Dean McAdams Los Angeles Paralegal Services

322 Culver Blvd. #144

Playa del Rey, CA 90293

LDA License No. 401 - Bonded

Cell: (310) 944-2055

Fax: (310) 760-4181

Dean@LegalNoodle.com

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| DEAN McADAMS' RESUME |

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION:

•  Civil Litigation Procedure  •  Legal Technology 

•  Criminal Law and Procedure •  Mediation 

•  Critical Thinking and Analysis  •  Research & Writing

•  Paralegal Teaching and Training

•  Divorce • Probate •  Conservatorship •  Trusts

•  Estate Planning •  Wills •  Contracts

FORMAL EDUCATION:

California State University Northridge  

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies Program - General Option: Social Sciences                1981

University of California at Los Angeles Extension

Paralegal Training Program - ABA Paralegal Certificate in Litigation                                             1989 

Glendale University College of Law             

First Year Torts Program                                                                                                                 1991

                                                                                         

Mediation Certificates:

   1.  Centinela Youth Services - Hawthorne, CA                                                                           2007

   2.  Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution - Los Angeles, CA                                               2007 

Coaching Certificates:

   1.  The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara, CA - Individual and Organizational Coaching         2008

   2.  Crossroads Recovery Coach Training -  Port Angeles, WA     2009 

Member:

International Coaching Federation  2008

Recovery Coaches International2009

                                                                                                                

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

INDEPENDENT CONTRACT PARALEGAL - LegalNoodle.com  -                                       2007 to Present

Complete paralegal service doing everything an attorney does except give legal advice, appear in court and set fees for legal services.  Please see this website for details.   

Fremont College, Paralegal Studies Program - Cerritos, CA

Part Time Classroom Instructor                                                                                            2007 - 2008

Research, organize, prepare and present legal teaching materials to students and faculty in accordance with ABA guidelines.  Give tests and grade students.  Master the art of classroom and administration politics.  Teaching college is great for sharpening your mind in your field, and the pay breaks out to around $10.00/per hour.

SAFECO INSURANCE COMPANY - House Counsel - Glendale, CA          1996 - 2007

House Counsel Paralegal Manager    2003-2007

Worked with managing attorney and office manager to supervise and manage four paralegals

and support staff.  Went to trial with attorneys and performed voir dire profiling.

House Counsel Senior Law & Motion Insurance Defense Litigation Paralegal                      2000 - 2003

Worked a total of eleven years at Safeco and acquired an invaluable education in the day to day practice of law and how insurance companies really work. Areas of Practice: Construction defect, dental malpractice, product & premises liability, slip and fall, auto, homeowner’s and select markets (commercial towing, heavy machinery, factory and manufacturing equipment).  Researched and drafted MSJ’s, discovery motions, briefs, legal memos, special interrogatories, letters, subpoenas.  Conducted discovery, summarized medical records and discovery responses, organized and indexed files, filed and served pleadings and handled expert witnesses.  HEAVY TRIAL EXPERIENCE.  Interacted with claims, opposing counsel, courts, vendors and document depositories.  Monitored discovery and motion cut-off dates.

House Counsel Paralegal at Safeco   1996-2000 

Started as temporary legal secretary for three months, then temporary paralegal through L.A. Business Personnel, went permanent paralegal after eight months and stayed for 11 years, see above.

Law Offices of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. - Los Angeles, CA

Criminal Law Paralegal                                                                                                          1995 - 1996

Heavy client contact to facilitate drafting of motions for early termination of probation and expungement of misdemeanor and felony criminal convictions.   Drafted effective pre-sentencing reports and alternative sentencing proposals. Monitored and reported clients progress in various rehabilitation programs.

Mercury Insurance Company- Los Angeles, CA

House Counsel Insurance Defense Litigation Secretary/Paralegal                                       1985 - 1995

Drafted motions, meet & confer letters. Heavy discovery working for three attorneys. Reviewed

medical records and discovery.  Conducted legal research and briefed cases.

MEDIATION EXPERIENCE:

The Settlement Works - Marina del Rey, CA

Part Time Mediator and Business Development                                                                              2007

Assist two attorneys in empowering individuals and families by using transformational mediation to settle both informal conflicts and cases already in litigation.  Develop new markets for mediation in spiritual communities.

Centinela Youth Services - Hawthorne, CA

Part Time Mediator                                                                                                                         2007

Mediate real conflict involving sexual battery, shoplifting, vandalism, family matters, school problems and peer pressure in two juvenile offender diversion programs: VORS (Victim Offender Restitution Services) FARS (Families Able to Resolve Situations)  

Subrogation Division, Inc. - Atlanta, GA

Local Contract Mediation Representative                                                                                      2008

Attend local mediations with settlement authority on behalf of out-of-state insurance carriers and facilitate settlement when possible. Write effective mediation reports with new information gathered. 

TECHNICAL TRAINING:

In-house Microsoft and other software classes at Safeco & other companies -                   1984 - 2006

Faculty Teacher Training - Fremont College          2008

       

Possess Stellar Computer Hardware, Software and Internet Skills through classes and self-taught training.

MANDATORY CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (Required by State Bar of California for all Paralegals):

1.  Criminal Law for Civil Lawyers. 

2.  How to Develop and Manage Your Own Law Firm.  

3.  Substance Abuse – Essential Information for Lawyers.  

4. The Patriot Act – Two Different Views. 

5.  Ethical Issues in Entertainment Law Practice. 

6.  Ethical Issues in the Practice of Securities Laws. 

7.  Ethics – Really Interesting Lawyer Stuff: All Ethics All the Time. 

8.  Breakfast at the State Bar:  "Winning by Default - How to Get a Judgment the Easy Way"

   presented  by Hon. Judge Lee S. Edmon of the Los Angeles Superior Court

   and Liz Turner, Research Attorney in Charge of the Limited Jurisdiction Legal Processing Dept.

   of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Downtown LA Stanley Mosk Courthouse                                      November 2008

9.  Breakfast at the State Bar -"The Last 100 Days Before Trial - How to Win Cases"                                April 2009

10. Los Angeles Paralegal Association - Probate Estate Planning Section Seminar:

      "New Guidelines for Litigators and Planners in Dealing with No Contest Clauses"         June 2009