Notary Public Forum

[sibley]

0L... but trying to plan ahead.

Might it be beneficial to me to have a notary commission upon entering law school? Per NYS, it's good for 4 years and commission can be requested in other counties in which you 'do business.' I was thinking I could get it sometime before I start school next fall then get a commission in whatever county I'm in and also kings/queens counties.

That would make me a little more appealing to NOT biglaw summer jobs, right? And clinics?


(edited for punctuation)

[Lermontov]

No. Every office has multiple notaries. If they didn't, and they practice at all in state courts, they'd have some major inconveniences before you got there.

[sibley]

No. Every office has multiple notaries. If they didn't, and they practice at all in state courts, they'd have some major inconveniences before you got there.

I'm a little confused by your statement, and, dude, aren't you a 0l too? Who probably knows less about this than I do (based on work experience)? but... we're going to go with what you're saying is they already have notaries so why should I bother?
Well, I worked at a law firm. A boutique firm whose clients were Citibank, Fannie Mae, etc. And all the attys were notaries, as were several of the paralegals. And it was a pain in the ASS to try and find someone who had the 'time' to do it. And if I worked late and something had to get to fedex by the 7pm pickup I was screwed. It would definitely be a benefit for my own work, and I think they would see it as beneficial too, since I'm not going to need anyone for that, but... would it they consider it a 'soft,' per se, rather than just a perk?

[op-ti]

I'm a little confused by your statement but... we're going to go with what you're saying is they already have notaries so why should I bother?
Well, I worked at a law firm. A boutique firm whose clients were Citibank, Fannie Mae, etc. And all the attys were notaries, as were several of the paralegals. And it was a pain in the ASS to try and find someone who had the 'time' to do it. And if I worked late and something had to get to fedex by the 7pm pickup I was screwed. It would definitely be a benefit for my own work, and I think they would see it as beneficial too, since I'm not going to need anyone for that, but... would it they consider it a 'soft,' per se, rather than just a perk?

ahhh....NO! I'm a Notary Public as well, and was not even planning on mentioning it (it by no means is a soft). I don’t think LS could careless if you have one or not.

[starstruck393]

If you think it will help your work product, then do it, it's not very hard. But don't expect it to give you much of a boost for jobs. I can't imagine firms would gush over a secretarial item in a SA application...

[sibley]

Thanks all =)

Looks like it still might be worth it. $75 and so much less stress. Something to mention in interviews as a convenience only, I guess. The exam does look really easy judging by the study material for it. It's basically common sense, common law.

[Pearalegal]

Thanks all =)

Looks like it still might be worth it. $75 and so much less stress. Something to mention in interviews as a convenience only, I guess. The exam does look really easy judging by the study material for it. It's basically common sense, common law.

What less stress? You can't notorize your own documents.

[sibley]

Thanks all =)

Looks like it still might be worth it. $75 and so much less stress. Something to mention in interviews as a convenience only, I guess. The exam does look really easy judging by the study material for it. It's basically common sense, common law.

What less stress? You can't notorize your own documents.

Well, everyone there did and no one in the State SC complained.

[2009 Prospective]

Don't waste your time unless you're hoping to become a legal secretary

[Lermontov]

No. Every office has multiple notaries. If they didn't, and they practice at all in state courts, they'd have some major inconveniences before you got there.

I'm a little confused by your statement, and, dude, aren't you a 0l too? Who probably knows less about this than I do (based on work experience)? but... we're going to go with what you're saying is they already have notaries so why should I bother?

I am a 0L, but I've been working in a small firm and helping with hiring summer interns for the past two years. It might be a pain for one of the attorneys to notarize, but as you said they are all notaries. As long as they're in the office, it takes about ten seconds to notarize something, so it might be annoying to them but it wouldn't be something that would give one prospective hire a boost over another.

And yeah, self-notarized documents totally aren't acceptable if challenged.
Also, (if you're thinking about working late, just you and one attorney in the office) attorneys don't need to get their documents notarized as a general rule, because they're usually doing attorney affirmations rather than affidavits.

[tome]

This thread is hilarious, and I hope that OP is joking, for her sake.

[sibley]

This thread is hilarious, and I hope that OP is joking, for her sake.

fuck off.

