Her Story
About Michelle
I spent 35 years as a paralegal in law firms before making the leap to the corporate world three years ago. I wanted more, and in a law firm, there's only so far you can go. Making a leap to the corporate world opened the doors to a wider range of opportunities for me. Now I serve as the Manager of Legal Affairs for a logistics company, where I'm the in-house point person managing all their legal matters. My main area of expertise is business law, and my typical day varies greatly - from reviewing contracts to negotiating settlements, negotiating terms for new contracts, or ironing out problems with vendors. I don't like routine, so this variety works well for me. My biggest accomplishment so far has been establishing new processes and procedures for contracts for this logistics company. Establishing procedures and processes for them has helped minimize business risk. The biggest struggle was trying to get everybody on board with the system that every single contract must go through me. Once they realized I wasn't there to slow matters down or to say "no" to every contract term, and my objective was to protect the company and still develop business, it began to fall into place. But it wasn't always easy and was sometimes an uphill struggle to get people on board.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michelle
01What do you attribute your success to?
I enjoy helping people and making things better, and setting up new structures. Getting things organized and minimizing risk while increasing business opportunities is probably my biggest drive, as long as I feel like I'm serving and improving situations for customers and our company. Throughout my career, I've had several attorneys that I've worked with who have served as professional mentors. Currently, the three owners and the CFO at our company have been a big source of knowledge and inspiration to me during my transition to the corporate setting in the logistics and transportation industry. Stepping into the transportation industry was like learning a foreign language. Our CFO- Denise Nix- is the only female officer in the company, and she has been extremely supportive during this new opportunity.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Do not be afraid to use your voice. Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't say it mean.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Try to get as much experience as you can, in as many areas of law as possible, and try to avoid being "pigeonholed". A lot of paralegals will get stuck in the same role, in the same area of law, doing the same task over and over. In my experience, many paralegals are more attracted to the big firms, which is where you are more likely to find yourself in a "specialized" role doing repetitive work. I chose to go with smaller firms where I was exposed to many different areas of law which allowed me to build a really solid, diverse base of experience from contracts and business transactions to real estate and litigation.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
At times I feel like I am still having to prove myself in this industry and "win people over" to the benefit of having structure and processes in place. Earning a seat at the table and being heard is always the goal.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is most important to me. Doing what you say, and always trying to do the right thing, whether anybody's looking or not. Transparency, honesty, and communication are also key values to me.
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