Below are descriptions of the work I performed at each of my Paralegal and Litigation positions.
2010-Present: Paralegal The Chestnut Law Firm Gainesville, FL
At the Chestnut Firm, I've worked on a variety of litigation, premises liability, and personal injury cases under direct supervision of the firm's managing attorney and firm administrator. Many of these cases have yielded awards totaling tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for our clients. Additionally, I worked on several class-action litigation matters whose awards have totaled over $1 million. Typical tasks and assignments have included: keeping litigation files up-to-date to match each individual case's court docket; editing, proofreading, and propounding attorneys' interrogatories, admissions, and production of documents to opposing counsel, and responding to requests for the same from opposing counsel; regularly corresponding with clients, insurers, health care providers and law enforcement to obtain client records and information; and database management using the firm's legal information technology and software system. I also occasionally update the content of the firm's web site.
2009: Paralegal and Legal Research Assistant a) The Chestnut Firm (Gainesville, FL) b) Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, LLP (Gainesville, FL) c) Fowler, White, Burnett, P.A. (West Palm Beach, FL
a) At the Chestnut Firm in 2009, I performed many of the same tasks I have done during my second stint with the firm (please see above). My primary responsibility during my first stint, however, was to complete a thorough firm-wide database transition from one brand of legal information technology software ("Client Profiles") to another ("Needles"). This work involved several hundred active and closed cases, and a vigilant attention to detail in order to ensure that all relevant data was maintained for each client during the transition.
b) As a contract Legal Research Assistant for Shook, Hardy, and Bacon's Washington DC Office, I worked on the library research component of a large class-action litigation and product-liability matter involving hundreds of clients and tens of millions of dollars in potential damages. My work site was the University of Florida Library System, specifically, their large collection of newspaper and microfilm archives. Using an exhaustive list of very specific news articles relevant to the litigation, my job duties involved locating, copying, and compiling, scanning to email, and express-shipping a hard copy of a set of whichever documents I was able to locate in the University's archives. I coordinated with my supervisor daily via email and telephone as he updated the list of required documents and articles, and as he reviewed my work. The project assignments were intermittent and based upon project need per the litigation proceedings.
c) As a contract Legal Assistant at Fowler, White, Burnett, I worked on an Arbitrator Ranking project for the firm's Managing Partner from the West Palm Beach office. I researched background information about public and private industry arbitrators whom the Firm was considering employing to help mediate litigation matters out of court. I obtained the information using several online databases, and compiled the information for the Managing Partner to review. I also assisted with case file management and numerous other Paralegal tasks on other civil and commercial litigation matters. I was also responsible for many secretarial duties, including answering the telephones, reviewing all incoming mail, copying, faxing, filing, and obtaining documents from the court house.
At Kluger, I worked as a general bankruptcy department Paralegal, supporting a team of four attorneys in the firm's Miami and Boca Raton offices. My responsibilities included preparation of debtor and creditor asset "schedules" in Excel, assisting with depositions, and digesting transcripts. I was also responsible for maintaining a log of bankruptcy proceedings throughout the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, for potential new client business, or for decisions that may be germane to other matters already being represented by the firm. I worked this job for approximately six months in between my two Masters' degrees, primarily so that I could live near by and help care for my elderly grandmother before she passed away. I returned to graduate school immediately thereafter.
2003-2004: Paralegal Anderson & Kriger, APLC San Diego, CA
At A&K, I worked primarily on a large class-action securities fraud litigation case involving more than 200 plaintiffs represented by our firm. My chief responsibilities included propounding and responding to repeated rounds of litigation discovery requests (i.e. Interrogatories, Admissions, and Requests for Production of Documents). I worked under the supervision of a senior Paralegal and the principal attorney on the case, reviewing enormous quantities of production documents, producing document exhibits for court room use, managing all client correspondence, and obtaining documents from the court house. I also proofread, edited, and summarized legal briefs and memoranda of law.
2000-2002: Paralegal Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP Palo Alto, CA (Ranked #1 Law Firm Worldwide, by The American Lawyer)
Among other responsibilities at this large international law firm, I worked on several multi-million-dollar cases involving Civil and Environmental Engineering and EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) Contract disputes. My tasks included manually reviewing enormous quantities of documents, engineering schematics, and site photos to determine if certain provisions of the contracts had been completed in a timely fashion and satisfactory condition per the contract requirements. I prepared exhibit binders of contract excerpts, correspondence and other document evidence for my supervising attorneys to use in their arbitration and litigation of these cases. I also: researched, cite-checked, and summarized case law; summarized and reviewed depositions; prepared, edited, and proofread legal briefs and other memoranda of law; and provided other miscellaneous litigation support to my supervising attorneys. Other types of cases I worked on included other general Contract Litigation and Non-Compete Agreements, Bankruptcy Litigation, Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation, Securities Litigation, and Class-Action suits. Overall, this was a very demanding and fast-paced position at a high-profile law firm. It was also my first full-time career position following completion of my bachelor's degree at UC-Davis.