The Paralegal Voice

Guest and professional legal recruiter Tracey Perkins says in 2025 every paralegal professional should know the importance of technology, especially AI. But she stresses the best paralegals always manage the tech and never let the tech manage them. AI is a tool that can spur efficiency, but it will never replace the mind and analytical skills of a skilled paralegal professional.

In the rapidly advancing world of legal tech, grit matters. You’ve got to keep up. Pushing yourself through even the toughest challenges builds the professional you are destined to become. Perkins is a paralegal professional, educator, and legal industry recruiter who has driven herself forward for more than 20 years. She brings the lessons she learned to every aspect of her life and strives to share each one with every student and every job seeker.

Plus, learn insider tips for when you’re applying for a new position: Don’t include photos on your resume, learn to professionally format everything. Time is money, so get to the bullet points and focus on clear, concise communication. No fluff, no fillers. (And please, no silly email addresses, keep it professional). Hear Perkins’ golden rules for building professional relationships and her pro tips for your LinkedIn page. Get fired up and get hired.

Mentioned in This Episode:

CliftonStrengths assessment

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

AI is coming, and it may be coming for your job. Guest Dan Lear, vice president of partnerships at the digital case management company InfoTrack, shares how paralegal professionals can adapt and remain vital. Spoiler, you can’t ignore the AI revolution, but you can learn, evolve, and deliver insights and human skills that AI simply can’t match. 

File, case, and data management has come a long way, from physically moving boxes of paper filings to electronic management, and Lear has done it all, from moving paper files to his current position legal tech. Along the way, Lear advanced from a file clerk position to a career as a paralegal professional, then earning his law degree. Now he’s exploring and embracing AI capabilities.

Having worked as a paralegal, Lear understands how vital the profession is to the practice of law, at times even “training” newly minted attorneys as they transition from learning the principles of the law to actually getting the job done. 

As Lear explains, lifelong learning, networking, and building strong connections will become increasingly important moving forward, whether you’re a newcomer to the field or an experienced veteran. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

“Behind the Curtain: A White-Collar Bloodbath,” Axios

“Tech CEO Warns AI Will Eliminate Jobs. What Can You Do to Protect Your Career?” ABC7 Los Angeles

“The Free-Time Paradox in America,” The Atlantic

Claude AI

ChatGPT / OpenAI

Google Gemini

Off The Record

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

Guest Linda McGrath-Cruz worked as a paralegal professional in private practice and in-house (including Royal Caribbean) for 28 years, and she’s a leader for the Paralegal Navigating Perilous Waters cruise, a CLE paralegal conference that takes place on a cruise ship (how cool is that?). 

She is currently the program coordinator and a full-time faculty member in the paralegal program at St. Johns River State College in Florida, a hands-on, real-life program that helps students get jobs and then get the job done. She is also the founder and leader of the social media program Perfectly Paralegal, a community that offers resources, support, and continuing education to paralegal professionals nationwide.

We all need NALA continuing ed credits, but why not make it a family vacation on a cruise ship? Courses on the Perilous Waters cruise are arranged to provide both credits but also leave time for networking, sharing tips, and having fun. Make it a family trip, a friends group outing, or a company event. Learn while you sail. 

Whether it’s in the classroom or on the high seas, McGrath-Cruz is dedicated to sharing what she’s learned with practical teachings that make you better and advance your career. Get excited and get involved.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Paralegals Navigating Perilous Waters Cruise, March 6, 2026 

St. Johns River State College Paralegal Program

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA CP exams

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

Guest Huascar Matos is a paralegal professional and the new president of the International Practice Management Association (IPMA). He has a varied background including a degree in Spanish and time in the fashion and art industry. After an unusual and unexpected path, he has found himself as a director of paralegals at the firm of Foley & Lardner. 

It’s an exciting time for the IPMA as members consider international expansion, the “elephant in the room” of artificial intelligence, and the evolution of a constantly changing profession. AI may shake up the game, but Matos reminds us the legal profession is never static, enduring the shift from paper to e-discovering, the addition of computer capabilities, and other technologies. 

Paralegals, Matos says, will adjust and adapt as they always have. Being part of an organization such as IPMA helps paralegals understand new trends and learn new skills. Robots are not going to take over your job, but AI could help you do it better. 

Hear about Matos’ own career path and the advice he has for those new to the profession. Stepping up, volunteering for new duties, and learning as you go will build your career and get you noticed. Don’t put yourself in a box. Be a “legal MacGyver.” 

What’s new for NALA in 2025? Get the scoop from guest Vanessa “Vinnie” Finley, the CEO of NALA since 2019. There’s plenty of news about the upcoming NALA conference and new initiatives to help you be your best professional self. 

2025 is no ordinary year for NALA as the paralegal association celebrates 50 years. Start with the latest on the 2025 NALA Conference & Expo, July 10-12 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Earn continuing education credits, network, learn new skills, and hear about NALA’s plans for the future. Early bird registration ends May 7. 

Plus, dig into NALA’s newest national survey on utilization compensation and learn about trends in pay, billing, and benefits. You’ll also hear about new limited licensing programs, AI, and trends across the field.

And we’ll talk about NALA’s new Resource Navigator, pulling together vendor information and the newest in tech, and a new collection of relevant articles and updates on NALA’s free Paralegal Brief page. Even more? How about a review of NALA’s work with affiliates and students nationwide and an upcoming free webinar on billable hours. This special episode has it all.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Vanessa Finley, prior appearance on Paralegal Voice, “The Year Ahead For NALA, Plus A Preview Of The 2024 Conference” 

Vanessa Finley, prior appearance on Paralegal Voice, “The NALA Paralegal Jobs Report: Get Paid What You’re Worth!”  

