SFPA at issue.pdf

Happy New Year's Eve!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Holiday and are looking forward to a fun and eventful New Year's Eve (however you may celebrate it!)!

This year we did many things that I hope you all were able to benefit from. I am so glad to have shared these events with all of you:

Skills Academy| Virtual Cinco De Mayo Taco Party| Paralegal Day| SFPA 50th Anniversary Cruise| Digital Legal Tech Summit| SFPA Annual Holiday  Party

just to name a few. 2022 was full of surprises and new friendships. 

In the coming year, I implore the membership to get more involved with SFPA and share your thoughts on what you want to see in 2023. We are hoping there will be more collaborations with Women in eDiscovery - San Francisco, Orange County Paralegal Association, Los Angeles Paralegal Association, and San Diego Paralegal Association.

There are board seats that are available and committees to join. If you are interested, please email info@sfpa.com and join us at our first board meeting on January 4, 2023 at 6:00 pm. SFPA Board meetings are held via zoom, just email for the link.

In person activities are a plan for SFPA in 2023. The 50th anniversary cruise was a hit and we are looking to do something like that again in 2023 to thank our sustaining members and the membership. We hope you will consider joining us!

Amy McGuigan will be heading the At Issue Newsletter together with Michael Schiraldi this year. We are looking for articles, so if you want to be published, here's a way to start.  Please email info@sfpa.com with your article that you want published. If you are interested in helping Amy and Michael with the Newsletter, email us!

I would love to spotlight any of our members in accomplishments that he or she has gained. If you attended the Holiday Party, we recognized Amy McGuigan's accomplishment for obtaining her CP credential from NALA. She has recently obtained her ACP/CAS in Discovery. BRAVA!! Just send your accomplishment (or someone you want to recognize) via email at info@sfpa.com and we will put that announcement out in our Making Moves Monday and on our social media! Let's celebrate YOU!

2023 will be a year of opportunity. Challenge yourself to do better at what you feel needs work. This year, I want to focus on Branding. Your Brand and what that means to you. How do you want to present yourself and how can SFPA help you accomplish this!

Stay tuned for skills academy topics (provide some if you have ideas) and opportunities to study for your credential (if you are not NALA certified paralegal).

As I sit here in my home office, I am reflecting on what SFPA has done all year. I recently lost a close member of my family before the holiday, but wanted to share something she said to me when I moved back to California in 2019. She said, "Think of life as a canvas. Paint what you want others to see."

Be well and Happy New Year!

Katie Oliver, CP

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. If you didn't join us for our Digital Tech Summit on Saturday, we have a summary written by Maureen C. Washington, Bar Liaison Director with the San Diego Paralegal Association! Click the link to read her summary!!

10.08.2022 e-Discovery Summit Summary.pdf

It's FALL and HALLOWEEN Season!!

This year has been a busy year for SFPA - HOWEVER we just promoted the October Step Challenge! This is a little different for our annual meeting this year because we want to focus on wellness, because fall weather is the time to just relax and chill with some comfort food and shop on amazon!

With that said, the challenges offer some cool prizes and a in person meeting/voting at Salesforce Park on October 29th, in case you need to get those final steps in! Register to get directions to access the Yumuuv App to participate in the challenges!

Don't fret, a social at Patriot House is in order right after and we are hoping for a great sponsor(s) for lunch and cocktails!

Look forward to seeing you all participate in the October Challenge!!

"Gartha"

It's been a pretty eventful first quarter of 2022!!

Some things that have happened:

1. The listserv (Groupvine) is active and thriving! If you haven't signed up, please do! It is free and pretty active!

2. Our committees are active and you are all encouraged to join a committee that you are passionate about.

3. The Skills Academy Sessions are well underway! I am looking forward to Session 3 which is about "Tackling Conflict in the Workplace". Tammy Dunnett is the speaker for this and she has a wealth of knowledge on this topic! If you haven't signed up for this session, definitely do so!

