Giving thanks: Paralegal expresses appreciation to those who influenced his career
By Darryl Hammill, Special to CPN
In 2008, I began a journey. It started by a simple conversation with one of my wife’s beauty shop clients, a North Carolina attorney named Amy Nutall.
Amy went to law school later in life, passed the bar exam and now works as a family law attorney in Raleigh. It was a career path that I had once dreamed of.
Even though I had put all of the pieces in place to prepare for the LSAT and began looking at law schools, a lack of time and money caused me not to proceed. I thought that my wish of becoming involved in the legal community had reached a dead end.
Amy suggested that if I had such a strong desire to work in the legal profession, perhaps I should consider becoming a paralegal. I had never thought about that before and began researching what it meant to be a paralegal.
Through my research, I discovered Meredith College’s post-baccalaureate paralegal program. Time was running short to register, but fortunately I crossed paths with Marisa Campbell, the program’s director. Since I was able to get my paperwork into her quickly, she admitted me. This simple act of kindness set me on a path that has taken my professional career in directions I would never have imagined.
Through the Raleigh-Wake Paralegal Association’s mentoring program, I had the good luck of meeting Julianne Fink, assistant director of Sections and the Paralegal Division with the N.C. Bar Association. She offered to work with me to make needed adjustments to my résumé. She also offered excellent recommendations about my professional paralegal portfolio.
I always assumed that I would follow a very traditional path upon graduation – working in a law firm, probably in civil litigation. But Sarah Kaufman, an instructor at Meredith and paralegal with Ellis & Winters, helped me see my options in a different light.
Sarah organizes meetings so Meredith’s paralegal students can meet with graduates and receive real-world experience directly from practicing paralegals. One of the speakers in 2008 was Grace Carter, a crop genetics research strategic planner with Syngenta. She had many years of paralegal experience, but after taking the traditional route in her career, she switched gears and went to work for a corporation. I vividly recall how pivotal that evening was in teaching me that there were career options beyond the typical law firm job.
In May 2009, I began my paralegal career at Emanuel & Dunn in Raleigh. I received great advice and guidance from the departing paralegal, Karen Winer, who showed me the ropes of the job.
Emanuel & Dunn is primarily a civil litigation firm practicing in the local, state and federal courts. I supported three attorneys, including Stephen Dunn. Stephen gave me the chance to be a part of the legal community the way I had always wanted. Even though I didn’t become an attorney, I had nonetheless reached my destination. But I didn’t know that an adventure was in store for me.
Earlier this year, I was approached by a national recruiter about a position with a company headquartered in Rocky Mount, N.C. They needed a contract administrator, and the recruiter felt that I might be a perfect fit.
The position required someone who could handle multiple projects and assignments concurrently, be highly motivated, work well independently and in a team environment, have knowledge regarding contract law and contract administration, excellent communication skills and be tech-savvy.
As the interviewing process began, I recalled Grace Carter speaking about how her paralegal experience opened doors for her at Syngenta. I came to realize that the basic editing to my résumé and paralegal portfolio by Julianne Fink helped me catch the attention of a recruiter. Most importantly, I recognized that the training, education and experience I gained at Meredith was benefiting me in an unexpected way.
In August, I became the contract administrator for Engine Systems Inc., a division of Kirby Corporation.
If anyone told me in 2007 that I would go back to school to become a paralegal, I probably would have thought they were talking about someone else. If anyone told me in 2009 that I would be commuting to Rocky Mount from my home in Raleigh, I probably would have asked, “Are you sure you have the right guy?”
But what started as a journey down a traditional path for a paralegal brought me to an unexpected crossroads. Making the decision of which way to go was made so much easier because of all the wonderful people I mentioned in this article.
If I can offer any advice to someone either entering or graduating from a paralegal program, I would paraphrase the poet Robert Frost and tell them not to be afraid to take the road less traveled. Because just as the Frost quote suggests, “… that has made all the difference.”
