Career Crossroads: How Paralegal Skills Open Unexpected Doors

Rachel, a white woman with light brown hair, wears a bright purple blouse.By Rachel L. Royal 

When I began working as a paralegal, I envisioned spending my entire career in a law office. I dreamed of working at a big firm and specializing in family law. I had found my calling and loved the work I did because it gave me a deep sense of purpose – I knew I was helping people through some of their most difficult life experiences. I sought a paralegal degree after navigating the process to get custody of my niece and nephew without legal help. I remember feeling lost and overwhelmed, with no money to hire an attorney. Since I didn’t have a computer at that time, I resorted to doing research at the local library to learn how to draft a custody complaint and serve it. That experience fueled my passion for helping others in a similar position who feel as helpless as I did.

This desire to help others also set me on the path to getting involved with pro bono work and my tenure as the Paralegal Division’s Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair for five years. Incidentally, my role in pro bono was also the catalyst to my transition out of a traditional paralegal role and into the nonprofit world. Networking and volunteerism are the two driving forces that catapulted my career into something more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined when I first began working in the legal field.

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Fifty

By Marc E. Gustafson

Around the time of my recent fiftieth birthday, I was frequently asked about any profound or revelatory thoughts I had experienced. I always felt that my responses were a little underwhelming. After some reflection, however, I realized it might not have been my responses that were the issue, but the framing of the question.

I came to this realization, in part, during rides home from school with our two boys.  If I asked our fourth and sixth graders what they learned at school that day, I frequently got responses like, “not much” or “nothing interesting” or “the same old stuff.”  But if I asked what they had done at school, or their favorite activity, the responses were far more animated and more complete.

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