CHERYL A. OWENS
New Ulm
Summary
- Adaptable in a fast-paced, continuously changing environment.
- Comfort with technology, and specific knowledge of remote communication tools like Zoom, Skype, Dropbox, Teams, etc.
- Communicate with and put on notice all health insurance companies, Third-Party payers, and lien companies.
- Communication with clients, court personnel and opposing counsel.
- Initial Communication and development of rapport with clients, review all treating providers, order and follow-up medical records and bills, specialize in and enjoy the discovery process.
- Competent at identifying and resolving problems.
- Complete office set-up including fiber optic/Ethernet, fully encrypted network, dual monitors, Canon laser copier/printer, fax, scanner.
- Draft and prepare legal documents, pleadings, motions and discovery.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Fast adaptability, understanding and using proprietary software.
- Research and investigative skills.
- Review and proofread legal documents.
- Schedule depositions, appointments, mediations and CME when required.
- Self-motivated, effectively working independently or as project coordinator within a team.
- Strong attention to detail; excellent organizational skills and maintenance of case files.
- Trial and exhibit prep and witness coordination.
- Utilize time and task management skills.
Resourceful Paralegal and Legal Assistance known for high productivity and efficient completion of tasks. Possess specialized skills in legal research, document drafting, and case management which contribute to effective support in legal proceedings. Excel in communication, organization, and time management, ensuring seamless operations within legal teams.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Paralegal
Collins Hinderliter PLLC
Dallas
02.2025 - 08.2025
- Paralegal for Complex Litigation, Personal Injury Insurance Defense Civil Litigation Law Firm.
- Place calls and email to clients sending and follow-up of discovery documents and discussing by telephone while responding to Discovery, including Request for Admissions, Interrogatories and Request for Production; send DocuSign to client with Verification/Affidavit for client's signature.
- Work to help in-office Legal Assistant and Paralegal with whatever work is necessary and immediate.
- Office is completely paperless and totally computer driven and automated.
- Insurance Defense Litigation
- CONTRACT REMOTE POSITION: 6 Mo. Contract term ended.
Operations Paralegal/Legal Support Staff/Legal Assistant
Morgan & Morgan Law Firm
Orlando
03.2022 - 01.2024
- Operations Paralegal Support Staff to Complex Litigation Law Firm in the Personal Injury Section.
- Place calls and email to clients sending and follow-up of discovery documents and discussing by telephone while responding to Discovery, including Request for Admissions, Interrogatories and Request for Production; send DocuSign to client with Verification/Affidavit for client's signature.
- Order Medical and Billing records from all Medical Providers for each client assigned to my attorney.
- Verify bills with each provider to finalize before mediation or settlement.
- Work to help in-office Legal Assistant and Paralegal with whatever work is necessary and immediate.
- Office is completely paperless and totally computer driven and automated; company of over 6,000 employees and over 800 lawyers.
- Entire Remote Paralegal Department was closed down and laid off.
Legal Assistant/Administrative Assistant
Gillespie & Trefny
Columbus
06.2018 - 10.2019
- Legal and administrative assistant to attorney managing various duties dealing with Family Law, Wills & Estates, Deeds, Divorces, Probate, and civil litigation cases; Oil & Gas Mineral Leases, contracts, and survey permits.
- Substantial secretarial and administrative duties of a complex and confidential nature, typing, drafting, heavy transcription, preparing, proofing, and finalizing documents, discovery, correspondence; organize and maintain electronic and hard copy files in each area of law for this attorney.
- Obtain, organize, maintain and E-File with the court all medical, billing and business records with affidavits; submitted copies in response to Discovery to opposing counsel.
- Preparation of and electronically file all case related documents with the court.
- Daily written and verbal communications with clients, courts, other attorneys and staff.
- Online research and investigation for information pertinent to client and witness location, address, telephone, business, and other relevant information.
- Calendar all client meetings, court hearings and events.
- This position requires extreme confidentiality, self-motivation, and an independent initiative-taker work ethic, basic reasoning and analytical skills, organizational and critical thinking skills, customer service and public relations skills, task and time management skills, professional attitude, served as point of contact for this attorney, general overall flexibility, with complete independence under the supervision and approval of the attorney.
- Laid off due to Staff reduction.
Paralegal / Legal Assistant
White & Shaver, PC
Houston
05.2013 - 12.2017
- Paralegal/Legal assistant/administrative assistant to Plaintiff's Personal Injury and Insurance Defense Litigation Partner and Litigation Associate, onsite and remote.
