Published: October 26, 2009 08:03 pm         

Woods faculty member chairs national conference

TERRE HAUTE — Kathryn Myers, associate professor and coordinator of paralegal studies at St. Mary-of-the Woods College, is the chair of a four-person national conference committee that created the program for the American Association for Paralegal Education.

The group, which is the only association for paralegal educators, is conducting its 28th annual conference in Portland, Ore., Wednesday through Saturday.

The annual conference provides educators with opportunities to acquire vital and cutting-edge information to ensure that paralegal students are as knowledgeable and marketable as possible in a challenging economy. This year’s conference will cover more than 40 dynamic and contemporary topics in areas such as teaching and course development, advising, and scholarship and career advancement.

Myers will present “Legal Memos Made Easy,” in which she will provide classroom tools to engage students in one of the hardest, but most necessary, courses in most paralegal programs: legal research. One of the key points will be providing teaching tips that help educators show students how to break the assignment into chunks logically and easily, and to show students how to manage their time and effort on long-term assignments. The ultimate result is students who are engaged with the process of research.

Myers is currently turning her many teaching tips into a textbook titled “Foundations of Legal Research and Writing” for Pearson/Prentice Hall, due out in 2010.

Myers also has consulted with Pearson/Prentice Hall in the creation of 13 online CourseConnect paralegal courses that will be unveiled at the conference.

Myers has been involved in paralegal education since 1982 when she helped create the paralegal program at SMWC. She served on the founding advisory board, taught as an adjunct instructor for two years, and then became the coordinator of paralegal studies in 1985. She is the only full-time faculty member in the program and oversees five adjunct instructors.

She has been active in the American Association for Paralegal Education since 1989 and has served in many roles, including regional reporter, president and secretary, and she has served as editor and co-editor of The Paralegal Educator. She has also co-hosted regional meetings, co-hosted the annual conference, and since 2001, she has been the chairperson of the National Conference Committee.

She is a founding member of Indiana Legal Assistants, and a member of Indiana Paralegal Association, the National Association of Legal Assistants and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, and is an educational consultant for the American Alliance of Paralegals Inc.

More information on the conference can be found online at www.aafpe.org.