By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Stefanie Georges, a paralegal professional at Miller Canfield, fell into the legal field rather by accident. After earning her B.B.A. in accounting, magna cum laude, from Adrian College, she worked in credit counseling. “I saw the industry was starting to become saturated with credit counseling agencies and there was little room for advancement – a change in my career was imminent,” she says.
A friend who worked at Miller Canfield gave Georges a heads up of an opening in the Public Law Department, and that the firm was looking for a candidate they could train. It was a perfect opportunity for Georges, who now mainly works for 11 attorneys , and assists Public Law attorneys in the firm’s other offices when needed.
Specializing in municipal bond finance closings for cities, townships, villages, multi-authorities and school districts, Georges assists attorneys by drafting non-arbitrage and tax compliance certificates, escrow agreements, non-litigation certificates, continuing disclosure undertakings, resolutions, IRS forms and other necessary closing documents; and also prepares final transcripts and assists in computing arbitrage rebate and yield calculations.
“I enjoy seeing behind-the-scenes of how municipalities obtain financing for various improvements within their communities,” she says. “From the outside, municipal bond finance may not seem like the most interesting area of work, but you learn a lot and see a lot that you otherwise wouldn’t even know was a part of the legal process for municipalities and schools to obtain financing.”
Georges enjoys working in downtown Detroit now that the city is enjoying something of a renaissance. “When I first started working at Miller Canfield in 2005, the city looked and felt a lot different than it does now,” she says. “There is so much more activity and so many more people downtown that it is a whole different atmosphere.”
Georges, who shares her home with her cat, Zoe, is very close to her family, and lives in Clawson within a mile of her parents and her sister’s family, that includes her 16- and 11-year-old nephews. “We’re a tight-knit family and spend a lot of time together,” she says.
In her free time, Georges likes to read and watch TV. “I’m going through a bit of a true crime phase currently,” she says.
She has also picked up a freelance sideline of caring for people’s pets. “It started when one of the attorneys I worked for at the time asked if I could help him out and watch his pets and house,” she explains. “Word has since spread and I spend quite a bit of time ‘on the road’ pet-sitting somewhere.”
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