Rachel A. Ramsey

I think my dad and mom both taught me hard work and that you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it, and I've kept that in mind throughout my career. I also believe in making life fun and not taking it too seriously, keeping that adventurous spirit and being willing to try new things. This has kept me going all these years and kept me enjoying new experiences and moving forward. I don't think there's anything that I can't do if I want to. That mindset of hard work combined with maintaining a sense of adventure and fun has really been the key to my success.

Never assume anything and always double check. That is so true, because in my work, someone could tell me that a judge likes a particular standard for their motions or orders, and instead of assuming that's correct, I need to find out for myself. There have been times along the way that I did assume something was correct, and it was not. So I've learned that in a legal career, you just don't assume anything and you always double check everything.

I would say just embrace all the learning. There's going to be lots of learning along the way, so keep good notes and keep yourself organized. You don't have to reinvent the wheel because there's always someone that's done something before you, so find out and find your resources and be very resourceful. Thinking outside the box is going to help a lot in this career. Also, know that you're going to mess up here and there, and that's okay. You just learn from it and you keep moving forward. Being organized and resourceful while maintaining the understanding that mistakes are part of the learning process will really help you succeed.

The biggest challenge is definitely managing stress. Work ebbs and flows in the legal field, especially in the litigation paralegal field, and it's easy to start feeling like you're drowning. Even now, I have challenges managing it, but I've learned along the way some tricks of the trade to kind of calm down in those stressful situations. I always remember that okay, it's really stressful right now, but there will be an ebb as well down the road where it will be more calm and I can get caught up. Understanding that the stress comes in waves and that calmer periods will follow has helped me manage the challenges of this field.

I really value good communication, both at work and with friends and family. My love language is communication and good conversations and connecting with people, in both my work and in my private life. I really like people that I work with and people that are around me to feel heard and to be heard, and to feel important and special. I think that's probably what I love most about working with people and leading people, making them feel important and empowered. That applies to my friends and family too. Creating an environment where people feel valued, heard, and empowered is what matters most to me.