Carolina Paralegal News September 2022

BUILDING COMMUNITY

NCBA Paralegal Division President Yazmeen Gadalla outlines priorities

■ BY TERI SAYLOR

Yazmeen Gadalla has been a paralegal for just five years and already is making an impact on the profession in her role as chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division. It’s still early in her career, but it is a priority for her to get involved in the profession, cultivate relationships with her colleagues, and give back.

“I love the idea of building community with other paralegals in a place where we can share our thoughts and feelings and grow in our profession,” she said in a recent Zoom call. Gadalla is devoting her year as president to growing membership in the Paralegal Division and promoting and advancing the profession – including giving paralegals more responsibility.Agroupofparalegals, which formed the North Carolina Justice for All Project is exploring access to justice issues and modeling other states’ versions

of limited licensing for paralegals. In early 2021, the group submitted a proposal to the North Carolina State Bar and the North Carolina Supreme Court seeking changes to N.C.G.S. § 84 (Unauthorized Practice of Law) to allow certain non-lawyers to provide limited legal services.

According to the Justice for All organizers, this proposed license would also help expand access to legal representation to individuals with low-to-moderate income who could not otherwise afford it. Areas of focus could include family law, landlord-tenant law, estate planning and probate law, debtor-creditor law, administrative law, and expungements

“If paralegals can attain a limited law license, it will be a huge change in the way paralegals work in North Carolina,” Gadalla said. “I think it would be great for paralegals in terms of being able to provide more legal services at our law firms and being utilized more productively.”

Gadalla remembers the day she first took an inter-

est in law. An English major at N.C. State University, she worked a four-month internship at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Raleigh, primarily performing administrative tasks, but also soaking up the culture and learning how the legal system works.

Prior to enrolling at NCSU, Gadalla had earned an Associate of Arts degree from Wake Technical Community College in 2013 and went on to receive an activities director certification and begin a career working at senior living centers. She first majored in recreational therapy before switching to English while also pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

“I loved working with the residents in the senior living facilities, I cared about them a great deal, and it was a rewarding career, but I wanted more regular hours and I didn’t want to pursue it at a higher level,” sheHersaid.experience in health care paid off when she

Meet the Paralegal Division's leadership team

Below is a list of officials with the North Carolina Bar Association’s Paralegal Division. Note: This an excerpt of a recent blog post from chairperson Yazmeen Gadalla.

Lakisha Chichester, vice chair

Lakisha Chichester is a corporate paralegal at Trupanion Inc. She is a North Carolina state Bar-certified paralegal and NALA advanced certified paralegal. She spent much of her career working for in-house legal departments, specializing in corporate governance and regulatory compliance. She is passionate about her career and the paralegal profession. She enjoys inspiring paralegals to leverage their

skills to build fulfilling paralegal careers. She currently sits on the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification and the North Carolina State Bar Paralegal Certification Committee. She is an active member of NALA and the NCBA Paralegal Division, currently serving as vice chair. In her free time, she enjoys reading, dancing, and traveling.

Alice Johnson, secretary

Alice Johnson is a Senior Paralegal living in Cary, N.C. She has over 37 years of experience in the legal field. She has worked in various areas of law, including Employment Litigation; Immigration; Complex Litigation; IP; Workers’ Compensation, Aviation Law and Personal Injury. Prior to moving to North Carolina in 2008, Alice worked as both a Legal Assistant and Paralegal in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She is a North

Carolina Certified Paralegal and a member of the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division, as well as other paralegal associations. She currently serves as secretary for the NCBA Paralegal Division and is a co-chair on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and CLE Committee.

