My name is Kathy Sieckman, PP, PLS, ACP. I am a legal secretary/paralegal/administrator/cat herder with a paralegal degree who has been in the industry for over 40 years. Being in the field so long I have seen a lot and learned a lot. It was the learning part that led me to my passion for teaching others so that they can be the best that they can be and can choose a career–not just a job. I am obsessed with error-free work product.
I became affectionately known as the “Grammar Bitch” after I had studied for my NALS certification exams and started correcting everyone’s work. They balked a little in the beginning, but they started trusting me. As time has passed, they don’t even balk anymore, they just let me change it without question (although they do get the last say). However, the “term of endearment” has stuck.
This career and continuing to learn and teach others about proofreading still fill my heart and give me true purpose. Yes, I am THAT weirdo. Thus, this blog.
If you have any questions or suggestions for a topic that you think will be helpful, please email proofthatblog@gmail.com. If you’d like more information about the National Association for Legal Support Professionals, check out the website at nals.org. I would not be the person I am, the legal professional I am, or the leader I am without all I have gained from my membership in NALS. If you can use more education, some certification, or some great networking, you need to be a member of NALS!
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So proud of you Kathy!
Thanks, Dee!
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On your capitalization page, the “Yellow Pages”, on the description, the last word is section, but you have it spelled secction, you might want to fix that.
It’s fixed and it’s hard to believe others didn’t catch that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I would like to have more information on capitalization in legal documents. I have begun working for an attorney and really need to have some direction in this matter.
Thank you.
Thanks, Beverly. I’ll start working on that and get it posted soon.
Delighted to find Proofthatblog while researching why Sheetrock is always capitalized. I’m 72, a retired school secretary, with imperfect but above average spelling and language/grammar skills. My tallest soapbox issue is use of I or me when joined with another proper noun or pronoun. I’m truly dismayed at how few people take away the other person and say the sentence with I or me. Oh, well. Which of ever my English teachers taught us that fifty plus years ago, I remain grateful. You know I’ll be visiting you again. 🙂 Gosh, my edit and insert of “dismayed” didn’t look quite correct. Forgive me if necessary; my dictionary didn’t show past tense.
So glad you found me, Susan! Thank you for commenting and I’ll add that topic to my list.
I really loved being able to speak with you at the conference. Grammar is a large part of my life, and I enjoy learning as much as I can about it. One thing that you really hit on during your seminar was that consistency is important. I agree with you 100%. One instance of these can be with commas in putting items in a sequence. If you first state: bed, breakfast, and toast; then, the next time you have a list of items, make sure to put the comma before and. I review the newsletter that comes out every month at my work, and the one thing that really seems to constantly stand out in the paper is inconsistency. I always go up to my boss and tell her, “You had the grammar correct in this paragraph. Why did you decide to switch it up in this one?” Well I just wanted to stop by and say hello. Hope to read more amazing grammatical posts soon!
instance of *this. See proofreading is important!! lol.