New NALA Website!
NALA is excited to introduce our BRAND-NEW website! The sleek redesign features user-friendly, easy access to all things NALA. Access to NALA Commons is easier than ever! Simply log into your NALA Account from the website homepage, and you will see a direct link to NALA Commons at the top right of the new website.

As we continue to upgrade and improve our new website, we want to take a moment to thank you for your patience during this exciting new advancement.

NEW PODCAST: Justice For All, the Paralegal’s Role
It’s not just the poor. Even the middle class struggles with a complex and costly American legal system.

Our guest, Toni Marsh, JD, is a professor and director at the George Washington University School of Law Paralegal Studies program and a fierce advocate for the role of paralegals.

The paralegal profession is in flux. As Americans struggle to access their legal system, constitutional rights are becoming out of reach. Marsh believes paralegals can fill that gap as states explore expanding their role. Legal navigators, legal document preparers and licensed legal professionals are stepping up. How can paralegals prepare for tomorrow’s legal profession? Listen Now!

Do you have a new address, new email or new phone number? Then you should update your NALA Account!
Have you recently moved, opened a new email address, or recieved a different phone number? If so, please let us know! We do not want you to miss any important NALA information. Updating your primary contact info is easy. Simply log into your NALA account online or give NALA a call at 918-587-6828.

2021 NALA Conference Recording Bundle Now Available!
We are thrilled to announce that the 2021 Conference Recording Bundle is now available! This bundle includes all 32 conference sessions that total 39 CLE hours. Session materials include the recordings and the PDFs of all PowerPoint slides. 

If you attended the 2021 NALA Conference @ Home, you can purchase the entire Conference Recording Bundle at a discounted rate 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). Click here to purchase the Conference Recording Bundle.

Please note that on-demand access to the recordings are available for one year from the purchase date. Also, if you already received CLE credit for a session during the live conference, you will not be able to receive additional CLE credit for that same session. 

Contract Management ACP Now Available!
Have you heard the big news? NALA is ecstatic that the long-awaited Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) Contract Management course is available. Thank you to those who have already registered!

This new ACP kicks off NALA’s more interactive training approach to advanced certification courses. Not only is relevant, up-to-date information added, but the course introduces the new single, comprehensive exam approach.

How could this course apply to your career as a paralegal? A contract manager has the ability to work between many sectors including academia, government, large corporations and small businesses alike. Use this course to understand the tasks and duties of a contract manager regardless of where you work. The ACP Contract Management course content provides the foundational knowledge for this advanced certification exam.

To find out more about the innovative Contract Management ACP course, please click here.

October DEI – National Disability Employment Awareness Month
In this month’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion article, NALA DEI Committee Chair Yolanda A. Garcia, CP, discusses the origins and significance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The theme for NDEAM 2021, “America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion,” reflects the importance of ensuring that people with disabilities have full access to employment and community involvement during the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

To read the October DEI article, please click here.

NALA Panel Discussion - October 23
October 23  |  11 a.m. CT  |  FREE  |  Virtual
Paralegal students and professionals: NALA invites you to join the FREE upcoming panel “It’s All About the Journey: What to Consider When Designing Your Pathway to a Successful Paralegal Career,” which will be streamed lived on Saturday, October 23, 2021, at 11 a.m. CT.

This event via GoToWebinar dives into the paralegal career pathway. Attendees can ask paralegal professionals questions about their pathway to a successful paralegal career. Each panelist brings a different experience across varied industries utilizing legal professionals.

The goal of this live event is to be a supportive resource and provide a platform for meaningful dialogue between paralegal students and paralegal professionals.

Registration is required, and seats are limited. You can register by clicking here. Please note that registration confirmation will include event access instructions.

Wishing you could have attended the September 22 NALA Student Panel? You can watch the full event on the NALA YouTube page.

DEI and Belonging: What It Means for the Legal Profession
October 20  |  12 p.m. CT  |  CLE Hours: 1  |  NON-SUB
We all have likely heard about “diversity,” “inclusion,” “equity,” and “belonging,” and we all have probably attended at least one program or learning opportunity on these topics. In this webinar, we will briefly overview how the terms are currently understood. We will also discuss other terms that are used when talking about DEI efforts.

The majority of the webinar will focus on how to integrate those concepts into our ways of working – not only how we treat our co-workers, friends, and family, but how we approach the policies, procedures, and norms that guide our work. We will use a variety of case studies to demonstrate this concept. By the end of the webinar, participants will understand what “diversity,” “inclusion,” “equity,” and “belonging” mean, and will have learned about a few actions they can implement in their own lives to create a greater sense of equity and belonging in their own work.

Disability as a Tenet of Diversity
October 27  |  12 p.m. CT  |  CLE Hours: 1  |  NON-SUB
The disability community is an historically disadvantaged sect of population and one that is broadly dismissed and widely forgotten in conversations about diversity. This course explores the discrimination individuals with disabilities have experienced and how perceptive shifts in society have evolved. We dive into the laws that provide equal rights and protect against discrimination, such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and cover some case law to analyze how these laws are applied. Lastly, learn why disability is a tenet of diversity and how to ensure the disability community has a seat at the table.

How to Operationalize Your Privacy Program
November 3  |  12 p.m. CT  |  CLE Hours: 1
This webinar steps through how to create an operationalized privacy program. Presentation includes addressing privacy programs, whether they are in their infancy or are mature. Topics include: Key components of a privacy program, effectively rate your program maturity, and how to embed the privacy components as part of your everyday business model.

CP Examinees:
Good luck to all the examinees taking both the Knowledge Exam and the October 2021 Skills Exam!

Certification:
CONGRATULATIONS to 95 new CPs who passed the July 2021 Skills Exam! We know you are proud, and we are too. Be on the lookout for your certification packet.

As a NALA member, you receive exclusive local and national discounts on hundreds of products and services. To access these deals, go to the NALA hompeage and click Login in the upper right hand corner, then go to the Affinity Discounts page on our website.