It is a tale as old as time. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy becomes an attorney and hires his wife as a paralegal. It’s the stuff love songs are made of and, for Wendy Trembath, her journey from Broadcast Journalism to being a Certified Paralegal at Williams, Porter, Day, and Neville plays like a song that you would slow dance to. It’s full of hardship, struggle, chasing dreams, and, most importantly, love. This is a love story, above all else. And Wendy Trembath’s love for law first came about because of her love for her husband.
“Becoming a paralegal sort of happened out of necessity,” Trembath shared. “My husband is an attorney, and when he graduated from law school, he decided that he wanted to move to Wyoming and open his own firm. He needed a paralegal right away, and I had a little bit of experience with contracts and entity formation and things like that, so I kind of just volunteered for the job. We moved back to Casper in the summer of 2005, and by that fall I was enrolled in Casper College to get a Paralegal Post-Baccalaureate Certificate.”
Trembath originally went to school for Broadcast Journalism, earning her degree in 1991 from the University of Colorado Boulder. That’s also where she first met her husband. The two met, fell in love, and moved to Oregon for a time, before returning to the Midwest. Trembath’s husband, Wallace, opened his own practice in Casper and it stayed open for about two years. But, as many lawyers will attest, managing one’s own practice is on a whole different level compared to just practicing law.
“His firm was open for about two years and he was doing very well,” Trembath stated. “But in order to get health insurance and other benefits, and to supplement some income, he began working for the City of Casper Attorney’s office part-time, as well. So, he would work for the city in the mornings and I would go to school in the morning and then we’d both come back to our office in the afternoon.”
It was a tumultuous schedule for both husband and wife, so much so that it finally got to a point where Trembath issued an ultimatum.
“My husband was starting to miss words in his sentences without realizing it,” she laughed. “That’s how exhausted he was trying to balance both jobs. So, I finally told him ‘I don’t care which one you choose but choose one.’”
He relented and opted to continue working for the city, a position he still holds to this day. Wendy, on the other hand, had a decision to make herself. She became a paralegal to help her husband. But something funny happened on the way to the forum- she realized she loved the world of law and she wanted to continue to be a part of it. So, when her husband decided to work full time for the city, Trembath decided to take her skills elsewhere. She began working for a local attorney but working for Williams, Porter, Day, and Neville was always in the back of her mind. It was a pipe dream, she thought, but a girl could hope.
One day, that dream became a reality.
“During the time in which I worked for a different attorney, I graduated from the CC Paralegal Program and passed my Certified Paralegal Exam from the National Association of Legal Assistants. That’s something that Williams, Porter, Day, and Neville requires of all of its paralegals. When I passed the exam, I remember thinking that even though I was working for another attorney, I was excited by the possibility of working for WPDN someday. When I interviewed there, I told them that I had always wanted to work for them. And they said ‘Well, why didn’t we know that?’ It just wasn’t the right timing at first, but then I finally got there, and it was like the crème de La crème.”
WPDN is, for lack of a better term, the mountain top for many aspiring attorneys and paralegals. The respect and integrity of this firm is known for resonates throughout Wyoming and beyond. Trembath knew this from the moment she came to Casper, and it was only further exemplified when she and her attorney actually went up against WPDN’s Pat Murphy during a deposition.
“I actually met Pat on the other side of a case while I was working for a different attorney,” she said. “I just remember thinking that he was such a kind person. He was very pleasant and considerate of our client. And it really showed me that the adversarial process doesn’t have to actually be hostile.”
Trembath started working for WPDN in 2015. In the five years since, she has seen a lot, heard a lot, and done a lot. She loves coming up with discovery requests but finds herself spending most of her time answering discovery. She also prepares various discovery documents, researches and summarizes medical records, and more. Though she works primarily for Patrick Murphy and Scott Klosterman, she is quick to help out anyone when needed. That’s how the entire team at WPDN operates. They work for each other and with each other and that is why WPDN has become one of the largest and most well-respected law firms in Wyoming.
“The attorneys at Williams, Porter, Day, and Neville are excellent attorneys. They work hard for their clients and they are brilliant. They have their clients’ best interests at heart, they really do. They will not lead you astray because they want to go to trial, and they won’t push you into a settlement that they don’t think is fair. They work for their clients and I am proud to work for them.”
Wendy Trembath didn’t grow up wanting to be a paralegal. But somewhere along her journey, she found herself swept off her feet by the world of litigation. It wasn’t quite at-first-sight, but she fell. And she’s only kept falling for the past 15 years. Every day at work for her is like a first date- the nerves, the excitement, the potential. It’s all there, waiting to be courted. And like any good relationship, more than anything, WPDN makes Wendy Trembath want to be the best version of herself. It challenges her, it inspires her, and it makes her want to reach for the stars.
Wendy’s story really is a tale as old as time. There’s excitement, adventure, dancing, and dreaming. And, if all goes according to plan, there will be a happily-ever-after as well.
This is a love story, after all.