- Managed very heavy case load of personal injury clients and insurance defense claims, coordinating all aspects of a case from filing of the lawsuit, answering a lawsuit, through the process of resolution and settlement by mediation and/or trial of a matter.
- Substantial secretarial and administrative duties of a complex and confidential nature, typing, drafting, heavy transcription, preparing, proofing, and finalizing documents, discovery, correspondence; organizing and maintaining electronic and hard copy files in each area of law for this firm.
- Obtain, organize, maintain and E-File with the court all medical, billing and business records with affidavits and counter-affidavits; submitted copies in response to Discovery to opposing counsel.
- Assist attorneys with case exhibits and legal documents in preparation for trial.
- Daily written and verbal communications with opposing counsel and their staff and with State, Federal and Appeals Courts, and their staff.
- Online research and investigation for information pertinent to client and witness location, address, telephone, business, and other relevant information.
- Prepare and electronically file case documents with the court.
- Communicate with clients by telephone and written correspondence; communicate with investigators, insurance adjusters, witnesses and experts.
- Coordinate and set mediations and depositions, calendar, and monitor deadlines continually through ProLaw and Outlook.
- This position requires extreme confidentiality, self-motivation, and an independent initiative-taker work ethic, basic reasoning and analytical skills, organizational and critical thinking skills, customer service and public relations skills, task and time management skills, professional attitude, served as point of contact for this attorney, general overall flexibility, with complete independence under the supervision and approval of the attorney.
- Insurance Defense Litigation
- Left to care for husband who was ill.
Litigation Legal Assistant/Administrative Assistant
The Adams Law Firm
Katy
12.2012 - 04.2013
- Litigation Legal Assistant/administrative assistant to the Personal Injury Litigation Partner and the Managing Partner.
- Managed heavy case load of personal injury clients dealing with all aspects of a case from filing of the lawsuit through settlement.
- Substantial secretarial and administrative duties of a complex and confidential nature, typing, drafting, heavy transcription, preparing, proofing, and finalizing documents, discovery, correspondence; organizing and maintaining electronic and hard copy files in each area of law for this firm.
- Obtain, organize, maintain and E-File with the court all medical, billing and business records with affidavits; submitted copies in response to Discovery to opposing counsel.
- Assist attorneys with all case exhibits and legal documents in preparation for trial.
- Daily written and verbal communications with all opposing counsel, staff, State and Federal Courts and staff.
- Online research and investigation for information pertinent to client and witness location, address, telephone, business, and other relevant information.
- Prepare and electronically file documents.
- Communicate with clients by telephone and written correspondence; communicate with investigators, witnesses and experts, coordinate mediations and depositions, continually maintain the calendar through Time Matters and monitor deadlines.
- This position requires extreme confidentiality, self-motivation, and an independent initiative-taker work ethic, basic reasoning and analytical skills, organizational and critical thinking skills, customer service and public relations skills, task and time management skills, professional attitude, served as point of contact for this attorney, general overall flexibility, with complete independence under the supervision and approval of the attorney.
- Left for position that provided Health Insurance.
Paralegal / Legal Assistant / Legal Secretary / Administrative Assistant
Law Office of Gregory A. Stewart
Houston
03.2003 - 11.2012
- Paralegal/Legal Assistant and Administrative Office Manager and secretary to a sole practitioner specializing in Plaintiffs' Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Products Liability, Commercial and Corporate litigation, Family Law, Estate Planning and Administration, Probate & Guardianship.
- Managed office administration and daily communications.
- Initial contact as Intake Specialist for all clients, interviewing and gathering information.
- Substantial secretarial and administrative duties of a complex and confidential nature, typing, drafting, heavy transcription, preparing, proofing, and finalizing documents, discovery, correspondence; organize and maintain electronic and hard copy files in each area of law for this attorney.
- Obtain, organize, maintain and E-File with the court all medical, billing and business records with affidavits; submitted copies in response to Discovery to opposing counsel.
- Preparation of all case exhibits and legal documents; prepared monthly guardianship report to the court with detailed financials.
- Daily written and verbal communications with all opposing counsel State, Probate & Federal Courts and their staff.
- Online research and investigation for information pertinent to client and witness location, address, telephone, business, and other relevant information.
- Substantial secretarial and administrative duties of a complex and confidential nature drafting, transcribing, typing, preparing, and finalizing documents and discovery for electronic filing with the Court, correspondence and maintaining files in each area of law for this firm.
