Project Manager Assistant

Tara A. Kowalke

**** ******** *****, #***, **** Prairie, MN 55344 - 612-***-**** -

abky8u@r.postjobfree.com

EDUCATION:

BA, Political Science, St. Cloud State University, MN. (5/02)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Schoeman, Updike, Kaufman & Scharf - Chicago, IL (12/09 - 5/10)

Paralegal

. Assisted name partner on all aspects of preparing for a major

trial

. Trained attorneys and paralegals on using Kroll Ontrack review

tools

. Extensive E-Discovery experience and created multiple deposition

designations for 100+ witnesses

. Heavy client interaction; worked at client's office over 50% of

the time to help prepare them for trial

. Created numerous spreadsheets to track progression of case and

worked extensively with Summation

Childress Duffy Goldblatt and Risk Assessment & Transfer International -

Chicago, IL (5/09 - 11/09)

Legal Assistant (Childress Duffy Goldblatt)

. Provided support on first party insurance claims cases mostly

relating to disaster recovery for an insured

. Assisted with the transfer of cases to a newly implemented

SharePoint document management system using the KnowledgeLake

Capture program

. Electronically organized hardcopy files

. Edited and E-Filed motions, orders, briefs and other pleadings

as needed

. Traveled off-site to client offices to conduct document review

Project Manager (Risk Assessment & Transfer International)

. Oversaw the organization of all aspects of maintaining the

website including attorney bios, site layout, press releases,

cases summaries and had input into client development ideas and

target markets

. Researched ways to become LEED certified and how to make our

work environment more eco-friendly

. Organized seminar we co-hosted including creating attorney's

PowerPoint presentations, marketing of the event and kits to

hand out, guest list, registration maintenance, location set-up

. Introduced public relations and marketing plans as well as

created new marketing material

. Assisted in designing and ordering business cards and marketing

inserts while keeping up vendor relations and tracking and

ensuring payment of outstanding invoices

Kelley, Drye & Warren LLP - Chicago, IL (6/08 - 4/09)

Litigation Paralegal

. Worked heavily with Concordance to conduct complex searches,

create and utilize tags and edit documents

. Was responsible for filings at Federal and District courts as

well as retrieving documents as needed

. Created various multi-functional spreadsheets to keep track of

witnesses, their exhibits and dates deposed

. Maintained the web-based SharePoint system for a voluminous case

including updating task list, calendars, deposition transcripts,

exhibits, various document productions and pleadings

. Made witness kits for several deponents and maintained the

internal records files for each

. Conducted research projects utilizing various on-line search

tools including, but not limited to, Westlaw and Lexis

Goldberg Kohn Bell Black Rosenbloom & Moritz, Ltd. - Chicago, IL (7/07 -

5/08)

Commercial Litigation Paralegal:

. Worked on cases ranging from sexual harassment and age

discrimination in the workplace to wrongful termination suits,

product liability and class actions

. Assisted assigned attorneys with all aspects of collecting,

preserving and producing documents

. Utilized Pacer for filings and searching dockets and organize

correspondence, while overseeing storage of cases

. Created witness kits for experts and other deponents and

conducted research frequently

. Conducted document reviews to determine privilege and created

logs accordingly

Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, Minneapolis, MN (06/06 - 8/06)

Contract Intellectul Property Paralegal:

. Prior art case research utilizing Lexis, Dun & Bradstreet and the

"Way Back Machine"

. Prepared filings, drafted pleadings and manually organized assigned

cases

. Assisted partners and senior associates in preparing witnesses for

trial

McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd., Chicago, IL (12/06 - 6/07)

Contract Intellectual Property Project Assistant:

. Worked with Summation to update case data, run searches and input

various information

. Created witness kits to be used when deposing experts in

preparation for trial

. Updated file histories and provide general case management skills

. Organized searchable and non-searchable documents on internal

networks and in case rooms

. Generated large database in Excel for lead partner in a non-

billable matter and maintained it

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, New York, NY (9/03 - 5/06)

Commercial Litigation Paralegal:

. Worked with attorneys at all levels defending against hostile

takeovers, pro-bono matters, mergers and acquisitions, and

bankruptcy losses, as well as Attorney General, SEC and FTC

investigations, etc.

. Client base came from financial services, entertainment,

corporate, transportation, banking and healthcare fields

. Oversaw the training of entry-level paralegals

. Assisted with preparation of and filing of pleadings, with

various courts local and federal courts

. Heavy paper and E-Discovery skills used daily

. Assisted with all aspects of trial, arbitration and mediation

preparation, occasionally held at the NASD

. Completed document reviews along with all aspects of heavy

electronic and paper document productions

. Controlled and preserved all case logistics for attorneys

utilizing our internal database system

. Conducted client interviews based on subpoena requests from

various government bodies

ADDITIONAL SKILLS/CERTIFICATIONS:

. E-Discovery, Concordance, Summation, Ontrack Prepview, Ontrack

Inview, Ontrack Advanceview, Notary Public, Microsoft Office

2007 trained, SharePoint trained, Access, Edgar On-Line, Juris,

Quick Books time entry system, ECF/Pacer Certified, CaseMap

Certified, TimeMap, WestLaw, IEmployee, LiveNote, LexisNexis,

Dun & Bradstreet, Electronic Case Notebook, Edgar On-Line, Adobe

Acrobat, Dictaphone

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