Sarah L. White, treasurer

Sarah is a senior litigation paralegal with Ragsdale Liggett PLLC. She focuses in the areas of civil litigation and insurance defense, handling cases in all of North Carolina’s state and federal trial court divisions, including appellate courts. She also manages the firm’s eDiscovery platform and continuing education courses with the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Sarah holds a B.S. in criminal justice and post-baccalaureate certificate in parale-

From left, paralegal Jenny Gorman, attorney Jason L. Hendren, and paralegal Yazmeen Gadalla, chair of the North Carolina Bar Associatoin, hold a brief meeting at the Raleigh law firm of Hendren Redwine and Monroe. Photo/Teri Saylor

The insider’s guide to selling a law practice, transferring ownership, and designing a great Life After Law, written by two of the top authorities in succession planning.

Practical. Readable. Motivating. “Designing a Succession Plan” is an invaluable resource and planning guide. Solo and small firm partners will be especially interested in the sections on valuing and selling a law firm. All lawyers will appreciate the practical, expert advice outlining the options that await lawyers in this next phase.

— Joan H. Editor/Publisher,

Legal deserts and their impact on access to justice in the Carolinas

SouthGordimerwriterAfricanNadinesaid

that a desert is a place without expectation. That is certainly true for the millions of Americans who find themselves living in legal deserts.Nationwide, there are thenumber1,000fourapproximatelylawyersforeveryresidents,butthedoesn’treflectreality.Mostlawyers

work in urban areas, but many rural areas of the country have few or no lawyers. Overall, 40% of all counties and county-equivalents in the United States have less than one lawyer per 1,000 residents.

Legal experts call these legal deserts.

There are 1.3 million lawyers in the United States, and 25,000 of them live in North Carolina. According to the 2020 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, In North Carolina, we have 2.3 lawyers per 1,000 residents. Our lawyers are clustered in the Research Triangle, Mecklenburg County, the Triad, and Wilmington. In North Carolina, we have 48 counties with fewer than one lawyer per 1,000 residents. We have twelve counties with single-digit number of lawyers.

Succession Planning Reveals Need in NC

I work with lawyers on succession planning. Earlier this year a lawyer in rural North Carolina told me his law firm was one of two in a 40-mile radius. He and his partner are in their early to mid-70s, as are the other lawyers in the county. His law firm has not received an unsolicited resume from a lawyer in more than 10 years. He serves on his judicial district committee to conduct lawyer fitness interviews and no one in their judicial district has taken the bar exam in the past three years.

Project Rural Practice

South Dakota was one of the first states to tackle the problem of legal deserts in 2012. Project Rural Practice combines funding from the state, rural counties, and local bars to support young lawyers in small towns and farm counties. The results are “legal oases,” said Patrick Goetzinger, former president of the South Dakota State Bar who helped create the program.According to a South Dakota Law Review 2014 study, 20% of the country’s residents live in rural areas, but only 2% of attorneys practice in rural areas or small towns. Rural lawyers are typically older; a New York state survey of 900 rural lawyers found that 74% were 45 or older and more than 46% said they planned to retire within 10 years.

What Does This Mean for Citizens Who Need Help?

The North Carolina State Bar established a Regulatory Reform Study Subcommittee in January 2020. Because of the pandemic, work did not begin until June 2020, but since that time the subcommittee met monthly to hear experts from across the country discuss changes in regulatory reform that are impacting the profession.

There are 14+ states that are studying regulatory reform issues or are engaged in regulatory reform. Increased pressure to study regulatory reform is rising resulting from Access to Justice concerns, increasing legal technology innovations, changes in the legal marketplace, as well as the pandemic and the havoc it has caused for citizens, the courts, and lawyers.

The primary mechanism for regulating the market is lawyer ethics, including

• Rule 5.4 – who can own and invest in law firms

• Rule 5.5 – who can do the work

• Rules 7.2 – 7.3 constraint of marketing efforts

These rules are being discussed because the lack of access

to justice in our country is a plague for our vulnerable populations such as children, elders, and minorities.

According to the Clio Legal Trends Report, and many other surveys reporting on law, solo and small firm lawyers face a challenging environment:

• the cost of traditional legal services is going up

• access to legal services is going down

• the growth rate of law firms is flat

• lawyers serving ordinary people are struggling to earn a living

Why is this important?

