What I learned from an amazing group of paralegals
While spending time at the Annual Convention for the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), I had the opportunity to hear different perspectives on a wide range of topics & meet some amazing paralegals from across the nation (and some from outside the US). There were multiple educational sections available to attend. Some of the seminar topics included: Government Liability, EDiscovery, ADR, Immigration, Corporate, Soft Skills, Medical Malpractice, Mentoring & Networking, Organizational Tips, and Twitter Tips. All of the presentations included meaningful and important information but there were some I found more universally applicable and I thought were worth sharing.
The presentation on 6 Important soft skills made us reflect on how we react and present ourselves and consider how each of our soft skills can be furthering, or hindering our own careers. The 6 soft skills discussed were:
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Teamwork
- Time management
- Adaptability
- Conflict resolution
One important point that was addressed during the presentation was that while experience gets you the job, your soft skills keeps you the job.
Later in the conference we had the inadvertent opportunity to see how we each reacted when an unexpected occurrence, in this case a bomb threat to our hotel, transpired. During such an event the organization as a whole as well as many of the members and staff of the hotel showed how important communication, critical thinking, teamwork, time management, and adaptability are. Whether you are faced with an emergency situation, rush assignment, prioritizing projects assigned by different partners or a job interview having solid soft skills can help you keep your composure.
The seminar on organizational skills was also relevant to anyone who works in a law firm, or who may want ideas for improving time management to achieve better-quality work-life balance. The review of technology available as well as other organizational tips can assist any of us improve our sense of structure and time available for important tasks. Several of the software reviewed were: Time, Tripit, Instapaper, and 1 Password. Also during this presentation, the use of a dream board was discussed as an important tool in getting you to focus on your goals and develop a plan to implement them.
In addition to the knowledge gained, and of course CLE credit received, the opportunity to network with such a broad base of legal professionals is an opportunity that does not come along often. The chance to converse and hear that others have similar concerns and issues & to discuss ways to address these serves a greater purpose.
Thank you to everyone who made it a memorable experience.
