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	Success At HALA's Previous Fall Seminar

Annual HALA Fall Seminar 2008

2008 Seminar Recap

2008 Fall Seminar Program Co-Chairs were Marlene Lubowicz and Rebecca Stutzman, CP.

HALA's annual fall (all day) seminar was held on Friday, November 14, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., with registration beginning promptly at 8:30 a.m. The meeting took place in the Carlsen Center Room 234 (Lunch inclusive onsite) at the Johnson County Community College, College at Quivira, Overland Park, Kansas.

.6 CLE Credit was approved by the National Association of Legal Assistants for attendance at this event.

The seminar program included:

"Using Electronic Evidence During Trial: All the Help You Need" presented by Robert "Bob" Bennett. Mr. Bennett founded TBC Video in 1988 after a 15 year career in law enforcement. During his career, Mr. Bennett served as an instructor at the Regional Police Academy where he taught Patrol Tactics, Crime Scene and Accident Investigation. In 1995, he founded the Law Enforcement Satellite Training Network. LESTN was a cooperative training project between the Kansas City Police Department and the FBI, utilizing video conferencing technologies. TBC Video was created to provide video services and trial support to law firms in the Kansas City area. In the last 20 years, the company has grown from one videographer to include eight full-time videographers and a trial support staff specialized in computerized evidence presentation. TBC currently has four Sanction trial technicians and full broadcast production capabilities, including high definition acquisition and editing. Mr. Bennett recently launched a private videoconferencing network that allows depositions to be broadcast live anywhere in the world on a secure internet server. This allows co-counsel, experts and staff to view the proceedings without incurring travel costs. Mr. Bennett's seminar presentation included step-by-step presentation of trial materials and their effective utilization, all of which was well received by the group.

Beth Warrington and Lisa D. Montgomery of the Kansas Bar Association presented "Casemaker Training: A Great Tool for Kansas Cases." Ms. Warrington is the publications and marketing administrator of the KBA, overseeing publication of the legal handbooks, maintaining the KBA website, and a frequent contributor to the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association. She is a member of the National Bar Executives and the Society of Professional Journalists. Lisa D. Montgomery is the director of sections and communications with the Kansas Bar Association in Topeka. Ms. Warrington and Montgomery's presentation included extensive information that has been made available to KBA members through their website in the form of "Casemaker." They walked the seminar attendees through the access and research tools in Casemaker and, more specifically, how to use the wealth of FREE legal research information easily obtained at the site, all being a perk of membership in the KBA.

The seminar's afternoon sessions began with a presentation of "Kansas and Missouri Workers Compensation: What Every Paralegal Should Know." M. Joan Klosterman and Thomas G. Munsell chaired this session. Ms. Klosterman, a founding member of Morrow, Willnauer & Klosterman, has specialized in Workers Compensation for the firm for the past 20 years, limiting her practice to the representation of Employers and Insurers in Kansas and Missouri. Mr. Munsell is also with Morrow, Willnauer et al, with the majority of his practice for the defense. His past experience includes 14 years of representing both the plaintiff/claimant and defendant/employer in workers compensation defense, general liability defense, and defense of attorneys in professional liability actions. This very experienced team gave the seminar attendees a thorough overview of what to expect when working as a paralegal in the area of Workers Compensation in the states of Kansas and Missouri, including any recent updates.

The last seminar presentation was "How the Recent Election Will Affect the Economy and You" and was presented by Ken Eaton, CFA, CFP, of Stepp & Rothwell. Mr. Eaton's designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Financial Planner, as well as a principal of a premier "fee only" financial planning and investment advisory firm in the Midwest, enables him to comment on taxes, investments, and the economy through articles in local and national publications on a constant basis, as well as providing comprehensive and unbiased financial advice to over 150 wealthy families in 23 states. After Mr. Eaton's presentation overview of today's financial market and its current financial health status, he fielded an extensive question/answer session from seminar members as to "what is really happening today and how should we react accordingly." This session brought the seminar to a great conclusion!

Prior to dismissal, Anita Tebbe, J.D., Facilitator of the Paralegal Program at the Johnson County Community College and Honorary Member of HALA, was recognized and gifted for her gracious support to the HALA organization and its members.

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