Most experts do not expect to see an improvement in these legal deserts in the next decade.

Lauren Sudeall, a law professor at Georgia State University, while not optimistic about seeing improvements in these numbers, says, “But I hope that we can have a broader understanding of what access to justice means… Not just by looking at justice as sort of this binary do-you-have-a-lawyeror-not question.”

NC’s Regulatory Reform Conversation

The North Carolina State Bar Regulatory Reform Study Subcommittee issued a report to the State Bar Council at their April and July meetings.

Proposals recommended by the Subcommittee included the creation of a regulatory sandbox (allowed in Utah), Limited Licensed Paraprofessionals (Ontario has had a Limited License program for more than 10 years and Utah and Washington have added Limited License programs in recent years), and the use of Court Navigators (allowed in Arizona and New York).

While none of these proposals were accepted and the Regulatory Reform Study Subcommittee has been disbanded, a new committee has been formed to study legal deserts.

The NC Justice for All People (JFAP) project is an advocacy group dedicated to improving access to justice in NC through legal regulatory reform. Their goal is to mitigate the access to justice gap by introducing innovative solutions into the existing market.

JFAP was founded by paralegals S.M. Kernodle Hodges and Alicia Mitchell-Mercer and Council members include Shawana Almendarez, Morag Polaski, and Rachel Royal.

Visit www.ncjfap.or to learn more about their mission.

Limited Access to Justice

“Nearly every state in the nation has large stretches of rural areas and counties with few lawyers in them – or no lawyers

at all,” ABA President Judy Perry Martinez said. “In fact, rural residents are disproportionately poor, and many are forced to travel long distances to find lawyers to handle routine matters that affect their everyday lives, such as wills, divorces and minor criminal and civil cases.”

The NC Equal Access to Justice Commission and the Equal Justice Alliance partnered with UNC Greensboro’s Center for Housing and Community Studies to conduct the first comprehensive civil legal needs assessment of our state in almost 20 years. Results show:

• More than 2 million low-income North Carolinians were eligible for the services of legal aid providers in 2018

• There is 1 legal aid attorney for every 8,000 North Carolinians eligible for legal services

• 71% of low-income families will experience at least one civil legal problem in a given year

• 86% of these legal needs go unmet because of limited resources for civil legal aid providers

In the medical profession, 1 in 10 health care providers are doctors with a wide range of other medical providers who can aid the sick.

In the legal profession, 9 in 10 legal providers are lawyers. Where are all the other resources that our citizens need to deal with problems that impact their lives in no less devasting ways than sickness?

It’s time to consider other options. Here are some that other states are considering or have in place:

• Limited License / paraprofessional model

• Court Navigators

• UPL Liberalization

• Alternative Business Structure (ABS)

• Regulatory Sandbox

• Fee Sharing with Nonlawyers

• Alternative Admission to Bar

• Nonlawyer Ownership

What’s Next?

The legal profession has the opportunity to make a difference – all of us, not just lawyers. Follow the work of the State Bar Associations who are implementing regulatory reform efforts. Pay careful attention to the work being done by the NC State Bar and the NC Justice for All project. It’s time to explore the possibilities that exist to expand access to justice for our neighbors and communities in need.

Continue this conversation by contacting Camille Stell at camille@lawyersmutualconsulting.com or 919-447-3354.

■ BY CAMILLE STELL

Nationwide, there are approximately four lawyers for every 1,000 residents, but the number doesn’t reflect the reality. Most lawyers work in urban areas, but many rural areas of the country have few or no lawyers. DepositPhotos

A paralegal with a law degree

As a paralegal with a law degree, Amy Fleischer brings a unique perspective to her job at Rags dale Liggett in Raleigh.

A litigation paralegal, Fleischer primarily works on insurance defense cases and loves her work for its vari ety and complexity.

“In the course of my day, I might be doing anything from reviewing medical records in a slip and fall case to reviewing field reports in a case involving a large construction project, to researching media coverage of a school shooting,” she says. “I have worked on cases involving everything from hog farms to dog bites. It’s a cliché, but no two days are ever alike.”

