Asbestos Paralegal
Asbestos Paralegal Job Profile
How did you become a paralegal?
I’ve worked as a paralegal for 11 ½ years. I graduated from Westchester Senior High in Houston, Texas, and earned my B.A. in political science from Arkansas State University. I’m a member of the Dallas Area Paralegal Association and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc.
What types of matters does your firm/department handle and what is your involvement?
We primarily handle asbestos litigation cases, especially clients who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. My work involves product identification. I assist in obtaining a client’s work history regarding asbestos products, the sites they worked and their trades. This information allows us to help the victims of this horrible disease and their families.
How has asbestos litigation changed over the years?
Asbestos litigation has changed a great deal in the last few years. In the early days, lawyers only had to prove the exposure to asbestos. Exposure could be easily established by documenting the client’s work history and duties for each jobsite and through x-rays of the lungs. Once asbestos enters the lungs, it is there for life and its tiny fibers appear as white strands in an x-ray.
Today, an asbestos disease must be proven; lung cancer and mesothelioma require biopsy and/or pathology reports. Plaintiffs must also prove a length of exposure at each jobsite and list specific asbestos products to which he or she was exposed. Lawyers usually prove this exposure through the client’s deposition testimony or by affidavit or, if a client is deceased or has memory issues, through a co-worker’s testimony via deposition or affidavit. We can no longer simply assert that a carpenter was exposed to joint compound; we must prove the manufacturer of the joint compound used.
What are your daily tasks as an asbestos paralegal?
Currently, I work with a shareholder and his group of eight attorneys and 17 law clerks in obtaining affidavits of asbestos exposure. I run database reports which help the attorneys locate co-workers for their assigned clients. Since many of these attorneys are law students or recent law grads, I also help them learn the asbestos products, jobsites and trades of our clients. When the affidavits have been returned, I input the information into an area of the database used for settlement submissions. I also assist with supervising temporary employees.
In addition, I answer client questions and handle outgoing and incoming mail for our department. After the attorneys and law clerks create affidavits of asbestos exposure for clients and co-workers, I mail the affidavits out via FedEx or USPS Express Mail and field the client/co-worker calls that the affidavits generate. Depending on how fast everyone works, I mail anywhere from 20-50 affidavits per day. When they are returned, I make sure they have been signed and notarized, then check them in, scan them and e-mail them to the originating attorney/law clerk. With the help of a temporary employee, I then enter this information into our database.
I also assist in training temporary employees and new attorneys in asbestos products, jobsites and trades. In addition, I assist the settlement paralegals with locating client work histories and determining whether to obtain affidavits of asbestos exposure.
In the past, I have created interrogatories as well as ordered, analyzed and summarized medical records and pathology reports. I also served as the deposition liaison between the firm, our clients and the court reporters. I also worked in intake and assisted attorneys in determining the viability of potential new cases.
How are your responsibilities in the asbestos law area different from that of other paralegals?
Because mesothelioma has no cure, I deal with clients who are dead or dying. I serve as a point of contact for many clients and family members. I explain to the client or his family the need for work history information and answer questions regarding the affidavits they have received. When a client passes away, I sometimes take the death notice from the surviving spouse or family member. We also offer free packets of information which explain mesothelioma and provide contact information for doctors who specialize in the treatment and study of this disease.
What skills are necessary to succeed in your role as an asbestos paralegal?
Attention to detail is an important skill. The attorneys I work for have been trying to obtain affidavits for 5,000+ members of our client population for the last two years. Between meeting the clients and drafting the information, it easy to make mistakes in the affidavits. Many times I have caught misspelled words, duplicate information and format problems.
Technology and organization skills are also essential in order to track affidavits that have been returned, run co-worker reports and manage large volumes of information. Client service skills are important as well. I frequently answer client questions, freeing up much-needed time for the attorneys to conduct their meetings and draft their affidavits.
What technology tools do you regularly use?
I perform most of my work in Word and Excel and have become pretty proficient in both. I also help the attorneys when they have an issue with either program. I work closely with IT to ensure the documents for the affidavits merge correctly and run Excel reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Due to the large volume of affidavits and attorneys, I track deadlines using Outlook Task Reminders and Calendars.
What do you like best about your job as an asbestos paralegal?
I enjoy seeing how the work I perform helps clients. Our client base consists of blue collar workers who have spent their lives working in oil refineries and chemical plants trying to give their families better lives. The asbestos diseases they suffer are horrible. Many times our clients are the wives and children of workers who were exposed to asbestos from the clothes of their husbands and fathers. To be able to help these hard-working people is a wonderful experience.
I also enjoy working with new attorneys. Seeing new attorneys learn the difference between classroom work and real-life work is interesting and rewarding.
What daily challenges are unique to your position?
Over the course of the case, clients receive documents that need to be reviewed and signed before a notary. Explaining to clients why a new document must be notarized is one of my biggest challenges. Staying on top of the work can also be overwhelming. When I put one fire out another is there to take its place. However, my large workload is one of the things I enjoy most because I am always busy.
As with other firms, we have experienced a few layoffs in the last few years. With each layoff came re-organization and those of us left have been challenged to take on additional duties or change responsibilities.
What do you like least about asbestos practice?
The worst thing about working in asbestos is discovering that a client has passed away from an asbestos-related disease. Mesothelioma and lung cancer are the two most common diseases caused by asbestos exposure. Sometimes lung cancer can be treated and the client recovers, but mesothelioma has no cure. It is easy to get attached to a client and losing a client is almost like losing a member of the family. It is frustrating to be powerless to help a suffering client and the failure to prove the source of the asbestos exposure can leave a feeling of inadequacy.
Source :http://legalcareers.about.com/od/paralegalstories/a/Asbestos-Paralegal.htm
