Samera Cerva - Paralegal & Office Manager

Samera Cerva Paralegal Jersey Criminal Attorneys
  • 200 Passaic St. 3rd Flr.
    Hackensack, NJ 07601
  • 201-766-4800
  • 201-345-3789
  • samera@peyroutonlaw.com

About...

Samera Cerva is an accomplished professional. She brings approximately 20 years of paralegal experience to the firm. As our paralegal, she drafts & submits all of our legal pleadings, schedules court appearances & trials, and maintains all client files. Ms. Cerva takes great pride in never missing a deadline and maintains great relationships with all court administrators and judicial staff.
 
Clients benefit from her comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice system. She is a tireless worker who always puts the client’s needs first. All clients are treated with respect & receive constant status updates. Samera is compassionate, patient, and intense.
 
Yes, you read this last word correctly: intense. She arrives to work early & leaves late. For Samera, it’s not a job, it’s a mission. (read the interview below) Every client’s case receives the same high level of attention regardless of the charges. She scrutinizes every document & piece of evidence carefully. If a solution exists, you can count on Samera to relentlessly search & find it!
Oh yeah, we almost forgot, she is also fluent in Spanish! (hola)
 
Below, please find Samera’s story!

How did you become interested in criminal law?

When I was 19 years old, I became a mom. When my son turned one, I started working as a law firm receptionist to support myself and my baby. Just as life seemed to get better, tragedy struck our family. The police charged my younger brother with multiple first-degree charges. He faced a 20-year prison term & this news devastated & terrified us. My brother was a good kid. He never got into trouble.

My family hired a criminal defense attorney who disappointed us. Since we were unfamiliar with the criminal justice system, we trusted him.  But shortly after he was indicted we substituted counsel because enough was enough.
 
My brother’s case was the first criminal case I actually worked on. I participated in his case by reading discovery and helping his new attorney (my boss) file motions. My brother ultimately accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to five years in prison.
 
I accepted the fact that my brother lost five years of his life and that he would not get those years back. However, I vowed to do something about it. I resolved to devote my life to helping people wrongfully accused. My central purpose was to help people charged with a crime & who find themselves in a similar situation as we did. Since I was raising my children and working full-time, law school was not an option.
 
Instead, I worked my way up from receptionist to senior paralegal over two decades at various criminal defense law firms. Short of becoming an attorney, I wasted no time & I learned as much as I could.

With over 20 years experience as a paralegal, why did you choose Peyrouton Law over others?

I chose Peyrouton law over other firms because of Alan. He has an impeccable reputation for being honest & for being a fighter. When I first heard about Alan, I was skeptical. I was like, “there’s no way he’s for real. He sounds too good to be true”.  But he’s for real.
 
He sincerely enjoys being in the trenches. You can feel his passion & a strong sense of justice.  He gets obsessed with our cases. And he’s always eager to get creative & exhaust all options, resources, & strategies. I’ve seen no other attorneys bring this level of advocacy to their clients. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to be a part of and I’m so happy that I found it here.
 

What makes you good at what you do?

What makes me good at my role is the dedication I have to my work and to my clients.  That dedication drives me to be professional, mindful, organized and detail-oriented. It drives me to be more vigilant and hands-on with the attorneys. I don’t just answer calls or take messages; I help design the blueprint for our defense.  That dedication motivates me to learn more about the law so I can better serve my team and my clients year after year. 

What do you most love about your job?

What I love most about my job are our clients and my team! I also love the people I work with daily. We share the same values and this is rare. We are all determined, honest, and respectful.  Money is not our priority. We genuinely love what we do and we inject our heart and soul into every case; misdemeanor or felony. It is our connection, the office atmosphere (good energy), and noble purpose that makes me happy to wake up every morning to go to work.