Born at Camp LeJeune, Fleischer’s family lived in Asheboro, N.C. and Greenville, S.C., before moving to Raleigh during her freshman year of high school. She graduated from N.C. State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and completed the Legal Assistant Pro gram (now Paralegal Program) at Meredith College in 1995. After working as a paralegal for a few years, she went on to Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. and received her law degree in 2001. She passed the Virginia Bar exam but rather than enter a law practice, she stuck with her career as a Fleischer’sparalegal.husband is also an attorney with an active construction law practice in Durham.

“With my husband working long hours, it worked better for our family for me to continue working as a paralegal instead of both of us being attorneys,” she says. “Also, I took the Virginia bar exam af ter graduating from law school and have no interest in taking another one.”

Career journey: When I grad uated from NC State with a Phi losophy degree, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living. During college, I had worked part-time as a runner for an at torney’s office, so a friend sug gested that I look into becoming a paralegal. I completed the Le gal Assistant Program at Mere dith College while working fulltime at Barnes & Noble. I have always loved reading and doing research, so the skills and tasks of paralegal work were a good fit for my interests. In my first paralegal position, I worked as a paralegal on a large document review project. Several of the other paralegals were in the pro cess of applying to law school. I had never considered going to law school, but I thought that I was just as capable as they were, so I decided to apply.

I have always loved reading and doing research, so the skills and tasks of paralegal work were a good fit for my interests. In my first paralegal position, I worked as a paralegal on a large document review project. Several of the other paralegals were in the process of applying to law school. I had never considered going to law school, but I thought that I was just as capable as they were, so I decided to apply.

around you that you know will have your back and that you know will get your jokes. Also, knowing that I am helping our clients is very important to me. I always try to keep in mind that our clients are depending on us to help guide them through a difficult process. The issues that we deal with in litigation are things we see every day, but most people have no personal experience with the legal sys tem, so I try to be there to offer reassurance and to make the process less stressful.

Work-life balance: My hus band is an attorney, so we un derstand each other’s work challenges well. I am grateful to work have worked in firms that value work/life balance. They have always been supportive and understanding when I’ve had to miss work to do mom things or handle emergencies at home. One advantage to being a paralegal instead of an attorney is that for the most part, you are able to leave your work at the office at the end of the day.

My desktop: My desk has var ious notepads and sticky notes with to-do lists and re minders in my never-ending effort to become more effi cient and organized. I also have stacks of documents and folders for the cases I am currently working on. I would love to be paperless, but some tasks are just simpler with paper. In my office, I have photos of my family and our dogs. My favorite thing on my desk is a Mother’s Day card my son made for me in first grade, my evidence that at one point, he thought I was a “real cool mom.”

Work inspiration: My co-workers are some of my best friends. On stressful days, it’s so nice to have people

Influential mentors: I have been fortunate to have the op portunity to work with so many great firms and attorneys in my career. The attorneys I currently work with at Ragsdale Liggett have such a breadth of exper tise and experience and I am always learning from them. Mary Webb in particular has been a great mentor to me. I admire her relentless work ethic, the relationships she develops with clients and colleagues, and how she manages such a large and diverse case load while being a supportive and involved mom herself.

During downtime: When I’m not working, I enjoy reading, traveling with my family, and seeing live music. My 16-year-old son is a drummer and has a band with some friends, so I especially love seeing him play.

- Teri Saylor

Amy Fleischer

Pro bono work is so important to paralegal Ka tie Riddle, she was inspired to go to law school for opportunities to do more of it. So far in her young career, she has volunteered for the North Caro lina Pro Bono Resource Center through its Expunction Project and driver’s license restoration clinics. She has also volunteered as a Guardian ad Litem for nearly three years. An avid dog lover, with two furry family members of her own, she volunteers with Triangle Beagle Rescue.

Last summer at the N.C. Bar Association’s Annual Conference, Riddle received the NCBA Paralegal Divi sion’s inaugural pro bono award, recognizing her hard work and pro bono contributions.

