As the newly elected President of the Commission for Advanced California Paralegal Specialization, Inc. (“CACPS”), I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the outgoing President, Hazel Lange.  Hazel has served as a director and officer of CACPS for many years and her dedication to the California Advanced Specialty (CAS) program is well known.  Hazel will continue to serve as the Chief Financial Officer and as the Project Manager for the Probate online assessment. I am grateful to Hazel and the many others who continue to believe in and support the CAS program. 

As you may know, the National Association of Legal Assistants (“NALA”) converted its Certified Legal Assistant Specialty Program to the Advanced Paralegal Certification Program. As a result, the specialty certification program changed from a hand written   broad subject matter exam to a curriculum based, narrow subject matter online assessment. CACPS is changing its CAS programs to mirror NALA’s Advanced Paralegal Certification Program. 

With the assistance of NALA, the board of directors of CACPS (the “Board”) continues its efforts to implement the CAS online assessments.  Developing the curriculum-based online assessment courses for California paralegals has proven challenging.  Currently, CACPS relies on the help of volunteers to write the content for each specialty assessment. Developing these courses is time-consuming and the project managers and their teams operate with limited resources. 

 CACPS is pleased to announce that its first CAS online assessment in Discovery will be available soon. Kathy Miller of the Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) and Stacey Hunt of Central Coast Paralegal Association (CCPA) are the hardworking volunteers who have made this CAS assessment possible. The California Discovery online assessment is comprised of three modules that are an addition to NALA’s Advanced Paralegal Certification Program in Discovery. The California portion highlights the differences between Federal and California discovery laws and procedures. A Certified Paralegal (CLA/CP) who successfully passes the discovery online assessment will earn the credential ACP/CAS. Paralegals who do not have the CLA/CP certification are welcome to participate in these advanced specialty programs, but the credentials will not be awarded. 

Other CAS assessments under development include personal injury, real property litigation, probate and trust administration, and corporations. If you are willing to serve on one of the assessment teams or know someone in your organization that would like to help, please send me an e-mail at Catherine.durgin@gmail.com or call me at 310-282-2356.  

CACPS is also recruiting one paralegal educator and one lawyer to serve on the Board. If you know of any paralegal educators or lawyers who might like to serve on the Board, please let me know.  

            The current Board Members are:

Paralegal:  Hazel Lange, CP, Chief Financial Office

Paralegal:  Catherine Durgin, ACP, President

Paralegal:  Mary Theroux, ACP, Secretary

Attorney:  Vacant

Attorney:  Michael Zweibel

Educator:  Ruth Biering

Educator:  Vacancy

V.P. of Marketing:  Tita Brewster

            The CACPS’ Board is still recruiting for a paralegal educator and attorney.  Again, if you know of any paralegal educators and attorneys who might like to serve on the CACPS’ Board, please send me an e-mail and phone number so I can contact them. 

            The CACPS’ Board looks forward to CAPA and CACPS working together to market the online assessment in 2009.  Once again, thanks for your support.

            If you have questions, please contact me at my e-mail and telephone number shown above.