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Legal research for California Law can be conducted at the Palomar College Library and online at the San Diego County Superior Court website. The following list represents the most frequently-used legal sources in the library collection. For legal research for Federal or other jurisdictions, consult the San Diego County Vista Branch Law Library located on Melrose Drive.

California Primary and Secondary Sources

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Supreme Court Reporter

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Textbooks and/or practice guides are available for all current courses being offered. Additionally, collateral materials are available for those subject areas. All textbooks are housed with the legal reserves on the third floor of the Palomar College Library.

Recent Articles:

http://www.paralegalgateway.com/laboroflove.html 

Labor of Love

Contributed by Chere B. Estrin
I am at a point in my life where I want work that is tailor-made to my hopes, wants, dreams and desires, not to mention my life experiences. I want to get paid for what I love to do, not have to do to earn a salary. After 25 years or more (mostly more) in the workplace – from a musical theatre background to paralegal to paralegal administrator to entrepreneur to top-ranking corporate executive back to entrepreneur, I have formed the strong opinion that work should be a form of self-expression, a medium of joy and self-satisfaction. That work should be an instrument toward growth is not an impractical notion. It is a reality.

In today’s working world, the definition of work from tedious drudgery into the purpose of life is a paradigm shift of impressive proportions. Work is no longer separate from any of us; it is an integral part of us. The question: “What do you do?” takes on significant meaning. Work is no longer the means to an end; it is an end in itself. Money, financial security, power, fame, and prestige are ceasing to be the goal of work; instead, they are its by-products.

I’ll tell you what led to all of this. Right after 9/11, I, like so many thousands of others, found myself in an industry (legal staffing) that quickly went so far south, it made Antarctica look like a tropical paradise. Frankly, I didn’t know what to do. I had been in this industry for so long that getting out seemed overwhelming. What would I do? I wasn’t sure I was going to come out of that long, dark tunnel. The light at the end of it seemed to be a train coming my way. I was stranded, stuck, panicked and over 40.

I needed to rethink my entire career. Good God! The irony was, this is what I had been teaching paralegals for years. I wrote books and articles and gave lectures on the subject. I was an AUTHORITY on the topic of career change for heaven’s sake but had reached the end of my rope. But the reality was: I wasn’t honest with myself. 9/11 was not only a horrible event for the country, it signaled the end of an era for me. I had to go deep within for the answer and to get it, I first had to get to the truth. And the truth was, it wasn’t about the marketplace. I just didn’t like the business anymore. Whoa. Hold on there, Missy! You were the Queen of Legal Staffing and you didn’t want to do it anymore? Unheard of. Disloyal. Waste of years. Exactly what my clients told themselves when they wanted to change directions.

To condemn a person into an occupation he or she hates for the better part of a lifetime would seem like refined torture, but that is what we routinely do to ourselves. All the more reason to cheer, then, the change looming on the horizon. I had studied career changes for years and knew in today’s world, we can take charge of our work not only because human potential is infinite but because the very forces of life are conspiring to push us in the direction of our dreams and desires.



The Internet, the global economy, technology, the virtual workplace, lifestyle changes, the satellite revolution, and new attitudes have freed us somewhat from the onus of insecurity. The urge to dive and nestle into the ostensible safety of a law firm for the rest of our lives is no longer compulsive.

Moreover, there are more opportunities today. We have a staggering number of alternatives to the traditional paralegal route leading to occupational nirvana. When else have we had at our command the possibility of earning a living in media, the military, entertainment, government, public law, teaching, technology, health care, business, hospitality, communications, transportation, research, and innumerable other forms of industry?

Searching for the right work is either the offshoot or the beginning of a larger search towards wholeness or happiness. Working for material gain such as money, fame or prestige carries with it a price tag that more and more people are unwilling to pay, forcing them to look within for more enduring satisfaction. A good friend, Deanie Kramer, was a paralegal for years. When she discovered her number one priority was helping others, it was easy for her to leave the law firm and open a legal clinic. That led to a fascinating part-time job as mediator for the TV show, “Divorce Court”. She gained purpose and fun all in one swoop.

