Paralegal Ethics: Are You Really Being Ethical?

Sarah, a white woman with short auburn hair, wears a black shirt with white flowers.By Sarah L. White

Every paralegal knows the four main ethical guidelines that govern our profession. They have been drilled into us with every paralegal class and continuing education seminar over the course of our careers. Most of us probably could recite them verbatim in our sleep, but just so we are clear, paralegals must not do any of the following:

1. Establish attorney-client relationships;

2. Represent a client in court;

3. Negotiate settlements; or

4. Give legal advice.

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Utilization Committee Update – Regulatory Reform Affecting Paralegals in North Carolina and Beyond

By The Utilization Committee

North Carolina Regulatory Reform Update

It has been two years since the State Bar’s Subcommittee to Study Regulatory Change had its first meeting on June 4, 2020, to study various types of regulatory reform (e.g., limited licensing, court navigators, regulatory sandbox).

Highlights:

  • On June 3, 2021, the Bar’s Subcommittee Studying Regulatory Change voted to recommend that the Bar create a separate ad hoc committee to lay out a plan for limited licensing.
  • On July 15, 2021, the Executive Committee approved an ad hoc committee to develop a limited licensing plan. However, no action was taken on that vote. After that date, the Regulatory Subcommittee continued its work of exploring a regulatory sandbox and other initiatives.
  • On January 7, 2022, Chairman Mark Henriques completed the Subcommittee’s final report on its work over the past 18 months. He presented this report to the Issues Committee on January 19, 2022, with continued discussion on April 20, 2022, and July 20, 2022. The report includes the following recommendations:
    1. Pursue a Limited License for Nonlawyers/Paraprofessionals
    2. Pursue a Regulatory Sandbox
    3. Recommend a Court Navigator’s Program to the Administrative Office of the Courts
    4. Refrain from Pursuing Alternative Admission to the Bar at this Time
    5. Explore Necessary Changes to Permit Alternative Business Structures and Fee Sharing with Nonlawyers
    6. Explore the Possible Liberalization of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Statutes

Read the report to learn more. Read more

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Let’s Talk About It: Welcome To The Ethics Committee

Kimberly is a Black woman with brown hair and glasses. She wears a blue jacket and white neckalce.By Kimberly M. Johnson

How many times did Dad say, “Do the right thing.”

How about when Grandma said, “Do it right the first time, and you don’t have to do it again.”

Or better yet, when an office mate quips, “Make sure to C-Y-A!”

In an odd way, those expressions have origins in the working man’s or woman’s view of ethics.

Let’s talk about it. Read more

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A New Bar Year, A New Beginning, The Same Great Division

Yazmeen Gadalla is a woman with dark brown curly hair and teal glasses. She is wearing a teal blouse, black sweater, and gold and pearl necklace. She is standing outside with a blurred field behind her.By Yazmeen O. Gadalla

Hello to all of our wonderful Paralegal Division members! It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself to you as your 2022-23 Paralegal Division Chair. I would like to introduce you to this year’s officers:

Yazmeen Gadalla, Chair

Yazmeen Gadalla is a North Carolina Certified Paralegal currently employed at Hendren, Redwine & Malone, PLLC as a Bankruptcy Paralegal. Prior to joining Hendren, Redwine & Malone in 2020, Gadalla was employed with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P. from 2019 to 2020, assisting start-up corporate clients with the formation of corporations and other business-related matters. Gadalla was also employed by Waldrep LLP from 2017 to 2019, where she provided essential support to their health care and bankruptcy practices, regularly assisting the attorneys with a wide variety of business bankruptcy matters in Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 12 proceedings. As a paralegal at Hendren, Redwine & Malone, Gadalla focuses on Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcies and state court matters. Gadalla is the current Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Paralegal Division and serves as co-chair on the Communications, Long-Term Planning, Membership and Scholarship Committees. Gadalla holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology, cum laude, from North Carolina State University, as well as her paralegal certificate from the Guilford College Paralegal Program.

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Carolyn Timmons Receives the Paralegal Division’s Endorsement for the NCSB Board of Paralegal Certification

By the Special Nominations Committee Carolyn V.  Timmons is a white woman with short, wavy blond hair. She is wearing a black turtleneck and her face is brightly lit, and she is smiling.

