After graduation from high school I went to cooking school. I found that even though I enjoyed cooking, that I had other interests. I had found during that time I had an interest in law too. I took on and fought a landlord who refused to give me back a $100 damage deposit on an apartment I rented from him. I was a single mom and wasn’t going to allow this person to keep something of mine when he had no legal entitlement to it. I went to the law library at the courthouse in St. Cloud, Minnesota and researched all I could on landlord-tenant law and filed a lawsuit against this man. This prominent business owner in town owned several well established restaurants in the area. The Sheriff’s office knew him well, as he was being taken to court quite frequently for keeping his renter’s money. He did not appear in court, so I won my lawsuit, which included punitive damages. It was well worth my time pursuing!

 

I moved to Colorado in 1986 with my daughter. I continued to find that the wages in the cooking field were not enough to support my family. In July 1994, I enrolled in a night program at Blair Jr. College to obtain an Associate’s degree in Paralegal studies. I continued to work my day job while attending school 3 nights a week for (2) years. I graduated in late 1996 and started applying for paralegal positions. In January 1997, I started my first paralegal position at Colorado Legal Services. I worked on all types of cases to include landlord-tenant, collections and family law. I became the assistant pro bono coordinator, assisting those low income clients who really needed to be given an attorney. I further ran the domestic violence project which assisted victims in getting away from the perpetrator, getting a job and a safe place to live. I learned a lot and held  much compassion for these people. Life is tough without domestic violence added to the mix. 

 

I have also worked in insurance and psychotherapist defense, but found it didn’t give me the satisfaction that domestic law did. I have now been in family law for over 15 years. I truly believe it is the personal nature of family law that has kept me motivated to constantly learn and evolve as a paralegal. 

 

I became a member of the Black & Graham team in July of 2010 and am dedicated to ensuring our clients receive the best support possible. If there is anything I can assist our clients with, I will do my best to ensure it is completed thoroughly and timely.