Even after more than 30 years in the profession, Margo Valenti never tires of the question she gets nearly every day — what’s a paralegal? She prefers using a medical analogy to help explain that a paralegal isn’t a lawyer — but a professional who is trained to help lawyers serve the public more effectively…

Florida Lawyers Helpline eligibility will be expanded to include nearly 5,000 members of the Florida Registered Paralegal Program, the Board of Governors has decided. Budget Committee Chair Melissa VanSickle urged board members to approve a $3,600 budget amendment that would cover the cost of expanding eligibility for the final six months of FY 2020-2021. “It’s…

Almost 900 people attended the Florida Registered Paralegal Enrichment Committee’s virtual seminar, “How to Prepare for Trial When the Client Is Innocent, and the Deck Is Stacked Against Them: The Brenton Butler Murder Trial,” at the recent Florida Bar Annual Convention. Frank Digon-Greer, assistant director of programs at The Florida Bar, along with paralegal Asha…

After months of study, the Board of Governors has decided to postpone weighing in on an Access to Civil Justice Commission proposal to create an “Advanced Florida Registered Paralegal.” At a June 17 video-conference meeting, the board voted unanimously to postpone accepting a Rules Committee recommendation that the board “generally” support the proposal, which is…

(Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to more thoroughly explain the concerns the Rules Committee and some Florida Bar sections have expressed about a proposal from the Supreme Court’s Commission on Access to Civil Justice to amend Bar rules to create “Advanced Florida Registered Paralegals.”) A proposed rule that would allow “Advanced Florida Registered…

The U.S. Small Business Administration is actively recruiting lawyers and paralegals to review and close SBA Disaster Loans for small business owners in need of COVID-19 disaster assistance relief. “To get right to the point, we have an urgent need to hire attorneys and paralegals,” said Patricia Gibson, a senior advisor at the SBA, adding the…

Lawyers worried that “Advanced Florida Registered Paralegals” would improperly advise clients about complex family law, will, or other issues. Paralegals were concerned the “advanced” label was too broad. There was agreement about the need for more help for people with legal problems who cannot afford lawyers. The venue was the March 11 meeting of the…

Review of a proposal under consideration by the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice to create a new category of Advanced Florida Registered Paralegals to provide limited legal assistance to some limited-represented litigants has been delegated for further study by the Bar Board of Governors. President John Stewart announced at the board’s January 31…

Sixty-two percent of Florida law firms use paralegals and 51 percent of those say their paralegals averaged more than 1,000 billable hours last year, according to The Florida Bar’s 2018 Economics and Law Office Management Survey. The survey also found that 16 percent of respondents who work in firms with paralegals report their offices require…

Governor Ron DeSantis declared October 23, 2020 Paralegal Day in Florida.

FRPs can now search for available jobs on LegalFuel. You can browse by different titles and keywords.

The Florida Bar FRP Enrichment Committee presents the Fall 2020 Volume II of the FRP Times e-newsletter.

By:  Shelly Zambo, FRP Well, it has been over a month now and I think I have fully settled into my daily COVID isolation home office routine. Since my 45 minute drive into the office is unnecessary, I can roll out of bed around 8:00 a.m., put on some makeup (on even days only), drag…

Please send us information that you might have regarding continuing legal education opportunities for paralegals around the state. We are always looking for CLE that is on topic and affordable for everyone in our community. The Florida Bar provides some wonderful resources on its website, but it would be nice to know if a local…

The ability to reach a dynamic group of individuals and show your support for the paralegal profession here in Florida is now available. With the recent formation of the Florida Registered Paralegal Enrichment Committee by The Florida Bar, the committee’s agenda is to bring more awareness to the legal community. Avenues of communication to the…

The results are in! The Florida bar emailed an electronics survey to 4,797 Florida Registered Paralegals in June 2019. By the July 24, 2019 cut-off date, 1,361 completed surveys were received for a response rate of 28 percent. Download the results of the 2019 Florida Registered Paralegal Survey.  

The inaugural edition of the FRP Times is now available! Download the FRP Times

In Memoriam Remembering a member of our Florida Registered Paralegal community: Erin O’Neil Foster Arena, FRP Paralegal Member of The Florida Bar Member of the PAF Treasure Coast June 22, 2019 If you know a member of our community that has passed, please let us know so they can be recognized.  Email your notice to:…

Patricia DeRamus recognized by Office of the Attorney General Congratulations to Patricia DeRamus for being recognized for exemplary service by the Office of the Attorney General for her dedicated and valued contribution to the 2019 Consumer Protection Moving Team!   Have you recently received your paralegal certification or FRP designation?  Have you been recognized for…

Simple steps to paralegal networking By: Patricia C. DeRamus, CP, ACP, FRP Office of the Attorney General – CP Division We’ve all heard the advice that networking is important step for career success as a paralegal.  If you want to be successful, you need to spend time networking.  We go to networking events and conferences,…

FRP Enrichment Committee raises the bar By: Lori M. Spangler, FRP Did you know that the paralegal profession first emerged during the 1960s?  During that time, there was a gap in the legal profession that needed to be filled in order to make legal services more accessible and affordable to the public.  In response to this…

FRP Enrichment Committee striving to keep you informed The launch of the FRP Corner was only the first in a series of “communication events” planned by the FRP Enrichment Committee all designed to keep Florida Registered Paralegals up-to-date and informed. The successful launch of the FRP Corner is being followed by a multi-platform social media…

FRP certificates and ID cards available for printing on demand Great news! Florida Registered Paralegal Program members can now print FRP cards and certificates — anytime, anywhere — directly from the MyFloridaBar Member Portal.  Log in to the portal. If you are an active FRP, you’ll see links for “FRP Certificate” and “FRP ID Card”…

At this year’s Annual Florida Bar Convention, the FRP Enrichment Committee hosted a two-hour CLE Ethics seminar on Friday, June 28, 2019 entitled Ethical Considerations in the Practice of Law: Alcohol and Substance Abuse. Wendy Toscano, the Vice-Chair for the FRP Enrichment Committee was our emcee for the event and introduced Justice Robert Luck who…

By:  Shelly Zambo, FRP The future is bright for Florida Registered Paralegals.  The inaugural meeting of the Florida Bar’s newly-formed Florida Registered Paralegal Enrichment Committee was held at the Bar’s Winter Meeting on January 8, 2019 in Orlando.  The mission of the Paralegal Enrichment Committee is to bring more awareness to the legal community as…

By:  Patricia DeRamus, ACP, FRP In May 2019, the FRP Awareness Committee has been diligently working on marketing material to educate paralegals about the benefits of becoming a Florida Registered Paralegal.  Recently approved by The Florida Bar is a marketing bi-fold which provides the unique benefits for professional paralegals.  This bi-fold explains the importance of…

By:  Margo T. Valenti, FRP Everyone is pressed for time these days and the Communications Sub-Committee believes the FRP Corner can be a quick and valuable tool for the Florida Registered Paralegals to connect and learn what is going on within the paralegal community throughout the State of Florida.  While the regulatory aspects of the…