In today's episode, Sarah Riley Mohr, Associate Corporate Counsel at Amazon, talks about her journey from being a paralegal to becoming a lawyer. Sarah discusses the challenges and rewards of her path and provides insights on whether it is worth it for others to pursue the same route.

Sarah also discusses the best traits and skills that a paralegal can learn, such as the ability to take initiative, think critically, and demonstrate a willingness to do substantive work. Additionally, Sarah emphasizes the importance of recognizing when to delegate tasks and focus on higher-level work. Today's podcast episode provides valuable insights for both paralegals and attorneys on how to succeed in the legal profession.

Key Takeaways:

• One of the most important traits of a paralegal is being able to spot issues and ask the right questions.

• The ability to take initiative and think critically is an important trait for paralegals to demonstrate to attorneys that they are capable of more substantive work.

• No task is beneath anyone, but it is also necessary to understand when to delegate to others in order to focus on higher-level work.

• Attending law school while working as a paralegal requires a significant amount of dedication and time management.

• Becoming a lawyer after working as a paralegal is possible but requires careful consideration of the costs and benefits.

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and any resources mentioned in the show.

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career, including a course on how to master your attention to detail. View our course offerings.  

https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com.

For more resources, visit our blog.

Did you hear about our upcoming live workshop?

Ann Pearson is going live on May 16th and May 18th for the 7 Habits of Indispensable Paralegals! Get your seat here: https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com/courses/seven-habits-of-indispensable-paralegals 

In this episode, Ann and Michael Quartararo discuss e-Discovery. The growing area of e-Discovery has become a mandatory skill for paralegals in the industry, and it's encouraged that all paralegals learn e-Discovery to increase their career security and job potential.

Key Takeaways:

• Integrating project management with e-Discovery can be a good next step in understanding the e-Discovery lifecycle.

• Paralegals already have a legal foundation that makes it easier to transition into e-Discovery careers.

• A way to get to that six-figure salary mark is to become an e-Discovery project manager.

Did you hear about our upcoming live workshop? Ann Pearson is going live on May 16th and May 18th for the 7 Habits of Indispensable Paralegals! Learn more here: https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com/courses/seven-habits-of-indispensable-paralegals 

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and any resources mentioned in the show.

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The E-discovery Boot Camp takes all of the guesswork out of managing an e-discovery project. This online course gives you a step-by-step guide to use from start to finish (with 40+ pages of a written plan, templates, and e-discovery checklists for every phase!).  

We walk you through each step and give you the training and the tools to master every phase of your e-discovery project. 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Mike Quartararo is the President of the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), the world’s leading organization for training and certification in e-discovery. For more than 10 years, ACEDS has trained lawyers, paralegals and other legal support professionals at law firms, corporate legal departments, the government, and in academia. He is also the author of the 2016 book Project Management in Electronic Discovery, now in its second edition.

Michael has been consulting in e-discovery, information governance, project management and legal technology for 25 years, including 10-year stints at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. He also operates a successful consulting practice that provides guidance to corporate legal departments and law firms.

A graduate of the State University of New York, he also attended law school in London. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS). He frequently writes and speaks on e-discovery, legal operations, project management and technology topics.

In this episode, Amy discusses the difference between a legal secretary/assistant and a paralegal. Amy is the chair of the paralegal section of the San Francisco Bar Association and has written several articles about the differences between the two roles. Ann and Amy also discuss how legal secretaries should not be referred to as paralegals and how paralegals have some tasks that legal secretaries cannot do.

Key Takeaways:

• Paralegals have some tasks that legal secretaries cannot do, and paralegals can bill for certain tasks.

• It is important to understand the differences between a legal secretary/assistant and a paralegal.

• It’s important to take a step back and assess why you are staying in a job that makes you unhappy.

• Sometimes you have to put your ego aside and do what is right for yourself.

• Presentations and articles are available to help attorneys understand the differences between legal secretaries and paralegals, and it is important for job postings to accurately reflect the requirements of the position being advertised.

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and any resources mentioned in the show.

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career, including a course on how to master your attention to detail. View our course offerings.  

https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com.

For more resources, visit our blog.

