Four of Lake County’s newest lawyers got their start at Lakeland Community College, earning transfer credits that slashed time and costs at 4-year universities. Nancy Lynn Bidell of Concord, Jess Everett Gamiere
of Mentor, John Michael Rogers of Mentor on the Lake, and Lori Renee Leskovec of Willoughby all recently passed the Ohio State Bar Exam.
Nancy Bidell began her paralegal studies at Lakeland Community College 20 years after her high school graduation. She earned an associate degree in applied business with a major in paralegal studies before transferring to Cleveland State University where her Lakeland credits allowed her to graduate in two years.
“Some of the things I learned at Lakeland took me through the first six weeks of law school at Cleveland Marshall,” says Ms. Bidell. “I had already studied contracts, tortes, civil procedure and criminal law in Lakeland’s paralegal program. So I was not afraid or intimidated by the professors at all. I was well prepared by Lakeland to sit in those classes. It was a great, great springboard. When I started at Lakeland I thought I’d love to be a lawyer, but I never thought it was in my reach. But here I am, a lawyer!”
Ms. Bidell is starting a private practice of law in Lake County. She can be reached at 440.357.2889.
Lakeland’s Paralegal Program is designed to help students learn the practical skills needed to enter the legal profession as a paralegal. The Paralegal Studies program provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to assist lawyers in the practice of law. The curriculum focuses on building strong research, writing and analytical skills, while stressing the ethical framework of the law.
Paralegals identify and manage documents critical to litigation, assist in the courtroom, perform computerized legal research, assist with mergers and acquisitions, draft wills and contracts, and interview clients and witnesses.
Lakeland's Paralegal Studies Program is approved by the American Bar Association. A degree and certificate program offers employment opportunities in law offices, government agencies, and the legal departments of corporations, hospitals and financial institutions.
All paralegal courses have a practical component, allowing students to practice the legal theories taught in the classroom. The paralegal program concludes with a cooperative work experience which places students in a legal setting to experience first-hand the paralegal profession.
The Bar exam is an objective six-hour examination consisting of 200 questions. The MBE includes questions in the following six areas of law: Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Property, and Torts.
For more information about the Paralegal Program at Lakeland Community College, check the web at www.lakelandcc.edu/Paralegal or by calling Professor Laura Barnard, Paralegal Program Director at 440-953-7352.
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