[Pearalegal]

Also, (if you're thinking about working late, just you and one attorney in the office) attorneys don't need to get their documents notarized as a general rule, because they're usually doing attorney affirmations rather than affidavits.

I get my affidavits of service notarized (and if I don't serve, my attorneys do). But I have no idea what type of law firm you worked in, or maybe that particular state has weird rules, but a self-notarized document does not fly in most cases. If challenged, it has no status.

[2009 Prospective]

No. Every office has multiple notaries. If they didn't, and they practice at all in state courts, they'd have some major inconveniences before you got there.

I'm a little confused by your statement, and, dude, aren't you a 0l too? Who probably knows less about this than I do (based on work experience)? but... we're going to go with what you're saying is they already have notaries so why should I bother?

I am a 0L, but I've been working in a small firm and helping with hiring summer interns for the past two years. It might be a pain for one of the attorneys to notarize, but as you said they are all notaries. As long as they're in the office, it takes about ten seconds to notarize something, so it might be annoying to them but it wouldn't be something that would give one prospective hire a boost over another.

And yeah, self-notarized documents totally aren't acceptable if challenged.
Also, (if you're thinking about working late, just you and one attorney in the office) attorneys don't need to get their documents notarized as a general rule, because they're usually doing attorney affirmations rather than affidavits.

Why did you come here to ask everyone for advice when it seems as if you already made up your mind anyways? If you're so convinced it's somehow worth it, do it.

[Kiersten1985]

The legal assistants (including yours truly) are the notaries at my firm. None of the attorneys. I think it's thought of as being "below them." To be honest, if I came back here as an attorney I wouldn't want to notarize my own docs either. Something of a stigma to it.

[Pearalegal]

If you want to do this, do it. However, I can think of much better things to do with $75.

This honestly won't be allowed at most firms. I'm in biglaw, and only legal secretaries and document support services are notaries because paralegals and attorneys have to have things notarized for themselves the most.

I'm shocked that a court allowed self-notarization, it completely goes against the purpose of notorization and in many instances can lead to conflicts with the law. I've filed all over the country and that has never once been an option. It won't be a soft, it won't be something employers will take note of.

[sibley]

Oh my god. Why don't people READ???

I don't want big law. I want to be able to use it at clinics. And I didn't ask if I should, definitively, do it. I asked if it would be seen as a perk. You said it won't. Thanks. That doesn't mean it's still completely useless to me.

[Pearalegal]

Sibley, regarding self notarization, as you seem to not believe me:

http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-12 ... -F,00.html

--LinkRemoved-- (first question)

http://www.texasnotary.com/faqs.asp?sec ... Section1.5

and so on and so forth. Usually relatives are a no-no as well.

[apper123]

OP posts asking what TLS thinks about being a notary.

TLS gives OP its opinion.

OP argues to death that TLS is wrong.

Why did OP post asking for opinions in the first place?

[sibley]

OP posts asking what TLS thinks about being a notary.

TLS gives OP its opinion.

OP argues to death that TLS is wrong.

Why did OP post asking for opinions in the first place?

Why did TLS misunderstand my question in the first place?

Didn't argue to death. I got my answer and said thanks and people kept arguing for some reason. Y'all have got to learn when to end it. Anyway : conceding on legality issues. The law firm was total bull. I quit because I was the sole paralegal dealing with literally hundreds of foreclosure cases. They treated their employees like shit, but the non-partners were willing to notarize. And I apologize for continuing the stupidity - I'm in a terrible mood, which makes me argumentative.

Anyone wanna give some non-legal legal advice to help with my pissiness? My cousins are trashing my senile grandmother's house while she is staying with my uncle down south. All of my grandmother's 4 children share POA. These particular cousins' parents are also using my grandmother's retirement to pay for their personal expenses - their family's cell phone bill, assumably their children's college loans (they're 23 and 25, both have graduated and both are living at home doing nothing), etc. They also owe her 20k from 25 years ago (verbal agreement only, nothing official). My mother is poor and I want her to get her share. There is no guarantee that I will have the means to support her when she needs it. And I'm big on fairness. I've never been able to tolerate anything that even had an inkling. Why are my cousins doing this and getting away with it while I'm working full time and actually being a responsible member of society? It's bs.