I, Shelly Pereira, truly believe that life is a journey and events occur in our lives for a reason. How we deal with each event defines who we are and where our life takes us. I started my journey by enrolling in the Bachelor of Commerce Program at the University of Toronto. One of the required courses was Contract Law. Learning about what constitutes a contract and how to avoid or resolve problems arising from these contracts is a useful tool. This knowledge has been very helpful in resolving a variety of legal issues. It gave me the ability to help people and it sparked an interest in law as a career. As a result, I decided to go back to school to become a Paralegal. I graduated with Honours from the Paralegal Diploma Program at Herzing College and now I am a licensed Paralegal. Having worked in a variety of industries, including Construction, Financial Services and Publishing, my experiences are diverse. I have worked with lawyers on a variety of work-related projects and with other paralegals. I think the greatest compliment was when an opposing lawyer on one of my cases, referred a new client to me for another Small Claims case. I have a good relationship with several lawyers so if a case is not in my area of practice, I might be able to suggest an alternate person.

Continuing education is extremely important to me so I am constantly reading or attending seminars and other workshops to keep informed. I was fortunate enough to attend a CPD with DJ Sebastian Winny as the guest speaker. It is the third such CPD that I've been fortunate enough to attend. It was very informative and well worth attending.

I truly love my job. It is so rewarding to be able to help people with their legal issues. Each case is different and has its own challenges. My cases have included copyright infringement, environmental law, construction and other consumer issues, such as door to door salesmen.