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ParalegalGateway Announces 2010 Paralegal Superstars

ParalegalGateway is proud to announce the selection of our 2010 Paralegal Superstars.  After receiving well over one-hundred nominations these final twelve individuals were chosen for their outstanding commitment to the Paralegal profession and/or their communities. 

This year was by far the most competitive year ever with regard to coming up with a top twelve and we sincerely thank everyone who submitted a nomination - all are very worthy of being a Superstar - however we could only pick 12. 

Amy Shillingburg - San Diego, CA
Jeannie Cartabiano - Redlands, CA
Catherine McKenzie - Vero Beach, FL
Viola Ange - Cedar Hill, TX
Laura Ahtes - Wilmington, DE
Patty Dietz-Selke - Atlanta, GA
Madelaine Vines - Colorado Springs, CO
Kathleen Miller - Irvine, CA
Ruth Conley - Houston, TX
Brian Haberly - Seattle, WA
De Dishman - Portland, OR
Carolyn Yellis - Orange County, CA

In addition to being featured on ParalegalGateway.com, the 2010 Paralegal Superstars will also appear in the annual Superstar calendar.  Please join us in congratulating these outstanding individuals who are true Superstars of our profession.

ParalegalGateway's Paralegal Superstar November 2009: Debra Hindin-King

Debra “Debbie” Hindin-King is a graduate of Colorado Women’s College with a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1974.  She obtained her paralegal certificate from the University of Colorado of Denver in 1988.  She has been a paralegal for the past 20 years and currently is employed as a litigation paralegal at the law firm of Holland & Hart LLP in Denver.  Her areas of specialty include oil and gas royalty litigation, natural resources, general complex litigation and securities law.  Prior to earning her paralegal certificate she was employed as a courtroom deputy for the U.S. Bankruptcy for the District of Colorado.

Debbie is a member of the Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association and National Federation of Paralegal Associations. She has served as RMPA’s president in 1999 and primary representative to the NFPA during 1999 – 2003.  She served as the NFPA Technology Coordinator from 1999 – 2001 and as Region II Director and member of the NFPA Board from 2004 – 2007.  She has been an associate member of the Colorado Bar Association including serving on the Paralegal Committee since 2002.  She has participated for the past 3 years in planning of the CBA’s Paralegal Day, Pro Bono Paralegal of the Year Award and Student Reception.  She currently is a member of the Colorado Association of Legal Support Managers. 

Debbie is also a frequent speaker at national seminars and events.  She has submitted numerous articles related to technology and the law to national legal trade magazines for publication. 

Debbie is also involved in her community with several non-profit organizations.  She has served in various leadership roles on the Board and as a volunteer supervisor for the Central Visitation Program 1987 - 2008.  She also has served on the fundraising committee for SafeHouse Denver for 1996-2000 and received the Volunteer of the Year award. 

She received the Rocky Mountain Paralegal of the Year Pro Bono Award in 2004 for her volunteer service with CVP and she received from the City and County of Denver’s Minoru Yausi Award for community service in 2006.  She currently volunteers weekly for the Broadway Assistance Center and serves on the fundraising committee for Warren Village.

Besides her career as a paralegal and volunteer service, she enjoys spending time with her husband Raymond and their Australian cattle dog, Hannah.  She enjoys traveling the world, photography, gardening and her membership in the Butterfly Pavilion and Denver Botanic Gardens in Denver.

2010 Paralegal Superstar Nominations Now Being Accepted!!

It's that time of year again!  ParalegalGateway is now accepting nominations for Paralegal Superstars for 2010!!!  If you know a Paralegal who has made a significant contribution to the Profession, their community or both, please complete our online nomination form.  Feel free to nominate yourself as well.  We will evaluate all applications and elect the top 12.  These individuals will be featured on ParalegalGateway and on our annual calendar.  We look forward to the submissions and will announce the winners in November.

The nomination form may be found here: http://www.paralegalgateway.com/submitastar.html

ParalegalGateway's Paralegal Superstar August 2009: Chiquetta E. Simmons

Chiquetta E. Simmons received her Paralegal Certificate from Watterson Business College (Deans List) in Charleston, SC in 1992.  After graduation Chiquetta worked for two months as an intern for Judge William L. Howard, 9th Judicial Circuit Court and part-time for retired Judge Richard E. Fields.  Post internship, Chiquetta began working for the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office where she worked for three years.  She subsequently moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she continued to work for eight years

in various practice areas including Family Law, Torts - Personal Injury, Entertainment Law, Real Estate Law, Bankruptcy Law, Criminal Law, Juvenile Law, Probate Law, Corporate Law and Civil Litigation.   In 2005, Chiquetta moved back home to Charleston, South Carolina and began working for Motley Rice LLC,  in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, one of the nations largest Plaintiff’s Litigation Firm where she currently works on the Medical Team specializing in Pharmaceutical Litigation – Product Liability (State and Federal Court).  Chiquetta is an instructor in the School of Law (Motley Rice established in-house training program also known as Motley Rice University or “MRU”, an in-house training for its employees) where she leads a class entitled “What is Litigation?” for entry-level paralegals and/or legal secretaries.  Additionally, she also joined CALA, Charleston Association of Legal Assistants in 2006 as a corresponding secretary.  In 2007 Chiquetta was elected Vice-President of CALA and in 2008, she was elected President. 

Chiquetta was interviewed by Carolina Paralegal News (NC/SC Lawyers Weekly Publication) for their March/April 2008 issue regarding her position as President of CALA, her plans for the 2008 year and her thoughts on the paralegal profession.  During her first year as President, she has established a scholarship fund for paralegal students attending Trident Technical College and Miller-Motte Technical College.  She also established CALA Day, which was held on May 31st.  This is a tradition that will continue every year on the last Saturday in May is a day where the members and their families come together ato socialize and network in a fun-filled environment.  Chiquetta and her Board Members recently hosted an all day Seminar on that included speakers and featured such topics as Immigration Law, Collaborative Law, Employment Law, Criminal Law and an Ethics Review Session.  The seminar also allowed 6 CLE credit hours for the certified paralegals that attended.   CALA was established in 1982 and has 112 members. 

Chiquetta has been invited this to speak in 2009 at local paralegal colleges regarding the paralegal profession.  She is a single parent of 2 children, (son Timothy, 14 (all honors/president of student council for the 8th grade/athlete), daughter Sade, 8 years old (A+ student and dancer)) and Ko-Ko our Yorkie-Poo.  Additionally, she is also a full-time student at Southern Wesleyan University where she is studying to obtain her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management and Chiquetta plans on taking the CLA exam with (NALA) National Association of Legal Assistants.  One of her goals for CALA in 2009 is to establish a Paralegal mentoring program to assist the paralegals who are just entering the field.  Her outside interests include relaxing whenever she can which entails a good book and kicking her feet up.

Source: ParalegalGateway.com