Minnesota Paralegal Association

Click here to join or renew your membership using our online form. Click here to use our hardcopy form.	MPA Amazon Store
New!! MPA Calendar! Click here to view. If you wish to add items to the calendar, please e-mail them to internetcoordinator@mnparalegals.org.	Coming soon! MPA Message Board!
SAVE THE DATE!!! Please join us at the 2008 MPA FALL GATHERING October 23, 2008 6:00 PM Millennium Hotel Minneapolis 1313 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, MN 55403 Click here for directions. More info to come!	2008 MPA GOLD SPONSORS
MPA Job Bank The MPA Job Bank is located in the Members Only section and is accessible only by active members of MPA. Neil A. Simmons, an Administrator at Kennedy & Graven, recently had this to say about his experience with candidates who used MPA's Job Bank: "Our firm recently posted a notice of a paralegal position to work in our bond department on the Minnesota Paralegal Association's Job Bank. As a direct result of this posting, we received a number of well-qualified candidates, and we found that those who responded to us through the job bank were the best qualified and the most focused on having a career as a paralegal. Not surprisingly, we hired one of these candidates." If you are a potential employer who is interested in listing your paralegal openings with the Job Bank, we now have the capability for you to post your job in our online application, using a credit card. To do that, please click here. If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to contact our Job Bank Coordinator, Michele Maurer, at jobbank@mnparalegals.org. Ads run for 8 weeks at $50 per posting. Additional weeks are available for an additional charge.	NAVY LEGALMEN PROJECT - A COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM FOR NFPA’S MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS The Minnesota Paralegal Association is participating in the Navy Legalmen Project by adopting one or more Legalmen stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Legalmen are the equivalent of civilian paralegals and perform legal and clerical functions under the direction and supervision of Navy attorneys. The other branches of the service use the term “Paralegal” for those performing non-attorney legal services. The Legalmen Project involves corresponding with our adopted Legalmen and sending care packages of books, supplies and other items needed by the deployed troops. The NFPA Pro Bono Committee pioneered the program to help support Navy Legalmen and other Paralegals from the Army, Marines and Air Force who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. MPA has been participating in this project through the efforts of MPA’s former Pro Bono Chair, Barb Peppersack. For information on how you can participate in the Legalmen Project, please click here or contact Barb at bpeppersack@larkinhoffman.com.
2008 MPA BRONZE SPONSOR	Sectional News Click the Sectionals button above for details on MPA Sectional meetings and events, including meeting dates, times and locations. Can't attend in Person? Each Sectional now has a toll-free 1-800 number, so you can dial into the meeting and participate from wherever you are located.
~NFPA ~ Did you know? As a member of the MPA, you're also a member of the NFPA (National Federation of Paralegal Associations)! MPA Members are able to visit the NFPA's Members Only page, which includes a summary of the NFPA 2006 Salary Survey. Click here! Are you technologically savvy? The Technology Committee (of the NFPA, our parent organization) is seeking volunteers. Please contact the NFPA Technology Coordinator, Tamara Bigford at e-mail: tbigford@goldbergsegalla.com if you are interested in submitting articles for the NFPA publication, Paralegal Reporter, related to technology or if you have any questions. NFPA is also looking for on-line ethics seminars for the NFPA Site. This could be something you author or another on-line ethics seminar that could be adapted for this purpose. If you have any interest in this, please contact cox@cchalaw.com.	~Interested in becoming a member?~ There are many benefits to becoming a member of MPA including access to the Members Only area of this site, MPA Job Bank, Member Discounts and more. If you would like to become a MPA member, please click here to apply online or you may download and complete our 2008 Membership Application and mail it to the address below: Minnesota Paralegal Association 1711 W. County Road B #300N Roseville, Minnesota 55113 Interested in MPA's own line of apparel? Click here for information!

Definition of a Paralegal

Paralegal is synonymous with legal assistant, and is defined as a person qualified through education, training, or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, government agency or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory or court authority to perform this work.