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PATRICIA F. CLAPPER, ACP, NCCP has been a paralegal with the general practice firm of Levine & Stewart for almost 15 years. Her areas of practice include civil litigation, domestic law, criminal law, estate planning and corporate work. Ms. Clapper earned her associate's degree in paralegal technology from Central Carolina Community College. She is on the advisory board for the paralegal curriculum at Central Carolina Community College and currently serves as President of the North Carolina Paralegal Association. Ms. Clapper is also a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants and the Advocates for Justice - Paralegal Division. E. CLARKE DUMMIT is the founder of The Dummit Law Firm in Winston-Salem, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of criminal law with a focus on driving while impaired and drug cases. His firm also litigates personal injury, medical malpractice and workers' compensation. The Dummit Law Firm regularly affiliates with other firms to litigate cases in both criminal and civil trials. He is the author of The North Carolina DWI Manual and is the founder of the North Carolina DWI Round Table. Mr. Dummit is a frequent lecturer on various issues relating to criminal law including driving while impaired. He is admitted to practice in North Carolina and Georgia, as well as before federal courts. Mr. Dummit earned his B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. degree from Wake Forest University. He has been a member of the Forsyth County and North Carolina bar associations, and the Academy of Trial Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. DAVID W. FAVOR has 47 years’ business experience and the last decade working with law firms. He was with IBM for more than 30 years, a former ISO Auditor, and then private consultant for major corporations such as BCBS and Nortel. Mr. Favor's extensive business experience before he co-created Catalyst Group Inc. has brought small and medium size practices and businesses, an expertise in strategic planning coupled with best business practices. His ability to bring the theory of leadership and self-mastery coupled with a balanced scorecard for business has allowed the small and medium size service firms to be competitive in today's market. Mr. Favor serves on the boards of some law firms in a capacity as a chief learning officer and a mentor advisor. As a certified teacher of leadership and emotional intelligence, he teaches lawyers how to achieve the highest level of success through high performance principles. DAVID A. GOMEZ is the litigation support manager for Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP. He has served in various litigation support capacities over the past ten years at Carlton Fields, Helms Mullis & Wicker, and McGuireWoods, from providing consultation services on various litigation support issues to offering full trial support as well as mediations and arbitrations. In the ever changing digital landscape, breaking down the complex issues relating to eDiscovery and creating a clear roadmap on how to navigate through the minefield of discovery disaster are key to any successful litigation. Mr. Gomez has provided the necessary insight to structure a case strategy from client data collection, early case assessment, and review through to the production phase. A Certified Concordance Administrator, he also has extensive knowledge of Summation, Relativity, IPRO, as well as many other litigation support software tools. Every case is different, every budget is different, and as a University of Miami School of Business graduate, Mr. Gomez recognizes the need to identify cost effective solutions internally or though hosted partnerships that both satisfy the need of the client and the case. He holds the following certifications: Concordance Certified Software Administrator (CCSA); Concordance Certified FYI Administrator (CCFA): Advanced eDiscovery Certification Course, Kroll Ontrack; and eDiscovery Certification Course, Kroll Ontrack. Mr. Gomez earned his B.B.A. degree from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. CHERYL J. LEONE has more than 45 years’ experience with law firms with over half of that in management and consulting experience. Ms. Leone is known for her high energy visionary work in transforming law firms into high performance practices. She has brought the art of best business practices to law firms through her work with her company, Catalyst Group Inc. Ms. Leone believes in strong work and life ethics coupled with a positive work culture and true team interaction between owners and staff. She delivers her speeches and her work with humor coupled with a common sense approach to developing well managed practices. Ms. Leone writes nationally for both lawyer and paralegal publications. Her blog "Law Firm Coach" is a well read blog by most law firm owners wanting to maximize their practice. From self-mastery to firm mastery, she creates a world that allows law firms to achieve the success they want and at a profit. YOLANDA N. SMITH, ACP, NCCP, is a paralegal in the Raleigh law firm of Tharrington Smith LLP. Ms. Smith has been a paralegal for 11 years and her work is focused in the area of construction litigation. She has earned the designation of advanced certified paralegal from the National Association of Legal Assistants and North Carolina Certified Paralegal from the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification. Ms. Smith has held several positions with the North Carolina Paralegal Association (NCPA) and is currently the NCPA's liaison to the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification. She is also a council member and education law section liaison for the Legal Assistant Division of the North Carolina State Bar Association. Ms. Smith is also a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants.
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