Paralegals keep county attorney's office clicking

[NOTE: The paralegals mentioned in this article are members of the Cascade County Deputy County Attorneys Association, another part of our growing, diverse, and robust family of public employees doing Work that Matters for the people of Montana.]

By ZACHARY FRANZ
Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer - March 18, 2008

Movies and television lead viewers to believe that lawyers win cases with a dramatic epiphany and an impassioned closing argument, but the truth is that most courtroom contests are won with diligent preparation.

At the Cascade County Attorney's Office, much of that preparation is done by two paralegals. Sara Hollis, who has worked in the office for 13 years, and Danna Gerhart, who has nearly six years experience in the office, are vital to the successful prosecution of cases, said County Attorney Brant Light. Yet, most people don't realize the important roles they play.

"They're very unappreciated," Light said.

Hollis and Gerhart work on all aspects of cases the office prosecutes, including keeping track of evidence, preparing witnesses for trial, communicating with victims, researching the law, collecting documents from the police and picking jurors.

"We basically assist the attorneys with everything," Hollis said. "We're there from the day the case is filed through sentencing."

Paralegals typically spend more time talking to crime victims than the attorneys do, since the attorneys are often tied up in court.

"We're here all the time, so when people need to call, we're the ones they talk to," Gerhart said.

Sometimes, all that contact leads to a lasting bond between paralegals and crime victims. A woman whose grandson was killed a few years ago often sent e-mails to Hollis throughout the case against the man accused of killing the child. One day after the trial, Hollis received a paper letter from the woman for the first — and last — time. The letter, which the woman wrote on her deathbed, expressed her appreciation for the work Hollis and the other employees at the Attorney's Office did to prosecute the killer.

"I still keep that letter and pull it out every time I get yelled at," Hollis said.

Paralegals are required to have bachelor's degrees and are trained to do legal research and write legal documents. With that education and their years on the job, Hollis and Gerhart are able to do almost everything the attorneys do, Light said. In fact, Hollis was the first paralegal to go to work for a county attorney anywhere in the state, she said.

"There are a lot of attorneys that will go to Sara and ask her questions because she has so much experience," Light said.

He noted another advantage of paralegals is it costs the county significantly less to pay them than it would to hire additional attorneys.

Even though Hollis and Gerhart know that attorneys get more money and glory, both women said they are perfectly happy as paralegals. The many different aspects of the job keep it fresh and interesting, they said.

"Every day is different," Gerhart said. "It's not like you do the same thing each week."

Plus, the paralegals get to enjoy all the intrigue of the criminal justice system without the heavy burden of responsibility shouldered by attorneys, such as deciding whether to dismiss a case in which they believe someone is guilty, but there's not enough evidence to secure a conviction.

"That's the reason I haven't gone to law school," Hollis said. "I don't want to make those big decisions."

Gerhart said she first became interested in being a paralegal in high school, but everyone she talked to threw cold water on the idea. They said she'd get stuck with all the lawyers' grunt work.

As it turns out, "grunt work" is right up her alley.

"I like what I'm doing," she said. "I look back and laugh that I listened to that."