COLLINE BRUNO | Paralegal 

Colline may, in fact, be Pulitzer-winning author Thomas Pynchon, or the reincarnation of JD Salinger. She may be a spy (especially given her fluency in Tagalog). Or she may be part of a witness relocation program.

 

Rarely has someone been so averse to having her photograph taken. And despite many surreptitious attempts to take a picture, Colline has deftly dodged the photographer’s eye. This “photo” is the closest photo of her she’ll allow published.[1]

 

But like those famous authors, Colline is full of accomplishment (although she’s still waiting for her Pulitzer). When Colline is not ably working, she devotes a great deal of time to volunteer work, including: the King County Housing Justice Project; King County’s Neighborhood Legal Clinics (where she is now a clinic coordinator); assisting immigrants with the naturalization paperwork and processes through “One America”; and as a youth leader for her church, where she is also active in the church choir.

 

Colline is the backbone of this law office, and is skilled in so many areas of the law, procedure, office management, and even client service, that several weeks during the year, Zeshan’s presence becomes unnecessary, and sometimes even intrusive. Those are the hallmarks of a world-class paralegal and perhaps an elite-level enabler.

 

Whatever her label, Colline is an essential component to this firm. Unfortunately, she now realizes this. She keeps resignation papers on her person at all times. When she sees Zeshan lurking with a camera, she flashes those papers to discourage Zeshan from taking the picture. It works.

 

Power is quickly going to her head, and Zeshan expects her to rule the galaxy soon enough.

 

 

[1] The photo is actually of Teodora Alonso, mother of Dr. Jose Rizal, a Filipino national hero and prominent social reformer during Spanish colonization. A European-trained medical doctor, Dr. Rizal was conversant in 22 languages and was a highly regarded poet, essayist, and novelist. Although a general proponent of peaceful rebellion and nationalism, Dr. Rizal was executed by the Spanish army on December 30, 1896. The Jose Rizal Bridge in Seattle (built in 1911) connects Beacon Hill to the International District, and provides some of the best downtown views of Seattle. The bridge is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.