4. Victor Aguilar from US Legal is hosting Happy Hour at Make Westing in Oakland on March 17, 2022 from 6pm-8pm. If you are interested in attending, please sign up on the website!

5. On March 24, our virtual happy hour is on deck with returning host Brian Klunk of Epiq! Trivia will be in full effect! Join us for venting, laughter and prizes!

6. On March 31, 2022, SFPA, together with LAPA, OCPA and SDPA, are presenting an Elimination of Bias CLE virtually from 6pm-7pm. The topic "A Transgender Perspective" with Jessie McGrath. 

7. On April 5, Stefano Molea will be presenting an Ethics CLE "Ethical Considerations in Criminal Law Practice" virtually from 12pm-1pm. Signup on the website!

8. The next board meeting is on April 6, 2022 at 6pm via zoom. Please email info@sfpa.com if you would like to attend. The board meetings are open to the membership!

We also have a few socials coming up: Paralegal Day in May and our 50th Anniversary celebration in July! Also, there is a Volunteer Fair brewing. Stay tuned for more details! 

SFPA is on TIKTOK! Follow us @SFPATok

I want to thank you all, the membership, sustaining members and colleagues across many platforms. We will continue to provide riveting programs and have those "not so easy" panel discussions. I hope you will continue with us!

Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day festivities. Please tag us in photos, so we can see how you are celebrating! #sfparalegal

Respectfully,

Katie Oliver, CP

2022 SFPA Board President 

This is an official communication from the Election & Nomination Officer.

Following a nominations period distributed to the Members of the San Francisco Paralegal Association, those nominees were sent an email whether they would confirm to be placed on the ballot.  After these emails were received, a ballot was prepared and distributed to the Voting Members of the SFPA.  

Following the election ballot period, the results were tallied and announced at the Annual Meeting on Saturday October 23, 2021.  

Your 2022 San Francisco Board of Directors as elected is as follows:

Kate Oliver - President

Amy Jo McGuigan - Vice President

Trish Watson - Treasurer

Erin Keller - Secretary

Directors at Large

Lauren Jensen

Greg Johnson

McKenzie Laird

Cynthia Montoya

Connor Rowe

Jeffrey Ward

Congratulations to the 2022 elected board of directors.

The San Francisco Paralegal Association would like to take a moment to address and condemn the racial violence and harassment against the AAPI community.  One of the great things about living in the Bay Area is the diverse population and culture we have.  More than 3,700 anti-Asian hate crime incidents have been reported to the advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate since the pandemic began. Sadly, these are just the reported incidents, there are probably much, much more.  One recent study, done by CSU Santa Barbara,  based on police department statistics across major US cities found a 150% surge in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020. Separate data from the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council showed over 2,800 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate between March and December of last year.  The Asian-American population in the Bay Area is one of the largest in the United States, and we hope you will help us take a stand against this violence and hatred.

Study by CSUSB:

https://www.csusb.edu/sites/default/files/FACT%20SHEET-%20Anti-Asian%20Hate%202020%203.2.21.pdf

Website for advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate:

https://stopaapihate.org/

Below are a few articles that reference how you can help fight anti-Asian violence and help support your colleagues. 

https://time.com/5947603/how-to-help-fight-anti-asian-violence/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/19/how-to-support-asian-american-colleagues-amid-anti-asian-violence.html

 

Below are a few free trainings related to this issue of anti-Asian discrimination and the links to sign up.  SFPA is not endorsing this company, we are just providing it to you as a resource. 

 

https://www.ihollaback.org/harassmenttraining/

 

STAND UP AGAINST STREET HARASSMENT

March 26 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

 

BYSTANDER INTERVENTION TO STOP ANTI-ASIAN/AMERICAN HARASSMENT AND XENOPHOBIA

March 29 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

 

STAND UP AGAINST STREET HARASSMENT

March 31 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SFPA is an affiliate member of NALA, which means all of our members are eligible to be nominated for one of  these NALA awards.  Do you know a paralegal who had gone above and beyond?  Use the link below to nominate them.  

