Melissa Guido
Summary
Dynamic and highly skilled paralegal with a strong track record of driving success for law firms and attorneys through exceptional paralegal support. I excel in creating and delivering top-notch paralegal training and professional development while implementing effective enhancements to policies and compliance initiatives.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Subject Matter Expert, Paralegal (Remote)
MyAdvisor/Three Wire Systems
12.2022 - Current
- Conduct in-depth research to stay current with updated laws and regulations
- Implement effective quality control and audit procedures to identify trends and knowledge gaps, and highlight areas that require targeted training.
- Develop and deliver impactful training presentations, robust L&D modules, and thorough new hire onboarding process for paralegal roles.
- Deliver comprehensive guidance, education, and ad hoc instruction to internal departments and supervisors/managers
- Host weekly legal meetings to roll out policy updates, foster collaborative knowledge-sharing, and collectively strategize on current caseloads.
- Collaborate closely with human resources to drive effective employee management and strategic organizational planning.
Paralegal
Barlow & Thomas, P.C.
Fredericksburg
10.2019 - 12.2022
- Effectively provided paralegal support in family law, civil litigation, criminal defense, and numerous general practice areas
- Efficiently drafted pleadings, orders, petitions, discovery requests/answers, subpoenas, attorney correspondence, briefs, court forms, etc.
- Prepared trial notebooks, exhibits and exhibit binders, and various pretrial documents
- Maintained master templates for attorney and paralegal use
- Proficiently billed accurate hours reflective of my daily case work, and consistently exceeded billable targets
- Delegated workflow to junior paralegals and legal assistants
- Developed efficient and modern intake process to improve client experience and maximum firm retainment
- Spearheaded recruitment efforts for open roles to attract talent; coordinated initial interviews for associate attorney, paralegal, and administrative roles.
Paralegal
Le'Fant, LLC
Dumfries/Quantico
02.2018 - 01.2019
- Effectively managed a robust caseload of appeal files to be presented and argued in front of the Board of Veterans Appeals, Department of Veterans Affairs.
Paralegal
Ventura Law Associates, P.C.
Fredericksburg
12.2016 - 09.2018
- Managed and executed administrative and paralegal duties in support of general practice, family law, business law, and civil litigation attorneys
- Administrative and judicial assistant to part-time juvenile & domestic, general district, and civil circuit court judge
Paralegal
Robin L. Tolerton, P.C
02.2015 - 01.2017
- Paralegal to owning attorney of a bankruptcy, family law, civil litigation, and employment law firm.
Banking Center Manager
Bank of America, N.A.
Fredericksburg
01.2011 - 02.2014
- Oversaw banking center operations, driving team performance, maintaining regulatory compliance industry standards
- Applied years of practical knowledge acquired through the succession of teller, teller supervisor, personal banking, and lending within consumer and retail banking
Education
Associate of Arts - Paralegal Studies
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VAParalegal Certificate -
George Mason University Center For Legal Studues
Manassas, VASkills
- Legal Research and Compliance
- Training and L&D
- Comprehensive Paralegal Support & Knowledge
- Practical Experience in numerous practice areas
Certification
- Certificate in Strategic Human Resource Management, Rasmussen University
- Six Sigma White Belt Certification, Aveta Business Institute
- Certified Leave Management Specialist
Timeline
Subject Matter Expert, Paralegal (Remote)
MyAdvisor/Three Wire Systems
12.2022 - Current
Paralegal
Barlow & Thomas, P.C.
10.2019 - 12.2022
Paralegal
Le'Fant, LLC
02.2018 - 01.2019
Paralegal
Ventura Law Associates, P.C.
12.2016 - 09.2018
Paralegal
Robin L. Tolerton, P.C
02.2015 - 01.2017
Banking Center Manager
Bank of America, N.A.
01.2011 - 02.2014
Associate of Arts - Paralegal Studies
Liberty University
Paralegal Certificate -
George Mason University Center For Legal Studues