Paralegal Krista Gillespie does “a ton of research,” but also interviews clients, goes to court, documents files, prepares letters and briefs and provides other vital functions in the Office of the Public Defender.

Paralegals a valuable, respected profession

By Michael Corby
FCCJ Media Relations Coordinator
July 6, 2008

Krista Gillespie and Scott Mahoney, recent graduates of Florida Community College at Jacksonville’s Paralegal/Legal Assisting program have a few things they’d like to share with prospective students:

• The FCCJ program is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA), a valuable distinction recognized by anyone in the legal profession, and
• The FCCJ program is “fabulous… great… first-rate.”

Gillespie, a paralegal in the Office of the Public Defender (Fourth Judicial Circuit, an agency of the State of Florida) provides a brief summation of her career choice: “I love my job.”

Gillespie’s path into the paralegal profession was unexpected. A talented viola player, she started college as a music major but realized that was not going to lead to her career of choice—whatever that was. Marriage led her to her husband’s home in Jacksonville, miles from her Midwest roots. With no prior legal, secretarial or even clerical skills, she found a job as a receptionist with a law firm that dealt with wills, trusts and estates. Krista sums up that job choice with another brief summation: “They were hiring and I needed a job.”

But she loved the atmosphere and her coworkers. When a better-paying secretarial job at the firm became available, she looked to Florida Community College at Jacksonville, which at the time did not have a Legal Secretary program (but does now). Coworkers in her office encouraged her to pursue the Paralegal/Legal Assisting program, knowing she was an avid reader and writer, highly valued and desirable skills for those in the profession.

What she learned about the FCCJ Paralegal program and the opportunities in the profession was music to her ears. Aside from her having a skill-set well-suited to the profession—about half of her job is research and writing—Gillespie says the ABA approval was the big selling point. The associate in science Paralegal degree program also included an internship, which for her turned out to be with the Office of the Public Defender, now her employer.

Scott Mahoney’s path to his associate in applied science degree was more deliberate. Originally from New England, he had a work history closely related to law and legal matters, including working for a federal civil rights program for hate-crime prevention. A 2005 move to Jacksonville for a change based on the then-booming economy and growth potential included exploration of educational options, as he lacked a degree. He decided to explore the FCCJ Paralegal program to advance his career, thinking it would be “O.K.”

“Overall my educational experience has been superior,” he says. “The professors do an amazing job. I got a first-rate, quality education.”

Legal Studies Program Manager Sonita Young and Professor Wayne Singletary will tell you that is true, and not by accident.

“All of our instructors are licensed attorneys or judges,” says Young, herself an attorney and educator. “They have first-hand, current knowledge. Our students get to work side-by-side with them in offices and courtrooms.”

Singletary practiced law for 24 years before he started teaching part-time at FCCJ, and after 28 years as an attorney now teaches full-time. He stresses that the program teaches not only substantive law, but students also learn the importance of reliability, organization, interpersonal skills and ethics. The fact that the program, which has an advisory board of well-respected attorneys and at least one judge, is regularly self-assessed and has respect from the legal community is a source of great pride for him.

Gillespie also expresses pride that part of her job involves working with first-time offenders, their parents and the public defenders, interviewing to help attorneys assess if they are appropriate candidates for Juvenile Drug Court, and treatment rather than prosecution, giving them “a second chance.”

For more information about the career options provided by Legal Studies at Florida Community College call 904.381.3589 or e-mail legalstudies@fccj.edu.