Growing up in Lamar, S.C., a small town in the Pee Dee Region of the state, McKela Simon enjoyed life in a large family with both parents and eight siblings. She was attracted to law at a young age.  “I ...

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Pro bono work is so important to paralegal Katie Riddle, she was inspired to go to law school for opportunities to do more of it. So far in her young career, she has volunteered for the North Carolina Pro Bono ...

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Tina Barber launched her paralegal career after the local veterinarian she worked for in her small community sold his practice.   “I was recruited by a lawyer who taught me to run an accounting program on an old Radio Shack computer ...

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by Teri Saylor A self-described “Navy brat,” Victoria Quarles was born in upstate New York and raised in Connecticut. After moving to North Carolina and raising her children, she went back to school at Johnston Community College and N.C. State ...

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by Teri Saylor A lifelong resident of Buncombe County, N.C., Joan Sprinkle grew up in Weaverville, where she still lives. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and Law from UNC-Asheville and earned a Master of Arts in ...

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Tara Brown was a child when her parents went through a trying divorce. “My siblings and I felt like pawns in their domestic matters,” she says. sac à dos kanken fjallraven pas cher “But as I got older, I felt ...

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As a high school senior in St. Petersburg, Florida, Ashley Johnson knew she wanted a career in law, so she took a part time receptionist job at a local law firm. After graduating, she attended a paralegal program at St. ...

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As a college student in Greensboro, Taylor Barrett explored a variety of majors including education, psychology and French before finding her niche in justice and policy studies. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, Barrett moved to Greensboro to attend Guilford ...

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Bonnie Ruffin grew up in Wilson, North Carolina, dreaming of becoming an attorney. But along the way, she decided to pursue a career as a paralegal, and has excelled. She owns her own consulting business and is serving a term ...

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Q&A: Kirsten Carlos Kirsten Carlos received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University in 1993. She completed the Meredith College Paralegal Program in 2004 and became a NALA certified paralegal in 2006 and a North Carolina State Bar Certified Paralegal ...

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Q&A: Carolyn Timmons Carolyn Timmons is a paralegal at Jones, Key, Melvin, & Patton, in Franklin, N.C., concentrating on litigation and estate work. She recently served three years on the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division Council and currently serves ...

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Stephanie Elliott-Park is a paralegal with Gray, Layton, Kersh, Solomon, Furr & Smith in Gastonia, N.C. She has been working in the field for 14 years and is a member of NALA, the Paralegal Division of the N.C. Bar Association ...

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Lee Weiland is a paralegal in the litigation practice group at McAngus Goudelock & Courie in Columbia, S.C. In 2003, Weiland received her bachelor’s degree in media communications from College of Charleston and later earned her paralegal certificate from Midlands ...

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Donna Parker Meadows is a paralegal for attorney Ernest L. Conner Jr. at Graham Nuckolls & Brown in Greenville, N.C. For her first 15 years of employment at the firm, Meadows focused on criminal law and family law. Now, her work concentrates ...

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Karen McGee is the president of the National Association of Legal Assistants. She is also the first deputy clerk with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport, La. A frequent speaker on paralegal procedures, McGee also is a member of the Northwest Louisiana Paralegal Association, the Louisiana State Paralegal Association and the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks. She received her certified paralegal credential from NALA in May 1990 and her advanced credential in civil litigation in May 1994.

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