Los Angeles Paralegal Association

LAPA October Conference Featured Speaker Justin Shiau, Esq. Topic: Introduction to Probate - This presentation will serve as an overview of the Probate process. It will focus on the key phases of Probate and cover how the costly process can be avoided.  Biography: Justin is a Chicago native and obtained his B.A. in English from the University of Chicago.  After college, Justin attended USC Law School, graduating with high honors in 2003.  He has been a California licensed attorney for over 20 years and is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. Justin founded Athlon Legal, APC in 2010 with the goal of bringing high quality, yet accessible, legal services to the public.  His practice focuses practice on estate planning, probate administration and trust administration. Estate planning can seem intimidating and confusing at times.  But Justin is committed to making the process as clear, simple and efficient.  Justin designs plans which are individually customized for each client’s personal situation.  He believes in building long-lasting relationships with his clients and takes the time to truly understand his client’s concerns and goals during the planning process.  Justin feels truly honored when a client chooses him to help protect his clients’ family and financial future. By constantly educating and challenging himself to stay on the cutting edge of planning techniques, Justin is able to provide superior value and service to his clients.  He is committed to the highest standards of practice excellence and is a member of WealthCounsel, a national organization of estate planning attorneys. Actively involved in his local community, Justin has served on the board of the Financial Planning Association of San Gabriel Valley, the Taiwanese American Lawyers Association and Project by Project, Inc., a nonprofit focused on leadership development.  He is also a member of the Pasadena Bar Association, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce, the San Gabriel Chamber of Commerce, and the Alhambra Chamber of Commerce.  In the past, he has served on the scholarship committee of the USC Asian Pacific American Alumni Association. In the past, he has served on the scholarship committee of the USC Asian Pacific American Alumni Association. Justin has also volunteered his legal expertise by providing estate planning seminars to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Habitat for Humanity, the San Gabriel Chamber of Commerce and the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture Trust. During his personal time, Justin enjoys hiking, playing golf with his wonderful wife Stephanie, and spending time with their daughter. For more information and registration, please visit: www.lapa.org #paralegals #lapa #octoberconference

LAPA October Conference Featured Speaker Adesh Singh Topic: Litigation: Nuts and Bolts of Discovery Biography: Adesh Singh is an Associate at Cozen O’ Connor. Adesh concentrates his practice on subrogation. He draws on experience counseling and defending companies in a variety of civil matters, including premises liability, breach of contract, commercial matters, negligent security, personal injury, general liability, automobile liability, and homeowner liability matters from the inception of litigation through trial, including preparing research and analysis, conducting depositions, and drafting pleadings, motions, and briefs. Prior to joining Cozen O'Connor, Adesh was a litigation associate with a national civil litigation firm, where he defended retailers, hotels and resorts, restaurants, and other companies in the retail and hospitality industries in civil matters. Before that, he was a litigation associate with a regional law firm in California and Nevada, where he handled civil disputes involving personal injury, automobile liability, and homeowner liability. Adesh earned his B.A. from the University of La Verne. While earning his J.D. at Loyola Law School, Adesh worked full-time as a paralegal, fine-tuning his skills in conducting legal research, summarizing medical records and deposition transcripts, responding to discovery requests, and drafting various legal documents. For more information and registration, please visit: www.lapa.org

Special shout out to our VP of Membership Tony Sipp for winning the California Lawyers Association’s Legal Professional of the Year Award. #makingadiffernce

