Paralegal of the Year Award

PAST PARALEGAL OF THE YEAR RECIPIENTS

• 2013 - Grace de la Torre, CP (REAP)

• 2014 - Bobbie Miller, ACP (KCPA)

• 2015 - Angela Yess, ACP (PASCCO)

• 2016 - Christina Sanders (CCPA)

• 2017 - Kari Martin-Higgins, ACP, CAS (SPA)

• 2018 - Theresa Rettinghouse (SFPA)
• 2019 - Amy Jo McGuigan (SFPA)
• 2020 - Kristine Custodio-Suero (SDPA)
• 2021 - Sheila Grela, ACP, CEDS (SDPA)

Purpose

CAPA started the Paralegal of the Year (POY) Award to honor those individuals who have made a difference in their profession and within their community. This prestigious award is given out previously once at year at CAPA's June Conference.  One nominee from each member association is submitted to the POY Coordinator and its corporate sponsor on the judging panel. CAPA has strict selection guidelines.  For more information read below or contact your CAPA director.

ELIGIBILITY

A candidate must be a voting member of a CAPA member association and compliant with Business & Professions Code Section 6450 et seq. to be eligible for nomination.

NOMINATION

A candidate is nominated by a CAPA member association.  It is up to the member association’s Board of Directors and/or Membership to select the candidate it wishes to submit for nomination.

CRITERIA

The judges will be looking for the following qualities/experience:

    Contributions to the paralegal profession by:

• Teaching or tutoring paralegal students
• Speaking at seminars and conferences on substantive legal topics, on issues concerning the paralegal profession, or on leadership
• Mentoring paralegal students or other working paralegals
• Displaying commitment and providing services to professional organizations such as local, state and national paralegal associations.
• Writing articles for legal publications
• Commitment to continuing legal education
• Commitment to community through volunteering or pro bono services within the legal profession or outside the legal profession
• Contributions to their firms, in-house counsel, governmental agency or non-profit

Member associations should nominate an individual for Paralegal of the Year by submitting a brief written essay describing why the nominee deserves this honor.  Essays should be kept to a maximum of 500 words.  Supporting materials such as letters of recommendation should not be attached to the essay.  However, you may consider obtaining statements from individuals who have worked or served with the candidate and quote from these statements in the written essay.  Such statements can provide excellent examples of what distinguishes the nominee from other paralegals.  Essays should be submitted to the designated Paralegal of the Year award coordinator who will provide the written essays for the sponsor, who will choose CAPA’s Paralegal of the Year. 

Judges will be looking for candidates who have demonstrated their value as members of a legal services team, shown dedication to the legal profession, and shown dedication to CAPA’s mission:

"STRENGTH THROUGH STATEWIDE ALLIANCE -PROVIDING A VOICE OF LEADERSHIP IN PROMOTING EDUCATION, VOLUNTARY EXAMINATION, AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE PARALEGAL PROFESSION."

AWARDS

Winner will receive an award certificate and up to $500; First Runner-Up will receive an award certificate and up to $300; and Second Runner-Up will receive an award certificate and up to $200.

JUDGES

The 2023 Sponsor of our Paralegal of the Year Award will review the nomination essays submitted for each candidate and  they will come to a consensus to determine the winner and runners-up.

DEADLINES - Program on Pause 2022/2023