PARALEGALS

ROBIN E. BARNES, CP, is a Certified Paralegal in the Tucson office. She graduated from the University of Arizona in 1984 with a B.S. in Range Management and from Pima Community College in 1992 with an A.A.S. as a Legal Assistant. She obtained her certification from the National Association of Legal Assistants in 1995. Since 1993, Ms. Barnes has worked in the areas of natural resources and environmental law, real estate, corporate, tax and general transactional law. Ms. Barnes has extensive experience researching federal, state, local, current and historical title and public land records to determine the status and ownership of surface, mineral and water rights. Ms. Barnes is a member of the Tucson Paralegal Association.

DONNA D. BRYANT is a Paralegal in the Phoenix office. Ms. Bryant worked in the banking industry for ten years - in operations, documentation and underwriting of commercial and construction lending. She has worked for the firm over 15 years assisting, specializing in sophisticated real estate development and finance transactions. She also has extensive experience in residential and commercial subdivision, condominium, and timeshare documentation, including acquisition and disposition documents and closings, CC&Rs, owners’ association formation and governance, consumer sales and finance documents, business entity formation and trustee’s sale and judicial foreclosures.

HEIDI COOLING CERF is a paralegal in the Scottsdale office. Ms. Cerf received her paralegal certificate from Phoenix College in 2009, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. She graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. Ms. Cerf spent six years in the Pacific Northwest’s IT industry before returning to Arizona. She has experience in the areas of business law, commercial litigation, real estate transactions, and probate. Ms. Cerf is a member of the Maricopa County Bar Association Paralegal Division.

LINDA A. DAVIS, CP, is a Certified Paralegal in the Tucson office. She graduated cum laude from California State University Long Beach, in 1989, with a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Finance. She received her certification from the National Association of Legal Assistants in 1995. Ms. Davis has worked for the firm since 1991 and works in all areas of litigation. She has extensive experience in personal injury, medical malpractice, collection, domestic relations, foreclosure and bankruptcy. Ms. Davis has also taught classes at Pima Community College (Paralegal Family Law). Ms. Davis is an associate member of the Pima County Bar Association and a member of the Tucson Paralegal Association.

SHARON A. EICHHORST, CP, is a Certified Paralegal in the Tucson office. She graduated summa cum laude from Park University with a B.S. in Management. She received her certification from the National Association of Legal Assistants in 2001. She has worked for the firm since 1990, and she has extensive experience in domestic relations, guardianships/conservatorships, probate, and securities law. She is a member of the Tucson Paralegal Association and an associate member of the Pima County Bar Association.

AMANDA B. HITE is a Paralegal in the Flagstaff office. Ms. Hite received her paralegal certificate from Phoenix College, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. She graduated in 1995 from Ball State University in Indiana with a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications. Her legal experiences have included work in Commercial litigation, Intellectual Property litigation, Construction Law, Complex Case Litigation and Products Liability. She is a member of the Maricopa County Bar Association Paralegal Division.

LYNN PERS KRCMARIC, CP,is a Certified Paralegal in the Tucson office. She has considerable experience in the areas of family law, probate, employment law and complex civil litigation. Ms. Krcmaric graduated with honors from the Pima Community College ABA certified legal assistant program in 1986. She also received a B.A. with a major in Journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Ms. Krcmaric is an associate member of the Pima County Bar Association, a member of the Tucson Paralegal Association, and a member of the Pima Community College Paralegal Program Advisory Committee. She has taught several classes in the Paralegal Program and assisted in the development of classes for the program. Ms. Krcmaric is also the 2005 recipient of the Volunteer Lawyers Program annual Millie Crawford Legal Assistant Award for her work on VLP cases. She is a Certified Paralegal, having been awarded that distinction by the National Association of Legal Assistants in 1987.

LINDA G. MIERNIK is a Legal Assistant in the Phoenix office. She received her Bachelor Degree in Psychology at Florida International University and her Juris Doctor Degree at the University of Memphis. Ms. Miernik practiced law in the state of Tennessee from 1992 until 2005 handling a wide range of legal matters. She has extensive experience in the areas bankruptcy, collections, probate administration, and civil litigation.

LINDA G. RIVERA, CLA is a Certified Legal Assistant in the Phoenix office. Ms. Rivera received her CLA designation in 2002 following successful completion of a two-day comprehensive exam covering communications, legal research, ethics, human relations and interviewing techniques, legal terminology, judgment, analytical ability and substantive law. Ms. Rivera has more than twenty years of legal experience and has concentrated her work in the area of probate litigation since 1996. Through her years of experience and her studies, Linda has become fluent with guardianship, conservatorship, trust, will, exploitation and abuse matters. Linda is active in the National Association of Legal Assistants, the Maricopa County Bar Association Paralegal Division and the Arizona Paralegal Association and the Arizona Paralegal Association.

LAURA J. SCARRY is a Paralegal in the Phoenix office. Ms. Scarry graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University in 2004 with a B.S. in Administration of Justice with a Pre-law minor, while also serving as a member of Alpha Phi Sigma - National Criminal Justice Honor Society. With more than fifteen years' legal experience, she specializes in family law, bankruptcy and collection practices. Ms. Scarry assisted in the research, compilation, and editing for the first manuscript of Arizona Legal Forms, Volume 4, Domestic Relations, published by Thomson West. She has volunteered with various non-profit organizations including Project Aware Homeless Shelter and she served on the Board of Directors for Turning Point Youth Crisis Shelter.

SHEILA M. SIMBRO is a Legal Assistant in the Phoenix office. Ms. Simbro received her Associates Degree in Legal Secretarial Studies from Macomb County Community College in Michigan and completed the Legal Assistant Program at Oakland University. Her legal experience has included work in civil litigation, including corporate, real estate, medical malpractice and probate law litigation. Since 1996, Sheila has perfected her probate law skills related to guardianships and conservatorships, trust litigation, vulnerable adult litigation, and administration and litigation of decedents' estates. She has worked on litigation cases at both the trial and appellate levels. With more than twenty years of legal experience, Sheila is able to identify and address the myriad of issues and challenges that arise in the context of probate law. Sheila is a member of the Maricopa County Bar Association Paralegal Division.

KARA GIBSON SCHRADER is a Paralegal in the Scottsdale office. Ms. Schrader received her paralegal certificate from the United States Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 1998. She graduated in 2004 summa cum laude from Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii with a B.S. in Education and minor in Business Management. Ms. Schrader has also taken courses at Arizona State University for her master’s degree in Business Administration. Ms. Schrader has worked in the legal field for over twelve years as both a military and civilian paralegal. Ms. Schrader has experience in creditors’ rights issues, as well as complex restructure work for debtors. She also has experience in the areas of business law, collections, commercial litigation, and foreclosure. She has also been a regular volunteer with Junior Achievement since 2004.