fall 2004 vol. 10 no. 2                                                                                                                  Return to Contents
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Legal Assistant of the Year
of Legal Assistants Association/
Permian Basin

Mary McDowell, CLA, District 11, Legal Assistants Division of the State Bar of Texas, was recently awarded “Legal Assistant of the Year” by the Legal Assistants Association/Permian Basin completed a term as Membership Committee Subchair for District 11. She kept minutes of meetings, organized and published LAD information to its members and worked tirelessly at meetings and other events to support LAD. In addition, she is a charter member of the State Bar College. She helps plan and produce appropriate local CLE programs for legal assistants in the Permian Basin. She has taught in the paralegal program at Midland College as well as speaking at classes in the Odessa College paralegal program. She has served her local association in many capacities. She is a past President of LAAPB, she has served as Vice President, Membership Chairman, Secretary and NALA Liaison. Mary also volunteers at Teen Court.

Mary exemplifies the ideals of professionalism and excellence. One of her supervising attorneys says, “Her work with organizing documents and evidence is superb, and I really rely on her insight in jury selection. In short, I could not properly serve my clients and their causes without her help. Mary has demonstrated that she is the consummate professional.” Mary works in the Litigation Section of the Midland office of Cotton, Bledsoe, Tighe & Dawson, P.C. She has been with the firm since 1998 working in the areas of personal injury, employment law and oil and gas litigation. Mary received her B.A. in History from Texas Christian University. She entered the legal field in 1996 after receiving an Associate in Applied Science (Legal Assistant) degree from Midland College, and the CLA designation from NALA in 1995.

Mary’s family consists of two children, two grandsons, and a “herd” of cats and two dogs, many of which she has rescued from time to time. Mary is a Master Gardener volunteering many hours of community service when she is not
working.

Patti Giuliano Given President’s Award From Bexar County Community Justice Program

Patti Giuliano, newly elected Director from District 5, was recently honored by receiving the President’s Award from the San Antonio Bar Association recognizing her hard work as volunteer coordinator for the Community Justice Program in San Antonio.
Judge Karen Pozza presented the award to Patti at the AAPLA luncheon in May, 2004, completely surprising its recipient.
Patti’s work involves getting staff volunteers for pro bono clinics held locally at the Carver Academy. She works with organizations and law firms to provide legal assistance for people who would not otherwise be able to obtain such assistance. Ninety percent of the matters are family-law related, although Patti says they also do some landlord/tenant and wills work as well.
Attorneys, paralegals, and legal secretaries all work to assist individuals by preparing legal documents and providing legal advice at the monthly clinics. Usually, law offices sign up to work during a specific month and then are assigned to work that month every year. They meet with the clients, prepare the work and then court clerks, who also attend the clinics, will accept filings as well.
Patti first became interested when, as a member of AAPLA, she was asked to work on a planning committee for the Community Justice Program being headed up by Judge Pozza and Justice Phylis Speedlin. She became very involved with the planning committee and, as Professional Development Director for AAPLA, began to serve as the coordinator for paralegal volunteers for the clinics. Due to her hard work and dedication, she has been named to the Board of the Community Justice Clinic.
Patti says she has learned a great deal from her experience with the Community Justice Program. “I feel like I’m helping people by helping the program,” she says. Her satisfaction comes from the appreciation she receives from the clients served by the clinics. Congratulations to Patti for her good work and for an award that is richly deserved!

Linda J. Wolf, CLAS Elected NALA Second VP

Linda J. Wolf, CLAS, legal assistant with the Dallas law firm of Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood, has been elected Second Vice President of the National Association of Legal Assistants, the nation’s largest professional association for paralegals.
Linda was installed at the July 16 annual meeting during NALA’s 29th annual convention in Reno, NV. She will also serve as a member of NALA’s board of directors and will be eligible for a second term after her year as Second Vice President. She has been a member of NALA since 1984, and has previously served in a number of leadership positions for NALA.
A legal assistant since 1980, she became a Certified Legal Assistant in 1985, and in 1995 became a Certified Legal Assistant Specialist in the field of intellectual property. She is a founding member of The Legal Assistants of North Texas Association (LANTA).
She is a continuing legal education lecturer who speaks frequently to Dallas area corporate legal assistants, and is the only paralegal ever to address the Southwestern Legal Foundation.
She is a charter member of the Legal Assistants Division of the State Bar of Texas.

Texas Paralegal Journal © Copyright 2004 by the Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas.

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