2024 made it obvious that the paralegal profession is ripe for transformation and change. This is an especially crucial time for NIPA members to encourage new paralegals to become a part of NIPA. Our legal community includes a base of many experienced and well-established paralegals working in firms, corporations, and the court system. There has been a shift in the legal workforce over the past 5 years with many paralegals leaving the legal community for jobs in other areas. This has brought an increase in job opportunities for paralegals entering the workforce. One of NIPA’s goals for 2025 is to explore mentorship to bring together paralegals with experience and the fresh perspective of those new to the field.

Mentorship benefits new paralegals in several ways. First, connections with experienced paralegals can provide learning opportunities and resources to help less experienced paralegals expand their knowledge base. A paralegal with many years of job experience in a certain area will know the nuances and details of their area of experience that is not learned by taking a class or reading a book. These connections are a valuable resource providing a lifeline for less experienced paralegals to have when they need specific guidance to perform a task at hand.

Second, Mentors can help guide less experienced paralegals to the best resources to expand knowledge in specific areas as quickly as possible. If you are new to a job working in bankruptcy, for instance, a mentor can help direct you to the applicable rules, practice guides, websites, or other materials and resources to help you learn the ins and outs of that area of practice. These resources will help newer paralegals gain confidence and aptitude.

Third, mentor relationships can provide support in setting goals for growth. Sometimes the best avenue for growth is to recognize when it is time to move on to a new job opportunity. This can be especially hard when your current job experience has been good, and you feel loyalty toward your employer. Mentors can help serve as a sounding board to weigh the options and determine the opportune time to decide to explore new opportunities. Experienced paralegals will also be able to provide insight into the strength and weaknesses of certain opportunities based on their past experiences and knowledge of the employer’s reputation.

Finally, new paralegals offer benefits to the mentor relationship as well. Since AI and other technology are changing and evolving so rapidly, newer paralegals can share their knowledge of these resources with existing paralegals to help smoothly integrate recent technologies into the workplace.

NIPA hopes to provide mentorship opportunities to our members in the coming year so that we can all enjoy these benefits. I hope you will take advantage of these opportunities as they arise.