Call Number: HV9471 .O34 2008

Michelle Oberman and Cheryl L. Meyer don't write for news magazines or prime-time investigative television shows, but the stories they tell hold the same fascination. When Mothers Kill is compelling. In a clear, direct fashion the authors recount what they have learned from interviewing women imprisoned for killing their children. Readers will be shocked and outraged—as much by the violence the women have endured in their own lives as by the violence they engaged in—but they will also be informed and even enlightened.

Oberman and Meyer are leading authorities on their subject. Their 2001 book, Mothers Who Kill Their Children, drew from hundreds of newspaper articles as well as from medical and social science journals to propose a comprehensive typology of "maternal filicide." In that same year, driven by a desire to test their typology—and to better understand child-killing women not just as types but as individuals—Oberman and Meyer began interviewing women who had been incarcerated for the crime. After conducting lengthy, face-to-face interviews with forty prison inmates, they returned and selected eight women to speak with at even greater length. This new book begins with these stories, recounted in the matter-of-fact words of the inmates themselves.

There are collective themes that emerge from these individual accounts, including histories of relentless interpersonal violence, troubled relationships with parents (particularly with mothers), twisted notions of romantic love, and deep conflicts about motherhood. These themes structure the book's overall narrative, which also includes an insightful examination of the social and institutional systems that have failed these women. Neither the mothers nor the authors offer these stories as excuses for these crimes.

barnesandnoble.com

Call Number: DS79.76 .G68 2008

Standard Operating Procedure is a war story that takes its place among the classics. It is the story of American soldiers who were sent to Iraq as liberators only to find themselves working as jailers in Saddam Hussein's old dungeons, responsible for implementing the sort of policy they were supposed to be fighting against. It is the story of a defining moment in the war, and a defining moment in our understanding of ourselves-the story of the infamous Abu Ghraib photographs of prisoner abuse, as seen through the eyes, and told through the voices, of the soldiers who took them and appeared in them. It is the story of how those soldiers were at once the instruments of a great injustice and the victims of a great injustice.

In a tradition of moral and political reckoning, and all-powerful story-telling, that runs from Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness and Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Grand Inquisitor to Norman Mailer's The Executioner's Song, Philip Gourevitch has written a relentlessly surprising and perceptive account of the front lines of the war on terror. Drawing on more than two hundred hours of Errol Morris's startlingly frank and intimate interviews with the soldier-photographers who gave us what have become the iconic images of the Iraq war, Standard Operating Procedure is a book that makes you see, and makes you feel, and above all makes you think about what it means to be human. It is an utterly original book that stands to endure as essential reading long after the current war in Iraq passes from the headlines-a work of searing power from two of our finest masters of nonfiction, working at the peak of their powers.

barnesandnoble.com

Call Number: JN147 .L56 2008

This remarkable book shines a fierce light on the current state of liberty and shows how longstanding restraints against tyranny--and the rights of habeas corpus, trial by jury, and due process of law, and the prohibition of torture--are being abridged. In providing a sweeping history of Magna Carta, the source of these protections since 1215, this powerful book demonstrates how these ancient rights are repeatedly laid aside when the greed of privatization, the lust for power, and the ambition of empire seize a state. Peter Linebaugh draws on primary sources to construct a wholly original history of the Great Charter and its scarcely-known companion, the Charter of the Forest, which was created at the same time to protect the subsistence rights of the poor.

barnesandnoble.com

Call Number: KF9227 .C2 C55 2007

The Bitter Fruit of American Justice examines two increasingly important factors in the debate over state execution, the conjunction of which may well signal an end to the death penalty in the United States. The first is external to the country. Mounting international resistance to state execution is raising the political stakes for the United States. Much of the democratic world has abolished state execution, regarding it as a grave human rights violation. Drawing on new understandings of state sovereignty, these nations are using extradition policy and existing treaty obligations to pressure the United States to end capital punishment. The second is internal to the country: the discovery of large numbers of innocent people on America's death rows has shaken public opinion and political resolve on this issue. The moral potency and rhetorical effectiveness of the innocence argument is radically altering the terms of the debate, undermining traditional justifications for capital punishment and weakening the attitudes of even the most adamant retentionists.

