Outstanding Paralegal Pro Bono Service Award Winner: Andrea M. Blosser

By Peggy Pardue on behalf of the Communications Committee

The North Carolina Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee announced the winner of its Outstanding Paralegal Pro Bono Service Award, which recognizes 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.”

This year at the NCBA Annual Meeting on Friday, June 21, Andrea M. Blosser, a paralegal with Robinson Bradshaw, will receive the award.

Andrea Blosser started her professional career in Pennsylvania, and in 2016, she moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. Prior to being a paralegal, Andrea worked on a community treatment team as a case manager for individuals with persistent mental illness. She found that, because the laws and regulations in Pennsylvania were different from those in North Carolina, it would be difficult to continue doing the same work without obtaining additional licensing. So, she decided to make a career change, and in 2018, she began working as a paralegal.

Andrea is a litigation paralegal with Robinson Bradshaw, and she really enjoys digging into the facts of a case and assisting attorneys to achieve the best outcome for each case. In 2022, Andrea received a Master of Studies in law, with a concentration in business law and compliance from Wake Forest University School of Law. In 2014, she received her Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.

In 2023, Andrea gave 270 hours to her firm’s pro bono practice. When asked how her firm feels about pro bono work, she stated that they have an entire pro bono department. They are very dedicated to pro bono work, and it is a part of the culture in their firm. There is a push for everyone to be involved in pro bono work.

Andrea’s pro bono work over the past year with Robinson Bradshaw has included assisting in representing a federal prisoner in a First Amendment challenge and assisting a former nursing home employee in a jury trial for racial harassment. She also has contributed time to the Pro Bono Resource Center’s Driver’s License Restoration Project, the Charlotte Expunction Clinic, the North Carolina Bar Foundation’s Wills for Heroes Clinic, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases in the 26th Judicial District.

Currently, Andrea is assisting with two ongoing pro bono cases, a Fourth Circuit appeal of a First Amendment and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act challenge on behalf of a federal prisoner, and a Seventh Circuit appeal of a First Amendment challenge on behalf of a federal prisoner.

In June of this year, Andrea will again give of her time by volunteering for the North Carolina Bar Foundation and Bar Association Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Name Change Clinic.

Andrea joined the North Carolina Bar Association’s Paralegal Division as a council member in 2023. She has also served on the board of directors for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, focusing on mental health awareness and suicide prevention for young adults since 2011.

When asked what she would change about the paralegal profession, she said she would break down the barrier to access to justice. She feels paralegals could help fill the gap by allowing limited licensure for paralegals.

In her spare time, Andrea enjoys playing golf, reading, and traveling with her husband.

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