"Across three states, Jenny was hands-down the best divorce lawyer I worked with! Authentic, savvy, insightful, tough, empathetic and effective. Can ’t say enough good things about her."
Chief Executive Officer Mitzi Gardner
Mitzi Gardner is the Peyton Manning of paralegals. Or maybe the Joe Montana. She certainly has the organizational talents of Bill Belichick. Or maybe Dabo Swinney. Throughout more than twenty-year career she has consistently shown the grit and moxie of LeBron James. Or maybe Michael Jordan. She has worked with diverse attorneys, always helping, correcting, shaping, listening, sympathizing, supporting, teaching, backing them up, growing with them. Just like Roy Williams. Or maybe Mike Krzyzewski.
She also, if you haven’t guessed, is harboring a deep, dark secret.
One only her closest friends know. One that even they have real problems dealing with. Mitzi cheers for both North Carolina and Duke. She has Duke and UNC shirts. She went to the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn, NY, where she wore them both. In the early rounds, she changed shirts several times a day. We think of this … ah, quirk, as just another example of how amazingly flexible Mitzi is. How she can adapt, sometimes instantly (as in: during a 20-minute half) to changing circumstances. Also, she has the ability to get along with just about anyone.
Mitzi graduated from UNC, Wilmington with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She received her Paralegal Certification, with a specialty in Civil Litigation, from Meredith College, an ABA approved program. Mitzi is a Certified Paralegal through the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc. (NALA) and a North Carolina State Bar Certified Paralegal.
That’s great, and important of course, but Mitzi swears that the best training she every received was in college. She lived in a beach town and waited tables. She learned invaluable life skills. Things like how to put in long hours, multitasking and dealing with demanding customers, remaining level headed, listening, and treating everyone the same.
All skills that carried over into her career as a ‘kick-ass’ paralegal. Mitzi is divorced and has a 18 year-old son who is heading to college in the Fall. She has a great relationship with her ex-husband. She is remarried, has a blended family and everyone works together. She strives to see that all our clients have the kind of family law outcome she achieved.
She’s been through what our clients are about to go through. She brings her experiences to our clients every day. Despite all her (considerable) knowledge of North Carolina Family Law, litigation, and court procedures (among many others), perhaps the most important thing she brings to our clients is the ability to relate to them as someone who’s been through it all.
