TERRI FORD

*** **** *****

San Diego, CA *****

***/***.****

ad1sag@r.postjobfree.com

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Office manager, Pro Imaging Services, Chula Vista, CA: August 2022 – November 2023. Bookkeeper and administrative support to chief officer of small company of mostly service engineers working on maintenance and upkeep of various MRI machines. This was a company my brother built and which had a very good reputation within the field. He sold it at the end of 2022 and I agreed to stay on to help the new owner ease into the transition. I answered phone calls, kept extensive records as to every aspect of the company (insurance, medical, personnel, service contracts, expense reports, company loans, service reports, accounts payable, vendor and customer files), putting together various compilations of information in preparation for selling the company, not to mention the delicate balance between listening to my brother once the sale went through versus listening to my new boss and trying to diplomatically handle both points of view.

Legal assistant, Tentinger Law Firm, Apple Valley: July 2020 – January 2021. Legal assistant and paralegal work for attorney working on active cases and preparing to retire, mostly in family law but some other litigation matters, including worker’s comp, arbitration, mediation and collection/judgment matters. I efiled, composed correspondence and emails to clients, input time and expenses regularly, received payments from clients, and handled all incoming matters when the attorney was out of the office for an extended period for surgery and recovery. I also supervised and worked alongside temporary workers when we were closing down the office, shredding old files, etc.

Legal assistant, Xerxes Corporation (through Randstad), Minneapolis: February 2020 – May 2020. Part-time real estate legal assistant to attorney who had served as such to corporation for almost thirty years; he lost his job before we could return to the office after the Covid lockdown, so naturally I also lost my job. I worked on a lot of redlined documents, that is, tracking changes and revisions made by the two negotiating parties through various document versions. I also handled mail, composed correspondence, revised corporate minutes, scheduled and kept track of CLE courses, organized files both physically and online, and handled various confidential matters.

Legal administrative assistant, City of Minneapolis – City Attorney’s Office (through Nexpro), Minneapolis: September 2018 – October 31, 2019. Full-time legal administrative assistant in the civil division of the City of Minneapolis – City Attorney’s Office. In the mornings, I assist four attorneys in the Community Planning & Economic Development division office of the City; in the afternoons, I am back at City Hall to handle a variety of tasks to help the administrative team with their overflow work, including organizational work with archived files and closing and transferring files; spearheading the digitalization of confidential personnel files; various projects including some financial department tasks and some human resource matters, plus any other miscellaneous projects assigned; and handling mail, telephone and lobby inquiries two or three afternoons per week.

Paralegal, Robert Half Legal, Minneapolis: April 2018 – June 2018. Full-time paralegal work organizing and assessing massive amount of online data for large-scale litigation taking place in another state. Along with a team of four others, I went through the contents of business cell phones seized through an investigation of police officers, assessing and separating information which might prove useful to legal counsel for their litigation.

Legal Administrative Assistant, Cargill (through Robert Half Legal), Wayzata: November 2017 – January 2018. Full-time legal administrative assistant position for the litigation team at Cargill’s corporate division in Wayzata. I worked under an attorney with three paralegals and alongside remote team members to manage documents, pay invoices, calendar and manage meetings and conferences, close and open files in their paperless system, and handle any projects and tasks from day to day. I also assisted the greater legal team with any organizational and overflow tasks as needed.

Picker/Counter, Amazon Fulfillment Center, Shakopee: May 2017 – September 2017. Full-time employee fulfilling customer orders, utilizing robot system of computerized modules from which items needed to be chosen (“picked”) very fast; later I became a “counter,” meaning that I was given tasks checking computer inventory against actual inventory, solving problems and clearing up the inattentive work of others. I worked 10-hour shifts on the night shift (5:30 p.m. – 4:00 a.m.), with mandatory overtime (an additional 10-hour shift) every week except one while I worked there.

Legal Secretary, University of MN University Student Legal Services, Minneapolis: Temporary through Kelly Legal Services, August 2012 – January 2014; permanent from January 2014 – May 2016. University Student Legal Services (“USLS”) serves as a law firm for students. As the sole legal secretary for a group of eight attorneys, I handled paperwork for criminal misdemeanors, insurance/car accidents, immigration, name changes, probate matters, estate planning, general litigation, and landlord/tenant matters; proven ability to handle efiling matters with several Minnesota counties; proven ability to handle massive data input, transferring client records to electronic system, Amicus Attorney; back-up to receptionist in assessing students’ needs/problems, scheduling with correct attorney, and ability to handle any questions posed by students, parents or other outside inquiries.

Freelance business writer, 2011 – August 2012

Legal Administrative Assistant - Best & Flanagan, Minneapolis: Jan 8, 2008 - Nov 5, 2010. Three years’ experience in various loan work-outs, commercial leasing, real estate management, and some unlawful detainers and large-scale lawsuits; worked for two partners and one associate (respectively, general real estate, general corporate and general real estate/corporate/litigation); back-up to general corporate department; organized yearly real estate tax appraisal matters for commercial clients; heavy dictation; inputted attorneys’ time and handled phone lines of three busy attorneys.

Legal Assistant - Moss & Barnett, Minneapolis: May 1, 2007 - Oct 31, 2007. The real estate department of this law firm leans heavily on its legal assistants, asking them to merge and draft loan documents (with little supervision) from a letter of intent, post documents on a confidential shared website for all parties involved in each transaction, and compile a closing binder with the final loan documents, all in record time. New skills included experience preparing Freddie Mac commercial loans. Proven ability to work independently, drafting loan documents with little supervision, with superior responsiveness to the demands of busy attorneys.

Legal Secretary - Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, Minneapolis: Aug 2003 - April 2007. 3+ years’ experience in the preparation/finalization of closing packages representing the lender. Excellent proofreader; excellent interpersonal, organizational and communication skills; good personal judgment and proven ability to maintain confidentiality. Proficient in MSWord, Word Perfect and other computer software, document management, Delta View blacklining, working with styles and various formatting; accurate typing of 60+ wpm. Managed billings throughout a group of real estate attorneys and communications with accounts payable as to manual billings each month.

Legal Secretary - Thomas Bergman, Cincinnati, Ohio: Sept 1986 - May 2003

Adjunct professor, English Department, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY: Sept 2000 - May 2003

EDUCATION

Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers, NC

DEGREE: Master’s Degree Major: MFA in Writing

College of St. Scholastica, MN

DEGREE: Bachelor’s Degree Major: English

Richmond College, London, England

GPA: 3.9 Jr year of college abroad