Paralegal Pie

5 Ways Paralegals Can Network Online Using Social Media

Charles Sipe who wrote a guest post for Paralegal Pie recently has another great article posted at Practical Paralegalism - www.practicalparalegalism.com - check it out.

I had no idea what Quro and Awo were?

Accounting errors UGH!

I was recently calculating fees for a case and I added the numbers one million times and I could not get my spreadsheet to match with the billing records.  I was going insane, I went over every number again and again.  At some point, it just gets ridiculous.  Then I remembered that I read an article, probably in the mid-80s that had tips for finding accounting errors.  To the web! And I found just what I was looking for on the internet.

Here was my problem and how I fixed it.

When the difference--the amount you are out of balance or off from the expected total--is evenly divisible by 9, you have a transposition error.

First, how do you tell if it's evenly divisible by 9? You could go to a calculator and divide by 9 and see if there's a decimal portion in the answer, but that's a lot of work. There's a shortcut method. Take the digits of the number you want to check and add them together. If the result has more than 1 digit, add those digits together until you get a single digit. If that single digit is 9, then the number is evenly divisible by 9. If it's anything other than 9, the number is not evenly divisible by 9.

Example: Is 81 divisible by 9? Add 8 plus 1 to get 9. The answer is 9. It is divisible by 9.

Example: Is 17,514 divisible by 9? Add 1 plus 7 plus 5 plus 1 plus 4; the answer is 18. That's still more than one digit, so add these two digits together. Add 1 plus 8 to get 9. Yes, 17,514 is evenly divisible by 9.

Second, what is a transposition error? A transposition error happens when you reverse two digits in a number or leave a zero off the end of a number. Both are extremely easy to do. Transposition errors always result in differences divisible by 9.

Example: If you should have written (or entered into your adding machine or computer) 672 but you accidentally wrote 762, you have made a transposition error. The first two digits are reversed. The difference (762 - 672) is 90. Check to see if 90 is divisible by 9. That one is obvious; it is.

Example: If you should have written 880 but you accidentally wrote 88 (leaving off the final zero), you have made a transposition error. The difference (880 - 88) is 792. Check to see if 792 is divisible by 9. Add up the digits as explained above; you get 18. Add those two digits (1 and 8) together to get 9. It is divisible by 9, as all transposition differences are. 

Paralegals are not accountants so I would estimate that 99% of the errors that a paralegal could make would fall in to the transposition category.  When you look at the same numbers over and over, rarely will you see the transposition unless you know its there. 

Career Blunders Report from Robert Half

Robert Half Reveals Top Tech Etiquette Offenders; New Guide Helps Prevent Career-Crushing Blunders

MENLO PARK, CA, February 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — In the days when “tweets” were bird sounds and a “text” was a book, workplace blunders had a limited audience. Now, however, these missteps can receive broad exposure -- with unhappy consequences: Three out of four (76 percent) human resources (HR) managers polled by Robert Half said technology etiquette breaches can affect a person’s career prospects.

To prevent professionals from falling victim to online gaffes, Robert Half has released a new guide, Business Etiquette: The New Rules in a Digital Age. The comprehensive guide offers tips for successfully minding your manners when using professional networking sites, social media, e-mail, instant messaging, mobile devices and more. The company has also identified five common types of tech etiquette offenders and how to ensure you aren’t one of them.

HR managers were asked, “To what extent, if any, can technology etiquette breaches -- for example, sending e-mail messages to unintended recipients, checking e-mail on a BlackBerry during meetings, etc. -- adversely affect a person’s career prospects?” Their responses*:

 

Greatly.........	15%
Somewhat....	61%
Not at all.......	23%
Don't Know...	1%
	100%

 

• *Survey of more than 650 HR managers in the United States and Canada at companies with 20 or more employees. The survey was developed by Robert Half and conducted via telephone by an independent research firm.

“Etiquette breaches, such as paying more attention to your smartphone than the people you’re meeting with, can make others feel less important and cause you to miss information,” said Brett Good, senior district president of Robert Half International. “Other mistakes, such as sending a confidential e-mail to the wrong person or impulsively posting an offensive comment on Facebook or Twitter, can have more serious, career-impacting consequences.”

Robert Half identified the top five technology etiquette breachers and gives advice to help workers avoid these labels:

1. The Venter. This indiscreet individual never misses an opportunity to document a bad work situation. Job-related gripes and groans get splashed across Facebook, Twitter and her personal blog. E-mail, too, takes a decidedly negative tone.

   Advice: Look on the bright side. To avoid this label, keep the information that you post positive. Sticky or unpleasant situations are best discussed offline and in private.

2. The Noise Polluter. This person’s phone seems to lack a silent mode or an off button. Whether in a meeting or at a colleague’s desk, he freely takes and makes calls, oblivious to his surroundings. Between noisy ring tones and loud public broadcasts of personal conversations, it’s impossible to concentrate when he’s nearby.

   Advice: To keep office noise at a minimum, set your phone to silent mode at the office, and hold personal conversations behind closed doors.

3. The Cryptic Communicator. This person relies on texting shorthand for every type of correspondence. Odd or informal abbreviations, poor punctuation, and spelling and grammatical goofs leave people shaking their heads -- and pleading for clarification.

   Advice: Slow down, and take it easy on the abbreviations. Spending a little more time on your communications can make them easier to decipher.

4. The Pop-Up Artist. While you’re trying to complete assignments, this chat fanatic insists on sending you a flurry of instant messages. Throughout the day, you’re subjected to the pings and pops of incoming IMs: RUTHERE? CYE [check your e-mail]!

   Advice: IMs are fine for quick volleys of conversations, but don’t go overboard. And don’t expect that everyone will want to “chat” with you. For many, e-mail is immediate enough.

5. The Conference Call Con. This multitasker pretends to pay attention during teleconferences but is so busy checking e-mail he has no clue what’s being discussed. It’s not an unusual problem: 45 percent of executives confessed to frequently doing other things while in these meetings, according to another Robert Half survey.

   Advice: Although we all multitask from time to time, pay attention to relevant conversations when on conference calls. It can help to turn away from your monitor so you’re not distracted by e-mail.

PACE Exam

Well... I got a preliminary passing score!  Yay!  All scores have to be verified before they are official.

I cannot thank you enough for all of your tips, prayers, well wishes and support.

Kim

PACE Exam

I am taking the PACE Exam tomorrow (2/4/11) at 4pm EST. 

If you're the praying sort... I can use all the help I can get.

I will post my results tomorrow.