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TLM Paralegal

published August 05, 2013

By Follow Me on
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( 76 votes, average: 4.4 out of 5)
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Personal Life

TLM Paralegal
Toni Lynn Mathias owns and manages TLM Paralegal, which is based in San Diego, CA. She provides her freelance paralegal services to attorneys and self-represented individuals throughout the Golden State. Toni's breath of legal knowledge is diversified in a myriad of different areas of transactional and litigation law that benefits attorneys and individuals. Toni specializes in family law, (custody and visitation, dissolution of marriage, and parenting agreements), probate, (conservatorships, guardianships, decedents' estates, and preparation of estate planning documents), and business law to name a few. Toni has assisted attorneys with preparation of Discovery documents and has hands-on experience with pretrial and post trial work. Toni has been described as the "Betty Crocker" of family law in San Diego. Prior to founding her company, Toni's work experience is diversified and she's very proud of the fact that she is a former domestic and international flight attendant and was based in Jedda, Saudi Arabia. She has twelve years' experience as a legal staff professional, and has been a freelance paralegal for nearly six of those years. She is devoted to successfully running her business in California and loves the fact that she can take her paralegal certificate and experience anywhere in the United States.

Toni was born in Trenton, NJ and grew up in Hunterdon and Middlesex Counties. She proudly received her American Bar Association Paralegal Certificate from the University of San Diego. When asked if she was married, the humorous "New Jerseyan" replied, "No, I am single and still looking."

When Toni isn't working, she enjoys the outdoors, backpacking, hiking, and, camping. She is a former hang gliding pilot. Toni is an avid New York Yankees and Jets fan. When her travel takes her back to the east coast, she enjoys dining at the Rainbow Room, a high-end restaurant and event space located on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Toni has vivid memories of Windows on the World, a restaurant that was based in the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. The restaurant was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. One of her favorite books is Tuesdays with Morrie authored by Mitch Albom.

Toni's Successful Business and Tips for Legal Staff Members

Does Toni have a most memorable educational experience? "I had 26 weeks of very intense flight attendant training, so I prefer to sit in the emergency exit row when I fly!"

Why and when did Toni decide to become a paralegal? "In 2002, I had a challenging time finding work due to the sluggish economy in San Diego at that time. As I was deciding whether or not to relocate back to the east coast due to the job market conditions, I successfully landed a legal position assisting an estate planning attorney. He hired me on the spot and so that was my first legal staff position."

What area of the law are you most passionate about? "I don't have any experience in aviation law, however, I am fascinated by it, for the simple fact, I love airplanes and would love to work for an aviation law firm or perhaps in Compliance for the FAA."

What is the number one reason why people get a divorce? "Finances and boredom."

The businesswoman discussed the best part about her job. "I love my job because it's very rewarding and I see results. I am challenged because I learn something new just about everyday."

Toni also discussed why she likes working for herself. "I have my own hours and I enjoy the flexibility of my schedule----- it allows me to be able to meet with clients on weekends and after their business day ends."

What is the paralegal known for professionally? "For individuals who may not be able to retain an attorney at the onset, I truly believe that the paralegal can be a stepping stone and extremely resourceful and knowledgeable especially from the intake of almost any legal matter and then act as a network to place that individual with the right attorney."

What does Toni think about the paralegal field in San Diego? "As we all know, our entire country has faced great challenges with a substantially weakened job market over the past several years. I know many of the best and most reputable law firms in San Diego have in some cases closed down the law firm entirely and others have greatly downsized their inventory of legal staffers, so doubling and tripling the workload on minimum legal staffers is currently very common."

Toni also noted that a large percentage of paralegals specialize in certain areas of the law just like attorneys, so, the one stumbling block could be the fact that an immigration law firm may not be too "energized" to offer a family law paralegal a position without the immigration law experience under the belt. Though understandable, this can be a bit of a challenge if a paralegal desires a change in his or her career path.

When asked what would she change about paralegals who specialize in one area of the law, but not in other areas sought by law firms, Toni replied, "Frankly, I guess it's logical, as learning a new area of the law takes time, and, lawyers and even other legal personnel often do not always have the time to train."

Since Toni has twelve years' experience as a legal staff person, many readers may be wondering what advice she has for new legal staff people. She advised, "Get an entry level position like a receptionist, file clerk, legal secretary, or floater position and learn as much as you can in your given position and always 'go outside the box' to teach yourself as much as you can independently."

What advice would the businesswoman give to students who are thinking about becoming a paralegal? "It's a great career. There are so many different areas of the law to explore---- find your passion."

Where does Toni see herself in five years? "I'm encouraged to continue to broaden my legal knowledge base, take some classes, possibly attend law school and find an attorney who would be willing to mentor me."

If she wasn't a legal staff member, what would she be doing? "Flying around the world."

Why is Toni motivated every day to do her job? "I am helping individuals that often cannot afford the cost of what an attorney would charge, and, achieving the result needed for the client without giving any legal advise is what motivates me, and then hearing the client, 'thank you so much for your help!'"

Mentoring, a Rewarding Position and Toni's Goals

Is Toni a mentor? "No, not at the present time, however, I have mentored a former student about 5 years ago who attended the Paralegal Program at the University of San Diego and she happily gives me referrals."

Why does Toni find her position rewarding? "There are a number of reasons, but one particular reason of why I find my position so rewarding is when I assist families who have an autistic child who will be 18 years old, for example, with the ebb and flow of the necessary document preparation so the parent(s) achieve the conservatorship role for their young adult child. Without the limited conservatorship in place, a parent can no longer give medical consent once the child turns 18 years old."

Does Toni have goals? "Professionally, my dream is to relocate back to the east coast and work with a fabulous group of attorneys who respect the paralegal's role and provide the finest assistance as a paralegal to the law firm. I think about attending law school. Personally, I would like to be a foster parent. I would like to travel to New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica to name a few far off places. I am desirous to write a poetry book for individuals who lost a loved one and never had time to say good-bye."

*** Toni Lynn Mathias is not an attorney and can't give legal advice. ***

published August 05, 2013

By Follow Me on
( 76 votes, average: 4.4 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.