NALA is accepting nominations for the next two prestigious awards in the 2021 NALA Awards Program. Recipients of the Founders’ Award and President’s Award will be recognized during the Annual Membership Meeting at the 2021 NALA Conference & Expo! Please take a moment to consider submitting a nomination.

Nominations for the Founders’ Award are due by April 1. The purpose of this award is to recognize extraordinary or outstanding contributions to the growth and future of the paralegal profession which impacted or affected the paralegal profession in a positive manner for a significant period of time.

Nominations for the President’s Award are also due by April 1. The purpose of this award is to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of NALA members and their contribution to the future of the paralegal profession.

To learn more about nomination criteria, who can submit a nomination, and the details of each award, please visit the NALA website by clicking here:

https://www.nala.org/NALA%20Awards%20Program

I am honored to have been elected to serve a second term as president of SFPA.  2020 was a roller coaster, at times it was on fire with the wheels of the coaster falling off, but it was continually a wild ride.  I truly enjoyed working as your president last year and I am excited to carry on.  (Don't tell anyone, but I think I will miss it greatly next year.)

I am lucky enough to have an amazing board of directors to help me guide SFPA from 2020 to 2021.  There are some great things happening in 2021 that I will discuss in a later news release, but for right now, I would like to take a moment to welcome the new SFPA board members, thank existing board members for continuing on, and to wish a fond farewell to outgoing board members.  

My vice-president for 2021 is Katie Oliver.  She  was a board member last year and was a strong force in getting our social media back up to 2020 standards.  I can't wait to see how she helps transform SFPA in 2021.

The vice-president from 2020 was Kibibi Shaw.  Kibibi has stepped down from the board to pursue her law degree and other amazing adventures.  She was the glue holding our sustaining members together and will be missed, but we know she will become an amazing legal advocate.

Continuing on as treasurer for 2021 is Erin Keller.  Erin is the spreadsheet to my jumbled but colorful pie chart.  Between her and Trish, I'm more organized than I need to be.  She keeps me grounded and I'm lucky to have her on my team. 

Also continuing on is Trish Watson as secretary.  Trish has a great sense of humor and helps the board realize that everything isn't all serious at all times.  She is a welcome pause and I am grateful to have her round out my executive committee.     

Staying on the board of directors from 2020:

Greg Johnson, brings a different perspective to the board.  He helps us focus not on just the current working paralegals, but the students and the non-working paralegals looking for work or for education.  

Gloria Torres,  provides a wealth of knowledge from her work on previous boards, and she is passionate about championing the paralegal profession.  We also couldn't get through our meetings without her quick wit and seriously funny mom-jokes. 

Kimberly Heller, has a true passion for helping others.  She has some great ideas for SFPA in 2021 and I'm excited to see them come to life.   

New to the board of directors for 2021:

Lauren Jensen, a wealth of knowledge in all things compliance.  To say that I am happy to have her on my team is an under statement.  

Lucindy Harrison.  I had the pleasure of working with Lucindy during the 2019 board.  She is kind and the first to step up to volunteer or help out with a project.    

Richard Steele, also brings the board a fresh perspective as a new paralegal. The fact that he was a CPA is just an added bonus.  

I'd like to wish the departing board members a fond farewell.  Eric Logsdon, Malcom Campbell, Cyn Reese and Michael Schiraldi.   Thank you for volunteering your time to SFPA.  We could not have made 2020 work  without you and I wish you all of the best in your future endeavors.  

Finally, I'd like to say a HUGE thank you to Michael Schiraldi.  Even though he stepped down from the board to focus on his teaching, he is still assisting SFPA on a daily basis.  To say that SFPA would not be functioning  without him working behind the scenes is far from an exaggeration.   He agreed to assist for a few more months until we take the training wheels off.  Thank you Mr. Schiraldi.  

I learned a lot in 2020.  I hope to learn a lot more in 2021.  I just hope to leave SFPA in a better place than I found it, and I hope the person after me does the same. 

-Amy Jo McGuigan, SFPA President 2020, 2021  

$40 per class for General Admission

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