In September of 2007, I contacted the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) to let them know about the valuable impact our paralegals make every day in the lives of waiting children here in Pennsylvania. I wrote an article about our paralegals after that discussion with NALA. The article highlighted the work of the Legal Services Initiative program, currently operating in 14 Pennsylvania counties. Whether it’s drafting a document, subpoenaing a witness or handling a diligent search, each day that one of our paralegal spends working on a case is one less day that a child waits to find a permanent family or connection
As an attorney, I’ve worked for more than 10 years with paralegals in other states and saw first hand how critical it is to have a paralegal on your team. But it wasn’t until I came to work with SWAN that did I truly saw just how valuable a paralegal can be. As a prior paralegal instructor, I always encouraged my students to look for creative and unique opportunities to fully make use of their education and experiences and to find a position that will afford them the opportunity to truly love what they do. Now I am seeing first hand 17 examples of that very thought.
It was with great pride in my staff that I wrote this article and it is with great optimism that I hope each paralegal who reads it will seek out their own opportunities to make a difference. I also encourage other states to create their own brand of legal services initiative that will shorten the time children in their states wait for a permanent home.
Read the article: http://www.nala.org/Facts_Art_Permanent_Homes.pdf