LAPA Featured October Conference Speakers: Dennis Smeal Emily Berger Ana Stansell Topic: The Nuts and Bolts of Dependancy Law Dennis Smeal’s Bio: Dennis Smeal is in his third decade as a Dependency Lawyer - first in private practice, then as a Parent's Panel Attorney in Dept. 426. He has worked for Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers since its inception at the end of 2006. He began as a Staff Attorney, then became a Senior Attorney and then served as a Supervising Attorney. In that capacity, he implemented an intensive six-week one-on-one training for new Dependency Court parent's attorneys and conducted regular group training. He has served on several Dependency Court committees and in January 2020 he was promoted to Executive Director of LADL. He is also a proud Dad, and a produced playwright. Emily Berger’s Bio: Emily Berger is a Firm Director at Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers, Inc. She was trial counsel in a number of published legal decisions including In re Rebecca C. and In re Joaquin C. She is a Certified Child Law Specialist. Emily is a former Equal Justice Works Fellow. She received both her J.D. and M.S.W. at Rutgers University. Her Note, "The Legal Rights of the Poor and Minority to Have Families: Judges as Family Planners, the Vilification of the Poor, and Destruction of the Black Family" was published in the Spring 2007 Rutgers Race and the Law Review. Ana Stanstall’s Bio: Ana Stansell is a veteran dependency paralegal professional working in the Law Office of Emily Berger; one of five firms that comprise the Los Angeles Dependency Lawyers (LADL). Ana started as a LADL 2 legal secretary and fell in love with advocating for clients, preparing them for hearings, and helping to guide them to a successful outcome, while working closely with attorneys, social worker investigators, secretaries, and parent partners. As a paralegal, for LADL Ana drafts motions, briefs, restraining orders, custody orders, etc. while supporting clients and their attorneys during the life of the case. Ana obtained her paralegal studies certificate through an ABA-approved program at the College of the Canyons in 2021. Ana is also a member of LADL’s Expert Committee, which was created during the pandemic offering clients an extra layer of diligent advocacy. When she’s not on the LADL clock, Ana is hands on with her family and can often be found shuttling her two beautiful children to and from track and field meets or proving many of us at LADL with door-to-door delivery of her daughter’s delicious Girl Scout cookies. Ana recently dropped her eldest off at Sacramento State – Go Hornets! For more information and registration, please visit: www.lapa.org

LAPA October Conference Featured Speaker Karen Wagshul Topic: A Guide to Rockin’ the eDiscovery World Bio: Karen Wagshul is an eDiscovery Attorney in Winston & Strawn LLP’s Los Angeles office. Before law school, Karen began her legal career as a litigation paralegal at an IP boutique in San Francisco. It was there that she developed skills and expertise that she still uses today. And it was there that she was first introduced to what turned out to be her passion – eDiscovery. As an eDiscovery Attorney, Karen specializes in all phases of the discovery lifecycle, focusing on helping clients manage complex issues involving litigation readiness, preservation obligations, document review technologies, and navigating Federal and Local Rule discovery obligations. Throughout her career, Karen has advised clients on numerous data-intensive litigations and investigations pending in the U.S. and abroad, and is credited for leveraging emerging technologies to streamline workflows and develop powerful, innovative solutions for data-intensive projects. She has earned a reputation among clients and colleagues for quickly gaining their trust and confidence, and consistently delivering outstanding results that exceed expectations. Karen received her BA from Stanford University and received her J.D. from Southwestern Law School. Don’t miss out on this mcle breakout session. For more information please visit: www.lapa.org #lapa #paralegals #octoberconference #ediscovery

Calling all students! LAPA’s $1,000 student scholarship has been extended to October 14th. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/g4nmHtAQ #lapa #scholarship #students #paralegals

LAPA October Conference Featured Speaker Don Swanson Topic: A Guide to Rockin’ the eDiscovery World Biography: Don Swanson is a Senior Consultant with Five Star Legal and Compliance Systems, Inc. Don is a nationally recognized consultant and eDiscovery expert who specializes in Microsoft 365 eDiscovery. With a reputation for industry knowledge and integrity, Five Star Legal assists attorneys on high-stakes, document intensive matters. Five Star Legal's clients include large enterprises, multinational organizations, and government agencies. Five Star Legal is a Microsoft 365 eDiscovery partner focused on assisting its clients with case management, preservation, search, and export. Don has developed and managed multi-million document databases, taught litigation support at California and Hawaii university campuses, testified in court and provided declarations of facts and affidavits on electronic discovery issues. His company, with offices in Southern California and Boston, has attracted clients from Washington, DC to California. Don earned an undergraduate business degree from the University of Denver and a master's in finance from Boston College. He received an ABA-Approved paralegal certificate from the University of San Diego. #lapa #octoberconference

