My name is Brandy Burns, I am 33 years old and I live in Greenville, TX. I was the youngest of 10 and I now have 7 kids of my own. Over the years I have struggled to make something of my life, in and out of trouble. Married, Divorced, Married again. I have decided to finally pursue my dream in helping others along with gaining some knowlege in the litlgation legal field. I have experience personally in both positive and negative aspects of the legal system. I have seen the ins and the outs, I also know the struggle of living the life without a second chance. My hopes are that one day my children will one day see the rubbage I have overcame and keep them focused on following their own dreams. Upon graduation I plan to use my knowlege gained here at Bryan't & Stratton University to obtain a position within the family law foundation so that I can pursue my passion to help other families in need. 

1. To own a home by the time I am 40
2. To Patent my very own inventiion.
3. To fly to another country before I turn 50
4. To learn how to build better friendships with others.

The exhibit I chose for this outcome was from my Civil Litigation portfolio project. This project included the entire litigation process of a case, from interrogatory questions to the preparation of a trial notebook. This exhibit, I believe, clearly demonstrated my responsibilities as a paralegal, as well as my limitations. A paralegal's role is to assist the attorney; some may say we are the attorney's right hand; however, we do not represent any clients and do not provide legal advice.

I chose my Civil Litigation portfolio project and a reflection from my Intro to Legal Research Studies class for this outcome.
With the Civil Lit project, I researched information for the attorney, and whenever a paralegal conducts research for a case, it must be done properly and correctly because these attorneys rely on the paralegal to provide them with the proper and correct information that is required to win the case. I discussed proper citation ethics and avoiding plagiarism in the reflection. When I become a paralegal, the attorney I work for will be responsible for my ethical behavior, but for the time being, I practice ethics in my daily life.

With this outcome, I chose my Civil Lit class portfolio project in which I had to create a notice of motion to compel documents for a client as well as an affidavit of my client. Because these were court documents, they all had to use the correct legal terminology. I worked on a group project in my Law Office Management and Technology class. The group project was to create a new employee manual that included a retainer agreement that a new client would have to sign if they wanted to use our services. Because this was also a legal document, it had to include the appropriate legal terminology.

For this program outcome, I used a few exhibits. The Civil Lit portfolio project because it included pleadings, briefs, and memoranda; the contract law portfolio project because it included memoranda as well as a contract between my client and her employee; and an interoffice memo to my supervising attorney about a new client in my intro to Legal research class. These exhibits were relevant to a variety of substantive areas of law, including a slip and fall case, a binding contract case, and an assault and battery case.

I used my Legal Research and Writing I class portfolio project to achieve this result. As part of this project, I had to create a research plan for my supervising attorney that included primary and secondary legal documents. Lexis Advanced was the resource I used to research what I needed to evaluate the legal issues.

With this result, I used a few exhibits such as my Civil Lit portfolio project with Lexis as an online research tool, the group project which was the new employee manual in my Law Office Management and Technology class where I had to research an employee manual in a law office, and my Sociology Career Development I class where I created a resume and a cover letter. All three of these exhibits, I believe, are general and law office related, in which I used information technology tools and skills.

Again I used my legal research and writing I class portfolio as it gave me knowlege on primary and secondary laws and how to access related documentation.

This outcome was used in my Law Office Management group project because we had to do with team agreement contracts at the start of the project. This is where we set the goals and intentions that we needed to achieve in order to complete the group project. We all worked together at the end of the project to create this new employee manual that flowed perfectly. The other exhibit was my Civil Lit portfolio project, in which I used Lexis to locate and evaluate information for my client in the slip and fall case. It was communicated through the various legal documents I used throughout the project.

I chose my portfolio project from my Criminal Law class for this outcome. It included an interoffice memo to my supervising attorney, a demand for discovery, a motion to dismiss notice, and an attorney affidavit in support of the motion to dismiss. Understanding how to prepare these documents has provided me with the knowledge I require from formal education in order to transfer this knowledge to my new job as a paralegal.

With this outcome, I chose my Law Office Management group project because it helped me improve my teamwork skills. I had to collaborate with members of my team via a discussion board and come together to complete a task with everyone's schedules being different, which was new to me. I had to adjust to working remotely and completing the goal while remaining respectful to my members and maintaining communication. In my Career Development I class, I did a reflection that was three reflections in one. Donald Super's Lifespan Theory, John Krumboltz Theory, and how adaptability is becoming an increasingly important aspect of employability were all mentioned. When an employer finds someone who can successfully adapt to different situations, I believe that employee is a huge asset to that company.

I chose my portfolio project from my Quantitative Reasoning math class for this outcome. Before beginning the project, I was asked to develop a hypothesis about repaying my student loans and then test it after completing the project. This, I believe, helped me see what my budget would be like, as well as an estimated salary as a paralegal. I believe that obtaining this information will assist me in making decisions regarding the repayment of my loan.

I chose my MultiCultural Awareness project from Caps 265 for this outcome. I chose an attorney friend for the project and conducted a brief interview with him to learn about how other people's biases have impacted him in his personal life and at work. This helped me understand that I will be working with people of all backgrounds, so I must be open to new ideas and respect others' cultures because not everyone sees things the same way I do.