A Day in the Life of a Senior Paralegal

Marilyn Wass ACP, CAS is the Senior Paralegal at Lopez McHugh, LLP, a nationally recognized plaintiffs law firm that takes on pharmaceutical companies, nursing homes, insurance companies, auto manufacturers, and the manufacturers of defective medical devices. Her job includes an incredible amount of responsibilities both over time and day-to-day. Being a Senior Paralegal for a firm like Lopez McHugh is one of the most prestigious positions in the paralegal world. How did Wass reach this position and what challenges does she face?

On this episode of The Paralegal Voice, Vicki Voisin interviews Marilyn Wass about the responsibilities of being Senior Paralegal, how her career began and evolved, and specifics about caseloads and technologies. Wass explains her many responsibilities in more detail. She manages the Junior Paralegals and Case Managers, overseeing their workload and making sure assignments are understood and completed in a timely manner. Additionally, Wass oversees and reviews work on the Lipitor mass tort case including ordering medical records and answering discovery. Finally she spends most of her time on estate work and settlement litigation, creating settlement packages for up to 100s of clients. She has to schedule time to talk to clients and government agencies like Medicaid and Medicare.

After describing her job description, Marilyn Wass goes into the evolution of her career. She explains how she went from a temp job in a law firm to Paralegal school at UCLA. She had interest in working for small firms in the medical field and for lawyers who wanted to teach her about litigation and other skills necessary to move up in the litigation field. She talks about the biggest challenges she faces in her position including prioritizing various jobs and keeping clients happy. In the second half of the podcast, Voisin and Wass discuss the software Lopez McHugh uses and how training is done. Overall, Wass advises paralegals to learn litigation in school and to seek out areas of legal work, not just available jobs.

Stay tuned to the end when Vicki Voisin answers questions sent in by listeners. You never know when another paralegal has the same question as you.

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