Happy Holidays...and bring on 2021!
This year has been unforgettable, to say the least. With so many hardships and hurdles to get through, 2020 really tested us. But there is light at the end of this gloomy tunnel, and it looks bright! NALA wishes each of our incredible members, volunteers and affiliates a happy holiday season and a happy new year! May the new year bring peace, health, happiness and prosperity to all our members.

Please note that due to the holidays, NALA offices will be closed the following days:

• Thursday-Friday, Dec. 24-25, 2020
• Friday, Jan. 1, 2021

Managing Stress – Tips and Resources from the CDC
We can all agree that 2020 and the pandemic have caused an unusual amount of stress in our professional and personal lives. With the holidays fast approaching, many already feel extra stress without the added unknowns of COVID-19.
 
Earlier this year, the CDC released some helpful tips on how to cope with the added stress of COVID-19 in your professional and personal lives. Not only does this article share valuable information on how to recognize the symptoms of stress, it also shares important resources, including mental health services. To read the article, click here.

"Sitting at the Table" by Adrienne D. Berry CP
December 2020 DEI Article
Today, there are two crises facing us front and center: COVID-19 and its disruption in the corporate world for women, including mothers, senior-level women and black women. One in four women are considering downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce due to COVID-19.

This made me wonder if I knew anyone who may be affected by this crisis. I immediately reached out to a good friend from college to get her take on diversity in the workplace as a senior-level, black woman in the South. Martha Emmett Sims has been a “mover and shaker” since her days at the University of Alabama. She is a proven leader who brings years of experience as a proven HR professional – as a strategist, designer and administrator, to name a few – in the field of health and welfare plans for national and global companies for over 25 years.

Diversity is a part of her daily work. She takes that experience to make her own seat at the table, as well as presenting and facilitating professional and technical skills to diverse organizations, both in size and industries. Read the full article here!

Incredible Opportunity for Litigation Paralegals 
NALA members have been provided a unique opportunity to provide feedback on a new platform designed to  help de-stress and streamline all the administrative tasks associated with finalizing and filing legal writing. It gives visual feedback on how well the writer summarized the sources they're citing to (sort of like Grammarly for the substance of your writing).  
 
NALA is looking for volunteers who are  paralegals who handle litigation and are interested in serving on a focus group to experiment with the platform. Interested paralegals can request participation by emailing their name and email address as soon as possible to pvanstraten@nala.org. Please note, space is limited.

Facts & Findings Holiday Reading
Have some extra down time this holiday season? Why not earn CLEs for reading our award-winning Facts & Findings magazine?
 
The January edition (mailed in December) is not only packed full of educational articles relevant to the legal field, but the Career 101 bonus edition features timely articles about working through the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous editions are also available to read online through your NALA account.
 
In each quarterly issue, there are five designated CLE articles. If you read all five, you can enter 1 hour of substantive CLE in your NALA account. Please note that you can earn a maximum of 2 CLE per year and up to 5 CLE in a certification period. Happy reading!

2020 NALA Conference Recording Bundle
The 2020 Conference Recording Bundle is still available! If you attended the 2020 NALA Conference @ Home, you can purchase the Conference Recording Bundle for only $199 for NALA members ($249 for non-members). If you did not have the opportunity to join us for this year’s virtual conference, you can purchase the bundle for $575 for NALA members ($628 for non-members).
 
To purchase individual conference sessions or view a complete list of all of NALA’s on-demand webinars please visit our website.
 
*Please note that on-demand access to the recordings are available for one year from the purchase date.

FLSA and Employee Pay Compliance
January 20  |  12 p.m. CT   |  CLE: 1
Over the last decade, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cases have increased dramatically in federal courts, impacting all business sectors. This webinar will address the basic requirements under the FLSA, including requirements for employee pay, record keeping requirements, classification issues, and common pitfalls that lead to litigation.

Cyber Issues in Today's Workplace
February 17  |  12 p.m. CT  |  CLE: 1  
Hardly a day goes by without another headline of a data breach. This webinar addresses general cybersecurity issues and awareness, including a discussion of what to do if you (or a client) have been breached. Discussions will include the evolving landscape of cyber litigation and will be guided by many real-life examples of cyber-attacks and corresponding litigation. *NON-SUBSTANTIVE

CP Exam Reminders:

• The Student application fee is for paralegal students currently in the last semester or quarter of the paralegal program.
  • All student applicants are required to submit a Student Waiver form within the application.
• The Knowledge Exam is administered year-round.
• The Skills Exam is administered in February, April, July and October.
• You can take your exam at your job, college or military base. Click here for more details under the Testing Center Qualifications & Forms section.

Certification

• The October 2020 Skills Exam results are scheduled to be released in December. At that time, each Skills Exam examinee will be notified via email to review their account.
• January Certificants! Your certification expires on 1/31/2021. We have sent a reminder for you to enter your CLE into your NALA account. If you have already met the required 50 hours, including 5 hours of legal ethics, and not more than 10 hours of non-substantive credits, you will be able to recertify online on 1/1/2021. However, if you have not yet met the CLE requirements, please enter your courses into your NALA account no later than 1/31/2021.
• Here are some helpful links:
  • CLE Categories
  • How to enter your CLE
  • CLE entry FAQs

As a NALA member, you receive exclusive local and national discounts on hundreds of products and services. To access these deals, log into your NALA account and then go to the Affinity Discounts page on our website. 

Join a Group on NALA Commons
An excellent way to connect with your peers and fellow NALA members is on NALA Commons, our member-only collaborative social site. You can post articles, ask and answer questions, and keep up to date on important information from NALA.
 
Did you realize that NALA Commons features specific groups? Whether you are a new member, a paralegal educator, in a specific area of law, or interested in learning the most recent information on the upcoming annual Conference, there is a group for you. The notification feature makes sure that you don't miss any activity in the groups you choose! Our Professional Development Committee and Continuing Education Council also have their own groups to connect with you.
 
All you need to do is click on the group and join. Groups are a great way to focus content in a specific area with those who have shared interests. We encourage you to spend a little time looking through the groups on NALA Commons, join ones interesting to you, and start a conversation within the group.

New Membership Grace Period REMINDER!
Effective Jan. 1, 2021, NALA will implement a 30-day grace period to renew a membership following its expiration date to help avoid interruption of member-only benefits. If you need an invoice to present to your employer, click here to download the PDF. For questions, please contact our office at (918) 587-6828 or email us at nalanet@nala.org.