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Anita G. Haworth: President of the National Federation of Paralegal Associations and Senior Litigation Paralegal with Campbell Kyle Proffitt, LLP, Carmel, IN[By Kenneth Davis]

Anita Haworth brought a wealth of life and work experience to her career as a paralegal. Prior to entering the paralegal

field, she worked as a bartender, a waitress, and a Sears employee, was in the Air Force ROTC, and even worked in

construction. She said that she didn’t really have a long-term plan to become a paralegal but came upon the opportunity

through another job. Her opportunity to become a paralegal presented itself when she was working for law firm Bayliff,

Harrigan, Cord & Maugans, which is based in her hometown of Kokomo, IN. Haworth said she worked her way up to

her current position at the firm.

“I started working there as a part-time file

clerk, became the full-time receptionist,

then clerk typist, then legal secretary,” she

said. “When the paralegal position came

open, I talked them into giving me the job.

It was just the natural progression. That’s

when everybody did it that way.”

Haworth officially became a paralegal in

April of �989 and continued to work at

Bayliff Harrigan until �995, when she joined

Campbell Kyle Proffitt in its Carmel office.

She said she found the job at Campbell Kyle

through the Indiana Paralegal Association’s

job bank. She is now a senior litigation

paralegal at the firm.

Haworth discussed the areas of law in which

she works:

“I do some asbestos and some family law,”

she said. “We do some civil law as far

as contracts or contract litigation; it’s all

litigation, some criminal work, and some

personal injury.”

Haworth works for two attorneys at the firm:

Senior Partner John D. Profitt and William E.

Wendling, Jr., also Senior Partner.

“John is semi-retired and does mainly family

law,” she said. “Bill keeps me busy full-time

with the other types of cases and some

family law […]. I do quite a bit of document

management for Bill’s cases and assist with

the technology issues in the firm.”

Haworth said she performs a variety of tasks

at her job and that each day is different.

“On a day-to-day basis, I could be doing

anything,” she explained. “I could be

interviewing a witness, I could be drafting

discovery or responding to a complaintreally

just about anything,” she explained. “I

have drafted a few [discoveries], mainly

in asbestos cases, motions for summary

judgment, and, occasionally, I get to do a

little bit of legal research. But mostly the

attorneys do that or the law clerk [does]. I do

a lot of information gathering or investigative

types of things, too.”

Haworth said that she also works with

litigation support vendors, drafts complaints,

and prepares for mediations, among other

sundry duties.

“I am also a member of the disaster recovery

committee,” she added. “And we are

considering case management and document

management software.”

She said what she enjoys most about her

job is the “variety and challenge of the

work,” as well as the “great attorneys and

paralegals that [she works] with.” Haworth

added that her colleagues are “highly

respected in the community and just really

have a lot of integrity.”

Haworth said that some of the most difficult

challenges of her job are “managing the workload,

stress, and dealing with emotional clients.”

In addition to her heavy workload at

Campbell Kyle, Haworth spends a lot of

time involved in paralegal association work.

She’s the current President of the National

Federation of Paralegal Associations

(NFPA), a member of the Indiana Paralegal

Association, and an advisory board member

for Ivy Tech State College. Furthermore,

she was just appointed to the Thomas Edison

Paralegal Program Advisory Board and is a

paralegal member of the Indiana State Bar

Association.

Haworth said one of her duties as President

of NFPA is overseeing its national magazine,

the National Paralegal Reporter, which is

published bimonthly.

“I work with the editor and the publisher,

and I have a committee,” she said. “We call

it an editorial committee, so they help me

come up with ideas for articles and things

like that.”

Haworth discussed some of her other duties

as President:

“I’m responsible for all NFPA contracts,

oversee all aspects of NFPA, and liaison with

other legal entities,” she said. “I am co-chair

of NFPA’s upcoming Technology Institute,

July �9th through 20th, 2007, in Pittsburgh,

PA (at the Omni William Penn). We are very

excited about this eventit will be great! I

am also responsible for the agenda for and

presiding over the NFPA Annual Meeting.

