The Changing Voice and Face of Paralegals
by Annette Zumba
MTI College Admissions Advisor
for Know Magazine, the Magazine for Paralegals
(Mar/Apr 2009, Volume 1, Issue 4)
On any given day MTI College is alive with candidates for the paralegal degree program. They establish their interest in law in passionate and calm tones. Some speak in perfect paragraphs while others answer a question with a single word. Many are multi-lingual from far-away lands and a significant groups are women and men over 35, displaced professionals and pragmatic employees anticipating a layoff.
In a united voice the candidates stress the importance of attending a college with a confirmed reputation for paralegal excellence. The candidates do their research. Selecting the ABA Approved Paralegal Degree is essential first step. Sacramento's MTI College is the only ABA approved California Paralegal Studies program north of San Francisco. Candidates with a Bachelor’s or an Associates Degree enter Year Two directly. Some of the more recent candidates and current students earned their degrees in International Business, Economics, Medieval Studies, English, Computer Technology, Education, Engineering, and Health Sciences. They are disciplined and driven, bridging their previous education and/or work experience with an AA degree in Paralegal Studies.
My office features original art, classic floral arrangements and a bookcase showcasing a dozen copies of the U.S. Constitution, legal dictionaries and paralegal guides. As a college advisor my duty is to listen to and engage the candidate in a meaningful and telling dialogue to determine the validity of their interest and capability in meeting the rigors of the program. The stories are always interesting and often compelling.
What paralegals cannot do is not as relevant as what they can do. This is a consistent frame of reference during a conversation. College undergraduate and graduate degree candidates are often looking for confirmation that they are not settling for less. “My family wonders why I don’t become a lawyer.” It is a familiar sentiment, one that practicing paralegals gracefully overlook.
Linda Gardenhire is MTI College’s Paralegal Studies Department Chair and she knows that the question can create doubt. At the new student Orientations she suggests, “Ask the question of yourself. If the answer is ‘I want to get into legal and this position sounds exciting,’ then you have your answer.”
After graduation everything about the future begins with the first job. The economics of being and staying employed motivates various generations to determine their strengths and to stick with them. A high school graduate with two years served on the high school peer court is inspiring; and there is nothing more thrilling than listening to a woman with 25-years in the telecommunications industry telling me that this is the best second chance of a lifetime.
The number of interviews with women and men over 40 are more common today than a year ago. Many students are entering the paralegal career after the fallout in the mortgage, real estate, banking and auto industries. There is a heightened level of tension in these visits not evident in my conversations with candidates ten years younger. While there might be concern for the lines on their faces the bottom line is that the more experienced base provides a unique service to attorneys. Their jobs may be over but the skills can never be taken away; they are valuable commodities and definitely transferable into the paralegal field.
When I ask, “What languages other than English do you speak?” I am confounded that this base asset is not part of a long-term education and employment equation. Of the more than 300 student interviews I conducted in 2008, 20 percent were with bi- and tri-lingual. They spoke English, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, Romanian, Tagalog, French, Japanese, Farsi, Punjabi and Hindi.
One of my recent applicants is set to start in Year Two in the spring. Harjeet Gidha earned her undergraduate degree in 2008 from a private Catholic university in International Business and Economics and is fluent in English and Punjabi. She is first generation American and embraces her parents’ India. Her father’s work in the U.S. exposed her to the machinations of business. She loved finance and strategy. It came as no surprise to her family that Ms. Gidha would pursue the very thing she grew up enjoying. However, until we delved into her passion for travel she had not considered her fluency in Punjabi as a potential resource benefiting an international law firm, government agency or corporation. Punjabi is the 10th most widely spoken language in the world
Sacramento County has substantial Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Asian and Spanish-speaking communities. There are approximately 1.4 million residents and in 25 percent of the homes languages other than English are spoken.
More than a dozen law offices in the region specialize in contracts, immigration, business administration, corporate finance and mergers. Multi-lingual paralegals are integral in assisting attorneys meet client needs.
Fluency in a language other than English does not necessarily mean career choices will be based on the language itself. However, the ability to speak languages other than English does provide a qualitative learning advantage. The law comes with its own language and sets of terms. Paralegals are familiar with Black's Law Dictionary with its 43,000 definitions. The process of building language requires memorization and repetitive use in written, spoken and auditory formats. Bi- and tri-linguists master self-directed cues, leaning how to learn in the context of absorbing words and their meanings. The cognitive-content benefits include communication sensitivity, creativity and strategic processing skills and ultimately, maintenance of the language(s).
Current student, Ewa Omanska, is a case in point. Polish is her first language. English is her second. Fluency in Japanese and French are fast within her view. She graduated from UC Davis with a double major in English and Medieval Studies. The latter required her to learn Medieval English. As a result she was exposed to thousands of Latin root words. She said, “I have an overlap. When you learn a language it is easier to learn another one. Languages become easier even if they are different. The theory is the same.”
Romi Horja came alone into the United States from Romania at 19. Her profound understanding of the power of “practice, practice, practice” made her a successful athlete and coach. And like Ms. Omanska, she studies languages. She told me that her mind acts like a library of dictionaries. “I think and speak in the language appropriate to the moment. But I can bridge information to learn something brand new and faster. In my classes I can see that this ability is to my personal and professional advantage.”
Evolving opportunities in the global workplace make knowing another language a real asset. Transferring from one career to another and taking your expertise with you is wise. There are thousands of well-educated and highly motivated people looking into a paralegal career. On any given day I see faces and hear voices with a past and a future. Their paralegal career will not improve their lives a little bit – it will have a profound change.
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