Paralegal Profile: Jeffrey L. Smith, Corporate Paralegal and Community Organizer

Job Title: Litigation Paralegal

Employer: Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. (an agrichemical business) Greensboro, North Carolina

Years of Paralegal Experience: 22 years



Specialty Areas: Litigation, Electronic Discovery and Electronic Records Management

Career Highlight: Making the move from working in private practice to a corporate environment in 1996. The work day may be shorter. But the pace of the day is still the same. One huge benefit is establishing a great day to day working relationship with your “clients” who are also your colleagues in the company. It helps out tremendously when you are in a crunch on a discovery request. Yet, you know when their schedules are overloaded and try to be considerate when working with outside counsel.

Paralegal Practice Tip: Sign up and read the free e-newsletters provided by law firms, vendors and professional organizations. Trends in litigation and technology move quickly. Use them as professional intelligence resource and share with the attorneys you report to and other paralegals.

Favorite Internet Resource: Kroll Ontrack’s Case Law Update and E-Discovery News e-newsletter. It comes out monthly on the latest case law and news in electronic discovery. It’s free. Sign up at http://www.krollontrack.com under “Resources”.

Fun Fact: In 1997 I started a twice monthly e-newsletter and web site called Smitty’s Notes serving the Winston-Salem community. With over 10,000 subscribers, it covers non-profit, arts and entertainment, downtown developments and other community news. It is also posted on our local newspaper Winston-Salem Journal web site – Journalnow.com. I also tape a video segment called “Weekend Spotlight” on NBC affiliate WXII12.com web site. Let’s say all makes for a busy week. Plus, I’m huge proponent of the current social media and social networking trend. It helps prove the theory of the "Six Degrees of Separation" and makes your personal and professional network a whole lot wider and rich.

Professional Bio Link: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreylamarsmith