The 2024 Distinguished Paralegal Award Winner: Margaret “Peggy” Pardue
By the Communications Committee
On June 21, 2024, Margaret “Peggy” Pardue was recognized as the 2024 Distinguished Paralegal Award recipient by the North Carolina Bar Association (“NCBA”).
Pardue was nominated by Kristin Hampson, her attorney for whom she has spent the past 21 years supporting at Hampson Family Law in Raleigh. Hampson was proud to nominate Pardue for a well-deserved award.
Recently seen on Hampson Family Law’s Facebook post was the following description of Pardue’s role:
“An ear to listen . . .
A heart to help . . .
An eFile phenom . . .
An organizing beast . . .
A schedule master . . .
A document demander (but in the nicest way) . . .
A client wrangler . . .
An all-around irreplaceable and amazing paralegal . . .
Most definitely a DISTINGUISHED PARALEGAL!”
Aside from being this year’s Distinguished Paralegal recipient and a rockstar paralegal in general, Pardue has had a long-standing history of involvement in the paralegal profession. Pardue is a North Carolina Certified Paralegal and has also been a Notary Public for over 35 years. She is a member of the NCBA’s Paralegal Division (the “Division”) and the Family Law Section, in which she serves in a variety of roles.
Currently, she is the Treasurer of the Division, the Division’s co-chair for the Communications Committee, a liaison for the Division for the Family Law Section, and she has previously served as a Council Member. She was a planner for the ”Keeping it all Together: Today’s Family Law Paralegal CPE” in 2020; ”Keeping it all Together: Today’s Family Law Paralegal CPE Part II” in 2020; “One Fell Swoop: Custody, Military, Mental Health, Social Media and E-filing for Family Law Paralegals” in 2023; and she is planning another CPE for 2024, all of which are geared specifically toward family law paralegals.
Pardue has been an active volunteer as well. She has worked as a proctor for the North Carolina Paralegal Certification Exam, participated as a panelist for Elon University School of Law for the North Carolina Bar Association and served as a site volunteer for the Raleigh Regional High School Mock Trial offered through the North Carolina Mock Trial Program. She has volunteered for the Division’s Pro Se Custody and Family Law Advice Clinic, which is organized by the Paralegal Division Pro Bono Committee.
Prior to becoming a paralegal in 2003 (where she began her career with Meredith J. McGill, P.A.), Peggy was with the North Carolina State Board of CPA Examiners, where she worked for seven years in their disciplinary section and assisted in proctoring the CPA exams in Raleigh and Winston-Salem. After working there for seven years, she transitioned into the role of an Executive Administrative Assistant with a local propane company.
Peggy was born in Haddonfield, New Jersey, but has been in the Raleigh area since 1969. When she is not working, Peggy enjoys doing home improvement projects, gardening, fishing, boating, riding motorcycles, traveling and spending time with family (including her precious grandchildren).
Previous recipients of the Distinguished Paralegal Award were Sarah L. White (2018), Lakisha Chichester (2019), Alicia Mitchell-Mercer (2021), Grace Ward (2022) and Katie Riddle (2023).
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The Paralegal Division Blog is managed by the Division’s Communications Committee. Via the blog, the Communications Committee provides information written by attorneys, paralegals, and other experts designed specifically for paralegals in the areas of substantive law, ethics, technology, paralegal practice advice, and more. If you are interested in signing up to submit a blog post on a future date, you can do so here. When you are ready to submit a blog post, you can do so by using this form.
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