Greetings!
I hope you had a great July. Many of you are back from vacation and hopefully rejuvenated to start networking and continuing to keep up to date with your CLE credit hours. We have a lot going on during the month of August and details of each event follows my message. The networking luncheons are always a lot of fun and a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and stories. Please join us on August 11 for the next networking luncheon and hold the date for October 19. We moved our monthly CLE seminar from last month to August 22nd to accommodate our members who were taking their vacations during the month of July. If you are not a Certified Paralegal and are considering taking the CP Exam, our review course starts on August 24th. You can either take the full review course or you can take a specific course on one or more of the sections. This is also a great opportunity for members to learn something new in a different area of law so don't hesitate to sign up. I hope you enjoyed our July membership drive. There is still plenty of time to join at the half-year rate and don't forget our membership referral incentive noted at the end or our newsletter. Are you currently a student or know one? If so, please take note below that our Board of Directors is accepting applications for the 2011 Student Scholarships. It's a bit different this year so pay attention to the details. We have a new Q & A section in which we will periodically share questions we receive from members and non-members alike. Each of our Executive Committee members receive numerous e-mails during the day and we do take the time to answer each question. I thought it would be nice the share the Q & A with all of you. We appreciate Orange Reporting's sponsorship of our newsletter this month and as a supportive sponsor of our monthly seminars. If you wish to know more about Orange Reporting, please click on the link to their web site. Sincerely, Natalie F. Colon, CP, FRP Certified Paralegal/Florida Registered Paralegal CFPA President - 2011 |
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Upcoming CFPA Luncheon ...
The next Winter Park/Maitland luncheon will be on Thursday, August 11 2011 at 11:45 a.m. at Olive Garden Located across from the Winter Park Village on 17-92/Orlando Avenue 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CFPA Members at the Downtown Luncheon on July 13, 2011: 
From left to right: Linda Ralston (Rissman Barrett), Tina Wilson (Rissman, Barrett), Luana Folse and Teresa Robinson (Valencia Community College Students in Paralegal Studies), Teresa Merck (The Presentation Group), Phil Collard (Rissman Barrett), and Lee Kusak (Rissman Barrett) NEXT Downtown Orlando Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at Tijuana Flats 8 N. Summerlin Ave., Orlando 
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Upcoming CLE Seminars ...
Collaborative Divorce: What is it and how does it differ from traditional divorce? Date: Monday, August 22, 2011 Time: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm (Check-in begins at 6:00 p.m.) Place: ITT Technical Institute - Lake Mary 1400 South International Parkway Lake Mary, Florida 32746 407-660-2900 *FREE PARKING* Click here for Registration form: August Seminar Registration Form |
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SAVE THE DATE!!!
 2011 Annual Meeting/Holiday Party which is scheduled for Friday, December 2nd at the Downtown Sheraton located on Livingston Street.
If vendors are interested in having a booth at this event, please email Nikki Rodeman at social@cfpainc.org |
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New Service of Process Law ...
Brand new Florida law regarding service of process
By: Maria J. Gutierrez
The immunity enjoyed by residents of Florida's gated communities is over for many. Security guards, doormen and other sentinels of gated communities and condominium complexes are now required to allow unannounced access to process services.
A bill sponsored by State Rep. John Patrick Julien, D-North Miami Beach and is in the process serving business, was passed unanimously by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott. It became effective on 1st July. The bill also allows lawsuits to be served on registered agents or any employee of the registered agent if corporations. The registered agent is most likely to be an attorney in a commercial litigation practice.
Even though gated communities have increased dramatically in recent history Florida becomes on the third state, following California and Georgia, to pass a law that allows for the serving notice of lawsuit on residents of such communities according to the spokesman for the National Association of Professional Process Servers which is based in Oregon.
