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Cynthia Young: Paralegal Coordinator for Wolff & Samson, PC, in West Orange, NJ [By Charisse Dengler] Cynthia Young began her career as a legal secretary and has quite a romantic story to tell about her first years in the legal profession.
“I met my husband at the first law firm I
a living while going to school at night. While
evening student. The ability to multitask
worked at,” she said. “I was a legal secretary,
working in this position, she realized she
is something I need and use every day. As
and he worked in the file room as he put
wanted to become a paralegal.
my fellow paralegals know, in order to be a great paralegal, you must be superior at
himself through law school. We actually were best friends for years and married in 2002.”
“I supported litigators at the time and found
multitasking.”
the work to be interesting. It was during this These days, Young and her husband live in
time that I had the opportunity to work off-
Young thoroughly enjoys her current positions
Allamuchy, NJ, and are parents to three
site on a six-month jury trial with our senior
at Wolff & Samson and values all of the
children aged 19, 13, and 10. While Young is
partner, an associate, and two paralegals.
opportunities the firm has provided her.
no longer working as a legal secretary, she
I found the intensity of the trial preparation
hasn’t strayed far from her roots. Currently,
exciting,” she said.
“I truly feel lucky to have had the opportunity to develop my paralegal skills at Wolff
she is the paralegal coordinator for Wolff & Samson, PC, a position that requires her
A little while after she decided on the goal of
& Samson,” she said. “Further, after
to recruit, develop, and direct the firm’s
becoming a paralegal, she left the firm she
approximately seven and a half years, the firm
paraprofessional staff.
was at, went to work for a private practice,
recognized my potential and promoted me to
and earned her paralegal certificate.
my current positions. I would definitely say that this is a firm that values its employees.”
“My day-to-day responsibilities focus primarily on the allocation of work,” she
“Earning my paralegal certificate gave me
said. “Further, I look for ways to implement
a new perspective on the profession—the
Her advice to aspiring paralegals is to “look
procedures to streamline the workflow
acquired knowledge and skills enabled me
for an ABA-approved paralegal certificate
process. For example, we recently instituted
to be even more valuable to my employer,
program.”
an automated request system attorneys may
and my marketability certainly increased,”
use to request paralegal assistance with
she said. “In fact, within approximately
“In my opinion, ABA programs provide a
e-filings. Using the automated feature saves
two months of completing the course, the
solid foundation to build one’s career,”
time for everyone involved in the process,
attorneys I worked with hired a secretary and
she said. “The paralegal who has a solid
which ultimately saves the client money.”
promoted me. I’m pleased to say I’ve been
foundation—general legal concepts and
involved in one aspect or another with the
terms—coming into a firm will find the
paralegal profession ever since.”
transition much smoother than the student
In addition, Young serves as the firm’s
coming immediately from college.”
director of recruitment. Earlier, she worked as a paralegal on public finance transactions
Young also earned a Bachelor of Arts in
in the firm’s corporate department for seven
English from Caldwell College, from which
and a half years. She became a paralegal in
she graduated cum laude. Although the path
1996 after completing Fairleigh Dickinson
she has traveled may not be the easiest or
Caldwell College
University’s paralegal studies program, from
simplest, she is grateful for the experience
www.caldwell.edu
which she graduated with honors.
she has gained along the way because it has taught her skills useful to her career.
On the Net
Fairleigh Dickinson University www.fdu.edu
Young’s first job while in high school was a part-time receptionist position in a law firm.
“My life experience has most certainly
Upon graduation, she was a single mother,
assisted me with my career,” she said.
Wolff & Samson, PC
and the firm offered her a full-time position
“For many years, I learned to balance the
www.wolffsamson.com
as a legal secretary so that she could earn
role of a parent, a paralegal, and a college
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