A massive shoutout to the Greater Los Angeles Association of Legal Administrators (GLA ALA) and Lisa Ford for giving us the amazing opportunity to host a presentation on the vital role of paralegals, hiring trends, and retaining talent. Kudos to President Jonathan Dang, MSL, Executive VP Travis Chow, and VP of Membership Tony Sipp , and Elizabeth Garcia for their time and dedication. We are truly grateful for the platform to share insights and engage with such an inspiring community. Together, we continue to elevate and celebrate the essential contributions of legal professionals in industry. GLA ALA #Paralegals #LegalCommunity #GLAALA #LAPA #LegalProfessionals #Collaboration #Gratitude #legaladministrators

LAPA October Conference Featured Speaker Bianca F. Presentation: Staying in Your Lane: Avoiding Malpractice and UPL (ethics) Biography: Bianca Falcon is currently an Associate and Haight, Browne & Bownsteel LLP. Bianca Falcon is a member of the firm’s Business Solutions, Employment & Labor, Professional Liability, and Risk Management & Insurance Law Practice Groups. Her practice focuses on representing clients in a wide variety of legal malpractice, insurance, and commercial matters. Ms. Falcon represents and/or defends professionals in matters ranging from error and omission claims, malpractice, and ethical issues. Her experience includes representing clients in connection with legal malpractice claims, California State Bar disciplinary investigations, attorney licensing and admissions. She also works with insurer clients regarding first-party and third-party insurance bad faith claims, coverage disputes, insurance fraud, and unfair business practices. She also represents clients on matters involving labor and employment claims, commercial transactions, contract and business tort matters. Ms. Falcon helps resolve client concerns and protects their interests before, during, and after litigated disputes. Prior to joining Haight, Ms. Falcon represented Fortune 500 companies, insurance carriers, public entities and individuals in commercial litigation, general liability, and personal injury matters. An effective and practical problem solver, Ms. Falcon draws upon her experience to help her clients overcome challenges and create opportunities. Ms. Falcon’s experience with California state and federal courts includes extensive law and motion, discovery, taking and defending depositions, settlement negotiations and trial preparation as well as sitting second-chair in a state court action. Ms. Falcon has also successfully defended financial institutions in arbitrations involving FCRA, FDCPA, and TCPA claims. Prior to law school, Bianca externed for the Honorable Jay C. Zainey of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Outside of the office, Bianca sits on the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Judicial Elections Evaluation Committee and the President’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Legal Profession. She is the most junior appointee in both committees’ histories. She also enjoys traveling and spending time with her family. #lapa #octoberconference #mcle #ethics

Check out our October 2024 Reporter and articles! Hope you enjoy the read! 📰🗞️ Helpful Hints: How LAPA Can Advance Your Career! Mariejo T. P. President’s Message: Are You Ready to Lead? Jonathan Dang, MSL Voting In California: What to Know to Vote for Election Day 2024 and a Short History of Voting Laws Travis Chow Paralegal Perspectives: A Glance Into Their Lives: Jacqueline Loza - Career Insights Jacqueline Loza, JD, MA The Inside Biz: The Job Hopper Dilemma: Can You Bounce Around and Still Land the Perfect Position? Chere Estrin NALA Reprint: The DEI Imperative: How Paralegals Can Lead the Charge Toward a More Inclusive Legal Profession Tracey Perkins Thank you to all our amazing writers and article submissions. If you are interested in writing for our newsletter, please email admin@lapa.org #paralegals #nala #lapa