- Mass tort experience gathering information and documentation, organizing, finalizing, and filing documents and exhibits with court for trial and communication with all clients regularly.
- Communicated with clients by telephone and written correspondence, investigators, witnesses and experts.
- Coordinated mediations, depositions, site visits, continually maintain the calendar and monitor deadlines.
- Work with vendors and manage all office administration and continually maintain calendar and monitor deadlines.
- This position requires extreme confidentiality, self-motivation, and an independent initiative-taker work ethic, basic reasoning and analytical skills, organizational and critical thinking skills, customer service and public relations skills, task and time management skills, professional attitude, served as point of contact for this attorney, general overall flexibility, with complete independence under the supervision and approval of the attorney.
- Office closed.
Education
High School -
Lake Taylor Senior High School
Norfolk, VirginiaGeneral Studies - Music, Piano Performance, Music Education, English
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VASkills
- Adobe Acrobat
- Analysis skills
- Basic office operations
- Law office operations
- Office machinery and administration
- Maintain office supply inventory
- Negotiation with vendors
- Document scanning
- 10-Key by Touch
- Appointment Setting
- Calendar management
- Case Management
- Clio
- ZoHo Email
- Time Matters
- Prolaw
- ProTempus Time Management
- Various Digital tools and Platforms
- Communication skills
- Customer service
- Client relationships
- Criminal Law
- Data entry
- Databases
- Document Management
- DocuSign
- E-Filing
- Estate and Family Law
- Ethernet
- Extensive Transcription
- Filing
- Google Suite
- Intake Specialist
- Knowledge of Windows Operating System
- Microsoft Office
- Legal administrative experience
- Legal drafting
- Legal research
- Lexis-Nexis
- Litigation
- Mac OS
- Medical records ordering
- Medical terminology
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Office Management
- Organizational skills
- Paralegal experience
- Personal Assistant Experience
- Personal injury law
- Project management
- Proofreading
- Records management
- Research
- SharePoint
- Transcription
- Typing 70-75 wpm
- Westlaw
- Writing Skills
Affiliations
- Paralegal Division of the State Bar of Texas, No. 24100589
- Notary Public for the State of Texas, 08/11/28
References
- Stephanie Young, Sr. Mgr. of Paralegal Support, Morgan & Morgan, 20 N. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL, 32801, 239-286-6463, syoung@forthepeople.com
- Jeffery J. Shaver, Prev. Partner at White Shaver, PC, (713) 557-0807, jshaver522@yahoo.com
- H. Brandon del Castillo, Prev. Assoc. of White Shaver, PC, The Travelers, 713-416-5474, bdelcast@travelers.com
- Gregory A. Stewart, Prev. Law Offices of Gregory A. Stewart, Thomas J. Henry, Corpus Christi, TX, 713-203-3339, gstewart@tjhlaw.com
- Richard T. Howell, Jr., Colleague, Buckley, White, Castaneda & Howell, 713-789-7700, Rthowell@bwchlaw.com
Continuing Education Courses
- Basic Supervision
- Business Organizations
- Computer Basics & Technology
- Domestic Relations
- Forensics: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation
- General Office Accounting
- History of the Court System
- Interviewing Techniques
- Introduction to Office Administration
- Legal Research and Writing
- Litigation & Trial Preparation
- Management Techniques and Analysis for Administrative Assistants
- Managing the Difficult Employee; and Time Management for Administrative Assistants & Managers
- Mock Trial participation as lead attorney for the Defense
- Organizational Skills and Development
- Public Speaking; Public Relations and Creative Writing
- Resume Seminar & Document Production
- Time Management and Administrative Office Techniques
- Writing, Editing, & Proofreading
Timeline
Paralegal
Collins Hinderliter PLLC
02.2025 - 08.2025
Operations Paralegal/Legal Support Staff/Legal Assistant
Morgan & Morgan Law Firm
03.2022 - 01.2024
Legal Assistant/Administrative Assistant
Gillespie & Trefny
06.2018 - 10.2019
Paralegal / Legal Assistant
White & Shaver, PC
05.2013 - 12.2017
Litigation Legal Assistant/Administrative Assistant
The Adams Law Firm
12.2012 - 04.2013
Paralegal / Legal Assistant / Legal Secretary / Administrative Assistant
Law Office of Gregory A. Stewart
03.2003 - 11.2012
High School -
Lake Taylor Senior High School
General Studies - Music, Piano Performance, Music Education, English
Old Dominion University