On June 23, 2022, the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification (hereinafter the “Board”) notified the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division (hereinafter the “Division”) of a call for nominations pursuant to 27 N.C.A.C. Chapter 1G – Section .0105 to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Board.

For more information on the differences between the Division and the Board, as well as a detailed explanation of the process, you can see the prior blog post written by the 2021-2022 Chair, Shawana Almendarez. 

Voting began for the opening on August 15, 2022, and ends on September 1, 2022.

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Through Our Eyes – A Paralegal’s View into Child Custody and Child Support

By Peggy Pardue is a white woman with light brown, shoulder-length hair. she is wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a bright blue blouse. She is pictured smiling.Peggy Pardue

As a Family Law paralegal, assisting clients with regard to child custody and child support is an important skill used daily. A paralegal may be the first point of contact for a client. Sometimes, when a client comes to your office in the early stage of their case, they are like a deer in headlights. As a paralegal, we can help give them direction and guidance.

Helping a client navigate a child support case can be challenging because there are so many documents necessary. You would be surprised at how many people do not know how to access their financial information, insurance information, or child care information – all of which are necessary to calculate child support. It is the paralegal’s duty to walk them through how to obtain this type of information. Another challenge is when the party that has to pay child support is resentful of having to pay. They think they are paying the other person money for that parent to use when in reality, it is for the benefit of the children. Paralegals need to remind clients that child support helps to pay for food, clothing, and housing for their children. Keeping clients focused on the needs of their children is key in a relationship between a paralegal and their client.

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Outstanding Paralegal Pro Bono Service Award Winner – Katie Riddle

By the Pro Bono CommitteeKatie Riddle is a young woman with blond hair and grey eyes. She is pictured smiling and wearing a blue shirt, and she is standing against a light background.

In early 2022, the North Carolina Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee approved a new pro bono award. This award was to recognize a paralegal who has proven to be dedicated to providing pro bono legal services. The qualifications for this award include volunteering “a substantial amount of time in pro bono legal service to increase access to justice.” At the 2022 North Carolina Bar Association Annual Meeting, Katie Riddle was announced as the inaugural winner of this award.

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Volunteer to Prepare Expunction Petitions Remotely

Rachel Royal is a young woman with medium blond hair. She is pictured wearing a coral shirt and standing in front of green foliage.By Rachel Royal

On September 24, 2022, the Charlotte Expunction Clinic will again be held at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. This project is a partnership of the following organizations: the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center (PBRC), the SelfServe Center, and the Mecklenburg County Clerk of Superior Court’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, and Public Defender’s Office. During the clinics, volunteer public defenders offer advice to applicants regarding their eligibility for expunction relief under North Carolina law.

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Paralegal Spotlight: Jennifer Gaff

By the Communications Committee

This month’s Paralegal Spotlight is on Jennifer Gaff, a Senior Litigation Paralegal at Raleigh Law Center.

Jennifer is a North Carolina Certified Paralegal who has been a paralegal for the past 15 years. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UNC Charlotte, and then later obtained her Paralegal Program Certificate from Meredith College. Jennifer spends her workdays drafting pleadings, discovery, and separation agreements, trial preparation, attending court when needed, calendaring hearings and mediations, and the list goes on. When off the clock, Jennifer likes to go to the gym or to spend time with her family and friends.

We asked Jennifer some questions to better understand this division member’s story:

What do you do to relax (and why)?

I have learned over the past couple of months that I love to grill. So my idea of relaxing, especially after a long hard day, is to sit on my deck with my pups, Bentley and Daisy, with a Truly and a grill dinner.

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Learning to Say No (Professionally)

BKatie Riddle is a young woman with blond hair and grey eyes. She is pictured smiling and wearing a blue shirt, and she is standing against a light background.y Katie Riddle

Why does the word “no,” a two-letter, concise word, carry such a heavy weight when used in a professional setting?

I think of the use of the word “no” in my personal life. My husband may ask if we should have dinner at one restaurant, and I am not anxious or worried when I respond “no, I would prefer eating at this particular restaurant.” Or I think of the times when I have to say no to my sweet dogs that are just begging for their fifth treat for the day. So why is it so hard to use the word “no” professionally?

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