ON POINT                                                                                        June 2007

30 Years (!) and Counting…
Reflections from NCAPA’s past President and longstanding member, Gloria Silvers

Looking back, way back, to January 1978 when I moved to Washington, DC after graduating from college, I decided to pursue a career as a legal assistant (this was the widely used term at the time). Luckily, for me, my Mother came across an advertisement in our hometown newspaper in New Jersey about schools in the DC area that were attempting to attract applicants for training programs in this rapidly growing profession. I immediately began thinking about the many interesting careers of legal assistants and subsequently submitted my application. Before too long, I was back in the classroom fully focused on earning a paralegal certificate.

Several months later, after successfully completing all course requirements, my thoughts turned to the various career options that were available. I became excited at the prospect of finding my first job in a law firm and began thinking of ways to make this happen. Without the luxury of the Internet and many other resources available now, I quickly ran out to buy the The Washington Post, the most common employment source at the time, in hopes of finding a position in the legal field. As I turned the pages of the newspaper anxiously searching for the “P” column (the term ‘paralegal’ was beginning to replace ‘legal assistant’, I started reading every classified ad in the row hoping to find a listing for ‘Paralegal’. Just as I was about to give up, I will never forget finding the word ‘Paralegal’ sandwiched in between ‘Painter’ and ‘Parts Laborer’. The tiny ad for an entry level paralegal was like finding a priceless nugget in a gold mine. As I quickly read the details of the position, I came to realize that I qualified for it and immediately applied. Regrettably, the position didn’t work out; however, as luck would have it, I met someone during the interview process who told me about a relatively new organization, the National Capital Area Paralegal Association (NCAPA). The advice I received was to join so I could have access to postings from the Association’s ‘Job Bank’. Of course, I did so immediately in hopes of finding employment.

The following is not intended to sound like an endorsement, but it is! To this day, I feel incredibly fortunate to have been made aware of NCAPA so many years ago. This is because my connection to the Association has resulted in countless personal and professional opportunities, both expected and unexpected. A brief explanation: Once my Application for Admission was submitted and processed, I began to reap terrific benefits, initially as a student member and then, shortly thereafter, as a full fledged voting member. At the time, the greatest benefit of all was landing my first entry level paralegal position at a law firm in Washington, DC. This particular opportunity turned out to be a great entrée into the paralegal profession. My NCAPA membership along with the law firm experience I obtained led me along a career path for which I might never have traveled.

Fortunately, I managed to work as a legal assistant/paralegal for ten years in four different law firms in Washington, DC, primarily in the areas of Antitrust Litigation, Estates & Trusts, and Intellectual Property. I owe a great deal of gratitude to NCAPA because I found two of my four paralegal positions through my membership in the ‘Job Bank’ thanks to a member who encouraged me to join while we both waited to be interviewed for the same position at a law firm. Although I always valued the importance of networking, it was never that apparent to me until I became an active member of the Association. Never underestimate the power of networking, especially in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

For those of you who are reading this article and hesitate to acknowledge your involvement back in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s (!), you may remember that I served as Treasurer, President, Vice-President, Primary and Secondary Representative to the NFPA, and Director. As I navigated from one position to another over a ten year span, every moment that I spent with the Board of Directors and Committee Chairs proved to be a memorable experience. I will never stop talking about the benefits I reaped just from paying membership dues every year.

Fast forwarding to the late 1980’s, after having been a paralegal for a decade, I found myself shifting gears while still maintaining a connection to the paralegal profession. After some in depth business planning, I decided to establish a small legal recruiting firm which came to be known as Silvers & Associates, Inc. A short time later, I recognized a need for paralegals to gain refined skills in the job search process and as a result developed workshops which focused on resume writing and effective interviewing skills that were specifically tailored for paralegals. Once again, through my active involvement with NCAPA, I was asked to present these workshops to members of the Association which I did, happily, for several years.

As a result of interfacing with numerous NCAPA members and Board/Committee members during these workshop sessions, I made a valuable connection with the then program director of the Georgetown University Legal Assistant Program (LAP), more recently known as the Paralegal Studies Program (PSP). Just as my fourth year of legal recruiting was coming to an end, another golden (or should I say silver?) opportunity came knocking at my door. One thing led to another, and soon thereafter, I was offered the position of Co-Director of the LAP at Georgetown. After careful consideration, I accepted the offer and began my new post on May 7, 1991. Within a few months, I was promoted to Program Director where I remained until October 6, 2006. During my tenure at the University, I was responsible for every aspect of their paralegal training programs which proved to be a wonderful opportunity in many ways. It even enabled me to understand one’s motivation(s) for enrolling in a paralegal training program in order to obtain valuable knowledge regarding the legal profession.

Just five days after my career at Georgetown ended, I returned to legal recruiting by joining a well respected legal recruiting firm, Pat Taylor and Associates, Inc. This decision was prompted by the realization that, after many years of being surrounded by people who share similar interests in the law, my true passion continues to evolve around assisting people with their careers. Having been in education for the past 15 years, it is obvious that there are many career options, traditional and non-traditional, for paralegals to consider as they step into the ‘real’ world, whether it means working for a law firm, corporation, government agency, non-profit, or other legal related entity. Some of the areas of legal specialty include general litigation, corporate securities, finance, intellectual property, estates & trusts, real estate, immigration law, communications law, international law, employment/labor, employee benefits, personal injury/medical malpractice, torts, and family law/domestic relations.

Unexpectedly, about a year ago, I found myself reflecting back on all the years that I have been immersed in different facets of the legal profession. For me, what resonated the most was the importance of searching for and ultimately identifying an ideal match when considering all of the paralegal employment options that are readily available. These thoughts constantly surrounded me as I navigated from college graduate…to entry level legal assistant…to experienced paralegal…to paralegal educator…and most recently…to paralegal recruiter where I find myself now. Every day brings new challenges as I do whatever I can to help qualified candidates obtain positions that are best suited for them.

Before concluding, it is my wish to convey to NCAPA members and others who will be reading this article the incredible evolution of the paralegal profession which I have witnessed and experienced firsthand over the past three decades. If it weren’t for organizations such as NCAPA, NFPA, NALA, IPMA, and AAfPE, among others, who have consistently demonstrated their dedication and ongoing promotion of this unique profession, paralegals would not have made the tremendous strides they have sought in a relatively short amount of time. I truly believe that the key to a successful career as a paralegal is networking!

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank NCAPA’s Board of Directors for the ‘Annual Recognition Award’ that was presented to me at its Annual Meeting on November 7, 2006. Having received this same award 15 years ago when I began employment with Georgetown, and then again when I left was extremely gratifying. I wish you meaningful employment and successful careers wherever your travels take you because I believe it will lead you to making a difference in this world.

Gloria Silvers is a legal recruiter at Pat Taylor and Associates Inc., a Washington professional placement firm. Gloria@pattaylor.com