Wendy S. Cathers wanted a profession, but she didn't know what to do with her life. She had worked as a secretary and in customer service for credit card companies, which involved taking phone calls from often irate customers. She says it wasn't fun or very fulfilling.
She wanted a job she could love, but what?
''I've always liked the law, and I was at a crossroads in my career. I had worked as a secretary. I had worked in customer service, and I wanted something in between, where I was more involved in what was going on day to day,'' she said. ''And I actually took one of those career placement tests. You go to the bookstore and buy one of those 'what do you want to be when you grow up' kind of books, and I figured out where my strengths were, where my weaknesses were.''
The results showed that Ms. Cathers would make a great paralegal. The test must have been fairly accurate, because after just one year as a paralegal, Ms. Cathers won the Legal Assistant Today ''Rookie of the Year'' award.
Ms. Cathers, 35, said she was selected for her leadership and dedication to the paralegal profession and to her firm in Wilmington, DE. A friend and former colleague who worked with Ms. Cathers while she was a legal secretary nominated her for the award.
After taking the personality test, Ms. Cathers enrolled in the paralegal studies program in 1998 at Widener University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in December. She left her job as a legal secretary and joined Richards Layton and Finger as a paralegal. She persuaded her new employer to change the title from Legal Assistant to Paralegal.
''I was instrumental in our firm changing the reference from legal assistant to paralegals,'' she said. ''For me, it's the proper recognition. I don't see myself as a legal assistant. When I was working as a secretary, oftentimes I would call myself a legal assistant because I was assisting the attorneys and the paralegals with what they needed to do. I see paralegal as more as a career and as a higher status per se.''
Ms. Cathers was elected to the board of the Delaware Paralegal Association soon after earning her degree, which is why her leadership skills have been applauded.
She says her work as a corporate and general litigation paralegal has fulfilled her need to be heard and contribute instead of doing more rote, menial work with little say in the decision-making process.
''I wanted some control over what I do, not just do this, do that, do this, do that type of work,'' she said. ''Something where I can actually get in and contribute and be a part of what's going on, when my opinion is asked and it matters.''
Ms. Cathers, who moved to Delaware at 26 after getting married, is now the Director at Large for the Delaware Paralegal Association. A major part of her role in the organization is helping paralegals network and access the latest information on changes and trends in the profession.
''We're trying to lead the members of our association into getting as much knowledge and getting as up to date with the current trends and regulations and just everything that's going on within the legal community here in Delaware and across the country,'' she said. ''We offer training seminars to our members. We have monthly luncheons where we have people come in and speak to us. In March, we host a student day in which we have local paralegal students come in from the area schools, as well as high school students come in who are interested in the profession. They shadow a paralegal for the morning, and then they come to the luncheon, and we have an open forum question-and-answer session.''
And best of all, Ms. Cathers no longer wonders what to do with her life.
''I enjoy my job very much. There hasn't been a day yet where I've dreaded coming into work. Law is the base, but every case is different. There's always a new twist, a new turn, a new way of presenting something, a new way to look at it, so it's an ever-changing area, but the core base facts of law are always the same.''
Ms. Cathers says it's too early in her career to decide if she wants to specialize in a particular area of the law or continue in a broad litigation capacity. For now, each case is an exciting new learning experience. She advises other new paralegals to network by getting involved in their local paralegal associations.
''I'm getting a good sense, though, that when I'm asked questions or we're in the middle of an issue, my thoughts and ideas on the subjects do matter,'' she said. ''I find that more now than when I was a legal secretary. It's like you have more of a voice and you're more involved.''
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