September 2006: Mel Gairo Glina, CP, PHP

Ms. Glina is a NALA certified paralegal in the Real Estate and Energy Finance Section of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP and brings over 15 years of experience in all phases of commercial real estate and energy transactions including the sale, acquisition and development of office, retail, industrial and energy facilities, construction contracts, as well as office and industrial leasing, synthetic leases and other leveraged leases.  She also has experience assisting in the debt restructuring of energy companies and acquisition and disposition of multi-state cogeneration facilities.  Additionally, she has experience with contracts management, including oil and gas master service agreements, drilling contracts, cell tower leasing and site review, and other corporate and general transactions.

Mel has been published in and interviewed for various national and state publications such as Legal Assistant Today and is a guest speaker at many paralegal CLE programs and forums on the topics of ethics, commercial real estate, and the role of paralegals in today’s economically conservative legal market.  As she has done for years in other capacities, Ms. Glina recently served as Continuing Education Committee Chairperson for the State Bar of Texas – Paralegal Division, organizing a full day CLE event for District 1 attended by more than 125 paralegals. She continues to be a strong advocate for the promotion of the paralegal profession and has been committed for over 15 years to developing the role of Paralegals within the legal community and believes that the promotion of local and nationwide professional credentials is essential in insuring a positive future for the paralegal profession.