AAC Staff Profile: Fonda Fitzgerald

Fonda Fitzgerald

AAC welcomes new paralegal to staff

Story and Photo by holland doran AAC Communications Coordinator

When an Arkansas county inmate sues a jail for alleged mistreatment or a violation of rights, their case may end up on Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) Paralegal Fonda Fitzgerald’s desk.

These are not just any cases; they’re from pro se plaintiffs — inmates who are acting as their own attorney.

This can make for some interesting reading, Fitzgerald said.

“The pro se plaintiffs are getting more creative all the time,” Fitzgerald said. “The biggest challenge with a pro se plaintiff is they often don’t follow typical court rules, and since their lawsuits are usually handwritten, it can be challenging deciphering their handwriting.”

Fitzgerald, who joined the AAC staff on January 1, has had time to practice reading these cases. She’s been in the legal field since high school when she worked as a law clerk at Henry, Henry and Henry in West Plains, Missouri.

Fitzgerald, originally from West Plains, Missouri, earned her bachelor’s degree in office management from Harding University. Then she married her husband of 26 years, Allen, and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“We spent two years and two very cold winters there,” she said. “We wanted to get a warmer climate and began looking for jobs down south.”

They moved to Little Rock in 1990 and in 1993 after their daughter, Anne Elizabeth, was born, they moved to Maumelle.

By the time she moved to Arkansas, Fitzgerald had gained paralegal experience at two law firms: Henry, Henry and Henry in West Plains, Missouri, and Glasson, Grove and Sole in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

She briefly dipped her toes in jobs outside of law, working as an executive administrative assistant at Flour Pot Gourmet Foods, and then at a medical clinic.

“The work at the clinic was boring, so I looked for another job, which led me to Mike Rainwater in 1990,” she said.

She worked for Mike Rainwater for 28 years, and said he had the greatest influence on her development as a paralegal.

“He really taught me to be a paralegal and to be proactive,” she said. “He stressed the importance of doing something even when you were unsure of what to do, because it was better than doing nothing.”

Fitzgerald applies this wisdom to her job every day as she works to provide security to jail employees who are being sued by inmates.

“It can be really stressful to a jailer in the county jail that is being sued,” she said. “No one wants to be named in a federal lawsuit, and I like that we can give them some assurance and peace of mind that the case is being handled.”

Even though her job can be stressful, Fitzgerald plans to “keep doing what I’m doing.”

“I enjoy the fast pace and the interesting claims that we see defending pro se jail cases,” she said. “I also enjoy helping the county officials and personnel.”

Fitzgerald has settled well into her new position at AAC and “looks forward to being part of the team here.”

She likes “working with the expanded legal department here, and continuing to work defending the county officials when they are served with lawsuits.”

Outside of work, Fitzgerald likes to read and spend time with her family and Yorkies. She anticipates her free time will soon be filled with taking care of her grandchild, who is expected to arrive in May.