Paralegal Blog

If you dread the mere thought of “public speaking,” you are among millions of individuals who feel the same way. Giving a speech ranks above snakes, death and financial ruin in the hierarchy of human fears. Furthermore, it doesn’t take a large audience to trigger panic. Just presenting material out loud to one person can set your heart pounding and your mouth feeling as dry as the Gobi Desert.

You may think that, as a paralegal, you will never have to give a speech. But if you define a speech as any information you prepare and deliver verbally to another person, or a group, then you could find yourself becoming a “speaker” fairly often.

Thomas B. Swanson, J.D.
Academic Dean and Faculty

"Students realize that I'm committed to them entering the field and doing well..."

An Original Paralegal Instructor

Thomas Swanson is an original. He was the first teacher that the Center for Advanced Legal Studies hired 27 years ago and his crusty charm, self-effacing humor, and extensive knowledge of the law make him someone to impress and emulate for students and faculty alike.

An Original Paralegal

Born in Washington, D.C., Swanson served in the United States Air Force from 1971 to 1976 where he worked primarily as a paralegal. He received a Commendation Medal for his outstanding service as an investigator in the USAF Foreign Claims Commission in Taipei, Taiwan. After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida,  he came to Houston, where he entered  the South Texas College of Law, graduating with a Doctorate of Jurisprudence. He was licensed as Texas attorney by the Supreme Court of Texas in May of 1981. After having worked for a number of years at an established Houston law firm, Swanson started his own firm in 1986.

Michelle Baker – Tenacious Professional

It was the strict admonition of a caring parent that triggered Michelle’s interest in the law. When the movie Helter Skelter came out, her father felt his 18-year-old daughter was too young for its graphic content. She did not watch the movie, but she did become curious.  So when she came across the book several years later, she bought it and read it. But it was not the gruesome details of Charles Manson’s murderous rampage that captured Michelle’s imagination, it was the law and its machinations that the prosecutor employed to try to bring the famed killer to trial. She was amazed at the detail, complexity and depth in the law and she was hooked.