According to Julien prior to the bill the plaintiff would incur tremendously high amounts of costs and it could even take years to effect service. One alternative to serving the process personally of course is to publish notices but judges recognize the poor likelihood that a defendant will see a public notice. Julien said this is often not the best way to ensure fair due process.
House Bill 59 which was passed unanimously in both houses should end the necessity of process servers undertaking lengthy stakeouts at homes and workplaces.
The law has cleared up a technical issue too. On occasion judges have invalidated service because the process server didn't initial the documents for recording in the place a judge specified and this led to confusion about where to annotate a document. This is now clarified in the bill in that the initial should be on the front page of the service documents.
Though several attempts to get a bill through the Legislature had been made in the past it is interesting that a freshman Democrat has been the successful one. Julien thinks that the law could help clear the backlog of foreclosure cases too.
Process servers are very resourceful people and will have to be extra resourceful if they are to serve documents on the residents on Fisher Island just off South Beach. Access to the Island is controlled by way of a privately operated ferry by the Islanders who can refuse to take anyone to the Island on the ferry.
So process servers may have to learn to swim or club together and get a boat to take them across the Island should there be a need for effecting service in the future.
Florida Legislative Bill CS/HB 59 - Service of Process
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CFPA's 3rd Quarter Charity ...
Support the Troops -2011
JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER COLLECTION DRIVE
We continue our collection drive and I would like to introduce a few people that we will be collecting for:
Paul Baker II (nephew of Andrea Boykin)
4/10 B. Co. BSTB (UAS)
Louise M Anderson, LCDR, MSC, USN (Friend of Natalie Colon)
Medical Embedded Training Team Mazar-e-Sharif Team Lead
Patient Administration Mentor
Louise has noted that raw almonds and dried fruit are crowd pleasers.
See the following photo of Louise and her training team.
We continue to collect names, addresses and photos of service members who will be the recipients of our collection drive. Please e-mail information to president@cfpainc.org and reference "SUPPORT THE TROOPS" in the subject line. I welcome any short stories to share with our members.
To help out, you can:
(1) Collect items on the attached wish list; and/or
(2) Have your office be a collection drop-off site; and/or,
(3) Provide a monetary donation for supplies or postage; and/or
(4) Sign up for Pack-Up Day.
If you need for someone to pick up any boxes or items from your office, please let me know and we will make the appropriate arrangements.
One of our biggest expenses is postage. If you or your office prefers to make a monetary donation, please mail the donation with instructions that the amount be specifically used for Support the Troops (wish list items and/or postage) to: Support the Troops, c/o CFPA, Post Office Box 1107, Orlando, Florida 32802.
Please save, Saturday, October 1, 2011, as our "Pack-Up Day". We will provide the location in September's monthly newsletter. On this day we collect all items, separate the items according to type and package them in the mailing boxes for delivery to the Post Office.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
CLICK HERE:
Support the Troops - Wish List
Sincerely,
Natalie F. Colon, CP, FRP
Certified Paralegal/Florida Registered Paralegal
CFPA President - 2011
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CFPA's Annual CP Review Course
CFPA's 2011 Certified Paralegal ("CP") Exam Review Course is scheduled to run each Wednesday evening from 6:00 - 9:00 pm beginning August 24 - October 19, 2011. Registration Form and the Course Schedule are available below and on CFPA's website. Registration Deadline is August 15, 2011. Like last year, this year's course will be presented at Keiser University located at 5600 Lake Underhill Rd. in Orlando.
What you will need for the Review Course ...
Below is a link to NALA's suggested helpful publications for studying for the exam: CP Exam Study Materials If you are planning to take the CFPA CP Review Course we request that you have the CP Exam Review Manual, Third Edition, as part of your required homework will be to read the sections to be covered prior to each class. If you have any questions, please contact CFPA Review Course Coordinators, Anne Hughes, ACP, FCP, FRP or Cassie Snyder, CP, FRP at ReviewCourse@cfpainc.org. |
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CFPA on the Web ...
