Erica Barrett named 2025 Florida Registered Paralegal of the Year
Erica L. Barrett
Erica Barrett, firm administrator at Tampa’s Trentalange & Kelley, has been named The Florida Bar’s 2025 Florida Registered Paralegal of the Year, honored for her “exemplary performance and outstanding leadership” over a decades-long career in civil litigation.
“This award is a reminder of the importance of dedication, integrity, and collaboration in our profession,” said Barrett. “I am proud to be part of such a committed and inspiring legal community.”
She thanked the committee and the attorneys who nominated her for the award.
“Ms. Barrett’s tireless commitment to justice on behalf of injured Floridians, decades of mentorship and training of countless Florida paralegals, and her significant contributions to our legal community warrant this well-deserved recognition for her many accomplishments,” said Barrett’s former colleague, Andrew M. Bennett of Abrahamson & Uiterwyk in Tampa, in a letter nominating her for the award.
Bennett called Barrett an “irreplaceable ‘right hand’ to the managing partner,” hiring, managing, and mentoring legal staff, improving internal workflow efficiency, and leading the coordination and preparation of dozens of complex cases for trial. He praised her as a “linchpin in all aspects of law firm operations — from an initial client intake to filing final dismissal documents with the court.”
Barrett is experienced in medical malpractice, tobacco, and traumatic brain injury cases. Calling attention to Barrett’s work on a complex brain injury case, which resulted in a $68.6 million verdict, Bennett emphasized Barrett’s preparation of the file for trial as being essential to the success of the case.
“I have not witnessed a more impressive performance by a paralegal in the trenches of litigation than Ms. Barrett in the . . . case,” said Bennett. “I cannot think of a more deserving Florida Registered Paralegal for this prestigious award than Ms. Barrett.”
In addition to being a Florida Registered Paralegal, Barrett is a member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, NALA – The Paralegal Association, Tampa Bay Paralegal Association, and the Florida Justice Association.
Before working at Trentalange & Kelley, Barrett worked for Tampa trial attorney Hendrik Uiterwyk for 17 years, until his passing in December 2020. She started her career as a probation officer before pivoting to civil litigation as a paralegal, and quickly advanced to firm administrator. She holds a B.S. in Criminology from the University of Tampa.
The award was presented June 27 at the 2025 Annual Florida Bar Convention in Boca Raton.
