Personal Injury Paralegal
Resume:
TESS BRADY
Durham, NC • 248-***-**** • ************@*****.***
EXPERIENCE
Hall Booth Smith (Defense Firm)
Raleigh, NC 27612
T: 984-***-**** Feb 2024
Legal Assistant
Worked as a Legal Assistant for a defense medical malpractice and nursing home team for the Raleigh location of this National Law Firm. Mainly provided letters to opposing counsel, court filings, pleadings, correspondence, and emails. Opened mail, saved, dated, and provided counsel with a digital copy. Ordered supplies, scanned, and emailed all documents received by court, opposing counsel. Created up to date information on each case including court, opposing counsel staff, clients, and insurance adjusters. Constant contact with opposing counsel to schedule depositions, hearings, etc. Travel arrangements for Maria Wood and scheduling.
Hatcher Legal, PLLC
Hatcher Legal November 2023 to Jan 2024 (Contract) 3326 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.
Durham, NC 27707
Paralegal
A boutique law firm specializing in Business Law, Business Litigation, Contracts, Estate Planning and Probate. My overall role consists of intake, pleadings, answer discovery, trial preparation, correspondence to opposing counsel and court filings. Tharrington Smith, LLP (Defense Firm)
Wells Fargo Building
150 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1900
Raleigh, NC 27601 March 27, 2023 to Aug 23, 2023
Paralegal
Worked in the Education Law Section who represents public school systems and multiple boards of education across North Carolina. Assisted with timekeeping for two attorneys as well as coding and redacting school records. Created subpoena for records. E-filings in state and federal court and the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings.
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Paralegal for Clean Slate Program
1415 W NC Hwy 54, Suite 101
Durham, NC. 27707 2022 (Contract)
Paralegal
Assist counsel for justice reform. Work with clients who are eligible for expungements through the Clean Slate Program. Direct client-contact via phone/letters and emails. Assist in keeping track of the status and how long we will wait for the client to respond. I draft all the paperwork required; as an example, retainer agreements, expungement petitions, indigency forms, character reference forms, affidavits, and letters to the client and to the court.
TESS BRADY
Durham, NC • 248-***-**** • ************@*****.*** USA Government – Small Business Association 2021 (Contract) Paralegal Specialist
This was a remote temporary position. Aided small businesses and families affected by natural disaster. Talk with those who required assistance and move their file forward, so they could get the monetary assistance necessary. Trained to follow procedures and understand small business association’s acronyms to assist other co-workers to understand the stages each applicant was in. Computing Source, Madison Heights, MI 2013 to 2018 Director, Demonstrative Evidence and Trial Services Department Drove the company’s trial graphic and technical services, leading a team of graphic designers, animators and video production. Trial graphics consultant, brainstorming with clients to create meaningful, high impact exhibits for their trials. Created e-blasts and marketed the firm weekly. Wrote numerous articles which were published; spoke at conferences specializing in the legal services area. Reviewed legal documents, such as medical records, pleadings, case evaluations, pre-trial orders, affidavits, and researched the area of law related to case.