The authors contend that while there have long been compelling reasons to oppose the death penalty (the persistence of race, class and ethnic bias, its profound arbitrariness, its failure to deter more effectively than its alternatives, its exceptional costs), the power of such critiques is itself significantly enhanced by the convergence of international pressure and the innocence argument. The fact that a significant number of those whose lives the state ends are not only selected on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds, but are also innocent of the crime for which they are being punished, only intensifies the gravity of the abuse of state power that the American death penalty represents. The authors argue that domestic disquiet over a system that gets it wrong all too frequently is combining with the international critique of the death penalty as a human rights violation to bring an end to America's death penalty.

amazon.com

Call Number: HV9471 .E37 2006

In this new edition, updated after the Abu Ghraib scandal, Elsner uses a conversational tone in recounting the aspects of day-to-day life for American inmates: drug and alcohol abuse, rampant disease, rape, murder and racism. Prisons, Elsner writes, are fertile ground where the worst aspects of society take root and blossom, and the majority of his book, drawing on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, court cases and interviews with current and former inmates, paints a stark picture of a seedy world where guards rape inmates without fear of recourse and inmates can be left in lockdown for weeks as a budget cutting initiative. Instances of the sadistic creativity exhibited by inmates (generally with the aim of violating prison regulations) and guards (to punish inmates who have creatively violated prison regulations) pepper Elsner's sobering reportage, much of which concerns itself with figures and statistics so staggering that Elsner, clearly an advocate of prison reform, hesitates to even hint at solutions until the final chapter, when he outlines three elements of prison reform: reducing the number of new inmates, lowering recidivism rates and eradicating the "worst abuses within the system." An unflinching account of an uncomfortable subject, the book provides a window into an overlooked-and growing-segment of society and will appeal to readers interested in issues of justice and human rights. (Description by Publishers Weekly)

Call Number: KF170 .L46 2007

In this plain-language guide for general readers, Warner, a pioneer of the self-help law movement, takes readers step by step through the creation of everyday legal forms for situations such as estate planning, buying and selling property, handling personal finances, and living together. All of the forms are included in a section of tear- out sheets, and the forms are also provided on an accompanying CD-ROM. (Description by BarnesandNobles.com)

Call Number: HV9275 .T56 2008

In the middle of the first decade of the twenty-first century, African Americans made up approximately twelve percent of the U.S. population but close to forty percent of the U.S. prison population. This shocking disparity is due, in part, to the introduction of tough sentencing laws passed in the 1990s, some in response to the widespread use of crack cocaine, which was sold and used by far more black than white Americans. Now, in the latter half of the decade, the nation is in the midst of the largest multi-year discharge of prisoners in its history. What is likely to happen to these ex-offenders? In Releasing Prisoners, Redeeming Communities, Anthony C. Thompson looks for the answer.

Not surprisingly, most African Americans released from prison return to their home communities. However, as Thompson reports, many of these communities are struggling—many are in dire need of health care, adequate and affordable housing, drug treatment programs, social services, and jobs. And ex-offenders have even greater needs than other residents of these strained communities. Most of those who were drug addicts have not received treatment. Nor, for the most part, have they received any useful vocational training. When viewed in its totality, Thompson writes, this is a recipe for disaster. At this time, nearly half of all ex-offenders return to prison within three years and that percentage could easily increase in the years ahead.

For Thompson, any discussion of ex-offender reentry is, de facto, a question of race. After laying out the troubling statistics, he identifies the equally troubling ways in which media and politics have contributed to the problem, especially through stereotyping and racial bias. He reports on the growing number of black women being sent to prison and looks at governmental responses to reentry, including the shifting roles of parole officers and the use of courts in reintegrating ex-inmates into communities. Well aware of the potential consequences if this country fails to act, Thompson concludes with concrete, realizable ideas of how our policies could, and should, change.

barnesandnoble.com

Call Number: HV9950 .M323 2008

As they learn about the criminal justice system, students often hear that "nothing works." Enter Making Sense of Criminal Justice--an innovative and insightful textbook that meets the needs of both criminal justice policy courses and undergraduate capstone courses (sometimes called "senior
seminars"). Beginning with an outline of the crime control and due process models, G. Larry Mays and Rick Ruddell have organized the book around the three major components of the criminal justice system (police, courts, and corrections). This topical, issues-oriented approach encourages students to
think critically about major dilemmas faced by participants in the system, from issues of race and gender to the use of the death penalty.

