Paula Timberlake

I spent most of my life growing up in Bordentown, New Jersey where I graduated from high school in 1997.  I never thought about being a paralegal. In fact, I never knew what a paralegal did until I needed to retain an attorney for a legal matter.  That attorney took an accordion file that I had created which contained all the documents I had collected up to that point.  When she returned the file to me after her review, she asked me if I had ever thought about being a paralegal before.  She told me to consider it because she thought that with a little training I would do well with it.

That conversation stuck in my head for a few years.  At that time, I had two small kids and the thought of going back to school was a bit intimidating.  However, after doing some research, I made the decision to do it, not just for me but also for my kids.  It was not an easy process but in 2003, I enrolled in classes at Burlington County College. I was only able to attend part time due to having 2 little boys to contend with and I obtained my Paralegal Certification in 2008.  In order to graduate I was required to take part in an internship of 135 hours.  I performed my internship at a personal injury firm and it did not take me long to decide that was the area of law that I wanted to work in.

The majority of the time that people need to retain an attorney is when they are going through a bad situation in life.  When someone is in an accident their life changes in that very instant.  It is scary and confusing and there are a lot of questions that they need answered.  They are looking for guidance throughout the entire process.  Being a paralegal has allowed me to give that to them.  I am able to take the time to explain things to them until I know that they are reassured and have an understanding of whatever steps need to be taken to get them through to recovery.