Law Firm Paralegal

As a paralegal with a local firm I deal primarily with divorces, dissolutions, child custody, personal injury, civil litigation, criminal law and juvenile law. I have some experience with real estate, business law and probate including adoptions, wills and trusts for children. The firm will soon be expanding into probating estates.

On a regular basis I communicate with clients, attorneys and paralegals; I draft pleadings including but not limited to, complaints, answers, petitions, motions, judgment entries, affidavits and victim of crime applications; I organize files; I file pleadings with the court and various other tasks.

I have primary experience with the following courts:

Greene County Courts

• Common Pleas Court including the following divisions: Domestic Relations, Probate, Civil, Juvenile and the Appeals Court.
• Xenia Municipal Court

Montgomery County Courts

• Common Pleas Court including the following divisions: Domestic Relations, Civil and Juvenile

Butler County Courts

• Common Pleas Court including the following: Domestic Relations

Clark County Courts

• Common Pleas Court including the following: Domestic Relations

Explanation of Find My Research

Find My Research was originally established to provide legal services to the general public and attorney's. I was under the assumption that I was legally allowed to provide assistance to the general public with filling out forms and various other tasks. I knew that I was not allowed to provide legal advice or represent them in court. Soon I realized that any service I provided to the general public would be considered unauthorized practice of law.

I started targeting attorney's in the local area. Most of the attorney's in the immediate area already had a paralegal or did not use a paralegal. Some attorney's feel that a paralegal cannot benefit them or the attorney has always completed the tasks on their own and do not need the service of a paralegal. I also searched advertisements for paralegal positions listed with Dayton Daily News, Craigslist, Monster and Indeed.

Finally, I came in contact with a local attorney that did need my services. Soon after meeting with the attorney he provided me with over 900 pages of medical records to review and summarize. He said he would like the project complete in two weeks and gave me a limit on the amount of hours. I started reviewing and summarizing the records, before I knew it the project was finished. I contacted the attorney, he said he was satisfied that I had completed the project in a week and under the hours alloted.

Also, as a result of posting an advertisement on Craiglists another opportunity became available. Originally, the job included being a paralegal it soon expanded due to my ability to complete different tasks. Currently, I am assisting the company with marketing, development and soon training new employees. To learn more about my experience with this company please check back

My job with the engineering firm and expert witness

After I graduated I immediately started looking for a job. It was not easy, a lot of attorney's already had paralegals or I did not have the experience the attorney's were looking for. I decided that I would look into legal secretary jobs to get my foot in the door. I applied to several legal secretary jobs, finally I got my first break.

I had an interview with a company in New Carlisle for a legal secretary position. The company was a structural engineer firm that provided expert witness services and various training. At first I met with the Marketing Director, she was worried I would not like making the long drive. I told her I would be more than willing, given the chance to prove myself. Soon after I had my second interview, I met with the Marketing Director and the President of the company. The President of the company explained my job responsibilities and I told him I was more than capable of handling the job. My job title with the company was paralegal to the President of the company.

A lot of other engineers and attorneys were confused about why an expert witness would need a paralegal. My boss said I was an asset to the company because he was now more organized; had access to legal cases; had access to legal research and my skills assisted with strategies to win even the tougher cases.

My boss said this about me in a letter of recommendation:
I found her to be consistently pleasant, tackling all assignment with dedication and a smile. She is a hard working, fast learning, self starter who understands exactly what a project is all about from the beginning and how to get it done quickly and effectively. For example, she often finishes projects before schedule and works diligently to stay ahead of deadlines.

My responsibilities within the company changed as my experience increased. My job responsibilities included: researching legal issues; researching applicable standards, including but not limited to OSHA, ANSI and ASTM; organizing case documents; reviewing depositions and preparing deposition summarizes; writing background summarizes, including key issues and relevant case facts; preparing draft reports; preparing invoices; communicating with attorneys, paralegals and expert witness providers; assisting with trade shows; assisting with establishing different methods to advertise the company's services; implementing/creating the law library and updating the President's CV as needed.

The cases I worked on consisted of: Construction site accidents: including gantry crane accidents, tower crane accidents, elevator accidents, fall protection accidents, roofing accidents, ladder accidents and construction equipment accidents; and Product liability accidents including: golf cart accident; trampoline accident and slides accidents.

My accomplishments as a paralegal with the company included: My research assisted with winning one of the largest jury verdicts in the state of New Jersey and my research assisted with winning a majority of the cases along with the expert witness report