Carolina Paralegal News Paralegal news for North and South Carolina

Lynne DeVenny promised to be honest when she announced on her blog in August that she would routinely report her progress on studying for one of the nation's top paralegal certification exams. So it took some pride-swallowing on Sept. 7 for the North Carolina paralegal to tell readers that she didn't pass the sample Communications quiz for the National Association of Legal Assistants' certification exam. "I thought, ‘I was an English major. Words are my thing. Communications will be easy,'" said DeVenny. "But I swore I would tell the truth, even when I fell on my face. I fell on my face," she said.

Maintaining ethical standards may be one of the trickiest parts of a paralegal's job. But practitioners and educators agree that it's also one of the most crucial.

North Carolina lawyer Beth Bunce inherited stacks of paperwork when she was appointed by the State Bar to close out the practice of a local attorney who passed away. Her job: to review, reorganize and return the files to the clients.