About this episode

This episode explores the intense life of a paralegal in high-stakes defense litigation with guest Amy McGuigan.

Dig into the stressful life of a paralegal professional working in a high-stakes defense litigation firm. Guest Amy McGuigan is a senior paralegal with the San Francisco firm of Swanson & McNamara LLP, a firm that specializes in trial and appellate law. She’s no stranger to the stress of cases where literally a defendant’s life is on the line. She’s always been into stressful jobs, from her start as an overnight 911 dispatcher to her work in a California public defender’s office to her current position working on criminal defense cases. Life as a criminal defense paralegal isn’t for everyone, but for McGuigan, that’s part of the excitement and the challenge. “It’s like a puzzle,” she says. “I just love to go through the discovery process and find that one thing.” McGuigan shares how she focuses on the process and logical progression of a case, compartmentalizing the legal aspects. She’s mindful there are victims involved, but understands her role is to ensure the accused receive the best defense possible, the process of the law is followed, and no detail is overlooked. Work in a defense firm is never dull, McGuigan explains her involvement in forensic evidence examination…

People in this episode

Guest: Amy McGuigan

Topics covered

• high-stakes defense
• paralegal profession
• criminal defense
• discovery process
• forensic evidence

Keywords

• paralegal
• defense litigation
• discovery
• forensic evidence
• criminal defense

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Swanson & McNamara LLP

Places: San Francisco, California

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