The ending of my successful adventure in legal staffing caused me to look at other career options. I forced myself to branch out. I took classes in career coaching, and I have to admit, loved it. The ability to help others seemed to give me a purpose. Imagining myself as the next Dr. Phil, I hung out a shingle as a career coach and clients starting coming through the door! All I had to do was sit there in a comfy chair and administer sage advice. Worked for me! Or not. As clients started to unload, I realized they fell into three groups: those that needed therapy and definitely not me; those that needed a little clarification and direction and were soon out the door; and “others” who were lifetime whiners and nothing I ever said would make any difference. To make matters worse, when it came to the whiners, I was a career coach without empathy. Not a pretty picture if you wanted to start a new career.

The specter of financial insecurity lurks everywhere, particularly in the beginning of the path. The question, “What will happen to me?” ping-pongs in your head. You tell yourself you won’t make the same money. Believe me, it’s a made-up story. Do yourself a favor and tell yourself a different story. Moving away from the safety of the herd and carving an individual path calls for courage and self-belief.

Jeannie Johnston, founder of ParalegalGateway.com is a prime example. She started a website for paralegals based upon her strong belief of the need for paralegals to come together in this new technology. Consequently, her website is highly successful, attracting interesting paralegals from around the country.



Don’t misread me, though. Fear and insecurity are real. The choice to move into a new path therefore has to be an individual one. For many, the path can appear too tough or perilous. Working for a firm or organization that is not right for you but pays the bills may be a comfortable way to live. Unless we are compelled to move into another direction for either internal or external reasons, we may not have the endurance to make a success of it.

Ramy Kassabgui works for the SEC. He is a Surveillance Specialist with the Internet Enforcement Branch. In other words, he catches criminals in the financial investment arena. He has a purpose, an exciting job and a zest for his career. If anything were ever to happen to his job, he would be able to walk away and say truthfully, that he had indeed made a difference.

For Ramy, Deanie and Jeannie, their calling emerges from who they are, not from what they learn. Despite the pressures of society, of security and public endorsement, at some point they turned their dreams into reality getting paid for what they love to do, not have to do to earn their salaries. I wanted the same piece of heaven.



Back to the basics I went. But facing a career change is not easy. Figuring I had nothing left to lose, I went through the same steps as my clients. First question: What skills support your desires? Figuring out what I loved was easy: creating businesses and shows (there was that theatre background), writing, teaching, interacting with interesting people. Intellectual stimulation, travel, and speaking engagements were all on the wish list. It was painful but I analyzed my skills. Really, who wants to know this stuff?

In the past years, abilities emerged to create, implement the creation, financially build, lead a team, put concepts together, direct people and bring them together. So what’s a gal (at this age) to do? You’d think I’d know these things by now. I remembered Eleanor, my mentor for many years. “Leverage your skills,” she taught. “Leverage, leverage, leverage.” Then, bam! (Ok, maybe it wasn’t quite bam!) I realized all of this led to building a paralegal seminar and training company which meant staying in a field I loved, continuing to create, utilize training and writing skills, and work with great people. All of this, and remain an entrepreneur (which was important). Suddenly, I no longer felt so lost.

With the creative process was in place, and knowing my staffing career was indeed over, I was free to build castles. One of the things I came up with The Paralegal SuperConference. The idea reminded me of being in the theatre. At the same time, my paralegal skills for organization, problem-solving, coordination, detail and follow-through were utilized. Putting together the best speakers in the paralegal field and choosing hot and important topics – over 30 sessions in two days, I used my network and made new contacts. I’m working 80 hours a week and think of myself as one of the luckiest people in the world. The first conference takes place in Los Angeles on April 23-24th.

I learned a great deal during this sometimes agonizing, always motivating experience. Moving into creative employment can teach you the existence and importance of the right brain. Being in work you love allows you to experience pleasure. Ask yourself, “How long has it been since I experienced joy?” Looking back on my career change, I can assure you, this is the dividend to beat all dividends. It’s time to recognize that work and self are intimately intertwined. Work is derived from who you are, and in turn, it impacts on your very being. The marks you make in society need to be strong, unique and positive. In realizing your perfect work, you are realizing yourself.

And in the end, I wonder: who could really ask for more?

Chere B. Estrin is the CEO of Estrin Professional Careers, a training and career coaching company for the legal profession. She is the author of 8 books in the paralegal field including The Paralegal Career Guide Third Edition (Prentice-Hall) and The Successful Paralegal’s Job Search Guide (Thomson-West). She is well-established in the legal staffing arena and has been interviewed by Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Entrepreneur magazine, Latina, Maxim and more. She is a winner of the California Lawyer magazine LAMMIE award and the Century City/Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce “Women of Achievement” Award. She can be reached at CareerCoaches@aol.com and www.careercoachesinternational.com.
 

