About the new Inside Loyola

LOYOLA LINKS

Go

A one-stop-shop of Loyola's most popular and useful Web resources.

A - Z Index

DIRECTORIES

 

Paralegal Studies: 25 Years of Success

Since 1991, Loyola’s Institute for Paralegal Studies has offered a cutting-edge paralegal education, approved by the American Bar Association. This year, the Institute celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a scholarship campaign to help educate the next generation of Loyola paralegals.

For 25 years, the Institute has prepared students to work as assistants to attorneys in 21st century sophisticated legal practices.

Here, we share some of our wonderful alumni throughout the years, share their Loyola experience…

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Class of 1992: Michele Feinberg Trull, Paralegal, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

What did you learn during your time at Loyola that you still apply to your work?

I learned and still use blue book citing. Loyola taught me rules, legal vocabulary and gave me experience to become valuable to an employer.

What was your most memorable Loyola moment or experience?

A memorable experience was the opportunity to intern at Seyfarth because Jean (Hellman) Ryan went to law school with an attorney from Seyfarth. This opportunity was amazing, I received hands on experience and school credit and at the end of the internship they offered me full time employment. June 1, 2017 with be my 25th work anniversary at Seyfarth Shaw. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Loyola

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Class of 1993: Kelly Barry, Instructional Designer and Senior Lecturer, Loyola University Chicago?

What did you learn during your time at Loyola that you still apply to your work?

I use the ethics material all the time in my work these days. Topics like confidentiality and conflicts of interest still come up in my day-to-day work as I meet with students and faculty. I am not applying legal ethics per se, but the general concepts are the same. Most importantly though, I now use the ethics material I learned at Loyola when I teach the Legal Ethics course for Loyola’s Institute for Paralegal Studies. I cannot thank Jean Ryan enough for first offering me the opportunity to teach back in 2002. It has completely changed my life and I love it every day!

What was your most memorable Loyola moment or experience?

My most memorable moment at Loyola was graduation day 1993. Back then, graduation was really just an informal party; Jean brought a cake from a local bakery and a handful of us graduates had a small celebration in one of the classrooms up at the Mallinckrodt campus. It is my most memorable moment because I still think of it every May when we have our Commencement ceremony for a new set of Loyola paralegal graduates. It is a marvelous site to see all of the grads in their full regalia, receiving their certificates and shaking hands with the Dean and the University President. The program has come a long way since then, both in size and recognition.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


McGivney,Jayne OriginalClass of 1994: Jayne L. McGivney, Paralegal, Roberts McGivney Zagotta

What did you learn during your time at Loyola that you still apply to your work?

I don’t know if there is just one thing that I apply to my work, but I do think that the classes I took at Loyola gave me a strong foundation to work in the legal field.  I felt from the beginning of my career that they prepared me to work in a law office and to relate to attorneys. The classes I took helped me to evaluate issues from a legal standpoint and I still approach the work that way.

What was your most memorable Loyola moment or experience?

While I was still taking classes, Loyola’s career assistance office helped me find a part time position at a law firm. Working in the field while taking classes gave me a practical application to what I was learning. That was a great way to use what I learned in a real world setting and to prepare for a career as a paralegal. I now have the responsibility from time to time to search for potential paralegal candidates for our firm and I always contact Loyola’s paralegal career assistance office. We’ve been fortunate to find excellent candidates through Loyola

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Class of 1995: Robert P. Mitchell, Corporate Paralegal, Dover CorporationMitchell Roberts

What did you learn during your time at Loyola that you still apply to your work?

The paralegal program at Loyola University gave me the confidence to grow in my abilities as a paralegal by exposing me to essential concepts, principles and procedures in different aspects of law which I continue to apply to my work.  That understanding provided a foundation to build upon — step-by-step — to increase my knowledge of new and challenging legal developments.  In fact, the paralegal profession requires such on-going learning as the law evolves in both existing areas and defines its application to new areas.   In addition, the principles of legal ethics and guidelines of professional standards I learned at Loyola continue to guide my work as a member of legal teams working to successfully accomplish shared goals.

What was your most memorable Loyola moment or experience?

Loyola also afforded me memorable opportunities to contribute to the development of paralegal students in the program both by serving as a member of the paralegal program advisory board and by visiting classes where I shared my real workplace experience with students as a guest speaker to enhance their understanding and inspire their interest in the profession.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Rick HowardClass of 1996: Rick Howard, Paralegal, Polsinelli PC

What did you learn during your time at Loyola that you still apply to your work?

I often address legal ethical issues that include (but are not limited to) avoidance of unauthorized practice of law, client billing and document production practices.

What was your most memorable Loyola moment or experience?

My most memorable Loyola moment did not occur on campus. In the first few years after graduation from the program, employers often identified how impressed they were to come across a paralegal with a certificate from Loyola University’s Paralegal Studies program.  Although the program was in its infancy, Loyola’s reputation for excellence preceded it.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Class of 1997: Yvonne Figueroa, Senior Paralegal, Office of the General CounselYvonne Figueroa

What did you learn during your time at Loyola that you still apply to your work?

When I took Legal Research and Writing, I had a teacher named Hope Samborn that basically said it is not enough to get one answer. You must exhaust all of your resources. That is what I did during that class and I recall she would use my homework as her examples to the other students that I did all of my research.  I learned to be thorough whenever I am researching or providing information that is being asked of me. I double check my work before I provide it. I still do this today.

What was your most memorable Loyola moment or experience?

Honestly, my most memorable experience is receiving continued support from Jean Ryan the director of the paralegal studies program. Even after I graduated from the program whenever I reached out to Jean she welcomed my questions and provided me assistance if she was able. She still does to this day!

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Terry C. ClennaClass of 1998: Terry C. Clenna, Court Coordinator, Chancery Division

What did you learn during your time at Loyola that you still apply to your work?

Thankfully my experience with the Paralegal Studies program provided me with a wealth of knowledge and resources.  However, my ability to understand court litigation case files (i.e., review, organize and accurately interpret the history of a litigation matter) allows me to assist a judge on the bench, a concerned litigant on the phone or a lawyer requesting information.  This knowledge also aides me in training secretarial support staff.

What was your most memorable Loyola moment or experience?

My most memorable Loyola moment is after graduation me and a few other paralegal graduates served on a panel to conduct mock job interviews for an upcoming class of graduates.  The experience broadened my understanding of a younger generation of students who were receptive to positive feedback and suggestions.

  • By Adrianna on 11.11.2016 at 3:56 pm

    Such admirable alumni!