“Janet was one of my teachers when I was getting my paralegal degree,” Lisa explained. However, she ended up doing an internship at Wentz Law Firm in Wilmington, NC and was hired at the end of her term. “I probably would have worked for her if I wasn’t picked up by the attorney.”
Lisa was at Wentz, a criminal law firm specializing in state and federal cases for nine years. It was a very prestigious firm, where she helped increase business twofold! “We weren’t ambulance chasers, they came to him,” she added.
When her husband, an employment coach, got transferred to Charlotte, she started working as a real estate paralegal for Midtown Property Law; that lasted only a couple of years as “there was a reduction in force,” she said.
Coming Full Circle
Unemployed and looking for a job, this brought her back into the orbit of Mrs. Gemmell and Cape Fear. “Janet always said she would hire me and now the time finally seemed right. She had this recruiting thing that she was doing, and she asked me if I wanted to help her out with it, and I told her yes.”
Lisa started out recruiting for two sessions for a total of 30 summer internships and then it expanded to associate attorneys, attorneys, and support staff. “We have seven attorneys and paralegals starting between May and September of 2024,” Lisa said. After several months of recruiting, Lisa found her niche working as a NC Certified Paralegal. “The joke in the firm is ‘my future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades,’” she said with a laugh. You can tell she is a vital and valued member of her team.
“Just working with Janet is enjoyable because she focuses really strongly on her clients. And I think that’s a very important thing, especially if you’re working in family law, to be able to be there to support them. There’s going to be issues, there’s going to be emergencies, you know that going in, but she’s always been able to handle it. And she has this great work/life balance, even though she’s got a heavy caseload, she likes to travel and does interesting things and she wants to bring you into that.”
On the Personal Side
Lisa and her husband also enjoy a good professional/personal balance that allows them to do a lot of traveling. “He’s Irish, Scottish, and German. So we’ve been to Ireland, Scotland and Germany, and I am English, Slovakian and Russian. So we’ve hit most of those countries as well. We’re trying to hit all of the family.”