Working from a balanced viewpoint, the authors argue that criminal justice is inherently a political process; they examine strategies that work, those that do not work, and those that represent a gray area between the two extremes. Rather than providing students with "the answers," Mays and Ruddell
challenge them to think critically about how we deal with situations--such as the use of force by the police--and offer a framework for lively classroom discussions and debates.

End-of-chapter key terms, critical-thinking review questions, and recommended readings enhance students' understanding of the material and aid in test preparation.

barnesandnoble.com

By Steven W. Schneider

Call Number: KF320 .L4 S365 2006

The Everything Guide to Being a Paralegal is the ideal handbook for new paralegals, professionals looking to further or reevaluate their careers, or those considering the profession.Tackling the concerns of real law professionals, chapters include:

barnesandnoble.com

Call Number: E185.86 .F65 2008

What do Katrina victims waiting for federal disaster relief, millionaire rappers buying vintage champagne, Ivy League professors waiting for taxis, and ghetto hustlers trying to find steady work have in common? All have claimed to be victims of racism. These days almost no one openly expresses racist beliefs or defends bigoted motives. So lots of people are victims of bigotry, but no one's a bigot? What gives? Either a lot of people are lying about their true beliefs and motivations, or a lot of people are jumping to unwarranted conclusions—or just playing the race card.

As the label of “prejudice” is applied to more and more situations, it loses a clear and agreed-upon meaning. This makes it easy for self-serving individuals and political hacks to use accusations of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other types of “bias” to advance their own ends. Richard Thompson Ford, a Stanford Law School professor, brings sophisticated legal analysis, lively and eye-popping anecdotes, and plain old common sense to this heated topic. He offers ways to separate valid claims from bellyaching. Daring, entertaining, and incisive, The Race Card is a call for us to treat racism as a social problem that must be objectively understood and honestly evaluated.

barnesandnoble.com

It isn't a big deal in the regular world or for paralegals who love general litigation, but for me, its the niche I've wanted since beginning in the legal field. Its not easy to break into unless you have a firm willing to train you which takes about a 2 year commitment, or you can find classes that actually teach it, most paralegal programs don't teach it.

Lets just hope now that I'm getting what I want, it turns out to be what I really wanted. Only time will tell and I remain hopeful.

What is the job you, Dear Reader, have always wanted to go into? Are you doing it? What kind of training/education was involved

By Margaret E. Pickard

Job Placement Strategies for Paralegals is a job search guidebook for paralegal students and professionals. This practical workbook outlines placement skills and strategies for helping job seekers find a position in the fast growing paralegal profession. The book offers effective tools and strategies to help paralegals prepare a professional resume and cover letter, find job opportunities in the private and public sector, win over prospective employers in the job interview, and evaluate job offers, including salary, bonus structure, and benefits packages. The guide includes a detailed resume worksheet that will direct job seekers in preparing and customizing a resume for a successful job search. Sample paralegal resumes and cover letters contain critical commentary to help applicants prepare outstanding materials. This unique guidebook also prepares job hunters for the job interview by offering practical advice including how to prepare, what to bring, and what to wear. Specific interview questions, including the dreaded "zinger" questions are set forth with winning answers provided. This essential resource will help paralegals in all stages of their careers. The sample resumes, cover letters, and job strategies will be invaluable to both students entering the profession as well as paralegals currently working in the legal field. (Description By Barnes And Noble.com)

Probably that makes this obvious but I have no official va certification, nor do I plan to obtain one in the immediate future. I do have an honors college diploma in paralegal studies and over 10 years of in-office experience so I think I've got the background aspect well under control.

I accepted this career, as did a few of my peers, right after completing my undergraduate degree because I was unsure of what was to be my next step after receiving that degree. At the time, I had contemplated submitting an application for matriculation at medical schools but I ultimately decided to hold off on the application and instead chose to pursue other budding interests for a year or two. While working as a paralegal was the furthest job from my mind at the time, somehow between the ineptitude of my undergraduate career center and my hastiness to turn from the field I had spent all my collegiate years preparing for, I ended up accepting a job to work as a corporate paralegal in the legal department of a publicly traded hospitality company. There lies the story that shaped my view of the industry.

