Corine Zygelman Made Partner at Murchison & Cumming

January 8, 2003

Metropolitan News Enterprise

Murchison & Cumming said that Corine Zygelman of the firm?s downtown Los Angeles office has become a partner.

Zygelman joined the firm 14 years ago as a paralegal in the Los Angeles office. While working full time, she enrolled at the University of LaVerne College of Law, attending evening classes. Upon graduation in 1995, she became an attorney with the firm, specializing in intellectual property and business tort law.

"I think that when I started at the firm, I wanted to see whether the practice of law held interest for me," Zygelman said of her unusual path to her new position. She said although she was able to see a lot of what lawyers do through her paralegal job, she wasn't able to do some of the more important things they did, such as argue for clients in a courtroom. Within a year, she said, she decided she wanted to go to law school.

Zygelman credits her firm for being very supportive throughout her schooling.

"All I can say for myself is I think it's certainly made me appreciate what a long journey becoming an attorney is," she said. "It's not easy, especially when you're working."

She also said her experience left her with respect for the work of a paralegal, even though she's taken a step in a different direction.

A native Angeleno, Zygelman holds an undergraduate degree from California State University at Northridge, a certificate as an attorney assistant, and a law degree from the University of LaVerne College of Law.

Copyright 2003, Metropolitan News Company