Paralegal/Legal Assistant Resume

Desired Industry: Legal	SpiderID: 28223
Desired Job Location: Leesburg, Virginia	Date Posted: 8/13/2009
Type of Position: Full-Time Permanent	Availability Date: 08/13/2009
Desired Wage: 50000.00
	U.S. Work Authorization: Yes
Job Level: Experienced with over 2 years experience	Willing to Travel: Yes, 25-50%
Highest Degree Attained: Masters	Willing to Relocate: No

Objective:
I do not like to state ONE objective, as I have many. I would like to pursue a career in the legal field as a paralegal, but I also desire room for growth and promotion. I feel that I would make a great firm administrator and clearly define employees' job descriptions, train employees, and conduct evaluations. I also have a background in science and would like to be able to have a position in the legal field that requires a science background. However, I most strongly desire a positive working environment and a team-playing atmosphere. Salary comes second to my happiness in my place of employment.

Experience:
July 2008 - February 2009 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Maryland: Legal Secretary
•Provided high-level administrative support for two attorneys; processrd insurance defense claims; drafted written communication, notices of events, subpoenas, deposition summaries, and discovery; corresponded with adjusters and clients; settlement procedure, arbitration, mediation,and dismissed cases; closed cases through database; processed invoices; e-filing and filing with Maryland Court Systems. Electronically tracked court ordered and Nationwide deadlines; electronic diary system reminders for attorneys.

August 2007 - June 2008 Law Offices of Charles E. McKeon: Tampa, FL
Litigation Paralegal, insurance defense
•Responsible for the initial analysis of claim files, issuing and answering discovery, creating HIPAA-compliant subpoenas for medical, employment and insurance records based upon claims files, and HIPPA-compliant releases to government and out-of-state agencies. Issued good faith correspondence and motions to compel, among other correspondence to various parties. Corresponded with all parties, including opposing counsel, tracked deadlines for discovery/ subpoenaed records, and records from Independent Medical Examinations. Prepared documents to be sent to opposing and co-counsels. Witness and exhibit lists, trial notebooks, appellate notebooks, trial preparation.

TEMP ASSIGNMENTS

Law Office of Charles R. Scully through July 2007-September 2007 The Workhouse Inc., St. Petersburg, FL

Litigation Paralegal, Personal Injury.
• Oversaw a wide variety of administrative functions
• Drafted and filed complaints
• Maintained and updated files
• Compiled and analyzed medical data and invoices
• Conducted new client intake
• Tracked cases crossing from pre-litigation stage to litigation stage
• Responsible for issuing and answering discovery, good faith letters, subsequent Motions to Compel
• Scheduled depositions, mediations, and tracked trial order deadlines
• Organized Independent Medical Examinations
• Updated all medical, employment and insurance information daily

December 2006 - July 2007, All Legal Staffing, Inc.: Tampa, FL
Legal Assistant/ Paralegal
• Workers' Compensation Defense (90 days) for Rissman, Barrett, Donahue and Mclain, P.A. Primarily responsible for heavy dictation and settlements. Family Law Litigation (90 days); responsible for meeting with clients, discovery (Financial Affidavits, Mandatory Disclosure, Interrogatories, etc); scheduling meetings with attorneys and clients, organization of files for depositions, hearings, etc. Amended an outdated filing system for two new attorneys who joined a small, Tampa Family Law and Immigration firm.
END OF TEMP ASSIGNMENT HISTORY
June 2006 - December 2006 Rywant, Alvarez, Jones, Russo & Gutyon, P.A. ; Tampa, FL
Legal Secretary (Plaintiff and Defense)
• Assisted two partners and three contracted attorneys in personal injury, product liability, breach of contract, general civil litigation matter, and Federal cases. Heavy dictation; drafted correspondence, pleadings, motions, and proposed orders. Scheduled depositions, hearings, mediations, and trial order events. Corresponded with judicial representatives, clients and involved parties. Handled PACER (E-filing) for Federal cases and followed outlined rules for this procedure.
November 2005 ¡V March 2006
Tampa, FL
Legal Assistant/ Paralegal
• Commercial Litigation; drafted pleadings, motions, and correspondence. Probate, Guardianship Law, Wills, and Trusts; drafted pleadings and proposed orders; opened and closed cases; client communication and scheduling; accounting and banking; filing, phones; reception; organization of all client materials; helped attorney move offices across town and become a solo practitioner.
• Paralegal/Legal Assistant for managing attorney in bankruptcy filings, bankruptcy litigation, creditors' rights, and in legal proceedings transactions of real property and/or money; screened incoming calls for potential new clients; legal research; preparation of complaints, demands, pleadings, motions, and potential orders; scheduling of depositions, hearings, mediations, initial client screenings/meetings, and telephone conferences; complied with the Federal Bankruptcy Code and filed Notices, Motions, Pleadings, Proofs of Claim, and other relevant documents electronically in accordance with the Bankruptcy Code; prepared State-Level pleadings, Motions, etc. and filed them within the State Court System.

