Paralegal Blog

On Saturday, February 18, 2023, at 10:00 AM Central, Center for Advanced Legal Studies (CALS) will hold its 71st Commencement Ceremony for graduates of its paralegal programs. Due to the large number of graduates who reside outside of the Houston area, this event will return to a virtual live stream to better acknowledge the accomplishments of all graduates. As always, CALS is committed to making this a special event for graduates and their friends and families.

A total of 80 paralegal credentials will be conferred. Paralegal Certificates will be awarded to 64 graduates, and Associate of Applied Science Degrees will be awarded to 16 graduates. Congratulations graduates on your hard work, dedication, and accomplishments.

The commencement address will be presented by Sherri Schulze Fossati, CEO, PHR. Ms. Fossati holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) credential and is founder and CEO of We're Boss, a company providing consulting and administrative services for law firms. We are delighted Ms. Fossati has agreed to provide the commencement address to our most recent graduating class.

The event will be moderated by CALS' Director of Outreach and Career Services, Tami Riggs, with contributions from members of CALS faculty and staff.

On August 20, 2022, at 10:00 AM Central in the Joe M. Green Auditorium at South Texas College of Law, Center for Advanced Legal Studies will hold its 70th Commencement Ceremony for graduates of its paralegal programs. This will be the first commencement ceremony held in person since the global COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. CALS is committed to making it a special event for graduates and their friends and families.

6 months ago graduation was held virtually and 121 paralegal credentials were conferred. For the 70th Commencement Ceremony, attendees will finally be able to attend in person with their friends and families and have their accomplishments acknowledged as they walk to receive their paralegal certificates and degrees. 

A total of 96 paralegal credentials will be conferred. Paralegal Certificates will be awarded to 72 graduates, and Associate of Applied Science Degrees will be awarded to 24 graduates. Congratulations graduates on your hard work, dedication, and accomplishment. Your perseverance under the added difficulties imposed by a global pandemic has earned you the everlasting respect and admiration of us all.

In addition, Center for Advanced Legal Studies is proud to welcome AAS Degree graduates from the previous four virtual graduation ceremonies who were unable to walk cap-and-gown in acknowledgment of their accomplishments due to COVID restrictions. Congratulations once again on earning your paralegal degrees.

The commencement address will be presented by Nickolas A. Spencer, J.D., M.A. We are delighted Mr. Spencer has agreed to provide the commencement address to our most recent graduating class alongside our Legacy AAS graduates from March 2020 to January 2022.

The event will be moderated by CALS' Director of Outreach and Career Services, Tami Riggs, with contributions from members of CALS faculty and staff.

FAB is an acronym for Features, Advantages, and Benefits. FAB is a common 3-Step strategy employed in sales and marketing to generate interest in products. However, the technique can also be utilized during an interview to SELL yourself and fit any expertise acquired through experience, education, and training to specific job requirements. Consider the following when organizing your FAB responses:

Feature – What key factors, attributes, and skills do you have as required by the position?
Advantage – What strengths do your accomplishments, abilities, or past performance indicate relative to the competition?
Benefit – What is the result or value an employer can anticipate from hiring you?

A paralegal job description will typically require the ability to prepare legal documents and correspondence as well as the ability to organize and maintain files. The examples below illustrate how you can use the FAB method to focus your responses, so they are more impactful.

Example 1
Feature: You earned a Paralegal Credential
Advantage: You understand the legal process and terminology better than someone without a credential
Benefit: You are qualified through education and training to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts, and as a result, can complete the work more quickly and effectively.

Do you want greater visibility as a job candidate? Then take full advantage of the range of resources being offered by your college career center. Doing so can extend your learning experience well beyond the classroom. A one-time interaction to spruce up a resume or prepare a cover letter will not give most students everything they need. Many can benefit from additional preparation in navigating from campus to career, whether they are seeking their first professional position or rejoining the workforce after earning a degree.

Conducting a job search without professional guidance can be both intimidating and stressful. Students and graduates who establish a relationship with career service offices have deeper and more meaningful conversations about their professional goals and how to achieve them. These conversations are core to the full student experience and equally important to graduate success and career readiness as the curriculum. Comprehensive services offered by these offices can enable students to plan and navigate their career path, make self-assessments, identify sought-after attributes, and take inventory of their relevant skillset and background experience.

On February 26, 2022, at 10:00 AM Central, Center for Advanced Legal Studies will hold its 69th Commencement Ceremony for graduates of its paralegal programs. This will be the fourth commencement ceremony held virtually due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, and CALS is dedicated to making it a special event for graduates and their friends and families.

6 months ago graduation was held virtually as well and 126 paralegal credentials were conferred. For the 69th Commencement Ceremony, attendees will once again be at home watching with their family and friends on the live stream, and presenters will have submitted contributions to the event several days previously.

A total of 121 paralegal credentials will be conferred. Paralegal Certificates will be awarded to 102 graduates, and Associate of Applied Science Degrees will be awarded to 19 graduates. Congratulations graduates on your hard work, dedication, and accomplishment. Your perseverance under the added difficulties imposed by a global pandemic has earned you the everlasting respect and admiration of us all.

The commencement address will be presented by Sepi Khan, Paralegal at Kherkher Garcia. Sepi has over 20 years of legal and administrative experience with a current focus primarily on personal injury law and related torts. Sepi is involved in all phases of a case. She meets directly with clients, participates in client conferences, schedules appointments and court appearances, confers with court personnel and experts, drafts various legal documents, and obtains, reviews, and compiles discovery documentation and information. Sepi is also responsible for business development efforts of the firm, managing and overseeing sponsorships, events, and charitable contributions.

Prior to joining Kherkher Garcia, Sepi was a paralegal and executive assistant to Steve Kherkher at Williams Kherkher Law Firm. She was responsible for day-to-day paralegal duties in various dockets. Sepi quickly found she had a passion for the field of law and was immediately drawn to helping personal injury clients, as they are often faced with a variety of emotional and physical needs. Sepi also gained extensive administrative and accounting duties while at Williams Kherkher. Clients are drawn to Sepi’s calm, helpful, and supportive demeanor. She strives to provide great client care.

The event will be moderated by CALS' Director of Outreach and Career Services, Tami Riggs, with contributions from members of CALS faculty and staff.