Like many new experience, the first few months provided some exciting challenges that kept me entertained. There existed a steep learning curve and the first few months found me trying to adjust to life as a paralegal. So much was unfamiliar that it was quite unimaginable to see how I could possibly accumulate all this working knowledge in time to be able to add some value to the position and the team that surrounded me. Yet, even as tedious as the learning curve was, it all started to fall into place sooner or later. I found myself adjusting to my new role within the company and it was then that I felt exposed to the true nature of the paralegal position. Within months of this revelation, I knew I wanted out, but the more I tried, the harder it became to actually leave. There is a saying that if you ever find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is to stop digging. Well, sometimes convincing yourself that it can be quicker to climb out than to continue digging to the other side is harder than it seems. For me, it took almost a year and a half before I threw down the shovel.

I've tried to list below four reasons that compelled me to switch out of my current role as a paralegal. While these are by no means the only four reasons that sent me packing, they are four important reasons that stick out in my memory. Before I begin, I would add that I in no means plan to convince anyone to stay clear of the paralegal position. The four reasons below do not have a clear unifying them except that they are sharp rationales I found to turn from the position. Beside, the truly wise will read the following posts and make do of it as they see best.

1. No Transferable Skills: One of the things that I regretted most about the paralegal is the specialization that it requires, but the lack of certification it provides. While working as a paralegal teaches a few soft skills that can be transferred across field, there is actually not a single hard skill that I have come across that can be applied across to a different field. As a paralegal, you are taught to act as a lawyer without actually fulfilling the duties of one. By that, I mean that you are taught to predict the response of a counsel without actually making the decision, or at least seeking the approval of a counsel before making such a decision. This leads to a specialized worker that lacks the legal authority to act without a supervisor and at the end of the day, all a paralegal can do, and do really well, is predict the action of a lawyer. No other job can appreciate such a skill except those that exist within legal field. The problem arises if one seeks to transfer out of the legal field. There is no certification that grants the authority to market these skills that have been honed over time. It is essentially illegal for a paralegal to market their knowledge or their expertise without being associated with a lawyer. Besides, will a employer outside of the legal realm care that I know what a promissory estoppel is?
2. The Proverbial Black hole: Going off a bit from point number one, the very nature of the paralegal position creates a proverbial black hole. Once one starts working as a paralegal, it is quite possible to acquire numerous skills through on the job training that can also be acquired in a formal classroom. Yet, since there is no formal advancement in the paralegal position, once you are a paralegal, you remain perpetually a paralegal. It is not as if one can work a certain number of years and acquire a certain number of skills and knowledge and find that they have suddenly become a lawyer. The paralegal position has no real advancement through the ranks; you are a paralegal the first day you enter the position and a paralegal for as long as you stay in that capacity. The better you become at being a paralegal, the longer the chain that binds you to the position become. Over the years, you find that you have become such a good, if not great, paralegal and can do nothing else but this.
3. Not actually a prerequisite: One familiar tie that binds a lot of my colleagues within this profession is an interest to matriculate at law school at some point in their lives. Many chose to become paralegals first and they willingly put up with the grunt work because they were falsely led into believing that working as a paralegal will either (1) act as a gateway into law school, or (2) assist them in making the decision whether working a lawyer is the right career choice for them. After a few months, even I was able to see the futility of this approach. First, law schools could actually care less whether you worked as a paralegal for a few years or not. There is no work experience pre-requisite for law school and those that work for a few years beforehand find that they gain no relevant advantage except for a few dollars in their pockets. Second, the role of a paralegal does not shed insight into the lives of the lawyers you work under. As a paralegal, you are there to support to support the lawyers, and all you can really gain insight into is how to support a lawyer rise in their career. There are multiples ways to learn what life as a lawyer, or even learn the experience of law school, but becoming a paralegal is perhaps the worst way of them all.
4. Middle / Back Office: For some who may not understand the nuance of Front/Middle/Back office roles, this fourth point may be a bit unfamiliar. I admit to be clueless to the nuances until a few months into my career as a paralegal. You see, there are really two roles in every company: Front Office and everyone else. A front office role is a role that brings in money, meets with client and brings in business. Everything else is classified under roles that support the front office, assist the front office, or fixes the front office's computers and equipments. Since non-front office roles do not generate the business of the firm, they are treated as the second class citizens that they are. If you truly believe prejudice and discrimination has been eradicated from corporate America, wait till you work at a middle to back office position. Well, you've probably guessed it, the paralegal position is a back office as it gets.

