"They were using physical force to restrain and discipline some of the boys," she told LawCrossing. "It really did not set well with me, and I went to see the deputy director and said, 'I cannot accept this offer anymore. I've seen as much as I want to see. I feel like I was misled.'" At least Heller, who majored in forensics studies and youth corrections, had a place to live—in an Ohio State sorority house, where she was working as a graduate live-in advisor in exchange for free room and board. She called her dad, an attorney who is still practicing law today at age 81. Her father suggested she get into a booming new profession and become a paralegal. Her instinct said "how boring." But Heller, who was recently named one of the top 15 paralegals in the nation by Carole Bruno, found the career anything but boring. Heller convinced a small firm to hire her for a trial period of six months. It had never employed a paralegal and wasn't sure exactly what role a paralegal should play. Neither was Heller. She joined a local paralegal association and became a board member almost immediately. "I literally learned what a litigation paralegal should do in about a year," she said. "I was on the board my first year. They were probably very desperate for help, and I was young and energetic and literally grilled everybody I met: 'What do you do? Depositions? Well, what does that mean? What does that look like?' And I had some wonderful mentors." Heller said she is forever indebted to the paralegals in Ohio who took the time to show her the ropes. Her six-month trial with the firm turned into more than six years. She eventually moved to Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. Although she never had a formal paralegal education, Heller teaches two courses—one in ethics and one called Civil Litigation II—in the Capital University Law School's paralegal program. Having learned the ropes in a small firm, Heller was nervous about joining a big firm, and she actually did have difficulty adjusting to a big firm for a year. But it wasn't due to size. Vorys is a big firm, and Ms. Heller has happily been there for 20 years. "I had heard a lot about Vorys. They were one of the firms throughout the state and even nationwide which was known in the early '80s that they were very progressive in their use of paralegals," she said. "There's just a lot of resources and support available to paralegals here. There's a lot of in-house training, which is great because in my opinion, there's no better teacher than your peers." But Heller's early desire to work in youth corrections never went away. She still felt she could make more of a difference and even considered becoming a social worker. She started working on a master's degree in social work part time, but realized it wasn't the right fit. She decided she would be more useful as a volunteer. Her two main volunteer projects are as a caregiver through the Jewish Community Hospice and as an advocate with Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), advocating for neglected and abused children in court. Building a case for CASA is much the same as building a litigation case, she said. She meets the child; interviews all the parties involved; reviews court, police, and medical records; and recommends to the court what is best for the child. "Every time we have a court hearing, I prepare the court report, attend the hearing, and most of the CASA staff attorneys that I work with say, 'You know the case better than I do, and you're comfortable speaking, so why don't you go ahead and present the recommendations,'" she said. "It's my moment in court. That is really the way that I really get my fix in the social services and social work area." Heller said she was shocked and ecstatic to be named one of the top 15 paralegals, but it is not the first time she has been honored by her peers. She won the William R. Robie award in 1998. She has no idea who nominated her for the Top 15 award, but would like to thank him/her. She said the secret to her success has been organization and being "very proactive." A list maker by nature, Heller said nothing pleases her more than crossing items off a list, although in litigation, she says, the day sometimes changes so fast you can't cross a single item off the list. "If I had not taken initiative early in my career, trust me, there's no way I would be where I am today," she said. "I tell students when I teach, 'Don't be discouraged when you're looking at a job ad, and they say three years experience preferred. You go for it. If they're telling you ten, okay; but look at your whole package, look at what you bring to the table." If you speak Spanish, for example, that could be useful experience and should always be mentioned on a resume or during a job interview, she said. And once you're in a firm, you have to keep selling yourself, she said. "I've been a paralegal for 28 years, and I still feel the need to prove my value, to say to an attorney, 'Look. I think you should use me for this in lieu of this associate, and this is why,'" she said. "My billing rate is higher than some associates' [rates]. And the attorney will look at that and say, 'I can't justify that.' 'Well, yeah, you can, because you know why? I can get this done in two hours because I've done it before, and it's going to take that associate five because they haven't done it before.'" Promoting yourself and volunteering for new projects at work are important to proving your own value, but also to promoting the paralegal profession, she said. "You have a responsibility to prove that you're valuable, that paralegals are valuable, and to advocate not only for yourself, but for your group here in the firm," she said. "So I say to young paralegals, 'Show them what your value is. Show them what you bring to the table.'"

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