Cristen: Landing a Position at the Prestigious Holland & Knight Law Firm
One woman’s journey from unfulfilling jobs to successfully thriving at one of the nation’s top law firms is a great testament to the power of an inclusive workforce.
“You can’t tear me away from my work.”
Before Cristen Maxwell landed her position at the prestigious Holland & Knight law firm, she worked a host of unfulfilling jobs in the food service and hotel industries without much success. After bouncing from job to job, Cristen was determined to find a position that would allow her to thrive in a professional office setting. With her mother’s guidance, she reached out to the Best Buddies Jobs program for the career opportunity of a lifetime.
In 1999 the Best Buddies Jobs program helped Cristen land a position as a Records Specialist at Holland & Knight. Through her dedication and incredible work ethic, Cristen has earned the respect of her supervisor and co-workers alike. She currently makes $48,693 per year before taxes, the equivalent of almost $25 an hour. She also receives life insurance, medical and dental care benefits, retirement plans, as well as paid vacation and sick-time.
“It’s allowed me to prove to people that,
although I may have IDD, I can successfully do a job like this.”
Some of her job duties include entering the data for archived files, which are the law firm files that go off-site to storage facilities. Cristen’s work has been 100% error free since her very first day on the job and in 2008 — which explains why Cristen was awarded an Employee of the Year award from Best Buddies for her exemplary job performance at Holland & Knight.
Cristen’s journey from unfulfilling jobs to successfully thriving at one of the nation’s top law firms is a great testament to the power of an inclusive workforce.
“You can’t tear me away from my work,” said Cristen. “Without my job at Holland & Knight, who knows where I would be. It’s allowed me to prove to people that, although I may have IDD, I can successfully do a job like this. A lot of people put labels on me and don’t think I can do things but I’m here to prove to people that although I may not be like everyone else, I can go out and earn a paycheck and contribute to society in a positive way.”