So there you have four of the reasons I choose to run as far away from the paralegal position. My greatest disappoint during these past two years was that I truly believed that the years I spent working as a paralegal might actually let to wonderful exit opportunities. Upon learning the truth, I threw down the shovel and realized that the only way for me to ever escape from the hole I found myself was to climb out. Trying to dig my way into better fortunes will only create a bigger hole.

It's no wonder I've worked for many lawyers with no idea how much I was capable of until we'd worked together a while.  I could have had anywhere from a legal terminology class to a college degree and called myself a legal secretary, legal assistant or paralegal.  The title doesn't matter to me, but I do value my education, experience and abilities, which is why I like the term paralegal.  But where I live the Law Society hasn't wanted paralegals providing services directly to the public and the name paralegal therefore isn't all positive for targeting my marketing to legal practices.  I don't want to be their competition - I want them to be MY clients!!! I love working with lawyers and helping on a file but I'm well aware that I don't have a law degree.

Just call me Laurie and forget the title thing altogether!!

2. Speaking of billable hours, is it normal to expect 6 hours of billable time a day for paralegals? It seems excessive, but I guess you need to bill something in order to get a paycheck.

3. Got my new camera yesterday. I am happy, and the hubby got me an SD card. So now I must get a flickr account. I really am not behind in the time --- just have not been an active member of the internet community.

4. I have injured myself twice this week while playing with Puppy. I am normally a pretty well balanced, agile person, but this week that apparently has gone through the crapper. First injury was smacking my right hand into a outside corner wall. It really hurt, but nothing major since I had it on ice. Second injury, I smacked my foot against a peaking pocket door in our circa 1960s house. This injury had procured blood, and today a nicely bruised toe. Needlessly to say, I am blatantly ignoring any dress policy at work and wore flip flops. I am half tempted to use my camera to post the disgusting picture. I have this weird this to point out disgusting things to people.

5. Is it wrong to look up clients in facebook? I do it purely to check them out - kind of like what an employer would do to a new hiree.

I need to be in school.  I need to be pursuing something.  I love my husband and I love our marriage, but I need to do something fulfilling for myself.  Thank goodness he's supportive.

Contact Information:
206-296-0439
marc.davies@kingcounty.gov

Region: King County

Areas of Practice: paralegal

Virtual assistance (legal or otherwise) may not be a "job" people are well aware of, but for visionary people it's actually a logical step forward in the rapidly changing business market. After all, what business owner doesn't need to free up some time? What business owner doesn't want a skilled and experienced assistant to tackle at least part of their to-do list? And most importantly what smart business person wouldn't want maximum benefit at minimum risk?

A freelance administrative professional provides all the help a business owner needs in a manner that is time and cost-effective. It's a smart solution if you can just think a little outside the traditional "box" of in-house secretarial staff.

Ok so it's not that dramatic but it's so hard to keep your chin up when you've spent 4 hours on an application only to have it rejected after 3 weeks of post watching.

The new thing with law firms at the moment (and councils since forever) is a group email saying "Due to the high number of applications for the post if you have not received any further information in the next 4 weeks consider your application unsuccessful" Seriously? Come on at least acknowledge I'm rejected, the fear that the letter has got lost in the post arises daily and the urge to make a call to confirm the rejection is an itch that won't go away.

The 2:1 cut off that a lot of firms have is fine, just be honest about it. I've been rejected out of hand by firms, yes I have a 2:2 but at least consider my application, your website says you don't care about classification you want commitment and potential but that's a lie, we will take you if daddy is our biggest client even if you have a third is more like it (working in your local area gets you some great inside information!).

So maybe I'm a little bitter, but I've been screwed over too many times and wasted applications take the same amount of time to do as ones that will actually be read, I'd prefer to spend more time concentrating on the latter.