July 29, 2024
Carmen Del Valle has been with the firm for 20 years, but has worked with Ron Klasko and Bill Stock, the founding partners, for several years before the firm was founded. She has held various administrative positions, currently supervising the administrative team. She is a welcoming, friendly, and helpful face at the firm. If you need help with something, Carmen is the person who will find a way. Read below to learn more about the amazing Carmen!
- How long have you been at the firm?
I have been with the firm for 20 years, but as Bill Stock has said, “dealing with me for 25.” What he means is that I started working with Bill while he and Ron were still attorneys at their past firm. I was an administrative assistant to several attorneys at that firm and Bill was one of those attorneys. - What is your current role?
I became Administrative Supervisor around 5 years ago, after several years as Bill’s Executive Assistant. I currently supervise all the executive and legal assistants at the firm, which typically is around 10 staff members. It’s an amazing group, who always find a way to get their work done and do it so well. - How has your job changed over the years?
Going from a general administrative assistant to an executive assistant was a big change, and the transition from executive assistant to supervisor was another big change. But the biggest changes have been over time, 20 years ago we had stacks of paper files everywhere, but now everything is digital. We used to fax things all the time, and now we email everything – no fax machines in the office at all! We used to have an extensive phone system — fielding calls all the time. While we still answer phone calls, people mostly email or text. - What is your favorite memory from your early days at the firm?
One of the funniest memories is when we had a Philadelphia-themed Boss’s Day celebration. We had all things Philly: cheesesteaks for lunch, Tastykakes, and the Benjamin Franklin came to the office. I didn’t get it at the time, but all the younger staff members at the office were cracking up because it was like the episode of The Office in real life. - What do you value most about working at KILP?
The friendships I’ve made have been the most valuable. A group of us have become more than just coworkers, we are truly friends. We started as such a small firm and would hang out a lot outside of work. I still keep in touch with many who have left the firm and it’s great to see where life has taken us all – kids, grandkids, retirement. - What has been one of the more challenging times?
Working from home during COVID. Working from home just wasn’t for me. So, I started coming in every day during lockdowns. Luckily it worked well for the firm and I was able to manage a lot of stuff onsite while everyone else stayed home. I still love coming into the office every day. Even though we have committed to a hybrid workforce and have lots of staff members working remotely, we still need people onsite to keep things running and supporting everyone hands on. - Anything else you want to share?
Just that the people we work with are amazing. It’s the mutual respect and understanding that we are people with lives outside work, that makes it so easy to bring my best self to work. I’ve worked at other jobs where the respect just wasn’t there, so I have seen the difference here and truly value it.
Stay tuned to our 20th Anniversary page for more updates and staff features!
