Episode 76: Can You Really Get a Paralegal Job Without a Paralegal Certificate?

In this guest episode of the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show, Ann Pearson talks with Jessie Foss, a board-certified trial paralegal who has worked in the legal industry for over 25 years and started her journey without a paralegal certificate.

In the show, Ann and Jessie discuss how to get your foot in the door and advance your career by being proactive and advancing your knowledge along the way.

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Your Actionable Strategy

  1. In this podcast episode, Jessie shares the importance of hands-on experience and being able to apply it to whatever position you are seeking to fill, whether you have a paralegal certificate or not.

  2. Don’t be afraid to ask for support on advancing your career with certifications that can help you level up your skills. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

 

Jessie Foss' portrait for the podcast episode on if one can really get a paralegal job without a paralegal certificate.

Meet our Podcast Guest

Jessie Foss is a Board Certified Paralegal in Personal Injury Trial Law and received her certification through the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 2019. She is also a member of the Paralegal Division of the State Bar of Texas. Jessie has over 25 years of litigation experience in civil and personal injury trial law. She is the senior litigation paralegal at Heygood, Orr & Pearson in Dallas, Texas and has been there for nearly 18 years. Jessie assists the partners in case investigation and development, discovery, database management, legal research, trial preparation and courtroom attendance. Her experience includes litigation and pre-litigation in complex multiparty cases involving personal injury and wrongful death, product liability, professional liability, mass tort, construction defect cases, bad faith insurance, business litigation, and breach of contract.

She has been married for 26 years, spends most of her time exploring the outdoors such as hiking, biking and kayaking with her husband, and enjoys doing art projects.

Want to be the first to know when the next podcast episode is released?

Get added to our podcast mailing list here.

Support the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show

Did you get a tip from today’s episode to help you fast-track your paralegal career?

Click here to Give the show a review, and let me know what you enjoy most about the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show. I’ll be reading every one of them! –Ann Pearson

 

A Paralegal Resource For You

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A Spotify logo and name in PNG format

Your Actionable Strategy

  1. In this podcast episode, Jessie shares the importance of hands-on experience and being able to apply it to whatever position you are seeking to fill, whether you have a paralegal certificate or not.

  2. Don’t be afraid to ask for support on advancing your career with certifications that can help you level up your skills. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

 

Jessie Foss' portrait for the podcast episode on if one can really get a paralegal job without a paralegal certificate.

Meet our Podcast Guest

Jessie Foss is a Board Certified Paralegal in Personal Injury Trial Law and received her certification through the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 2019. She is also a member of the Paralegal Division of the State Bar of Texas. Jessie has over 25 years of litigation experience in civil and personal injury trial law. She is the senior litigation paralegal at Heygood, Orr & Pearson in Dallas, Texas and has been there for nearly 18 years. Jessie assists the partners in case investigation and development, discovery, database management, legal research, trial preparation and courtroom attendance. Her experience includes litigation and pre-litigation in complex multiparty cases involving personal injury and wrongful death, product liability, professional liability, mass tort, construction defect cases, bad faith insurance, business litigation, and breach of contract.

She has been married for 26 years, spends most of her time exploring the outdoors such as hiking, biking and kayaking with her husband, and enjoys doing art projects.

Want to be the first to know when the next podcast episode is released?

Get added to our podcast mailing list here.

Support the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show

Did you get a tip from today’s episode to help you fast-track your paralegal career?

Click here to Give the show a review, and let me know what you enjoy most about the Paralegals on Fire! Podcast Show. I’ll be reading every one of them! –Ann Pearson

 

A Paralegal Resource For You

What others are saying about our training programs

Definitely a "Must" Course!
By Angela Grindle
I was amazed at how many of these lessons hit home as a working paralegal. I absolutely love this course.
Excellent Actionable Resources!
By Claire McGehee
This course makes an overwhelming topic clear and actionable. The templates and resources are a huge value.
1000% Recommended!
By Darcy Boehme
Everything about this course was informative and relevant to my position as a paralegal. I would absolutely 1000% recommend to anyone who is starting a position in litigation. Ann is a phenomenal instructor! Thank you so much.
I absolutely love this course!
By Rojonah Harris
Self-explanatory and easy to follow. I love all of the forms and checklists.
This course was great!
By Santa Zepeda
My only regret is that I didn't take it sooner!! The lessons are practical and can be implemented right away! Definitely recommend to anyone trying to juggle the crazy life of a paralegal.
Informative and helpful!
By Heather Williams
These tips and lessons are very straightforward and make trial prep seem almost easy.
Best and most comprehensive course ever!
By Shadrene Howard
Invaluable, practical advice that gave me practical skills to succeed in this field and provided a totally different perspective on how I can be intentional and succeed as a paralegal rather than leaving things to chance.
Lots of amazing information!
By Debbi Harris
Ann Pearson is so full of information! I got so much out of this course. Highly recommend!
Great information
By Joscelyn Johnson
These are the things that need to be taught in paralegal studies! These are SO important and I love that I was able to save templates to use at my own office!
Amazing course!
By Darlene Rodriguez
This course was very thorough and easy to understand. The content it teaches really helps understand what is required to ensure a case progresses properly and every element is covered. I enjoyed this course.
Excellent course!
By Cathy Iverson
I thought it was very informative and gave a ton of valuable resources.
Very informative and hands-on
By Norris Kimble
This course is everything it says it is! I would recommend this course not only to Paralegals, but attorneys as well.
Very helpful!
By Antonina Carollo
Ann has done a great job providing in-depth information on how to successfully utilize AI in the legal field. The personal robot she built for us was a bonus!