My Bio: Melissa L. Donaldson
I'm Melissa, a 35 year old single mom of 9 year old identical twin girls living in Upstate New York. I have been working in the legal field for many years, and am always looking to further my education. I spent about 6 years collectively working with the NYS Department of Health, assisting and preparing background reviews for employees of our states' nursing homes and adult care facilities. This gave me some insight into our criminal system and how it functions. I currently am employed with the NYS Office of the State Comptroller, under the New York State and Local Retirement System reviewing estate documents to assist with benefit administration.

Resume & CV: Melissa L. Donaldson
Resume 2024 (.docx) 0.06mb

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
This project was an all-encompassing plan of what I will use or learn to continue with my career in the legal field. This project also helped me meet the following outcome: Participate in social, academic, and professional communities for individual growth and to function as a citizen of a multicultural world. View

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
This project shows I was able to follow established methods of inquiry and mathematical reasoning to form conclusions and make decisions. View

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
This project shows I was able to transfer knowledge, skills and behaviors acquired through formal and informal learning and life experiences to new situations. This project was a personal reflection of a personality quiz. I took the quiz and then reflected on the responses while explaining my own personality opinion based on the responses I received. View

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
Utilize resources to locate primary and secondary law-related legal documents to research, summarize, and evaluate legal issues. This project was another compilation of many various documents created during a domestic relations dispute. Including complaints, correspondence, and memos. This project ensured that I was well versed in determining how to appropriately research and provide the correct resources. View

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
Define, apply, and defend principles of legal ethics within a variety of settings.

Utilize appropriate legal terminology and terms correctly in legal documents.

This project was a compilation of various legal documents such as a Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy and Advanced Directive. It showed that although that my personal beliefs surrounding death must be kept to myself as I assist a client in creating the documents he needs for his family. Additionally, this project also allowed me to learn where certain legal terminology belongs and how to create a form for a client to fill out. View

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
This assignment helped me describe and discuss the basic responsibilities, legal and procedural theories, and professional standards of a paralegal. View

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
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Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
This assignment shows that I was able to employ strategies for reflection on learning and practice in order to adjust learning processes for continual improvement.

Additionally, I was able to utilize appropriate current technology and resources to locate and evaluate information needed to accomplish a goal, and then communicate findings in visual, written and/or oral formats.

Although this project was a reflection of another project done in this class, it gave me the opportunity to go through my process of creating the project and how it did help me fine tune my ability to use technology in this manner.  View

Assignments: Melissa L. Donaldson
This assignment shows my ability to draft legal documents and correspondence, pleadings, briefs and memorandum that are relevant to different substantive areas of law.

This project was an amalgamation of different documents and communications between myself (the paralegal) and the “supervising attorney” that was representing the client. It gave me a chance to learn how the process works and what is needed during a tort case. View

Educational Background: Melissa L. Donaldson

Educational Background: Melissa L. Donaldson

Educational Background: Melissa L. Donaldson

Goals (Personal & Professional): Melissa L. Donaldson
My current professional goals are to obtain a position in the legal field that not only utilizes the skills I have learned from my education, but can also further educate me on the areas of law that I have not experienced yet. My goal in my current position is to continue to learn more about estate planning and the laws surrounding it, while also providing professional legal research skills. I intend to further my education with continuing to obtain a Bachelors' Degree in the legal field and potentially go on to finish law school in the future.

Honor Societies: Melissa L. Donaldson

Licenses & Certifications: Melissa L. Donaldson