NALA, The Paralegal Association 

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

NALA Resource Navigator

NALA Paralegal Brief

Get involved with NALA

In this powerful, and deeply emotional and inspirational episode, acclaimed author and speaker Jesse Leon tackles sensitive issues including human trafficking and substance abuse and how he rose above the challenges on his path to success. Leon grew up homeless, addicted, and sexually trafficked. But he survived and is here to remind all of us that we all matter, and we can grow and rise above. None of us are alone. 

Leon shares his struggles and ultimate triumph as motivation and inspiration. No matter where you are in life, you are important, you can overcome. We are all warriors.

If you’re struggling, if you’re hurting, there is help. People do care about you. There is help out there. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

“I’m Not Broken” by Jesse Leon, available at Amazon

National Public Radio (NPR) “'I'm Not Broken' Is About Being Broken — And Building a New Life” 2022

MenHealing.org

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

Guest Natalie Athas is an experienced international paralegal for a Southern California law firm. She set out to become a nurse but wound up getting into the legal profession and found her place. She worked her way up through a number of positions, starting at the ground floor. Funny how things work out. 

Hear about the typical day of a busy paralegal serving a litigation team. She travels extensively as part of her job, mentoring new paralegal groups for her firm around the country. “My day is like a box of chocolates,” she says. “I never know what I’m going to get.” 

As she worked through the ranks, Athas took advantage of every opportunity to take on new tasks, from making herself an “essential employee” during the COVID pandemic, coming into the office while others worked from home (even doing the “COVID Cleaning” of door handles and keyboards) to learning Zoom trials and filling in when other branches of the firm are short staffed. 

This episode is a great guide to self-propelled career advancement and becoming so essential to your firm’s operations they wouldn’t even think of leaving you behind if they downsize. Stay visible, put in the hours, and build your skills. These are tips for success you don’t want to miss. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Trial Director

OnCue trial presentation software

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

Los Angeles Paralegal Association

California Lawyers Association

Orange County Paralegal Association

 Today’s legal evidence, more than ever, is digital. We’re not digging through boxes of paperwork and memos anymore. In its own way, paper evidence was easy – if time consuming – to request, sift through, organize, present, and protect. But today, evidence lives in the digital universe. We find evidence in emails, tablets, mobile devices, computers, the cloud, cell phones, even digital doorbells and devices connected through the Internet of Things (IoT). 

Guest John Sammons is an author and professor teaching digital forensics at Marshall University and is the associate director of the Marshall Institute for Cyber Security. He explains how vital paralegal professionals have become in the struggle to gather, understand, decipher, explain, and protect today’s digital evidence. 

More than ever, well-educated and up-to-date paralegal professionals become indispensable as they help their legal teams understand what to ask for, where digital evidence might be hiding, and how to clearly explain these complex clues to a judge and jury. 

Sammons explains how advancing technologies, AI, digital duplicates, and speech replication tech are making tech-savvy paralegal professionals irreplaceable components inside their organizations. Get inspired to get out there and learn something new today. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

American Academy of Forensic Sciences

CES, Consumer Electronics Show

Appalachian Institute of Digital Evidence

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

Ever wonder what it takes to pass the NALA Certified Paralegal (CP®) certification exam? Let’s break it down and set you apart in your field. You can do this. 

Guest Lori Young is a full-time faculty member at the College of the Canyons in California and a part-time instructor at the University of California Santa Barbara. She has been a paralegal professional for more than 25 years and specializes in legal tech, contract law, estate planning, and helping students just like you prepare for and pass the CP exam. 

Young knows firsthand the ins and outs of the CP exam. She freely admits she failed it the first time, so she’s been there, done that, and knows what it takes. She buckled down and passed, then helped develop a curriculum to help others pass the exam the first time. She offers tips and inspiration for anyone considering taking the plunge. (Spoiler: Taking a prep course can give you the confidence you need). 

In California, CP Exam test prep programs are free at community colleges, but they’re also available at a very low cost online for those outside the state. Certification can boost your career, elevate your performance, increase your confidence, and make you more valuable to your team. Bottom line: the CP designation opens new doors. No more putting it off. 

Lori also offers her first hand experience with the recent California wildfires. The College of the Canyons became an evacuation center for the community and served as a center for the Incident Command team. She urges paralegal students to become more involved in their communities via volunteer opportunities and working with legal clinics to assist those impacted by disaster. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

NALA Certified Paralegal (CP®) program

NALA CP practice exam

Certified Paralegal Exam Test Preparation Program, College of the Canyons

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

NALA, The Paralegal Association

Los Angeles Paralegal Association (LAPA)

Life is an opportunity to learn, and learning never stops. Guest Jonathan Dang served in the military, then earned a bachelor’s degree, and then earned his master’s degree. He’s a big believer in lifelong learning, there’s never a bad time to take a course, boost your career, and learn something new. 

Hear how Dang started out looking for direction, found his way, learned from mentors, and finally became a leader in his field. If you’re new to the field and want to take on a leadership role, start with being a “servant leader,” go above and beyond and accept new challenges and volunteer for unexpected tasks. Learn something new every day. Yes, it’s hard. But it’s also fun. 

Dang’s openness to new experiences, his networking and involvement in his local Paralegal Association, and his journey from mentee to mentor continues to fuel his career. You can do this. Break out of your shell and be excited. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Los Angeles Paralegal Association (LAPA)

LAPA on LinkedIn

LAPA events page

Marine Corps, Toys for Tots

NALA, The Paralegal Association

NALA Conference & Expo 2025

NALA, The Paralegal Association