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Heather Conner: Case Manager Paralegal at Shernoff, Bidart & Darras in Ontario, CA[By Charisse Dengler]

Heather Conner is a case manager paralegal for famed plaintiff’s attorney Frank Darras. Her daily responsibilities include

working on all of the litigated cases, writing all of the ERISA appeals, reviewing new cases, setting up mediations, answering

written discovery, calculating damages, and trial preparation. Currently, she works on a team that handles disability and long-

term care insurance issues.

Conner, who graduated from the University

of Akron with her J.D. degree in May of �998

and passed the Washington State bar exam

in 2000, worked as a paralegal and then as

an associate at a firm in Seattle, WA. She

went back to working as a paralegal at the

firm she is currently at after she and her

husband relocated from Washington to

Southern California. She has not yet taken

the California State bar exam.

Conner first became interested in the

legal profession after taking part in her

high school’s mock trial of the Watergate

hearings. She played the lead prosecutor

for the U.S. and said she got hooked.

When asked what she enjoys most about

her current job, Conner said she loves the

contact she has with clients and she loves

working for Darras.

“So many of them [the clients] are in such

desperate situations, yet they continue to

conduct themselves with grace and class

under the most extreme forms of financial

and emotional pressure,” she said. “I also

love working under and for the preeminent

attorney in this field of law. To work with

Frank is pure joy—he hasn’t lost the love for

fighting for the little guy, and his enthusiasm

is contagious.”

However, she did admit that working for such

an expert in the field can bring about some

difficult challenges.

“Because Frank is sought after and so many

people need his help, I often joke that I need

to clone myself,” she said.

Her advice to paralegal students stems from

her own love of the clients in the field of law

in which she’s involved.

“Make sure to remember to be

compassionate and grateful to the clients

for the opportunity to represent them,” she

advised.

When asked to recount an experience that

was particularly emotional or rewarding for

her, Conner chose the story of a truck driver

who came to the firm for representation after

he was injured on the job and let down by his

occupational accident policy.

“We were able to obtain him a life-changing

amount of money,” she said. “His first

thought was he was going to take his wife

on their honeymoon after 35-plus years of

marriage. Those are the type of people and

stories that make this so rewarding.”

Conner currently lives in Rancho

Cucamonga, CA, with her husband of nearly

two years. In her spare time, she enjoys

reading, scrapbooking, and spending time

with her friends and family.

On the net

ERISA

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_

Retirement_Income_Security_Act

A Modern-Day David versus Goliath: Frank

Darras

www.lawcrossing.com/article/index.

php?id=27��

Shernoff, Bidart & Darras

www.sbd-law.com

LEGAL STAFF PROFILE