The current economic climate makes it difficult to think about broadening the horizons of your career. While you may feel that you are stagnant in your job, believe you've reached your potential or wish you could explore other opportunities, the truth is that the control of your fate lies within you.

The power to be at the top of your game is all about positive attitude and the desire to keep moving forward. You can still learn - and there is always room for improvement, no matter how good you are. Whether you take a class, take an online Webinar or research a different area of law, there are many things you can do to stay sharp in your skill set, up to date on current trends and be the "go-to" paralegal in your firm. A small investment in yourself now may pay big dividends for your career.

A recent article by Mary Creekmore posted on Law.com titled "Top Essential Skills and Assets for Paralegals" outlined skills and assets "that enhance your potential marketability and strengthen your retention." Among the traits Creekmore highlighted are the ability to prioritize and multitask; the ability to think ahead and anticipate what your supervising attorneys and clients may need; common sense and intuition; communication skills, both oral and written; the ability to stay organized; flexibility; resourcefulness; the ability to research effectively and efficiently; computer proficiency; positive attitude; and the ability to be self-motivated and work with minimal supervision. These will point you in the right direction, whether your goal is being the best at your current firm to help keep your job or landing your dream job.

My best mentor taught me to be resourceful. I learned to anticipate what was expected of me on each project. Before finishing any project, I asked myself if all of my responsibilities were met in my work product. I learned to anticipate potential questions to avoid unnecessary follow up - fill in all the blanks so he didn't have to, so to speak.

Over the years, I have applied this skill to any attorney for whom I am working. I know how each attorney works and how they may expect their projects to be handled. Think of how much easier their lives are by just passing it off to their "go-to" person? That is my job - to make their jobs easier. So I like to do that to the best of my ability. By always meeting expectations or exceeding them, you make yourself an integral part of the legal team. In other words, by adding value to each project, your reputation will quickly grow.

Many think that trying to find an answer when you don't even know where to look is frustrating. And in many cases, it can be. You develop a knack for it. If you haven't already read "A Message to Garcia" by Elbert Hubbard, I highly recommend it. No, you may not always know what direction to go, but you can take a project as far as you can before passing it back to your attorney.

Here are just a few tips you can try to be at the top of your game:

• Don't be the at-your-desk, nonsocial paralegal. Be proactive at work, and let the powers that be get to know you and your capabilities.

• Be hands-on in the management of your assigned cases. Follow up with projects and do what needs to be done without being told.

• Proactively monitor team calendars and remind team members verbally or with a friendly reminder e-mail that deadlines are approaching.

• Keep lists. Use a binder or e-mail tools to create and maintain up-to-date checklists for common tasks or new tasks that you learn - so you can recall the necessary steps when called on to perform the task again.

• Go beyond your abilities. Want to learn a different area of law? Find another paralegal in that area and network or find an attorney in your firm who practices in that area and let him or her know of your interest. Want to know about e-discovery? Conduct online research. Want to be more computer-literate? Search out classes in your area. Never stop learning.

• Avoid complacency. Aspire to be better and complete projects more efficiently. There is always room for improvement or refining your skills and work procedures.

• Treat everyone around you the way you want to be treated. As they say, it is easier to attract bees with honey. Working in the legal field can be stressful at times. Do your best to avoid adding to your own stress and to the stress of those around you.

• Keep up to date on what is happening in your profession and your law community. Join a paralegal association, find paralegal blogs, read periodicals and visit bar association Web sites.

• Let your colleagues know what you can and can't do. The key is making sure that whatever you can't do you can definitely get done, and get it done to the best of your ability by being at the top of your game.

- By Denise Sabuda Murphy, paralegal at Goldberg Segalla LLP