1. What aspect of being a Paralegal is the most rewarding in your opinion? ⚖️ I really enjoy helping people. Legal matters can seem very overwhelming to many. It’s very rewarding to break down those misconceptions by helping people get through their most daunting tasks quickly, easily, and efficiently. 2. Where have you seen the most development in this profession? ⚖️ I have seen the most development in the technical aspects of this profession. E-filing has been the greatest advancement in my opinion. It has streamlined access to the court without all the time wasted standing in lines or the cost of making copies for every pleading submitted. 3. How did you discover the Paralegal profession? ⚖️ I discovered the legal profession through my Aunt. When I was in high school she worked as a Med-Mal Attorney at a couple very prominent firms in San Francisco, who graciously gave me access to their offices. Once gradated I worked in several capacities for different firms until I found my niche. 4. What is the most interesting type of law to you? Why? ⚖️ I find criminal law to be the most intriguing. There are so many moral dilemmas and evidence matters that have to be addressed. I would consider it to be the type of law that has the greatest affect on the community and the people it touches. 5. If you could, would you change anything about this profession? What would that be and why? ⚖️ If I could change anything about this profession it would be the pay and acknowledgement paralegals receive. We are definitely the people behind the curtain making everything run smoothly. I think this should be reflected in our salary and the way we are perceived.
Small Los Osos estate planning law firm seeks experienced paralegal for full-time position. Knowledge of estate planning, trust and probate law preferred, but not required. Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and an ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize as necessary to meet deadlines. Strong organizational and word processing skills with attention to detail a must.
* This position is hybrid in nature and duties will overlap with that of a legal secretary.
Job responsibilities include (but are not limited to): 🗝️ Drafting, revising, formatting and finalizing various documents 🗝️ Interacting with clients, attorneys and others in person and by phone 🗝️ File upkeep and organization 🗝️ Managing attorney calendars 🗝️ Screening and transferring incoming phone calls 🗝️ Coordinating and scheduling meetings and appointments
* Notary public commission or ability to obtain such commission is required.
This is a full-time, in person position (9:00 to 5:00) with competitive salary and benefits.
Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to: dms@gccattorneys.com
⚖️ It’s hard to believe it, but it’s that time of year again! The CCPA is always welcoming new and sustaining members. If you would like to join, please use one of the following application forms below.
📜Small San Luis Obispo law firm seeks a full-time or part-time paralegal with knowledge of probate and trust funding procedures. Responsibilities will include: 📜 Preparing trust funding documents, pleadings in probate matters, and simple trust amendments. 📜Must have great people skills and enjoy working with and talking to clients. 📜Excellent communication, organization and detail-oriented skills a must. 📜Must either be a notary or be willing to become a notary (firm will cover the associated costs).
1. What aspect of the Paralegal profession is the most rewarding in your opinion? ⚖️ I think our profession is rewarding when we can help our client either obtain justice or get them out of a situation that they are unjustly involved in. Depending on whether you are a plaintiff or defendant. I have been on both sides. As a Plaintiff’s paralegal, to see your client who has been injured or wronged get compensation is rewarding. As a Defendant’s paralegal, to help a client get out from under a lawsuit without damage to their reputation or financially, is rewarding.
2. How did you discover the Paralegal profession? ⚖️ In New York in the late 1980s, I knew a woman who was a paralegal to a small trial attorney firm. I went to a couple of their trials and found it fascinating. She was very good at her job and since she was working in a very small firm, she was involved in every aspect of the trial preparation and other objectives relating to working up the case. I enrolled in a paralegal program because of watching her and her attorneys who were brilliant trial attorneys try a couple of cases and win big verdicts.
3. What is the most drastic change in this profession you’ve seen develop? Is it a negative, or a positive change? Why? ⚖️ I don’t know if I have seen that much change. I know that some of my predecessors were paralegals before the Business and professional code relating to paralegals was in effect. Since I have been a paralegal, I’m hoping that the change that is positive is for attorneys to recognize how valuable paralegals can be in working up a case.
4. What is the most interesting type of law to you? ⚖️ I used to be involved in employment law and always found it fascinating. I still do. However, in the last three years I have been working with an attorney that defends medical malpractice cases and I find these cases really interesting as well.
5. If you could, would you change anything about this profession? What would that be, and why? ⚖️ If I could change anything, it would be for paralegals to be compensated better for what Paralegals bring to the table. Although, the salary ranges are different at all different firms. Some are being compensated really well and some not.
In Trust Legal is looking for a Legal Document Assistant/Legal Secretary (Full Time)
⚖️About In Trust Legal⚖️: In Trust Legal, Inc., is a registered Legal Document Assistant in San Luis Obispo County. We are not a law firm, and we are not attorneys. Upon customer requests, we prepare estate planning documents written and approved by attorneys and we also prepare small estate and probate proceedings.
