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PROFILE
Karen Woodward: CLA, Pearson, Horowitz & Burnett, P.C., Denver, CO [By Charisse Dengler] Karen Woodward, a paralegal for Pearson, Horowitz & Burnett, P.C., enjoys working for the small, Denver, CO, firm. However, after almost 16 years as a paralegal, Woodward is about to take her career in a new and interesting direction, combining her love of the law with something else that is close to her heart.
Woodward is currently taking training courses
“I had actually been working in foreclosures
Over the course of her career, Woodward has
that will prepare her to be a Child and Family
and bankruptcies for a mortgage company, and
worked for firms in various states including
Investigator (CFI). She already has 30 out of the
the attorneys that we were using kept talking
Florida and California; and she has made some
40 required training hours and is excited about
to me and saying, ‘Karen, you’re on the wrong
great memories.
finishing up and getting involved in what she
side of the fence. You really ought to be with
describes as a “very cool field.”
us. You’ve got great potential here. Why don’t you think about moving into more of a legal
“[A CFI is] a Child and Family Investigator
career?’” she said.
appointed by the courts in divorce matters to
“In California, I really enjoyed the complex litigation cases,” she said. “I really enjoyed digging through documents—mounds and mounds and rooms full of documents—and
help facilitate and recommend to the court
After considering their suggestions, she
hopefully finding that one little smoking-gun
parenting time plans [and] potential counseling
decided to pursue a paralegal position. In order
piece, which I have done on occasion; and it
that may be needed for either the parent or
to improve her knowledge of the law while
really makes for a great time in a case.”
children or both and to kind of be a liaison
she was in school, she got a part time job as a
between the children [and the courts],” she
legal secretary in a law office, something she
said.
recommends to all paralegal students. She said working in the legal field while in school
Woodward thinks the voice of the children
is a great way to get a realistic idea of what
should be heard in family law issues and that
paralegals do after graduation, and it also
judges should heed the recommendations of
helped her better understand the material she
CFIs when dealing with divorce cases. She
learned in class.
said her interest in this area came from her past experiences with family law, a need she
Currently, Woodward’s position at Pearson,
saw in the court system, and some of her own
Horowitz & Burnett is a combination of a
personal experiences.
paralegal and legal secretary position. As one of only two paralegals at the firm, she works in
“I did do some family law for a while which was
a variety of different areas.
very interesting,” she said. “Having to listen
In addition to her duties at the firm, Woodward is also involved in the Colorado Association of Professional Paralegals and Legal Assistants (CAPPLA) and helped found the association. Upon moving to Colorado, she and several other Certified Legal Assistants (CLAs) decided to start an association that would provide continuing education to CLAs in their area. CAPPLA was also instrumental in getting the state of Colorado to adopt an official Paralegal Day on which paralegals would be celebrated and honored. “It makes the law firms aware of what we do for them, and it also makes the general public
to everyone’s immediate problems…and what
“I do kind of a combination of everything,
they considered emergencies in their life, you
primarily civil litigation,” she said. “We do
really took a different perspective on the fact
some employment and labor law work, as well
that you were not only helping someone get
as general civil cases. We have a lot of trial
the divorce but you were helping them learn to
work going on right now. We also do a mixture
cope with visitation, learn to cope with having
of other things. We’ve done some wills and
to be nice to this person that they want to
estates and other things on occasion—kind of
divorce, and [learn to] work together for the
a general practice for most of the clients that
sake of the children.”
we service.”
Woodward first became a paralegal at the
Her favorite parts of her job include organizing
suggestion of some attorneys with whom she
documents, preparing the firm’s attorneys for
Colorado Bar Association
worked at the time.
trial, and participating in case discussions.
www.cobar.org
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aware,” she said. ON THE NET Colorado Association of Professional Paralegals and Legal Assistants www.capplaweb.org Pearson, Horowitz & Burnett, P.C. www.ph-law.com/index.cfm