“My pro-bono work is one of the primary reasons why I pursued my original goal of law school,” she says. “Although there are more pro-bono opportunities for paralegals than ever before, I found that I could do more work, and make more of an impact as an attor ney.”Riddle is a life products paralegal at Lincoln Finan cial Group and recently enrolled in the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Growing up and pursuing a career: I was born and raised in Greensboro. In 2011, I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. In 2017, I attended Greensboro College paralegal program, and in April 2018, I passed the North Carolina paralegal certification exam. After graduating from college, my goal was to attend law school, but as I began the law school application process, I decided I needed to be certain that the legal field was where I wanted to be, so I pursued a career as a paralegal. I was hired by a law

firm in downtown Greensboro where I was eventual ly promoted to senior workers’ compensation para legal. After three years, I transitioned to an in-house role at a corporation where I assisted with matters involving contracts, compliance, and employment litigation. I’m now at Lincoln Financial Group where I work as paralegal, life products, supporting and assisting various departments with all matters related to life insurance. I live in Greensboro with my husband, Garrett, and two rescued dogs, Layla and Nellie.

I am inspired to go to work because: My family and my work team. You can believe in yourself when you have the support and encouragement from your spouse, from your loved ones, and from your team of attorneys. Their encouragement gives me a constant boost and helps eliminate feelings of self-doubt.

Advice to prospective paralegals: I would share the one piece of advice I wish I had heard, myself: “Do not beat yourself up.” It seems to be an inherent quality amongst legal professionals to always strive for perfection. We know that is unattainable but when a mistake is made, it can feel devastating.

Childhood dreams: I have always loved the idea of teaching, especially teaching English to speakers of other languages. I did volunteer work in college where I tutored a woman in English, and it was such an amazing experience. I was able to learn more about her, her culture, and her life. I also gained a life-long friend!

Others may not know: I am an open-book so I doubt there isn’t much that they don’t already know. I think the quality most shocking to people, is that I can

be painfully shy.

To destress: I thoroughly enjoy weightlifting. I started lifting in July 2020 and I cannot believe it took me until then to figure out how much I love it.

- Teri Saylor

Katie Riddle

New eCourts system in North Carolina

As part of the North Carolina Judicial Branch’s transformative eCourts initiative to take the state court system from paper to digital, the Odyssey Integrated Case Management System (ICMS) is projected to launch on October 10 in four pilot countiesHarnett, Johnston, Lee, and Wake.

The new Odyssey suite will replace 40+ older legacy systems and integrate all of these products into one streamlined case management solution including eFiling, financial management, and document management for all case types.The NCAOC has scheduled training sessions for attorneys and staff statewide. These training sessions will be offered both virtually and in person, and ondemand video training will also be available soon. For attorneys not in one of the four pilot counties, this training is still important, as eCourts will be going live in statewide over the next few months. https://www.nccourts.gov/ ecourts

NC Paralegal Division nominates Carolyn Timmons for paralegal certification board

The NCBA Paralegal Division has nominated Carolyn V. Timmons to fill a vacancy on the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification.

According to a post on the Paralegal

Division’s blog, Timmons nominatedwasfor the board andParalegaldedicationbecausepositionofhertotheDivisioncontributions to

the legal community. She is a paralegal at Jones, Key, Melvin, & Patton, a firm that offers legal advice in real estate, civil litigation, wills and trusts, corporate law, and mediation. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in education from West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia), as well as an associate applied science degree in paralegal technology from Southwestern Community College.

NALA’s 2023 Conference will be in Boston

NALA, the National Association of Legal Assistants, is heading to Boston next year for its 2023 Conference.

The conference will take place July 12 – 14, 2023 at The Westin Copley Place. The legal profession is constantly changing with new laws and procedures. Education, networking, and professional development will be top priorities at this event, which will be packed with more than 30 education sessions, all led by expert

speakers. Learn more at www.nala.org.

