Statewide association offers opportunities for networking, education

Between endless to-do lists and extensive case research, there’s no such thing as a typical day in the life of a paralegal. Despite their packed schedules, paralegals like Dawn Edmondson and Monica Dabio express a deep love for the profession and the opportunity to work alongside attorneys to resolve cases efficiently.

The challenge is what drew them to the profession.

“A lot of it was the digging and the investigation into the facts of a case and finding those little nuggets of information that help the case move forward,” said Dabio, a paralegal at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

Beyond the law firm, Dabio and Edmondson, a paralegal at Bose McKinney & Evans, are committed to building up the paralegal profession. The women are past-president and president, respectively, of the Indiana Paralegal Association, which has about 110 members.

The Indiana Paralegal Association supports paralegals through networking, educational opportunities and, most recently, an online job bank. The group was established in 1979 as the Indianapolis Paralegal Association and then renamed four years later to serve as a statewide organization.

In a conversation with The Indiana Lawyer’s Maura Johnson, Dabio and Edmondson share more about their paths to the profession, why they love what they do and how the Indiana Paralegal Association supports professionals across the state.

How did you get into the paralegal profession?

Dabio: When I was 11, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, so when I was looking at colleges, that was one of the things I had looked for was something law related that I could get some experience in. I came across the legal administration program at Ball State. And when I found out more about what the paralegal does versus the attorney, I found my fit.

Edmondson: I had kind of a windy path to get here. Out of high school, I ended up getting married young and having a family. I did work as a legal secretary at a small firm, and they actually started my educational path. I started some paralegal courses over here at IUPUI (now IU Indianapolis) and then stayed home with the kiddos for a bit. But when I came back to work, I then finished my degree.

Can you explain the mission of the Indiana Paralegal Association?

Dabio: It’s an organization that’s created by paralegals for paralegals, whether they’re students or part time. We provide them an environment to network. Even in this digital age, networking is still very important.

But we also provide educational opportunities. We have meetings every month, and we try to provide speakers that are relevant to a wide variety of paralegals, not just litigation or real estate or things of that nature. We try to broaden that perspective.

We also provide support for paralegal students who may or may not know where they want to go post-graduation. We’ve been out to several schools — IU Indy, Ball State — different places like that to do panels with the paralegal students so they can get an idea of what we do in different practice areas.

We also offer a job bank so that employers around the state can post their jobs and have access to a large group of paralegals. And on a larger scale, we’re there to promote the profession.

What does the job-hunting process look like for paralegals? Is it similar to that of attorneys at law firms?

Edmondson: We (IPA) are trying to pilot job shadowing for some of our students. I think for a lot of paralegals, we just got our foot in the door as a receptionist or a legal assistant, or I think there may be one or two that started in a copy center. On top of the education is the experience that you gain, just step by step, more of getting your foot in the door and learning the ropes of how things go.

Dabio: I’ve met a lot of paralegals who started out as receptionists or legal assistants and then worked while they got their education. Then when they finished their degree, they either worked with the firm they were at in order to move into a paralegal role, or they found a role elsewhere that would allow for that.

But a lot of paralegals learn from their internships and, just the same way as lawyers do, their summer clerkships. If the firm really likes them, and then they have an opening, they might get considered for that role.

What’s the most fulfilling part of working in the profession? With the Indiana Paralegal Association?

Edmondson: For me, I enjoy the networking. I enjoy meeting people and learning about what they do and how they do things and listening to speakers in our meetings. I can just have a conversation with a paralegal at a networking event or a luncheon, and we can share ideas within five or 10 minutes that I can take back and apply to what I’m doing.

As a paralegal in the profession, I like to be challenged. If I’m not challenged, I’m bored. So just the challenge of “well, I need this, and I need this five minutes ago. I have 15 other things you wanted five minutes ago,” but still being able to get it all done and accomplished in a timely manner, I enjoy that challenge very much.

Dabio: Being part of IPA, I have also really enjoyed getting to know people. I’ve met a lot of wonderful paralegals over the course of the last few decades.

Before I graduated from Ball State, I started working for a judge in Delaware County, so it was kind of a really quick and easy transition. But then I wanted to move down to Indianapolis, I had to hunt for that job, but I think that’s the only job I really had to hunt for. I got involved in IPA, met a lot of people, talked a lot about what we do and things of that nature. From there it was like, “Oh, hey, our firm’s looking for somebody. Would you like to send in your resume, and we’ll see what happens?” Just my friendships with other paralegals have helped me in that regard move from job to job.

As far as just being in the profession, I enjoy the challenge. Over the years, I have been challenged enough that I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone a little at a time, and that has been really fun. If you had asked me when I was in high school if I would have ever been president of the Indiana Paralegal Association, I would have said no way — I have to get up and speak in front of people? But I enjoy the attorneys I work for. They often challenge me to do new things. So that has been a lot of fun along the way.

What are you looking forward to at the association in the next few months?

Edmondson: We’re always excited about our silent auction that happens in December. .. I[t] is one of our biggest events because we get donations from the community, and all the funds from the auction go straight to our charitable partner. It’s a good time for everybody to get together and network, dress up in their Christmas work clothes and have lunch and just sit down and be together.

Dabio: We’ve done that for quite a long time, and every year we pick a different charitable partner. It’s nice to hear from those groups around Indiana and just be able to learn about them and hear what they have to do. Not only has it given us an opportunity to give back to the community, but I think some of our members have even joined as volunteers later.•