Winter 2011-2012 The official publication of the Rhode Island Paralegal Association, affiliated with the National Federation of Paralegal Associations
BOARD OF directors Carol Blanchard President (401) 861-8254 cab@psh.com Melanie Catineault VP, NFPA Secondary (401) 462-7142 melanie.catineault@us.army.mil Adriana Santi-Lee Treasurer (401) 831-2900 asantilee@kprlaw.com Connie McClurg Secretary (401) 737-9720 cmcclurg@kalanderlaw.com Patricia Lyons NFPA Primary (401) 254-5602 plyons@rwu.edu Kelly Lajoie-Burns Advisory Director (401) 770-3190 kalajoie@cvs.com Laurie Emond lemond@lmkbw.com Kandy Marchand Benedetti (401) 457-5294 kbenedetti@haslaw.com Deb Medeiros (401) 276-2625 dmedeiros@brownrudnick.com Diana Stratis (401) 223-0526 dstratis@m-n-law.com Elaine S. White (401) 272-7200 e.white@greysmith.com Also, we are working on the Rhode Island Paralegal Association Cookbook (page 4). If you would like to work on this committee, just send an email to either me or Kandy. Wouldn t it be great if all members submitted a couple of recipes?! Our goal is to have the cookbook available to sell at the Annual Dinner in June. I was overwhelmed by the number of e-mails we received after the last ParaJournal. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. We have a very dedicated, hard-working team consisting of Laurie, John and Wendy a special thanks to them you guys are awesome! As always, we encourage anyone who would like to assist on a committee, provide comments or an article for the ParaJournal or attend a Board Meeting to do so just contact one of us and we will get you all the information you need. Happy Holidays to all and best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! -Carol Welcome hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We all had a great time at the networking social at Aqua at the Marriott (page 3). We had a great turn out -- thanks to everyone who came out and hopefully, those who were unable to come can attend the next one. We are looking at February 9, 2012 and will provide more information as it becomes available. UPCOMING board meetings January 25 February 29 March 28 April 25 May 23 5:30 pm, Partridge Snow & Hahn, 180 S. Main St., Providence. 1
I N T R O D U C I N G O U R new seal & logo With a new website in development and my interest in graphic design, I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to update our organization s seal and logo. Before now, RIPA only had a seal that incorporated a generic icon of the scales of justice accompanied by our name. With this new design, I put a uniquely Ocean State spin on this symbol of the legal professions. I have also created a separate seal and logo. When I think of a seal and its uses, more official documents come to mind, like membership certificates and Board correspondence. A logo, by comparison, is more for everyday, less official materials, such as member gifts, advertisements, or a website banner. I hope you all are as happy with our new graphic identity as I am, and hopefully it will serve RIPA for many years to come. PARAnotes 2012 Annual Dinner The Board is presently exploring options for the location of the 2012 RIPA Annual Dinner, tentatively scheduled for June 12. If you have an idea for a possible location, please forward to Kandy at kbenedetti@haslaw.com or Laurie at lemond@lmkbw.com. Open Call for Articles RIPA Publications Group is looking for individuals to write articles to be posted in future issues of the Para- Journal. Content should be something relating to the legal profession. Articles can be short, medium, or long, and can feature motivational quotes, educational topics, or any feeds to which you subscribe. Also, feel free to pass along a link to an article if you re not authoring one yourself. Please call or e-mail Wendy Novak or Laurie Emond (please see contact information below) if you wish to contribute. Pencil us in! February 9, 2012 RIPA Networking Social If you missed the last social at Aqua, be sure to mark this one on your calendar. Location to be announced... stay tuned! April 18, 2012 Brown Bag Lunch Seminar E-Discovery -- As technology expands to all facets of our lives, electronic discovery has become an essential component of the legal process. Learn useful tips on how to make e-discovery work for you, and not the other way around. Watch this space for more information. PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Laurie L. Emond lemond@lmkbw.com Wendy Novak wnovak@lmkbw.com John R. Fornoff (401) 276-6561 jfornoff@edwardswildman.com 2
White joins Greysmith E laine White, a long time legal recruiter associated for many years with RI Temps and previously president of her own legal recruiting and staffing firm, Capitol Personnel, is proud to announce that she has joined The Greysmith Companies as a Legal Staffing Consultant. ripa @ aqua Pictures from our last networking social, September 28, 2011, at the Providence Marriott. Elaine will utilize her 20+ years experience in Executive and Legal recruiting to expand upon Greysmith s current recruiting and client relationships. Her strength in specialized legal recruiting will greatly complement Greysmith s current service offerings. Greysmith is a Rhode Island professional talent acquisition firm successfully providing recruiting and staffing services for over 20 years to the southern New England business community. In her role, Elaine will adhere to the same high standards have contributed to The Greysmith Companies success year after year. In addition to Legal recruiting services, Greysmith offers divisions specializing in Accounting, Administration, Customer Service, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Operations as well. Greysmith Legal will supply talented candidates to client companies at skill levels from legal administrative support through senior level attorney. Elaine is proud to join the Greysmith team. She looks forward to re-establishing past relationships and thanks all of her former candidates and clients for their past and continued support. Faces of RIPA Melanie A. Catineault, Vice President and NFPA Secondary M elanie received an A.S. from CCRI and a B.S. majoring in Paralegal Studies from Roger Williams University. For twenty six years, she has held multiple positions at Texas Instruments Inc. and TI Federal Credit Union. Currently she is a Fiscal Assistant to the Senior Financial Officer and Grant Manager in the finance department for RI Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) where she processes FEMA grant reimbursement requests. 3
PAID ADVERTISEMENT 2012 RIPA Do you like to cook? Do you have a favorite recipe? Do you think you re the next Paula Dean? RIPA is putting together a cookbook and we need your help! Pull out your old recipe cards, ask your mom for that special family recipe, or ask your co-workers for their favorite homemade dishes... then send them to us. We will be gathering recipes throughout the next few months from members of the Rhode Island legal community and will be offering the cookbooks for sale early next year, with all proceeds benefitting the RIPA Scholarship Fund. We need recipes in all categories: Appetizers, salads, side-dishes, entrees, soups, meat, seafood, dessert, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, heart healthy, beverages, etc. Please send your typed recipes* either via mail to: RIPA, PO Box 1003, Providence, RI 02903 or e-mail to: Carol Blanchard, cab@psh.com or Kandy Marchand Benedetti, kbenedetti@haslaw.com LEGAL DOCUMENT SERVICES ediscovery and Web based Hosting Forensic Collections Legal Copy Scanning Bates Labeling/Coding Trial Exhibits Media Duplication CD/DVD Color and Oversize Closing Binders SERVING 200+ FIRMS in RHODE ISLAND FREE PICK UP and DELIVERY RUSH/SAME DAY TURNAROUND AVAILABLE 43 ADDITIONAL FACILITIES NATIONWIDE 143 WESTMINSTER STREET PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND Phone 401-454-3170 *Please include your name and place of business with each recipe. 4