Newly formed legal group to provide support, education
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE - They call themselves "sisters in law."

The newly developed Middlesex County Legal Professional Association held its monthly meeting, which included the installation of officers and the initiation of new members, at the Hampton Inn, 270 Route 9 north, Woodbridge, on Sept. 19.

The Middlesex County LPA is a chapter of the New Jersey Association for Legal Professionals [NALS], which is part of a tri-level professional association composed of members employed in the legal field.

The association was chartered in 1959 by NALS and is affiliated with NALS Region 2, which consists of members from the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

"This is the first chapter in Middlesex County, which started in April," said Susan Mack-Mooney, president of the Middlesex Chapter and NJALS second vice president and legal education chairman. "There are a variety of legal professionals in the chapter. We are not just legal secretaries anymore."

Other chapters in New Jersey include Union and Essex counties, Hunterdon County, Monmouth County, Morris County, and Somerset County.

The national association started informally in 1929 in Long Beach, Calif., where Eula Mae Jett met with several of her colleagues and established a group that met and discussed topics affecting their careers as legal secretaries.

The focus of the meetings shifted to education, and the popularity grew.

By 1949, chapters had developed similar groups, and the National Association of Legal Secretaries was formed.

After several years of discussion on the topic of a name change to better reflect the nature and membership of NALS, it was determined that NALS would no longer be used as an acronym, but rather as a name with the tag line "… the association for legal professionals" in 1999.

"We hope to grow with new members," said Mack-Mooney. "We try to have speakers come to meetings and provide resources to our members from continual education to networking."

During the meeting, the chapter discussed raising funds for the Woodbridge Township Domestic Violence Team.

The September meeting featured Dr. Falguni Patel, who is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist. She provided the members with information on women's health.

Patel works in Bay Obstetrics & Gynecology, which is affiliated with Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy. The offices are located at 390 New Brunswick Ave. in Fords and 2045 Route 35 south in Sayreville.

Patel provided information on heart disease, osteoporosis, gynecological visits, mammograms, nutrition and dieting.

"On the contrary of what some women may think, women who are diagnosed with heart disease is much more common than women who are diagnosed with breast cancer," said Patel. "Excess weight, higher levels of BMI [body mass index], or a woman who carries more cholesterol could contribute to heart disease."

Patel said early detection for breast cancer is key.

"MRIs [magnetic resonance imaging] are maybe better than mammograms, but most insurance companies don't pay for it," she said.

Patel said she urges women to get their yearly mammograms and yearly gynecological checkups even though there may be some discomfort.

"It's much better for women to have that discomfort for that short period of time than getting a disease, which is a long road of discomfort," said Patel.

The doctors also said women should focus on themselves and take preventative measures against osteoporosis.

"The worst is getting a hip fracture … you lose your autonomy and have to be dependent," she said. "Once someone gets osteoporosis, there is only a way to stabilize the disease. Lack of exercise and calcium could contribute to the disease."

Patel also touched upon ovarian cancer, which she said was difficult to detect in women.

"There are usually no symptoms, and most cases of women who are diagnosed with the cancer are already in stage 3 and 4 of the cancer when they are diagnosed," she said. "It's rare for a woman to be diagnosed with stage 1 of the cancer unless doctors came upon it while checking something else."

For more information about Bay Obstetrics & Gynecology, call the Fords office at (732) 738-4260 or the Sayreville office at (732) 316-4951.

The Middlesex County LPA will hold its October meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 17, with guest speakers Cathy Kane and Uri Goldsmith of Rosenberg and Associates of Newark and Roseland. Kane and Goldsmith will provide information about trial technology.

New members in the law professional field who work in Middlesex County are welcome to attend. Contact Susan Mack- Mooney, president of the chapter, for more information at (973) 849-2543.

For more information on NALS, the association for legal professionals, visit www.nals.org.