in story continuation)

WSPA would like to thank its generous Sponsors for their support! If your organization would like to learn more about becoming a Sponsor of WSPA, and getting recognition on both the WSPA web site and in our newsletter Findings and Conclusions, click here for more information.

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