Yesterday I saw Jimmy Carter. Today I was incompletely quoted in the newspaper published from our state’s capital city, and while what what they included was fine, they left out the best part. This evening, I had three “bar” shots of Tequila (which I haven’t done in quite a long time) , at home in the safety of my own kitchen and they knocked me on my virtual posterior.
I must say that I’m not much impressed with myself.
I didn’t pull a rabbit out of the hat today, but the odds were against me on that one anyway. I did, however, make friends with the rabbit warden and a few other folks at the farm, which is a fairly good trick in and of itself.
It was a long day. It started at 4:00 a.m. and involved over 350 miles of driving, followed by a couple of hours of intense office work. And you know what? I enjoyed the hell out of it. I realize that it has been far too long since I have been able to take such pleasure in my work. It was a little hard getting back in the saddle again, but a few more like this and I should be riding quite well.
Having 5+ hours in the car by myself wasn’t bad either. It was nice to have quiet time. It was also nice to have good cell phone reception so I didn’t feel isolated while I was doing it. I didn’t do much talking, but the silence feels more respectful when one is reachable.
The other upswing is that The Sick was apparently properly embarrassed by its public exposure. It backed way down today. It’s not gone completely, but I feel like a human being again.
The final bit of this day was a follow-up phone call from a friend. It was a real joy to talk with her two nights in a row. And I love the ringtone I’ve given her. Tickles me every time it goes off.
And so, to bed. That’s the very best part of a good day.
Licensing is done for the protection of the public. Since there are only a very few instances in which a paralegal may provide services directly to the public, I don’t believe there’s any need for us to be licensed. In this, there is a distinct difference between us and nurse practitioners. While some may feel that there is a need for an equivalent level of service in the law, I am not among them. I believe we can best contribute to cost effective legal services for the public by working under the supervision of licensed attorneys.
That having been said, I believe it helps us to pursue voluntary certification programs to give our prospective employing attorneys an indication that we have attained a defined level of competence. I’m in North Carolina where NALA’s designations are recognized by our Bar. In other regions of the country, the examinations and credentials offered by other organizations may be more familiar to attorneys. It is my opinion that what matters is our willingness to commit to doing whatever is necessary to attain those certifications and diligently pursue continuing legal education to stay at the top of our game.
As one of the old guard (28+ years) who came up through the law firm-trained system, I liken myself the lawyers of long ago who learned by “reading the law” and being trained by more experienced attorneys. As I understand the history, the next thing to come along for attorneys was licensing for those who provide direct legal services to the public. It is only during my time of working in the law that all states required prospective bar exam candidates to attend law schools.
