In 2024, Director of Legal Studies and Professor Tom McClure gave continuing legal education (CLE) presentations to four different groups in Missouri, Florida, and Illinois. McClure began the year as the chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Paralegals and now serves as a member of the Council for the ABA Senior Lawyers Division.
In January, he lectured to the Kansas City Paralegal Association on “The Economic Benefits of Using Paralegals.” In addition to discussion financial benefits, he also spoke about the ethical ways in which attorneys can properly utilize paralegal services.
In April, he and retired judge Paul Lawrence presented a talk to the McLean County Bar Association on Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137 motions for sanctions. This presentation was part of a larger program produced by the McLean County attorneys who have been honored by the association with the Lincoln Award for Excellence recipients, entitled, “What Would Abe Do?”
McClure lectured to the United States Veterans Administration, Southeast District’s conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, in July. Among other topics, he spoke on paralegal mental health and work-life balance, as well as supervisor feedback, advantages of using paralegals, and the ABA Model Guidelines for Using Paralegals.
In September, McClure presented a CLE program to the Central Illinois Paralegal Association on implicit bias in jury selection in Illinois. His talk was part of the 34th Legal Educational Seminar presented by this professional organization.
