Release Date: Friday, February 5, 2010 4 p.m.
Harvey L. Bryant, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, is pleased to announce that four of his paralegal staff successfully passed the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc. (NALA) Certified Paralegal Examination. These include Cheina Gardner, Connie Gaylor, Amanda Herman, and Shari Morris. Two others recently passed the Advanced Certified Paralegal Examination. They are Jaye Koch and Jodie Turner.
Established in 1976, the Certified Legal Assistant/Certified Paralegal (CLA/CP) examination program is a voluntary professional credentialing program developed by NALA and administered by a board composed of paralegals, members of the American Bar Association and members in the field of education active in paralegal training. The CLA/CP program involves a two-day comprehensive examination covering the topics of communications; legal research; ethics; human relations and interviewing techniques; legal terminology; judgment and analytical ability and substantive law. Continuing legal education is required to maintain a certified status.
“Theirs is a great accomplishment that represents tremendous dedication to their profession and this office. It represents months of work and study after normal work hours as well as time from their weekends. It further represents peer support and teamwork as demonstrated by their study group. The CLA/CP exam is to paralegals what the Bar exam is to attorneys,” Bryant said.
NALA offers the CLA/CP exam three times a year. This December saw 352 examinees nationwide. Of those only 213 were successful. This is consistent with the average 60% pass ratio.
“Our office is very proud of the achievements of these paralegals.” Bryant said.
Our 19 paralegals excel in many areas and are active in the Tidewater Paralegal Association (TPA). Paralegal Team Leader Jaye Koch is the past president of this Association and is currently a Local Government Paralegal Association (LGPA) board member. Jodie Turner is the current president of TPA; Charlene Powell is the 2nd vice president; and Kristi Hopkins is the treasurer.
The Tidewater Paralegal Association will be hosting a membership campaign at the Virginia Beach Town Center City Club on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Legal assistants, paralegals or students interested in learning more about TPA are welcome to attend.
Please call Julie Pickell if additional information is desired.
Similar Press Releases: Amanda Herman, Cheina Gardner, Connie Gaylor, Harvey Bryant, Shari Morris
