Hi guys & gals!
My name is Sami and I'm a 40-year-old paralegal who works in civil law. I earned my Associate of Applied Science Degree in Paralegal Studies from the ABA-Approved Center for Advanced Legal Studies in 2007 with a perfect 4.0 GPA. I will graduate this summer with a Bachelor of Science in political science from the University of Houston - Downtown (3.9 GPA). I enjoyed an intern with Texas' 14th Court of Appeals under Chief Justice Adele Hedges (grade: A), and am currently completing an intern at Lone Star Legal Aid in the public benefits department. I was accepted into -- and completed with two As -- the UH Law Center's Summer 2008 Prelaw Institute. Currently I am completing an internship at a local legal aid foundation in the public benefits department.
I hold a national paralegal certification (via the National Association of Legal Assistants, whose stats are that just 30% pass on the first try of this grueling two-day exam, as I did!). Additionally, I hold four advanced specialty certifications: Trial Practice; Discovery; Contracts Management; and Social Security Disability Law. I am attending grad school this fall to earn my master's, before continuing on to law school.
I am well educated, articulate, but also fun and love to laugh. I have been published twice, and will happily provide those article to you. One of the articles is about my trip last year to London (and Parliament!), and includes lots of pics to enjoy! (BTW, I was able to attend that trip via an academic scholarship that I won; you can do something like that too!)
I am a frequent public speaker on paralegal topics at Houston-area law firms and schools, most recently at Fulbright and Jaworski, LLP, in downtown Houston, speaking on administrative law. Next scheduled to speak on Oct 17 regarding criminal law.
I have several years' legal experience, and many more years' experience with office applications, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Through my board activities with Houston Association of Legal Professionals, and the Paralegal Division of the State Bar of Texas, I guided a lawyer's assistant course at Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP, for three years (of which both law and grammar were paramount). It was here that I discovered my love of teaching, and my joy at seeing students not only succeed, but excel. Go ahead and Google my name: Sami Hartsfield. You can see a lot of my accomplishments for yourself!
I am also Houston Legal Issues Examiner and you can see my articles here http://www.examiner.com/x-12971-Houston-Legal-Issues-Examiner.
I feverently believe -- and am proof of -- that all of us can do anything we set our minds to! So go for your dreams, reach for your stars, and remember who's in the driver's seat: YOU are!!
Best,
Sami