Welcome to the Michiana Paralega

Welcome to the Michiana Paralegal Association

The Michiana Paralegal Association was established in 1989 to promote the professional and business interests of persons engaging in the paralegal profession. Today, we continue that mission with bimonthly dinner meetings, support, encouragement and recognition of the outstanding accomplishments of our members.

Welcome to the online home of Michiana Paralegal Association! Michiana is a region in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan, including the counties of Elkhart, LaPorte, Marshall, St. Joseph and Starke in Indiana, and Berrien and Cass in Michigan. Whether you are a member, prospective member or simply an information seeker, I want your experience here to be enriching. Please take the time to discover what Michiana Paralegal Association has to offer.

Kathy Rubio-Hudgins

MPA President

Upcoming Events

February Fireside Chat

Join MPA's President for an informal chat Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at Panera Bread, 4536 Elkhart Road
Goshen, IN 46526. Pick up a cup of your favorite joe and discuss your busy day or any other topic of choice. You may come and go as you please, but Kathy will be there from 6:00-7:30pm.

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MARCH DINNER MEETING

Date : Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Time : 6:00 p.m.

Place : The Cellar Door

211 West Washington Street

South Bend, IN 46601

Corner of Washington and Main Street

Speaker: Richard Urda, Esq.

Urda Professional Corporation

Topic: Marital Dissolutions and Retirement Plans

2010 Dinner Meetings:

Monday, May 10, 2010 - Elkhart Location

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - South Bend Location

Monday, September 13, 2010 - Elkhart Location

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 - South Bend Location

For more information, please contact our meetings chair at Meetings@michianaparalegals.org

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Spring Seminar

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

SAVE THE DATE - APRIL 27, 2010

More details to follow

Announcements/News

2009 Paralegal of the Year Kim Muske-Lynch

Michiana Paralegal Association named Kim Muske-Lynch as its 2009 Paralegal of the Year. Ms. Muske-Lynch works for Indiana Legal Services in South Bend, Indiana. She was nominated by both a fellow paralegal and attorneys at Indiana Legal Services who describe her as a paralegal who “has exhibited unparalleled professionalism and initiative,” and who “works tirelessly and seemingly effortlessly to help ensure that all clients receive the high-quality legal representation that they deserve and desperately need.” Ms. Muske-Lynch is also described as a “crusader for the less fortunate in our community.” She has been a member of Michiana Paralegal Association for two years and currently serves as Secretary and newsletter editor.

The Paralegal of the Year Award recognizes an individual paralegal whose achievements and values are representative of the Michiana Paralegal Association, who has contributed to the expansion of the paralegal profession, including contributions to his or her employer and colleagues and the paralegal profession in general, who sets high standards representative of the quality and professionalism all paralegals should strive to obtain.

Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE)

The Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) is offered by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (NFPA^_®) to test the competency level of experienced paralegals.

Offering experienced paralegals an option to:

validate your experience and job skills;
establish credentials; and
increase your value to your organization and clients.

Exam for Experienced Paralegals

PACE is offered to paralegals who have a minimum of two years' experience and meet specific educational requirements. PACE is designed for professional paralegals who want to pioneer the expansion of paralegal roles for the future of the profession, not to restrict entry into the profession.

Requirements for a paralegal to take either tier of PACE include work experience and education. The paralegal cannot have been convicted of a felony nor be under suspension, termination, or revocation of a certificate, registration, or license by any entity. PACE has generated a great deal of interest since the resolution to develop it was passed. Based on this interest, and the number of paralegals who may apply to take the exam (a number reported by the U.S. Department of Labor to exceed 113,000), a need exists for global grandparenting.

Requirements are:

An associates degree in paralegal studies obtained from an institutionally accredited school, and/or ABA approved paralegal education program; and six (6) years substantive paralegal experience; OR
A bachelor's degree in any course of study obtained from an institutionally accredited school and three (3) years of substantive paralegal experience; OR
A bachelor's degree and completion of a paralegal program with an institutionally accredited school, said paralegal program may be embodied in a bachelor's degree; and two (2) years substantive paralegal experience; OR
Four (4) years substantive paralegal experience on or before December 31, 2000.

Two-tier Exam

Each tier addresses different areas. Tier I addresses general legal issues and ethics. As the need arises, a section for state-specific laws may also be developed. Tier II addresses specialty sections and is under development.

Voluntary

Paralegals will have the option to sit for the exam at more than 200 Sylvan Technology Centers.As activities and proposals for regulation of the profession increase, all paralegals will be encouraged to take the exam.

Credential Maintenance

To maintain the PACE RP^_® credential, paralegals are required to obtain 12 hours of continuing legal education, including at least one hour in ethics, every two years.

For more information or, if you are interest in joining the local study group, please contact Wanda Miedema.

Definitions

Paralegal. 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.

Disclaimers

This website is for the Michiana Paralegal Association, a non-profit organization formed under the laws of the State of Indiana. The web site and the materials provided herein have been prepared by MPA for informational purposes only. Although every effort is made to ensure that this website contains the most current and up-to-date information, some errors may occur. If you have any questions or comments regarding information posted on this site, please contact the webmaster at webmaster@michianaparalegals.org Reproduction, distribution, or retransmission of any materials contained within this site is strictly prohibited unless prior written permission has been granted.

MPA is not liable for any damages you sustain as a result of the use of this website, any links to other websites contained herein and/or any information or materials which you download from this website or a linked website, whether such damages are direct, indirect, special, consequential, or punitive in nature, including any lost data or lost profits and/or any damage to your computer hardware, software, or network.