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Our next Annual Meeting is scheduled for

October �8th through 22nd, 2007, in Tampa, FL

(at the Hyatt Regency).”

She added that she’s also responsible for

NFPA’s newsletter, which comes out each

month that its national magazine does not.

“So one month I’m writing for the Reporter,

and the next month, I’m writing for the

[newsletter],” she said.

When asked how she manages to work

full-time as a paralegal and also tend to

all her responsibilities as President of

NFPA, Haworth laughed as she gave the

following answer:

“It’s pretty tricky. Both are full-time jobs,

that’s for sure.”

Haworth attended the University of Evansville

in Evansville, IN, right after high school.

At the university, she studied criminal

justice and was also in the Air Force ROTC.

However, her father got sick, and she had

to leave school. She later attended Indiana

University, Kokomo, taking engineering and

computer classes, but got married and left

college again.

Haworth obtained her paralegal certificate

in �99�. And in �997, she took the Paralegal

Advanced Competency Exam and became

a registered paralegal. She returned to

Indiana University, Kokomo, in �999 to

complete her bachelor’s degree. She

graduated with honors in 2004 with a B.S. in

Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology.

Haworth had the following advice for

paralegal students:

“Get a good paralegal educationfour years is

betteror a bachelor’s in a related area with

a paralegal certificate,” she said. “Good

grammar, spelling, and the ability to write

are essential. Get involved in a paralegal

association. Do an internship. Becoming

a paralegal is not the path to becoming

an attorney. Going in with that opinion is

the wrong idea, and it’s offensive to the

dedicated paralegal. Although I’ve known

paralegals that went to law school, that is

pretty much a rarity. Most paralegals are

professionals, and this is not just a job.”

Haworth has worked on two murder trials,

which she said were highlights of her career.

“The second one taught me how vulnerable

and damaged defendants can be,” she said.

“And you can then understandnot agree

withhow the individual came to do what

they did.”

Haworth added that some other memorable

moments of her career involved “two very

large cases that were document-heavy.”

“I learned how very valuable the new

technology can be,” she said.

Haworth said the biggest highlight of her

career was working with legal aid and

helping a couple who couldn’t read.

“I will never forget going to a legal aid

interview to find out that the husband had

a third-grade education and the wife had

a seventh-grade education,” she said.

“Neither of them could read, and they had

received an eviction notice and did not know

what to do. It was so wonderful to be able to

help them.”

Haworth said she believes that one of the

most important issues facing the legal

community today is providing quality legal

services to the poor and middle classes.

“Many people simply cannot afford to hire

attorneys,” she commented. “Paralegals

can make the difference in helping people

get representation because of the work that

paralegals can do.”

She added that she believes “paralegals need

to be regulated, and there should be minimum

standards for entry into the profession.”

Haworth said her life and work experiences

were beneficial in helping her prepare to

become a paralegal.

“In high school, I wanted to be a police

officer and have always wanted to work

with and help people,” she said. “I think

my experiences taught me how to work

with people and recognize problems. I was

divorced many years ago, so I have that in

common with our family law clients. My

parents gave me a good, solid, Midwestern

upbringing. They taught me respect for the

law, were loving and supportive, and instilled

in me a strong love for God.”

Haworth has been married to her husband

for the past 2� years and has two stepsons

and six grandchildren. She said she really

enjoys archery and target shooting, as

well as crocheting, sewing, gardening, and

spending time with her family. In addition,

she and her husband enjoy reenacting the

French and Indian War, traveling, and going

camping together.

Haworth said her goal for the future is to

one day get her master’s degree and teach a

paralegal course.

ON THE NET

Campbell Kyle Proffitt, LLP

www.ckplaw.com

National Federation of Paralegal

Associations

www.paralegals.org

Indiana State Bar Association

www.inbar.org

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