You can find CFPA on these social networking sites:
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
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How long should a password be?
 According to Ask Leo, A password today should have a minimum of ten characters, and ideally, twelve.... As we've seen, eight-character passwords give you over 221 trillion combinations, which can be reasonably brute force guessed offline in hours. Ten characters gives you over 850 quadrillion (853,058,371,866,181,866), and the offline brute force guessing time would be measured in months. Twelve characters gives you over three sextillion (3,279,156,381,453,603,096,810), where the offline brute force guessing time would be measured in centuries. That's why 12 is better than 10 and both are better than eight. The bottom line for staying safe is simply this: -
Don't trust that the service that you're using is handling passwords properly. While many do, it's become painfully clear that many do not, and you won't know which kind that you're dealing with until it's too late.
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Use longer passwords; 10 characters minimum, 12 if at all possible.
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Use a different password for each different site login you have. That way a password compromised on one service won't give hackers access to everything else.
Even the best eight character passwords should no longer be considered secure. 10 is "good enough for now" but you really should consider moving to 12 for the long run. Take a more in depth look at this article ... http://ask-leo.com/how_long_should_a_password_be.html |
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CFPA's Half Year Membership ...
CFPA IS NOW OFFERING 1/2 year memberships which are only in effect from July 1st each year through December 31st.
To continue your membership after December 31st, you must renew at the full year membership price. Renew during the renewal period to avoid late fees!!
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CFPA 2011 Scholarship Application ...
The 2011 Scholarship Application has now been updated and is available for students to complete & begin submitting for this great financial opportunity!
Should you have any questions or like additional information about our organization, please feel free to e-mail the Board of Directors Chair, John Starks, Jr., FRP.
CFPA-Member Only Scholarship $500.00
If you are a CFPA member currently enrolled in a Legal Studies Program in any of the area schools, you may be eligible for a CFPA-sponsored scholarship of $500.00!
Open to Non-members are the 2nd & 3rd place awards!
If you are a NON-member but currently enrolled in a Legal Studies Program in any of the area schools, you may be eligible for a CFPA-sponsored scholarship of $400.00 or $300.00!
A warm CFPA thank-you goes out to the educational institutions who support CFPA with their Patron membership you support us so we can support you!
*Recipients of the CFPA Legal Studies Scholarship are awarded their prize during the Annual Meeting -- this year it's December 2, 2011 -- and are also given a one-year membership in CFPA and placement on the Student Relations Committee!
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Question & Answer Corner ...
Question from Pris Childers, FRP, Langston, Hess, Augustine, Hussey & Moyles, P.A.:
"I received an email from the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education. Are they someone I can go through to receive my credits?"
Answer from Anne Hughes, ACP, FCP, FRP, CFPA Secretary:
"Pris - Thanks for the great question! There are a lot of companies out there that offer CLE credit. Here's a quick guide for you to keep in mind before registering for any CLE course:
What you need as a CP/ACP through NALA is for the course you take to be NALA-approved.
For FRP, you need either a course that is
(1) NALA-approved,
(2) NFPA-approved, OR
(3) Fla Bar-approved.
According to their website, NACLE is Fla Bar approved. However, since you have never used them before, I would contact the Fla Bar CLE's point of contact, Yvonne, at ysherron@flabar.org and inquire about the specific program for which you are interested in registering.
For your information, all CFPA seminars are NALA-approved and accepted by the Fla Bar for FRP CLE requirements."
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"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Mahatma Gandhi
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Membership Corner
Welcome New Members:
AAllen Bryant & Associates
Brittney Bogan, FRP
Janice A. DeJulio, CP
Florida Coast Process, LLC.
Kelly Fuller, CP
Linda Hayes, FRP
C. Jeannette Lopez
Michele Marsh-Palmer
Siiri Raniero
Deborah Samuel, FRP
Tina Zamaletdinov
For Membership Information and Application CLICK HERE
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