[blindlaw] I need your tricks and tips please!

[William Burley, III]

Robert,

I haven't noticed if anyone has responded to your inquiry.

As for Social Security Disability matters, much of it can now be done
online.  There are programs out there that work fairly well with JAWS but
not sure if they will purchase that for the type of program that you're
embarking upon.  Try going to www.ssa.gov and you will find that you can
fill out much of the information directly on the website.  I'm not sure if
they are having you guys actually represent the client as the main
representative, but you can either store an electronic signature for the
form or just have someone assist you with signing.

I don't know many Texas firms using Pro Docs anymore.  What they may be
willing to do is to get Texas Civil Forms on CD.  You can just put the whole
book, including its Table of Contents on your computer.

Hope that helps a bit.

Will



William Burley
Paralegal Coordinator
Burley-Wilson & Associates, L.L.C.
12401 S. Post Oak Road, Suite 228
Houston, Texas 77045
Telephone:  (713) 551-8689
Business Mobile:  (713) 364-9703
E-Mail:  wburley at burley-wilson.com 
Web:  www.burley-wilson.com 

"Virtual Paralegal Support for the Successful Attorney."

Legal Confidentiality Notice

The information in this e-mail and and in any attachment may contain
information which is legally privileged.  It is intended only for the
attention and use of the named recipient.  If you are not the intended
recipient, you are not authorized to retain, disclose, copy or distribute
the message and/or any of its attachments.  If you've received this e-mail
in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail or by phone at (713)
364-9703.    After having notified the sender, please delete the message
from your system.  Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Dittman, Robert
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 2:44 PM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Subject: [blindlaw] I need your tricks and tips please!

Hello all,

This summer I will begin practicing at our Center for Community and Civil
Justice this summer, fall, and spring terms as a student attorney.

Some of the programs used at the clinic such as pro-docs are not compatible
with Jaws for Windows, and so I wondered if I could get tricks, hints, and
best practices from you as you are out there practicing.  It never hurts to
ask those who have gone before.

So, what programs do you use, how do you manage your case folders, what do
you use as your tickler, give me your ideas please.

I will have my student bar card at the start of this summer so can appear in
court.
I currently have Microsoft office 2010 and use Outlook extensively.
We use an Exchange server and have my Windows Mobile Smartphone on the
server so get updates to my calendar and emails when not in the office.


Here is some background on the clinic program to give you an idea on what I
will be doing. Any ideas you can pass along would be very helpful.


The Civil Justice Clinic course (CJC) covers several civil litigation
practice areas including Family Law, Consumer Law, Social Security
Disability, and Community Lawyering for the Homeless. The CJC introduces
second and third-year law students to the actual practice of law through the
supervised representation of homeless and other low-income clients. The
family and consumer law sections include: child custody, visitation, foster
care, simple and complex divorces, protective orders, probate, wills, real
property transfers, debt relief, fraud, and general consumer protection. The
Student Attorneys handle cases at both trial and appellate stages. Students
appearing in court on these matters will need to be eligible to obtain a
student bar card. Student are able to obtain a bar card after completing 45
hours of study.

The Social Security Disability component, also offered to second and
third-year law students, represents individuals in administrative hearings
who have been denied disability benefits. Student Attorneys file appeals,
track case developments, update records, prepare for trial, and represent
clients at an administrative hearing.

The CJC also offers a Community Lawyering component to second and third-year
students. Through Community Lawyering, CJC provides basic legal services to
the homeless community living in shelters or on the streets of San Antonio.
In addition to the local homeless population, CJC students make regular
trips to the Texas Border to provide legal services in colonias and other
underserved areas. Our legal services include legal advice, some brief
representation, and often full-service legal assistance in benefits,
consumer issues, housing, family, victims' rights, contract disputes, and
wills preparation.

There are no prerequisites for the CJC other than a genuine interest in
advocacy on behalf of low-income clients. Courses in administrative law,
evidence, Texas Civil Procedure, trial advocacy, family law, and wills are
encouraged. In the summer, CJC requires an in-office commitment of 15 hours
per week during the 10-week period covering both summer sessions, plus an
additional 2 hours per week of classroom instruction. Students will earn 3
credits. Preference will be given to students who graduate in December 2011.
The summer course will be taught on a pass/fail basis. In fall/spring, CJC
requires an in-office commitment of a minimum of 15 hours per week, plus an
additional 4 hours of classroom instruction on Tuesdays and Thursdays from
3:30 p.m. - 5:10 p.m. CJC is 4 hours per semester; students will earn their
8 hours at the completion of the Spring Semester. Fall/spring and summer CJC
are graded on a letter-scale.

Robert Dittman
Research Fellow, Center for Terrorism Law,
Jurist Doctor Candidate, St. Mary's University school of law
EMAIL: rdittman at mail.stmarytx.edu<mailto:rdittman at mail.stmarytx.edu>
PHONE: (210) 389 - 3388
"True Justice is blind."

_______________________________________________
blindlaw mailing list
blindlaw at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blindlaw:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/william.burley3%40
gmail.com