Chelsea Speer.
The Ziff Law Firm is excited to welcome Chelsea Speer, a terrific experienced injury paralegal who has succeeded in taking a nontraditional path to her career. The former Coast Guard member joined Ziff Law in late summer as Ziff Law Partner Adam Gee’s paralegal.
“We were so lucky to find Chelsea,” Adam said. “Her experience working for two top-notch injury firms in Louisiana has allowed her to step in and immediately contribute to our success.”
With a son in his third year at the Coast Guard Academy, Adam is no stranger to the tenacity and work ethic of Coast Guard members.
“By hiring a veteran like Chelsea, I knew we were getting someone who gets the job done regardless of obstacles in her path – the tenacity that allowed her to succeed in the Coast Guard is also what makes her an outstanding paralegal.”
When we were interviewing paralegals, all of the interviews except Chelsea’s were in person; Chelsea’s was to be conducted on Zoom. I worried that she was at a distinct disadvantage by not being in person, but she completely wowed us despite a lousy video connection.
She handled the frustration of the lousy connection with calmness and humor and exuded a strong, friendly personality that I knew would fit perfectly with our team.
Chelsea was a Marine Science Technician with the Coast Guard for seven years before starting her paralegal career. Remarkably, Chelsea said her Coast Guard work inspired and prepared her for a seamless move to becoming a paralegal.
“While I was on active duty, my job was to manage oil spill responses and part of my role was to memorize Codes of Federal Regulations (CFRs) as they pertained to navigable waterways in Louisiana. This became one of my favorite parts of my work, learning the laws and finding obscure rules and passages for unique situations.
“I decided that becoming a paralegal might translate well to my experience with CFRs and actively pursued it, and I am incredibly grateful that I did,” she said. “I knew I wanted to find a position where I could make a positive impact on our clients and in our community. Personal injury was a natural fit for these goals.”
The Ziff Law Firm has been a natural fit for Chelsea, too.
“I knew from my video interviews with Jim and Adam that this would be the right law firm for me and it was an opportunity I could not walk away from,’’ she said. “Bottom line, I think the work that we do at Ziff Law matters and it has a significant impact on our clients’ lives.”
Chelsea said she was impressed by her Ziff Law research. “The client reviews on the Ziff Law website speak volumes and showed me that the staff really cares about their clients and they handle their cases with diligence, care and compassion, which is so important to me,” she said.
Chelsea said her military training was important to her as well and gives her years in the Coast Guard a great deal of credit for her success.
“I believe that a person’s work ethic speaks volumes about who they are as a person, and I truly feel I have a duty to try as hard as I can to do the best job possible,” she said “Putting maximum effort into my work gives me a sense of pride and a feeling that I am positively contributing to my community. Having a passion for the work that we do also helps me commit myself to higher standards.”
Chelsea had connections to the Twin Tiers before joining Ziff Law. While she was raised in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, her husband’s hometown is Spencer, NY. She loves her new hometown and has less than an eight-hour drive to see her family in Portsmouth.
“I have been impressed by the professionalism and kindness of the Ziff Law team,” she said. “I have felt so supported and welcomed since my first day.”
Thank you for reading,
Jim
Jim Reed
Managing Partner
Best Lawyers’ “2015 & 2017 & 2019 Lawyer of the Year”
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