In May, the Western New York Paralegal Association (‘WNYPA') held its annual Paralegal/Attorney dinner at The Lancaster Country Club. During the course of the evening, the WNYPA Board of Directors presented its ‘WNYPA Paralegal of the Year' award to Ms. Erin Pawlak, a litigation paralegal who has worked in the Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group at Hodgson Russ LLP for the past five years. The ‘WNYPA Paralegal of the Year' award is presented to a voting or associate (paralegal) member who is nominated by a colleague and/or employer based on their outstanding performance, hard work and dedication in the legal field they serve.

Ms. Pawlak was nominated for the award by a few of the attorneys she works with at Hodgson Russ based on her outstanding performance and work product. One Hodgson attorney described Ms. Pawlak as a dedicated paralegal who is "irreplaceable, invaluable and indispensable." Another attorney confirmed, "Erin's presence enables each member of this group to practice at the top of our respective games, because she works at the top of hers. We are lucky to have her and would like everyone to know it."

During the past year, Ms. Pawlak assisted some of her Hodgson attorneys with their work on a multi-million dollar coverage trial located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The trial assignment required her to relocate to New Jersey for six months leaving her husband and two young daughters, ages 3 and 6, back here in Buffalo. Despite being away from her two young children for such a long period of time, her focus was described as ‘unswerving' and her work product as ‘excellent.'

During the course of the seven week trial in New Brunswick, Erin helped with the preparation of numerous motions, coordinated the testimony of fact and expert witnesses, reviewed thousands of pages of documents, and learned the new rules of a ‘foreign' out of state court - all from a hotel makeshift office!

Ms. Pawlak is the only paralegal in her practice group and is currently responsible for assisting attorneys on more than a hundred case files. She maintains the dockets and provides assistance to the partners and associate attorneys in her practice group on matters relating to insurance coverage. When asked what the best part of her job as a paralegal was, Ms. Pawlak responded, "It's challenging and not the same tasks everyday."

What advice would she give to new paralegals and/or students entering the paralegal profession? "Don't be afraid to take chances... you will continually be learning!"

Ms. Pawlak is a voting member of WNYPA and sits on its Programming Committee. For more information about the ‘WNYPA Paralegal of the Year' award or to find out more about the Western New York Paralegal Association and its many committees, please visit the website at www.wnyparalegals.org.

- By Michelle Coxford, PR/Marketing Chair for WNY Paralegal Association, Inc.