Raleigh-Wake Paralegal Association Annual Seminar in Raleigh

The Raleigh-Wake Paralegal Association is returning to in-person events with its 2022 Annual Seminar Friday, October 7 at the Jane S. McKimmon Center at N.C. State University in Raleigh. The day-long event offers courses on a variety of topics including pro bono service opportunities, e-Discovery, refugee resettling and paralegals, non-attorney social security disability advocacy, and access to justice. Visit www. raleighwakeparalegal.net.

Save the dates for LSPSC conferences

Legal Staff Professionals of South Carolina are already planning 2023 activities and continuing education. January 20 is the date for the LSPSC Winter Membership Meeting and CLE. The event will take place in Columbia with location and registration information coming soon.

The association has also set the date for its 58th Annual Meeting and Education Conference in Hilton Head AprilVisit22-23.www.lspsc.org to learn more.

2022 Court Observance Week is from Oct. 9-15

Professional legal staff will

celebrate 2022 Court Observance Week Oct. 9-15. This year marks the 48th Anniversary of the observance, since President Gerald R. Ford signed a proclamation recognizing the contributions of legal secretaries to the court system in 1974. The proclamation urged law firms to offer opportunities to legal secretaries to observe courtroom proceedings as follows: “One way in which their employers can demonstrate their appreciation for jobs well done is by giving their legal secretaries greater opportunities … to see more of the system in action,” the proclamation stated.

“I call upon the legal community, throughout that week and during the ensuing year, to enhance their legal secretaries’ understanding of their role in the administration of justice in this Nation by affording them more opportunities to observe actual courtroom proceedings.”

The National Association of Legal Support Professionals (NALS) and various chapters across the country to plan activities to raise awareness of the contributions legal support professionals make to the legal system in their communities.

The NALS theme for the 2022 Observance is “The Due Process Pandemic: How COVID Seized the Wheels of Justice.”

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Carolyn Timmons

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Gadalla outlines priorities

landed her first law firm job at Waldrep in Win ston-Salem, starting as an administrative assistant in 2017. She immediately enrolled in the paralegal program at Guilford Community College, graduated, and went on to become a North Carolina Certified Paralegal.“Thefirm had a client who owned several assisted living facilities in North Carolina was looking for an administrative assistant with health care experience,” Gadalla said. “Later, I began working in bankruptcy and fell in love with it.”

She was assigned to Chapter 7 and 11 cases and thrived.“Itry to make the process as painless for clients as possible, and make our clients feel at ease with the process,” she said. “We have had many clients come through the process, relieved they took that step.”

After moving from Winston-Salem to Raleigh with her then-husband, she landed a corporate paralegal position at Smith Anderson, one of the largest law firms in the state. She stayed for a year before going back to her small-firm roots at Hendren, Redwine, and Malone. And she resumed her work as a bankruptcy paralegal. It’s a firm she calls “amazing.”

“I love the people I work with, and I have the flexibility and encouragement to get involved in professional organizations,” she said. “The attorneys appreciate my leadership goals, and when they found out I had been elected to chair the Paralegal Division, they posted it on social media and congratulated me in public, and that made me feel great.”

For Gadalla, who says she is not always outgoing at social and networking events, the journey to profes sional leadership was deliberate. She set her sights on joining the Paralegal Division Council, but other lead ers steered her toward committee work, first co-chair ing the Scholarship Committee, a role that included judging the Division’s annual scholarship contest, which she called “inspiring.”

Then the Division needed someone to chair the Communications Committee, so she volunteered to do that too. She also co-chairs the Long Range Plan ning Committee, the Membership Committee and is a member of the Pro Bono Committee.

“Within the Paralegal Division, I have found a lot of great role models and colleagues, and I enjoy being around them because I know that they make me a bet ter paralegal because they are so passionate about the profession,” she said.

