The World is His Oyster
Methodical and meticulous, Ray has been investigating the legal profession for years. His bachelor’s degree is in Criminal Justice and as a student, he was involved in the Criminal Justice Association and established a Pre-Law Club. He volunteered with CASA, the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic and worked for a general practitioner while pursuing his paralegal certificate. In 2017 he graduated with honors from the Loyola Institute for Paralegal Studies with a Litigation Practice Certificate. Since graduation from Loyola, Ray has been at three firms, moving up to larger and more sophisticated practices each time. It is not unusual to run into Ray at Illinois Paralegal Association events. Not surprisingly, Ray is hoping to attend law school in the next few years.
Ray’s goal is to be useful. He enjoys learning and anticipating clients’ needs. Ray credits Loyola’s Institute for Paralegal Studies with providing him with a foundation of practical legal skills through locally relevant information and interactive and engaging courses. He has worked on an array of cases including, catastrophic motor vehicle and trucking accidents, medical malpractice, premises liability and product liability. He has summarized and prepared chronologies of medical records, answered discovery, drafted pleadings, engaged in trial preparation, attended depositions, trials, inspections, interviewed witnesses and written many reports and more letters than he can count. He has researched case law, jury verdicts and has updated statutes. His recent work was for a summary judgment motion. Loyola’s Institute for Paralegal Studies furthered Ray’s legal education and opened doors to allow him to gain relevant legal experience. He now has the information he wanted and the confidence that law school is the right next step. He is currently a Litigation Paralegal at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP.
-Submitted by Marie Harrigan, Program Director, Institute for Paralegal Studies, Loyola University, Chicago