fall 2004 vol. 10 no. 2                                                                                                                  Return to Contents
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Back Row (left to right): Virginia Gil, Ann Bruso-Webb, CLA, Robert Soliz, Mona Hart-Chandler, CLA, Andrea Kinzy, CLA, Lisa Bowles, Page McCoy, PLS, CLA, Debbie House, CLA, Joncilee Miller, CLA, Patricia Giuliano, Heidi Beginski, Ginger Williams, CLAS
Front Row (left to right): Pam Horn, Secretary, Ellen Lockwood, CLAS, RP; President-Elect, Kim Cantu, CLA, President, Deborah Skolaski, CP, Parliamentarian; Cecile Wiginton, CLA, Treasurer

Kim J. Cantu, CLA, is the newly elected 2004-2005 President for the Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas. Kim has been active in the Division for several years and has served in various capacities. In 2003- 2004, she served as LAD’s President-Elect; 2000–2003, District 2 Director (Dallas County); and prior to serving as District 2 Director, she served on LADís Publications Committee and the LAU Planning Committee. At the local level, Kim has been the 2001–2003 President for her local NALA affiliate association, Legal Assistants of North Texas Association (LANTA). She was honored by NALA with the 2002 NALA Affiliates Award and the Affiliated Associations Outstanding Contribution Award. Kim is also a member of the Dallas Area Paralegal Association (DAPA) and received the 2003 DAPA Paralegal of the Year Award. Kim is a member of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc., and a member of the Advisory Board for the 4-year Paralegal Studies Program at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Kim is employed as a litigation paralegal with the Dallas law firm of McKool Smith, P.C., and has 20+ years experience as a litigation paralegal. She has worked on federal and state cases in North Carolina, Arizona and Texas with experience in the areas of bankruptcy, civil appellate law, corporate, family, intellectual property, personal injury, probate, estate planning and tax law.

Ellen Lockwood, CLAS, RP, received her Bachelor of Music (BM) degree from Southwestern University and her paralegal certificate from Southwestern Paralegal Institute (now Southwestern Professional Institute) in Houston.
She served on the Board of Directors of the Legal Assistants Division from 1995 to 1997 and 2001 to the present. She served as Treasurer of the Division from 1996 to 1997 and again from 2002 to 2004. Ellen also served as the Chair of the Professional Ethics Committee of the Division from 1997 to 2004, as well as serving on various other Division committees. She is also a past president of the Alamo Area Professional Legal Assistants. She is frequent speaker on paralegal ethics and intellectual property.
In addition to her involvement in paralegal organizations, Ellen is also involved in Dachshund Rescue and keeps up with her own herd of four dachshunds and a cat.
Ellen has twelve years of paralegal experience in intellectual property and civil litigation. She is currently employed as the Intellectual Property Specialist for Clear Channel Worldwide.

CeCile N. Wiginton, CLA, serves as District 11 Director and Treasurer. She is serving her second term as Director and has served LAD on its Membership Committee, Public Relations Committee and Elections Committee as subchair for her district. A charter member of LAD, Cel earned her certification from the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) in 1985. She has served as President, Vice President, Secretary, Education Chairman, Program Chairman, Pro Bono Chairman and currently is the NALA Liaison for her local association, Legal Assistants Association/Permian Basin, and was honored as Legal Assistant of the Year for 2003. She received a degree in Fine Art from Angelo State University. Cel has over 20 years experience as a paralegal, a slight detour from her goal of teaching art. Cel works with the law firm of Cotton, Bledsoe, Tighe & Dawson, P.C. in the Business/Corporate Section.
Cel volunteers with Casa de Amigos Pro Bono Clinic and Teen Court. Cel and husband Eddie live in Midland and have two sons. Chad is a mechanical engineer in Houston where he and wife Kelley and daughter Lauren live. Jeff and his wife, Christine, are teachers and they live in Midland.

Pamela R. Horn serves as Secretary of the Division, District 4 Director, and Chair of the Continuing Education Committee. She works for the firm Lloyd Gosselink Blevins Rochelle & Townsend, an environmental, utility, water and litigation law firm located in Austin. Pam specializes in representation of cities in utility law matters.
She has served on the LAD Board of Directors since her election in 2002 and is serving her second term as Secretary. Pam has been a member of LAD since becoming a paralegal in 1987 and previously served as President, President-Elect & NALA Liaison, and Secretary/Treasurer of Capital Area Paralegal Association in Austin. She also served on the Board of Trustees of the Lawyer Referral Service of Travis County.
Pam earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas in Government with a concentration in International Relations and a minor in History. She completed her degree in two years. After five years in the retail management field, she decided to change gears and become a paralegal. She earned her paralegal certificate from the Southwest Texas State University (now, Texas State University) Lawyers Assistant Program, a post-graduate legal assistant program. In 1994, Pam became board certified in civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, during the inaugural year for the TBLS exam.
Pam believes strongly in the value of continuing education for paralegals and was instrumental in establishing the Continuing Education Committee as a standing committee of the division. Through her service on the Continuing Education Committee this year, the Division has introduced a comprehensive CLE calendar on the website, www.lad.org, implemented mandatory CLE for LAD members, and expects to provide paralegal CLE online in the very near future.

Debbie Skolaski, Parliamentarian, is a NALA Certified Paralegal with a B.S. in Business Administration and a MBA from LeTourneau University in Texas. She has over 14 years of IP experience stemming from both law firm and corporate practices. She has worked in the IP legal department at Shell Oil Company, and most recently at Resolution Performance Products LLC, the former epoxy resins business of Shell. She is currently the 2003-2005 District 1 Director for the Legal Assistants Division of the State Bar of Texas. She is the immediate past President and the 2004 Secretary of the American Corporate Legal Assistants Association. She has been an active INTA committee member since 1997, serving in various committee positions. Additionally, Debbie has written several articles for Legal Assistant Today magazine.

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

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