“MY OPINION” ARTICLE FOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2002

LEGAL ASSISTANT TODAY MAGAZINE PUBLICATION

 “WEEKEND WONDER” SHORT-TERM PARALEGAL PROGRAMS

 HARM THE PARALEGAL PROFESSION

By Robert J. LeClair (leclair@hawaii.edu)

Caveat: Please realize that the comments in this article are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of AAfPE. Additionally, none of these comments are intended to apply to short-term continuing legal education for practicing paralegals. My comments are limited to those programs attempting to provide entry-level paralegal training in periods of time that are woefully less than the minimums established by the ABA or AAfPE.   

In recent years there has been a proliferation of paralegal programs that claim to produce functional entry-level paralegals in training that involves less than 120 clock hours of instruction. Many of these programs are offered through the continuing education departments of major universities and/or through the Internet under the guise of “distance education.” Traditional paralegal educators have labeled these programs “weekend wonders,” due to claims of these programs to produce functional or “certificated” paralegals in six or seven weekends. It is my personal opinion that: 1) these programs should not be considered as meeting minimum standards of the requisite education to enter the paralegal profession; and 2) these programs do a fundamental disservice to the students enrolled in the course, to paralegal education, and to the paralegal profession. 

CAN THE SHORT-TERM PROGRAMS TRAIN FUNCTIONAL ENTRY-LEVEL PARALEGALS IN SUCH BRIEF TIME PERIODS?

Both the American Bar Association (ABA) and the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) have set minimum educational standards to train an entry-level paralegal. By any stretch of the imagination, the time periods involved in the “weekend wonders” fall woefully short of the minimum standards set by either AAfPE or the ABA. Both ABA and AAfPE requirements set minimums of 60 total semester hours with 18 semester hours of substantive paralegal classes and 18 semester hours of general education (or the equivalent in quarter or clock hours.) A semester hour is typically defined as fifteen sessions of 50 minutes each session. By contrast, the typical length of the short-term programs is equivalent to approximately 6 semester hours. Respected paralegal educators and officers of national paralegal associations have expressed to me their strong belief that functional entry-level paralegals can not be trained in the limited time periods involved in the “weekend wonder” programs. 

IF THEIR TRAINING IS INADEQUATE, HOW HAVE

THE SHORT-TERM PROGRAMS PROLIFERATED?

Entrepreneurs have recognized the substantial profits to be made in education. The short-term programs have proliferated by using sophisticated marketing techniques involving three major areas: 1) the desire of students for a fast education; 2) the use of university continuing education departments that are not subject to curriculum review and offer courses based primarily on profitability; and 3) the use and lure of distance education. These three areas are discussed in greater detail in the following three paragraphs.  

Students are susceptible to the sophisticated marketing techniques used by the short-term programs. The “weekend wonder” programs appeal to the desire of potential students to enter the paralegal profession as quickly as possible. The weekend schedule of the programs and their short duration are very attractive to a society where “instant gratification is not fast enough.” The programs offer a “certificate” or claim to produce “certificated” graduates. Many students believe that this “certificate” is a credential that will be accepted by the legal profession as meeting the educational level required to enter the field. Students are excited while they are taking the short-term course, since it moves along quickly and covers only the highlights of each area. During the course, students generally assume that they are learning sufficient skills to function as a paralegal. “Reality” does not usually hit the students until they attempt to find employment. Even if they are able to find employment, they are discouraged when they attempt to function in today’s sophisticated legal markets and realize that their training has not adequately prepared them for employment as paralegals.