Persuasive Design Group,
Durham, NC 2018 to 2022
Owner/Consultant
Serve the legal and general consumer by providing litigation support graphics and printing. Assist in the courtroom and conference room, by creating the most effective, professional, and convincing graphics to help a jury, judge or consumer understand the facts. Provide state of the art technology in the courtroom, conference room and trade show. Provide legal exhibits, binders, and large output printing at astounding deliverables. Responsible for all aspects of the company. www.persuasivedesigngroup.com Evidence Express, Ferndale, MI 2004 to 2013
Owner/Consultant
Owner of a Metro Detroit graphic design and litigation support firm devoted to consulting with attorneys and law firms, creating jury-targeted demonstrative evidence and handling courtroom technology. Hire and manage employees, work with attorneys and paralegals as part of their trial team, create exhibits, marketing material. Worked in all areas of law including criminal, civil litigation, personal injury, patent and trademark litigation, medical malpractice, and business litigation cases. Provided charts, graphs, and timelines to illustrate the case. Responsible for all aspects of the company. Stephen Leuchtman, P.C., Detroit, MI (Plaintiff’s Firm) 2011 to 2013 Litigation Paralegal
Interviewed potential clients, handled day-to-day calls from clients, opposing counsel and staff. Set up depositions, ordered and reviewed medical records to evaluate the validity of the case. Drafted turn back letters and all correspondence to the clients. Daily telephone conversations with clients. Drafted TESS BRADY
Durham, NC • 248-***-**** • ************@*****.*** Complaints, Answers to Interrogatories, Requests for Admissions, Case Evaluation Summaries, Pre-Trial Orders, Jury Instructions, Organized Exhibits and entered new case information into our database. Butzel Long, Detroit, MI (Defense Firm) 1999 to 2004 Marketing Department - Creative Director and Litigation Support Specialist Designed marketing materials, updated the logo, created all signage for events, updated the website. Managed employees in the Marketing Department, Data Entry and Organization. Utilized CRM software. Skilled in trial technology and assisted many attorneys at trial both in and out of the courtroom preparing for trial. Managed pre-press requirements for marketing communications material and created print ads for Crain’s Detroit Business and numerous other publications. Sommers Schwartz, Southfield, MI. (Plaintiff’s Firm) 1979 to 1999 Legal Secretary and Paralegal
Worked with a team of nurses and doctors in the birth trauma department to assist with ordering records and interviewing potential clients and writing reviews. Perform client interviews, organized meetings, prepared pleadings, medical record reviews, legal research, additional research as required. Created medical illustrations and graphics for use in trials. Organized documents and exhibits to be used at trial. Reviewed and organized material relative to the case, performed legal research, prepared complaints, affidavit of merit, subpoenas, interrogatory requests, and all legal documents required. Worked on many sensitive cases. Attended weekly meetings to analyze and evaluate the incoming cases and their validity to proceed further. Proficient in trial technology – software and equipment set up. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentration in Advertising Design University of Detroit, Detroit, MI
Graduate School with concentration in Psychology
Oakland University, Rochester, MI
Two-year accredited Paralegal Certificate Program
National Association of Legal Assistants (Paralegal) Certification
(Two Day Examination in 7 areas of law and an essay portion). State of Michigan – Bureau of Professional Licensing, Real Estate Salesperson License RESA - Real Estate Staging Association Certification NOTARY (North Carolina)
DESIGNATIONS, PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS Avid speaker on the topic of demonstrative evidence and technology, with speaking engagements for ICLE, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, Oakland Bar Association, and Oakland University (Paralegal Program).
TESS BRADY
Durham, NC • 248-***-**** • ************@*****.*** Panelist and speaker at the 2015 Annual Meeting for the Michigan Trial Defense Counsel (MDTC). In 2014, featured in Attorney-at-Law Magazine discussing Trial Presentations in an article entitled “Seeing is Thinking”.
In 2013 wrote “Is Seeing Really Believing?”, published In the Chicago Bar Journal Magazine, How Lawyers Can Benefit by Hiring a Litigation Graphics Consultant. In 2001, wrote “The Creative Side of Law”, published in the Michigan Bar Journal, Michigan Legal Assistant Newsletter and “Facts and Findings”, a Journal for Legal Assistants. President of DESA (Demonstrative Evidence Specialists Association), an organization with members working in trial graphics around the country.
Member - National Association of Legal Assistants, State Bar of Michigan, Oakland County Bar Association, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) and the National Association of Trial Consultants (NATC).
SOFTWARE PROFICIENT
Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, and Publisher) Adobe Creative Suite
(Acrobat DC and Distiller, Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Premier, Lightroom, Dreamweaver) CRM and Legal Software (Insightly, Less Annoying CRM, Digital War Room and Worldox.) Time Keeping Software – (Orion, iManage), Database Software – (iManage, Digital War Room) Trial Technician (Trial Director or Trial Pad) Email Marketing Software (Constant Contact, Mail Chimp) HARDWARE PROFICIENT
Set-up and troubleshoot equipment used during a presentation or in the courtroom. Years’ experience using a large format printer, print/mount with both HP and Canon large format printers. Comfortable with Mac and PC computers.
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