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PROFILE
Profile: Dwayne Krager, litigation paralegal, Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, s.c., Milwaukee [by Regan Morris] Litigation paralegal Dwayne Krager said the secret to his success is spotting trends and anticipating what an attorney might need before being asked. LawCrossing speaks with Mr. Krager about his career and the state-of-the-art mock courtroom he helped to create. Dwayne Krager’s career is multi-faceted. As
“What a lot of paralegals do is they’ll get into
widely used litigation support programs and
a litigation paralegal with Reinhart, Boerner,
a job and perform the functions that exist.
he eventually implemented Summation as the
Van Deuren, s.c., he handles a heavy casel-
And what makes me, I guess, unique, is not
main software program at Reinhart.
oad, manages the firm’s technology training
only do I do those functions, but I also try
and management and runs the firm’s mock
to find time to learn about what may be the
He urges new paralegals to be adaptable
courtroom, which he helped create.
future,” he said. “I knew electronic discovery
and to try to think a few steps ahead of the
was going to be a big thing, because I spoke
attorneys they support.
That courtroom, the Trial Science Institute,
to colleagues and people in the industry. And
is one of the first of its kind in the nation. The
so I learned about it ahead of time so that
“What it really comes down to is you need
Institute was created to help prepare lawyers
when it came up, we were prepared.”
to adapt to their style and if you can do that you’ll be successful,” he said. “But if you have
and litigants for trials. The courtroom uses computers and monitors and has three jury
But paralegals don’t have a crystal ball.
your own style and are used to doing things a
rooms, which the firm videotapes to observe
Anticipating the future and spotting trends
certain way, it’s really not going to work.”
the mock jurors as they deliberate. The court
comes with experience, Mr. Krager said. But
officially opened in 1999.
paralegals can help themselves by reading
Mr. Krager said an example of anticipating
all they can and by actively participating in
attorney needs could be securing and copy-
As soon as Mr. Krager heard the firm planned
professional associations.
to build the courtroom, he volunteered to
ing important documents long before you’re asked to. When the firm takes on a case, it’s
get involved in the project. He had a strong
“There’s really no courses out there that
technology background and had been active
teach you to do certain tasks,” he said.
ments will be most important. Then you can
in bringing electronic discovery to Reinhart.
“There are procedural things you can learn,
be ready in advance.
His initiative paid off. Mr. Krager is director of
but the reality of how to get things done and
operations of the institute, which is used by
completed, you learn that on the job.”
both Reinhart attorneys and various other law
a good idea to ask right away what docu-
“The only way to survive is to try to prioritize and focus,” he said. “You can have ten tasks
firms, consulting companies and mock court
In school, paralegals and attorneys often
to do, but those ten tasks aren’t necessarily
competitions.
learn more theory than practice, so finding
due that very moment. So we get freaked out
mentors and asking a lot of questions is key
‘oh I’ve got these ten things to do’. But if you
to making it at a law firm, he said.
prioritize and try to figure out what is more
“That’s something that not every paralegal is going to be able to do,” Mr. Krager said. “It’s
important” you and the attorney will have an
kind of an oddity more than a norm. But that
Mr. Krager, who was raised in Chicago the
doesn’t meant they shouldn’t know court-
youngest of 10 children, attended Roosevelt
rooms, just that they may not be building
University’s paralegal program after earning
Too many new paralegals, he said, are too
one.”
a BA from Southern Illinois University, Car-
intimidated to ask for direct deadlines and
bondale. He initially worked in radio broad-
further instructions on an assignment. And
casting, but found the field too unpredictable.
not all attorneys are great communicators. It
Mr. Krager was instrumental in designing the
easier time.
can be a recipe for disaster.
courtroom and considers the institute one of his greatest professional achievements.
He was the first in his family to go to college
Mr. Krager, who was recently named one of
and he wanted job security. He found that in
“A lot of people get in trouble, especially
the tope 15 paralegals in the country by legal
the legal field.
when they’re brand new,” he said. “They’ll get all these assignments on their desk
author Carole Bruno, said it’s important for legal staff to be proactive and volunteer for
In 1989, Mr. Krager was selected to partici-
and they’ll work until 1, 2, 3 o’clock in the
projects outside their normal duties.
pate in a program to develop one of the most
morning to get everything done. And while
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PROFILE
that may look like a hard worker, the reality is once you get passed so many hours your work depreciates. The quality of your work depreciates. If you turn in an assignment to somebody that’s not good, then they lose confidence in you and they won’t work with you.” Clearly Mr. Krager’s attorneys have confidence in him. Aside from organizing countless mock trials, he also often gets to play the judge.
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