September 2005 ¡V November 2005 Pharmaceutical Development Group: Tampa, FL
Assistant to CEO/Legal and Medical Researcher
• Assisted pharmaceutical expert witness in mass tort claims and in marketing new over-the-counter medications. Organized confidential paperwork from pharmaceutical companies for testimony of expert witness in class actions suits (such as Accutane); Prepared documents, scheduled depositions of the Company¡¦s expert witness. Managed six pharmaceutical researchers (PhD level), tracked their progress regarding research projects for expert witness¡¦ cases; organized research projects by calendaring deadlines, goals and subject areas to be covered. Aided in marketing strategie, prepared meetings among the expert witness and clients for purposes of proposing medications through the FDA (such as Salonpas-as seen now at CVS and other pharmacies). Performed medical research and organization of expert witness reports. Used technology to begin creating a digital environment for efficient document retrieval.

June 2004 - November 2005 Sixth Judicial Circuit/ State of Florida
Clearwater, FL
Legal Secretary
• Aided the only General Magistrate in Child Dependency cases in conjunction with Pinellas County, Florida's Unified Family Court through secretarial duties including preparation of reports and recommendations of the General Magistrate for each case, as well as any follow-up motions/orders after hearings. Ordered and researched files for General Magistrate before each hearing; worked closely with Unified Family Court judges and Clerk¡¦s Office on daily basis.

August 2002 - May 2004 Keswick Christian School: St. Petersburg, FL
High School Physical Sciences Teacher
• Taught grades 9-12 Physics I Honors, Chemistry I and II Honors, Conceptual Physics, and Forensics (for high school seniors only).
• Responsible for 50-minute classes in the above subjects, including classroom lectures, group activities and hands-on laboratories
• For the Forensics Class: wrote grant for class; obtained funding; developed curriculum; developed laboratories; arranged for guest speakers; modified all lessons from college-level texts to high school learning level
*Please ask for science resume if interested.

Education:
„« Graduate Education: Master's Degree in Criminal Justice and Legal Administration (GPA 3.9)
o University of Central Florida (2001)
„« Undergraduate Education: Bachelor¡¦s Degree: Rollins College (3.65 GPA)
o Rollins College (1999)
„« Continuing Education:
o Certification: Advanced training in Juvenile Offenders and Victims
o Certification with the Association of Forensic Entomologists: Estimation of Time of Death as provided by Dr. Neil Haskell of Purdue University

Affiliations:
Academy of Forensic Entomologists; Teaching eligibility in Floria; Certified as expert in Juvenile Offenders and Victims; Hard -worker Award with the State of Florida/Sixth Judicial Circuit

Skills:
„« Technical writing/ Analytical reasoning
„« Computer savvy self-learner
„« Extreme attention to detail and work standards
„« Effective time versus task manager
„« Outstanding written and oral communications
„« Legal and Medical Research
„« Professional demeanor during challenging situations
„« Sales analysis and administration
„« Focus on accountability and professional growth
„« Change/challenge ready
„« Strong Customer Service Skills
„« Conversational Spanish

Additional Information:
SOFTWARE SKILLS
„« Microsoft Office „« WordPerfect
„« Adobe Pro „« DOS Mainframe
„« CaseMap „« Orion
„« Abacus „« Amicus
„« Client Profiles „« Time Matters„« Lotus Notes „« Time Slips/
„« Phone Slips
„« ProDocs „« PCLaw
„« Concordance „« Data Entry
„« Westlaw and Lexis
„« Typing Speed: 80 wpm
„« Macintosh
„« Insurance and Billing Software
„« Biostatistics
„« Excel programming for scientific statistics

Reference:
Available upon request.

Candidate Contact Information:

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