This conversation between Ann Pearson and Jessie Foss emphasizes the importance to be curious, ask questions, and research the law on your own in order to advance in the field.  Through Jessies' curiosity and interest in learning more about the legal profession, she was able to advance and transition into a paralegal role. 

Key Takeaways:

• Organization and task prioritization are crucial skills for a trial paralegal who may be assisting multiple attorneys and handling urgent tasks during a trial.
• Hands-on experience was more valuable than the paralegal certificate when it came to landing a position at the firm.
• You can seek help from recruiters and research how to improve your interview skills in preparation for your job search.
• It's important to have practical experience over theoretical knowledge in the legal field.
• Effective communication and delegation skills are necessary for a paralegal to manage tasks efficiently during a trial.

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and any resources mentioned in the show.

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career, including a course on how to master your attention to detail. View our course offerings.  

https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com.

For more resources, visit our blog.

Are you a personal injury paralegal (or want to be one)? Here's the Paralegal Boot Camp's FREE 8-Step Guide to a Rockstar Personal Injury Paralegal.

Key Takeaways:

• Don't waste the investment of time and money you've put into obtaining a paralegal certificate.

• Be proactive and take ownership of your work.

• Manage your priorities, not just your time.

• Develop systems, checklists, and procedures (SOPs) to streamline your work.

• Invest in your career by continuously improving and updating your skills.

• Reflect on your performance annually and set goals for improvement.

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and any resources mentioned in the show.

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career, including a course on how to master your attention to detail. View our course offerings.  

https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com.

For more resources, visit our blog.

Are you a personal injury paralegal (or want to be one)? Here's the Paralegal Boot Camp's FREE 8-Step Guide to a Rockstar Personal Injury Paralegal.

In our monthly paralegal inspiration episode series of #RockstarParalegals who truly enjoy what they do, I talked with Heidi Semkovich. Heidi is a paralegal in Alberta, Canada, and has worked in Oil & Gas, Criminal, Regulatory, and most recently in labor and employment law.

Heidi discusses her insights and tips for paralegals in areas such as:

• How to handle an "attorney's bad day"
• Your professional integrity is your currency
• How to know your worth and show your worth

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and any resources mentioned in the show.

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career, including a course on how to master your attention to detail. View our course offerings.  

https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com.

For more resources, visit our blog.

In this guest episode of the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show, Ann Pearson talks with Heather Gonzalez, a paralegal who is also a Certified Nutritionist, 500-hour Yoga Teacher, Wellness Coach, Personal trainer, Master Herbalist, and Mindful Coach about how to use mindfulness to keep paralegal stress in check.

Please visit our podcast page for the checklist mentioned in the show. 

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career.

View our course offerings.  

Website:  https://paralegal-bootcamp.com

For more paralegal resources, visit our Paralegal Resources page.

In this solo episode of the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show, Ann Pearson shares advice on what you can do if your attorney yells at you because no one should have to tolerate such behavior no matter the circumstance.

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and transcript. 

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career, including a course on how to master your attention to detail. View our course offerings.  

https://paralegal-bootcamp.thinkific.com.

For more resources, visit our blog.

Are you a personal injury paralegal (or want to be one)? Here's the Paralegal Boot Camp's FREE 8-Step Guide to a Rockstar Personal Injury Paralegal.

If you’ve been a podcast listener for a while, you heard the earlier episode that I asked for paralegals who wanted to be interviewed about what they love about being a paralegal and help spread some inspiration to other paralegals. The response was overwhelming!

We’ll give you one of these interviews every month this year to encourage you, inspire you, motivate you, and remind you why you went into the paralegal profession.

In this third interview in our paralegal inspiration episode series of #RockstarParalegals, I talked with Brian Carchedi. Brian is a commercial real estate paralegal in New York who enjoys going to work EVERY SINGLE DAY. Brian shares some paralegal insights from someone who has been a paralegal for 20 years and has seen many technology changes over those years.

Please visit our podcast page for the full show notes and transcript. 

Are you a paralegal who wants to skip the learning curve and kickstart your career?

The Paralegal Boot Camp offers online courses to fast-track your paralegal career, including a course on how to master your attention to detail. View our course offerings.  

https://paralegal-bootcamp.com.

For more resources, visit our blog.