Continuing education departments are generally not subject to curriculum review.  Traditional paralegal programs, such as AAfPE Institutional member programs, must meet rigorous curriculum review standards within their institutions. Continuing education departments at most universities are not subject to these curriculum review standards. In the 1980's and 1990's, cash-strapped universities turned to continuing education as a means of generating income. Since these courses are seldom offered for credit, the primary consideration that has evolved is whether the course will produce income. Whether the course has traditional intellectual content that meets minimum standards is not a major consideration. This is not to say that a continuing education department is not an adequate site to house an effective paralegal program in some circumstances. Many quality programs are, in fact, located in such departments. Unfortunately, the “weekend wonder” programs have approached numerous continuing education departments and have offered to share the substantial revenues that can be generated from students seeking a fast-track to a paralegal career. The owner of the short-term program provides the teacher and the course materials. The university provides the space (and also its good name.) The short-term program uses the name of the institutions already offering its course to market to even more institutions. The program looks attractive to university personnel in charge of continuing education departments. The list of schools offering the program is impressive. The effort required of the university is very low and usually consists of offering a classroom, listing the course in the printed continuing education marketing brochures, and (often unknowingly) lending the good name of the institution to add credibility to the “weekend wonder” program. Profit margins to the school generally are at least 20% of the gross revenues and may be as high as 66% of the gross revenues. Thus, the “weekend wonders” have found a safe haven in continuing education departments, where they can bootstrap credibility based on the good name of the university while remaining free from curriculum review, program outcomes, or accountability for placement of “certificated” graduates.   

The Use and Lure of Distance Education. Distance education is now being used as another means of offering “weekend wonder” courses. There are significant positive ways in which distance education can be used by traditional paralegal programs to augment course offerings. However, a strong feeling on the part of many students does exist that if something is offered by distance education, it therefore is “cutting-edge” and must be of quality. Consumers are confusing “distance education” with “quality education,” and the terms are not synonymous. Many correspondence courses have dressed themselves in distance education clothes and are marketing their courses to students who assume the education is of quality. Thus, in recent years, the short-term programs have added distance education as another primary means of course delivery in addition to the continuing education department methods previously described. The inadequate time periods involved in the short-term programs exist regardless of whether the means of delivery is through “live” instruction or through distance education.  
 

WHAT IS THE HARM FROM THE SHORT-TERM PROGRAMS?         

Although even limited amounts of formal education can be beneficial, entry into the paralegal profession requires education of sufficient length, sophistication, intensity, and quality to produce a functional entry-level paralegal. Those attempting to provide students with a paralegal education should maintain the minimum standards as established by the ABA and AAfPE. It is my opinion that the failure of the short-term programs to live up to these educational minimums harms the paralegal profession in the following ways: 

·           Students are harmed when they spend significant sums of money in the false hope that sub-standard programs will provide them with an education that qualifies them to function as paralegals;

·         The paralegal profession is harmed by the poor job performance of graduates who have been inadequately prepared for the field;

·         The colleges and universities that offer these programs, or that offer campus space to these programs, are harmed by the damage to their reputations from the sub-standard education provided;

·     Paralegal education is harmed when students choose not to pursue paralegal education due to the bad reputation created by sub-standard programs;

·     Paralegal education is further harmed when employers who hire students from sub-standard programs assume that prospective employees from other programs are similarly ill-prepared to cope with the demands of the paralegal profession; and

·     Consumers of legal services are harmed by the actions of incompetent graduates of programs that fail to comply with accepted educational minimums and who, therefore, are not capable of performing the complex duties required of today’s paralegal.

In short, the primary ones benefiting from the “weekend wonder” programs are those who receive profits from the programs, i.e. the university continuing education departments and the owners of these short-term programs.
 

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT SHORT-TERM PROGRAMS?

AAfPE program directors have consistently expressed their concerns about these short-term programs. As President of AAfPE, at our March, 2002 Board meeting, I will ask the AAfPE Board of Directors to consider the problems created by short-term programs. It is my hope that the AAfPE Board will issue a formal position statement outlining the damage being done by these programs. I also hope that any statement adopted will be broadly circulated to prospective students, AAfPE members, national and local paralegal associations, the presidents and boards of higher educational institutions, and continuing education departments of universities. The key to solving this issue must be education about the dangers and inadequacies of these programs. It is not likely that the owners of the short-term programs voluntarily will stop offering these programs, due to the financial rewards they are receiving. The only solution is for the educational institutions currently offering these “weekend wonder” programs to have sufficient integrity to investigate whether they are participants in a process that is harming students, paralegal education, the paralegal profession, and the general public. 

Robert J. LeClair is a 1971 cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and has practiced law in Hawai‘i since 1972. He is the founder of the Paralegal Program at Kapi‘olani Community College in Honolulu, Hawai‘i and has served as its Department Chair from its inception in 1975. He is currently the President of the American Association for Paralegal Education.