Sheila Hinds has been employed by the Law Offices of Beatrice L. Snider, APC as a family law paralegal since 1974. She attended Southwestern College and took business classes and the limited legal courses offered at the time. Her legal career began in 1970 with civil, personal injury, probate and family law when she began working with Marge Turney, CFLS, an early successful female attorney in San Diego.

In 1974, Hinds began working with Jeanne Chancer to assist while her paralegal was on maternity leave. Chancer, Beatrice Snider and DeeAnn Fisher shared an office and Hinds began working with all three women, answering phones, scheduling and working in probate and family law.

When Snider opened her own firm, Hinds took the opportunity to work exclusively in family law, as she and Snider were very compatible, personally and professionally. When they began working together, they worked out of Snider’s condominium in Scripps Ranch; the firm now occupies more than 10,000 square feet in the Scripps Ranch area.

During Hinds’ career, she has watched family law grow from a male-dominated field where the majority of the female clients were “displaced homemakers.” She has watched the firm grow from its early purchase of a “word processor” the size of a small refrigerator connected to an electric typewriter, to today’s computers, fax machines, e-mail, PDAs and instant expectations.

Hinds takes great pride in her career and finds it extremely rewarding to help people get through the very difficult process of divorce both financially and emotionally. She maintains composure, keeps abreast of procedures and mentors the less experienced members of the staff in this fast-paced and challenging field.