Outstanding Paralegal Pro Bono Service Award Winner – Katie Riddle
By the Pro Bono Committee
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.
Katie embodies this qualification, having volunteered for the North Carolina Bar Foundation, the North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center, Legal Aid of North Carolina, as a guardian ad litem in Guilford County, and as a Paralegal Division Pro Bono Committee member, all in the past five years. As a member of the Paralegal Division Pro Bono Committee, Katie has worked tirelessly to research options for pro bono projects, assist with the launch of new projects, and give oral reports at Paralegal Division meetings. Katie’s dedication to pro bono service made her an easy choice as the inaugural winner of the Outstanding Paralegal Pro Bono Service Award.
Katie is certified as a paralegal by the North Carolina State Bar, a Fellow by the Life Management Institute, an Associate by the Reinsurance Administration, and an Associate in Project Management. She is an upcoming J.D. candidate with North Carolina Central University School of Law. She has been a paralegal for the past seven years. She is currently employed by Lincoln Financial Group as a Life Products Paralegal, where she supports numerous attorneys and clients on a wide range of matters involving and impacting the area of life insurance.
In honor of her award, we asked Katie to share some of her story with us.
How did you choose the paralegal field?
My original plan was to go to law school after working as a paralegal for three years. I wanted to save enough for school and really be sure that I wanted to invest my time and energy in law school. It didn’t take long for me to realize that being a paralegal is exactly what I needed to be doing and where I needed to be. Now that I believe I have solid footing (employment, experience, and so forth), I am ready to move toward becoming an attorney.
What is your favorite podcast or your favorite Netflix or other streaming service series?
Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix (amazing) and The Old Man on Hulu. My husband and I binged Lincoln Lawyer in a weekend (not hard to do) and would do the same for The Old Man if Hulu released more than one episode per week.
What are you reading right now?
I have begun reading The Harry Potter series. I just finished “The Chamber of Secrets” and will start “The Prisoner of Azkaban.” I am also reading “The Alchemy of Race and Rights” by Patricia J. Williams.
What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment?
Everything that has gotten me to this point in my life including the people I have met and the opportunities I have had and pursued. My certifications, my involvement with the NCBA, everything. I also work for an amazing company and the most supportive group of attorneys who truly want me to succeed.
What do you find most challenging about the paralegal field?
The constant reminder that no one is perfect. I think it is very natural for those in the legal field – not just paralegals – to try to always be perfect and to strive for perfection. I consistently have to remind myself that perfection is unattainable and certainly not realistic.
If you weren’t a paralegal, what would you be doing instead?
I would be an English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher. I came very close to pursuing that route, but I quickly became employed as a paralegal, and the rest is history!
How would your coworkers describe you?
That I do not stop. I wholeheartedly believe that you can never learn too much, so I am always looking for opportunities to become a better paralegal. Also, I believe you can never do enough good, so I try to volunteer as much as I can.
What do you do when you aren’t working?
I spend time with my husband, Garrett, and our two dogs, Layla and Nellie. I am so thankful for my little family that I just can’t get enough time with them!
Thank you, Katie, for sharing your story with the Paralegal Division. We congratulate you again for being the 2022 Outstanding Pro Bono Paralegal Award recipient!
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