July 2020 – Present
As a legal assistant at Mowry and Grimson, PLLC, I have had the one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with trade analyst, associates, and partners that are highly knowledgeable in the field of international trade law. Working with and around those individuals has introduced me to the intricacies and challenges that involve the international trade law sector and the law field as a whole, helping me to gain important skills to better comprehend important aspects of law. Currently, my work involves monitoring tasks and providing aid to staff by completing projects. The content that I monitor involves important information and filings for cases that concern the firm, and this extends to a variety of different sources of information and filing. Because of this, it is important for me to monitor these different sources whenever required, find the relevant information or filings for particular cases, and distribute them to individual staff or the firm as a whole, thus keeping the entire team updated and able to act accordingly depending on the information or filing. Furthermore, the work that I help staff with individually involves certain cases specific projects that will help to formulate legal documents, submit those documents, or ensure that the legal process is upheld. These projects can range from a variety of tasks, all highly important to the success of the firm and the care for each client’s cases.
The skills that I have learned throughout my time at the firm are interdependence and personal responsibility skills. During the process of becoming more interdependent, I had always struggled to ask others questions about tasks or ensure my understanding of the particular details of a task. As a result, it could be difficult to complete projects to the best of my ability, as I would lose confidence in my work. Nevertheless, while working at the firm, I have learned to speak up and ask questions, no matter the importance or difficulty of the question, as fully understanding a task is much more important than seeming to be an expert. Additionally, through the process of understanding personal responsibility in the work place, I never felt that I was in a position where I was depended upon to do vital work for the team. While my internships and academic work involved working in teams and having others rely on myself, the level of dependence grew significantly when starting my position at the firm. Thus, I began to learn and develop the mindset of always putting my most into the work I complete, as the work that I submit is vital towards the mission of my team. While I wasn’t submitting half-hearted work before, the level of importance towards individual work grew significantly. On top of these skills, I continued to maintain and grow my communication, flexibility and problem-solving skills, as working in a sector of law that I was unfamiliar with, it was important to continue to improve upon these skills for the betterment of my work.