⚖️Job Responsibilities: • Prepare trusts, assignments, wills, powers of attorney and deeds • Prepare probate and small estate transfer forms using Westlaw Form Builder • Prepare pleadings for probate and QDROs • Proofread all work prepared by you and others for accuracy • Review Probate Notes and prepare timely supplemental pleadings And more!
⚖️Job Requirements: Must know keyboard by touch with minimal to no errors • Organized and focused with ability to prioritize and multi-task • Superb written and oral communication skills • Excellent proofreading with attention to details • Experience with MS Word, Adobe, Excel, and Mac (preferred, but will train) • Experience with Westlaw Form Builder and Odyssey (preferred, but will train) • Notary public commission is preferred, or willing to become a notary • Working knowledge of estate planning and probate is preferred • Must be confident to work independently
⚖️Pay: $20 – $25 per hour, based on experience.
⚖️Apply: Please send cover letter, resume and references to Carol Ramirez cramirez@InTrustLegal.com
Small Los Osos estate planning law firm seeks experienced legal secretary/legal assistant for full-time position.
– Knowledge of estate planning, trust and probate law preferred, but not required.
– Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and an ability to handle multiple tasks and prioritize as necessary to meet deadlines.
– Strong organizational and word processing skills with attention to detail a must. Happy disposition a plus!
Job responsibilities include (but are not limited to): $ Managing attorney calendars $ Screening and transferring incoming phone calls $ Coordinating and scheduling meetings and appointments $ Drafting, revising, formatting and finalizing various documents $ Interacting with clients, attorneys and others in person and by phone $ File upkeep and organization Notary public commission or ability to obtain such commission is required.
⚖️This is a full-time, in person position (9:00 to 5:00) with competitive salary and benefits.
⚖️Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to: dms@gccattorneys.com
⚖️ I had been working as a travel agent after I graduated college. Although I was getting to travel a lot, I wasn’t making much money. A girlfriend who was a legal secretary was expecting her first baby and was looking for someone to help out her attorney while she was on maternity leave. Although I didn’t know a pleading from a hole in the wall, I could type, so he hired me. After my friend came back to work they kept me on part time, but I needed full time work. I got hired as a legal secretary at a bigger firm, which employed paralegals. I remember thinking, man I would never be a paralegal, they have to know too much and they work so hard! Six months later one of the paralegals left and they asked me to fill her position. I was terrified, but I said yes. Then I decided I’d better go back to school and get my paralegal certificate (that was before B&P 6450), so I did, and never looked back.
2. What is something you wish you knew before joining the legal profession?
⚖️ I wish I had known how amazingly fun and interesting it would be, or I would have done it from the beginning. The law affects all of us every single day, and it is ever-changing and never boring. I loved not only the mental exercise, but also helping people get themselves out of whatever trouble they were in. It has also been an amazing career, that not only provided me an interesting living, but allowed me to go in all kinds of directions, such as writing, lecturing, and teaching.
3. How do you think the new advancements of AI will affect the legal industry?
⚖️ AI could be a great tool for the profession, as long as it doesn’t make attorneys and paralegals lazy. They still have to fact check to make sure the information the computer is spitting out is valid. There may be a period of time where people will think they don’t need an attorney, because they can just get their answers from the computer, but after they get burned a few times, they will be back. I did read a very interesting article about an experiment done in a criminal courtroom, where the researchers fed the fact scenarios from several hundred cases into a computer to see if it could come up with a better decision than the judge. The idea was, using the AI would eliminate bias and sympathy that would be exhibited by a human judge and reach a truly impartial decision. The final result was, the AI “judge” did do a better job than the human judge in calculating which defendants were lying or would commit a subsequent crime. When I ask my students in my Law Office Technology class if they would be willing to be judged by an AI judge, most of them say no, they would not trust it and would prefer a human, and the fallibility that would come with that.
4. What is the most interesting type of law to you, and why?
⚖️ Wow, that’s a tough one. I would say the most interesting law I have ever done is attorney malpractice defense. To win such a case you have to show that even if the malpractice had not occured, the client would have lost the case anyway, so there were no damages. That means you have to pretend to try (or retry) the underlying case to see what the result would have been. It’s quite a mental exercise! Probably the most fun type of work I have done is intellectual property work. It is such a positive, constructive type of work as compared to litigation. People are creating and inventing things. Having worked on getting an invention through the US Patent Office and then seeing that product on the shelf is very rewarding.
Thank you so much Stacey for being this months interviewee! Until next time… 🙂
