By Rachel Royal and Annette Phelps

The NCBA Paralegal Division, particularly Pro Bono Co-Chair, Annette Phelps, has been working on a project called Lawyer on the Line – Paralegal Program for quite some time, and it is finally ready to be launched! The program is a partnership between Legal Aid of North Carolina and the NCBA Paralegal Division.

While the majority of the work on the project will be handled by paralegals, attorney supervision is still required, because, as you are aware, paralegals cannot give legal advice to clients. To give you an idea of the limited workload required by attorneys within this project, attorneys will be permitted to supervise up to ten (10) advice and/or brief service cases at a time, but they will have the option of supervising fewer, depending on their workload capacity. Additionally, all attorney participation qualifies for Pro Bono hours encouraged by the North Carolina State Bar.

Read more

By Leslie Pegram

Thank you for choosing to be a member of the Paralegal Division. I hope that you find your membership professionally satisfying and that you’ll take advantage of the many member benefits offered by the North Carolina Bar Association. I’m honored to be serving as chair this year alongside a diverse group of paralegals from across the state who are volunteering their time to serve as officers, council members, committee chairs and Section liaisons.

As we commence the 21st year of the Paralegal Division, first, I’d like to thank Immediate Past Chair Debbie Harris for her service last year. We faced several challenges last year as a Division, and she managed each with grace and professionalism. This year is another year of change. We will face all of them together and do our best to keep you informed and educated on the decisions made by the council.

Read more

Congratulations to Felicia Atkinson the 2018 NCBA Paralegal Division Student Scholarship Winner.  Felicia was recognized on May 4, 2018, at the Paralegal Division’s Annual Meeting at the Pinehurst Resort.  As part of the application process, applicants submitted an essay on the topic “The Factors Which Lead Me to Enroll in Paralegal School.” The Paralegal Division Student Scholarship provides an award of $500 in tuition paid directly to a North Carolina resident enrolled in a North Carolina-qualified paralegal studies program as defined by the North Carolina State Bar. You must be a student member of the NCBA Paralegal Division to be eligible for the scholarship.  Student membership in the NCBA Paralegal Division is FREE!

Please enjoy reading Felicia’s winning submission:

By Felicia Atkinson

It was a hot summer day in August and my youngest brother, twin sister, and I were playing dodge ball in the street. My mother came to the back door of the house and yelled for us to come inside. The three of us ran inside the house excited that perhaps Momma made fresh lemonade and strawberry shortcake. When we entered the kitchen, our summer favorites were on the table. Momma told us to sit down and eat in the kitchen instead of taking our treats back outside. Leticia, my identical twin sister, and I sat at our little wood table set, a present from the previous Christmas. Shawn, my youngest brother, jumped up and sat on Momma’s lap. Daddy was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and my favorite aunt, Momma Stell, was sitting next to Momma. Daddy said he had bad news to tell us. I looked at Momma and realized she had been crying. At that moment, Daddy told us our oldest brother, Alex, was killed last night.

Alex, my idol, was gone. Although I did not understand the concept of death at 7 years of age, I did understand that Alex, with the IQ of a genius, would not be starting Harvard Law School in three weeks.  The brother, who I always followed around the house and tried to imitate, would no longer call me “his little prodigy.” In my mind, this meant that I would not be going to law school.

Read more