It also is encouraging that 12 percent of the respondents to NFPA's 1999 Compensation and Benefits Survey were paralegals of color, up from 5 percent in 1995. Ethnic and racial diversity is increasing in our profession and will lead to more career opportunities for qualified and motivated individuals of all races. Marilynn Simmons holds a bachelor's degree, a master's degree in conflict resolution and a paralegal certificate. For five years, she has been a senior risk management specialist with Colonial Life Insurance in Columbia, S.C., where she handles claims litigation and is designated as a corporate witness at trials involving her company. Knowledge is indeed power.
Communication is the key to understanding one another.
She has two master's degrees and has been a paralegal since 1986. As an educator, she sees that diversity is a part of the future of the profession. There will be an availability of minority candidates who have the training, credentials and skills to get a job. Dye also recognizes the interest that immigrants have in the legal field. Immigrants are drawn to this field.