Name: Romaine Richards Age: 56 Job: Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi, Department of Finance and Administration Photo by Courtesy Nneka Ayozie
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I watched "The Bells of St. Mary's" when I was a little girl so, of course, I wanted to be a nun. At some point I (wanted to be a) ballerina, and at some point I (wanted to be) an actress. By the ninth grade, I decided to become an attorney.
Describe your work day in three words.
Extremely busy. Crazy.
What tools could you not live or work without?
My computer, iPhone and iPad, because of the type of work that I do. I can be in a meeting for one thing and checking my email for another.
What steps brought you to this position?
I started out as a private practitioner (and) later became a senior attorney at Mississippi Worker's Compensation Commission, (and then) I was a stay-at-home mom (for nearly five years). I was deputy city attorney for the city of Jackson for about 18 months., and I've been with the attorney general's office since 1999.
What's the strangest aspect of your job?
It's hard to say because my job is so diverse. Here at (Department of Finance and Adminstration), I represent different offices (of the state). (We are) basically the financial center of the state. DFA (issues warrants as part of a system that pays the state's bills). On the other hand (the DFA) includes employee's life and health insurance, an accounting system for the state, and airport transportation comes out of this office. It just depends on what (needs to be pushed) at the time.
What's the best thing about your job?
I work for really good people. I'm privileged to have, technically, two offices. I'm an employee of the attorney general's office, so I have that family, but I represent the Department of Finances and Administration, so I have two families.
What advice do you have for others who would like to become a special assistant?
A psychiatrist. I thoroughly enjoy my job, but it is a lot of work. Right now, it's extremely busy, because we're at the end of the fiscal year. Contracts are being renewed, so I have a lot of that to do. But I enjoy it. There's rarely a dull moment.
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