What is a paralegal’s role in higher education? This question was posed to me during one of our North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division’s Annual Meetings. The first thought that came to mind was the relief of no longer living my life in six-minute increments! The next was the realization that paralegals and attorneys in higher education wear many hats when dealing with legal matters within a university.

Having been at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (“UNC Charlotte”) for over fifteen years, I’ve learned that we handle a broad range of legal topics. The various departments and colleges within the university are like the “clients” represented by a private firm. Similar to a private firm, the Office of Legal Affairs provides legal advice and assistance to the chancellor and the university. Unlike private firms, where directives come from the partner or owner, our directives are issued by the university administration or driven by recent changes in both federal and state laws.

Working as a paralegal in higher education is quite different from working as a paralegal in the private sector. Before joining UNC Charlotte, I spent over fifteen years as a paralegal in private defense litigation firms. My daily responsibilities were typical of a litigation paralegal: calendaring deadlines, preparing discovery responses, drafting motions for extensions of time, objections, and then even more deadlines (if you are a litigation paralegal, you know what I mean). While I still have deadlines to meet, they are now mostly project-based rather than filing deadlines. And, as I briefly touched on, I do not have to keep track of billable time in the private sector, unlike traditional law firms.

Projects range from a variety of legal matters, including complex transactional matters involving technology transfer, research-related issues, intellectual property, and real estate. One of the major roles within the Office of Legal Affairs is advising university administrators on a variety of legal issues in public higher education law, including policy development, contract drafting and negotiation, student affairs, athletics, and compliance with both federal and state laws and regulations. My role as a paralegal is to support and assist the attorneys in case management, litigation support, and the coordination and management of legal projects and university policies.

As a public university, UNC Charlotte must comply with the North Carolina Public Records Act. This means our office is responsible for coordinating and responding to such requests in accordance with the law. Additionally, training and workshops are essential for the campus community, particularly faculty and staff. We conduct monthly training workshops and an annual symposium covering a range of topics, including the Public Records Act, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), negotiating research agreements, legislative updates, U.S. Supreme Court updates, and trademarks/licenses.

In short, working for a university is both rewarding and challenging. My time at UNC Charlotte provides me with numerous opportunities for professional growth, not to mention the amazing people I work with in the Office of Legal Affairs.

I hope this article gives you a glimpse into what a paralegal’s role in a higher education institution might look like. For those of you who are recent graduates from a paralegal program, remember that there are many different areas of practice where you can utilize your skills. While a typical law firm might be the first thing that comes to mind, working as a “non-traditional” paralegal can be very rewarding. Be open to the many possibilities that come your way — you’ll be amazed!

Tina Dadio is the University Public Records Officer and has served as the Paralegal for the Office of Legal Affairs since July 2010. She has over thirty years of experience in the paralegal field, having worked previously at litigation law firms in North Carolina and Connecticut. She received her bachelor’s degree in legal studies from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. Tina has been a council member of the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division since 2014 and currently serves as a liaison to the North Carolina Bar Association Education Law Section. She also serves on the Paralegal Division’s Executive Leadership Committee, Long-Range Planning Committee, and is the chair of the Historian Committee and co-chair of the Survey Committee. She was the recipient of UNC Charlotte’s 2015 Employee of the Year, Devotion of Duty, for outstanding state government service. Tina has written articles for the Young Lawyer’s Division’s The Advocate newsletter and for the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Council’s Paralegal Perspectives newsletter. She has also been featured in UNC Charlotte’s Inside UNC Charlotte’s FACES newsletter and in the Carolina Paralegal News, a North Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly publication. Tina proudly served this state as the 2019-2020 Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division and is a member of the governance committee for the Higher Education Legal Managers (HELM) Association.

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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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September 20, 2024/by Paralegals