Among those paralegals are Rachel Royal, inspiring for her passion about pro bono work. S.M. Kerno

gal studies and advanced certifications from NALA and the North Carolina State Bar. She was the recipient of the North Carolina Bar Association’s 2018 Distinguished Paralegal Award. Her professional in volvement includes serving as chair of the North Carolina State Bar Paralegal Certification Committee (2017-pres ent), treasurer for the NCBA Paralegal Division (2022- present), council member for the NCBA Paralegal Division (2019-22), item writer for the North Carolina State Bar Paralegal Certification Committee (2014-16) and member of the NCADA Paralegal Division and NALA.

Shawana W. Almendarez, immediate past chair

Shawana W. Almendarez is a North Carolina native with 22 years of legal experience. She earned her asso ciate degree in Paralegal Studies from King’s College in Charlotte in 2000. She obtained a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in legal studies from

dle-Hodges, Tina Dadio, Debbie Harris, and Katie Riddle who have all inspired her to get involved in many committees and leadership roles.

“My journey through the Paralegal Division has been amazing, because I have experienced professional and personal growth that I don’t know I would have had without being involved in leadership,” she said.

She is also focused on giving back.

Whether her efforts are through NCBA pro bono programs such as Wills for Heroes, Drivers’ License Restoration, or her personal work with the Food Bank of Eastern North Carolina, volunteering is a big part of what makes her happy.

And if she’s not working, leading meetings, or volunteering, she most enjoys spending quiet time

at home with her two cats, exercising every evening, watching old television shows and true crime docu mentaries while doing cross-stitch or embroidery.

She also enjoys her role as a fierce advocate for the paralegal profession and the NCBA Paralegal Division.

“I think the best best thing paralegals can can do for themselves is become a part of Paralegal Division,” she said.And

all are welcome even paralegals who are not members. The Division is a welcoming environment.

“If you’re not a member of NCBA and don’t plan to join, that’s fine,” she said. “We still want you to join us for some networking and socializing, hang out for a while, get a free drink or appetizer and have a good time.”

Strayer University in 2013. She has a demonstrated history of working in state and local government admin istrations. Employed by the Office of the City Attorney’s Office in Charlotte as a litigation paralegal in 2015. She worked as a Family Court case coor dinator in the Mecklenburg County Family Court Administrator’s Office. She dutifully served as an Absolute Divorce Clinic facilitator for the 26th Judicial District Self-Serve Center. Her skill set includes coaching, consulting, event planning, grant writing, legal research, teaching, and team building. She is a freelance paralegal and owner of North Carolina Paralegal Con sulting Services, which provides administrative support services to Social Security Disability representatives, fam ily law attorneys, and small business owners. She serves as a child custody advocate for the Council for Children’s Rights and has volunteered for various pro bono state wide projects. She is a co-contributor and member of the North Carolina Justice for All Project. In 2015, Shawana joined the North Carolina Bar Association’s Paralegal Division and has dutifully served the division as chair,

secretary, and treasurer. This year she is the Immediate Past Chair, and she continues to serve as the Chair of the Nominations Committee and Co-Chair of the Executive Leadership Training Committee.

Looking into the Future Bar Year

On Aug. 12, 2022, the NCBA Paralegal Division’s Council met for the first time in the 2022-23 bar year. The Council held a three-hour Strategic Planning Meet ing, where all of the executive team, council members, and committee chairs/co-chairs met to brainstorm pos sibilities for the upcoming bar year. As a result, there was a lot of positive discussion as to what our Division would like to achieve for the upcoming year, including:

• More networking and member events throughout the state and via Zoom;

• Revisiting our ethics as paralegals and encourag ing discussion on the same;

• Creating technology videos about our profession and our people;

• Surveying our membership in a variety of areas;

• Providing events to discuss career enhancement opportunities; and

• An exciting Annual Meeting event. Paralegal leadership team New NCBA Paralegal Division President Yazmeen

Shawana Almendarez

‘If paralegals can attain a limited law license, it will be a huge change in the way paralegals work in North Carolina,’ says NCBA Bar Association Yazmeen Gadalla said. Photo/Provided

Sarah White