Her Story
About Sonia
I've been in the legal field for just over 17 years, starting in December 2008 when I graduated with my paralegal certification from UTSA. I became a mom at a young age, and once my daughter was old enough to go to school, I went back to school to pursue my dream of working in the legal field. I started as an intake specialist at a busy car wreck firm and learned every position in the firm, working my way up to lead litigation paralegal. This was detrimental to my career because I learned how to get a case started from the beginning to the end. Throughout my career, I've done personal injury work, Social Security, commercial litigation, probate, wills, and family law. I worked for almost 11 years with the senior partner CEO of my current firm, handling the most catastrophic injury cases, managing multiple attorney calendars, and communicating with families of the deceased or people who couldn't speak for themselves. I learned that communication is key, not only with your firm but with the families, to keep them informed of the litigation steps. This is how I learned to fall in love with what we do in personal injury - the majority of the time, you're the voice of those people that are afraid to speak out for themselves. That gives me a lot of heartfelt retribution that's not monetarily received. In my current role for the past 2 years, I do legal operations and executive assistant work for Mr. Espinoza, the CEO and owner of the company. My expertise runs from managing cases to learning about different investments my boss has in real estate, so it's a little bit of everything, and I continue to learn and grow.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sonia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my upbringing - I come from very humble beginnings and very hardworking parents. My parents are immigrants, and I learned what it was to always work, work, work very hard, be loyal, and never give up, not taking no for an answer. I know that if one door closes, there's gonna be so many other doors that open up for you. So just being confident in who you are and knowing that what you bring to the table matters, and if that one table doesn't work for you, doesn't mean that others won't.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think to be nosy, and I have to explain it the best way that I can - it's to be nosy. A lot of the times you're intimidated because you're in the legal field, so that in itself is a lot to deal with, but you can learn so much just by reading about your case, learning what previous cases and other cases have done, and learn that way. Don't wait for someone to tell you or to guide you - sometimes you have your own skill set and your own firm to look into, and previous cases that they've dealt with, that you can learn so much from. So I like to be nosy in your own firm. Beyond that, don't be afraid of taking that role and owning it in regards to the legal field. A lot of the times when you start in a role in the legal field, it's very, very intimidating because you have to learn so many things. But don't be afraid of it, and take ownership of that role, and help others feel that power that they can have in taking the ownership of their position, that role or case, whatever that might be.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the only challenge that a lot of people are going through has been the fear of AI taking over certain roles. But within the fear of it, I think you can just take the bull by its horns and manage it, instead of being afraid of it, not knowing what AI can help you with, and how you can learn to manage AI to help you be more efficient. So I think that's the biggest fear - AI and its impact on our industry and growing as legal staff and in the professional field.
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