Welcome to the Michiana Paralegal Association

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

SEPTEMBER DINNER MEETING

Guest Speaker: Curtis Hill, Elkhart County Prosecutor
When : Monday, September 13, 2010
Time : 6:00 p.m.
Place : The Vine
214 South Main Street Elkhart, Indiana 46516

Attorney Curtis T. Hill, Jr. will be the guest speaker for the evening. Attorney Hill is the Prosecuting Attorney for Elkhart County. He earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law. Prior to being elected Prosecuting Attorney for Elkhart County in November of 2002, Curtis was engaged in the private general practice of law while also serving as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Elkhart County. Cost will be $23.00 for members and $25.00 for non-members. Please RSVP by September 6, 2010 to: mkrause@gardnerandrans.com

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Mystery at the Mansion

Murder at the Muessel Brewery

Where: Center for History – Copshaholm

When: October 8^th or 15^th (Depends on majority of those replying as attendees.)

Price: $10 per person (or if you are lucky and are age 60 or over $8.00 per person)

Time: 7:15 pm; 7:30 pm; 7:45 pm; 8:00 pm; 8:15 pm; 8:30 pm; 8:45 pm

(As with the date – depends on majority of those replying as attendees.)

Reservation Deadline: September 15^th

Mystery theatre production staged at the Copshaholm with live actors in every room of this great historic home. Tours start every fifteen minutes, thus the choice of time as listed above. Only twelve persons are taken in each group, the tickets must be paid for in advance, and the spots fill quickly, thus, this short time to make reservations for October.

The Mystery play will be based on the true story of murders that took place on December 30, 1915, at the Muessel Brewery in South Bend. This is an interactive experience as in you will be using all your investigative skills to track down a secret accomplice in the heist. If you guess the correct secret accomplice, you will be entered into a drawing to win a grand prize.

Send your reservation to: Leona L. Adams at lebo1781@aol.com. Put “Mansion Mystery” in subject line. Indicate your preferred date and time. Then forward your payment to: 17881 Edgewood Walk, South Bend, IN 46635 (Tickets must be purchased in advance and I will need to remit payment on September 16, 2010.) All attendees will then be notified of the date and time most convenient for all participating. If you are unable to attend, you can sell your space to another interested party.

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2010 Dinner Meetings:

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

Announcements/News

MPA will be hosting the NFPA Region III meeting next spring in April 2011. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact Howard at AssociateDirector@michianaparalegals.org. Also, please email Howard with any suggestions you might have for guest speakers and/or CLE topics. The NFPA Region III meeting will bring paralegals to South Bend from several states. Having the event here in South Bend will allow our members to attend the event without having to travel. This is a fabulous opportunity for MPA! Please consider helping out on this committee. MPA needs your participation to ensure that this event is a success!

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Fall Fundraiser

For MPA’s Fall Fundraiser, we will be selling Dinner-For-4 tickets for $20.00 each for dinner at
The Skillet Restaurant. The tickets will be able to be redeemed at any time and will not have a
specified expiration date. This is a great family value and the food is delicious. We will be
handing out tickets and answering any questions at the September Member’s Meeting. We will
provide a flyer with all the relevant information that can be either attached to an email or printed
to make the tickets easier to sell, sell, sell! Keep in mind…this would make a great gift for the
person who has everything or the busy family on the go! See any board member for tickets.

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Hosted by the Philadelphia Association of Paralegals

October 7-10, 2010
Cherry Hill, NJ

For more information or to pre-register, visit the NFPA website: www.paralegals.org

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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.