Five Superstars Changing the Paralegal Field

Posted on by Chere Estrin

 

There are stars, and there are SuperStars. I have come across thousands of paralegals in my career. So many stand out!

However, five paralegals (among many) recently stood out for their excellent contributions to the paralegal world. Take a look at their incredible achievements!

Here is a brilliant, motivated Director of Paralegals at Foley & Lardner on the fast track! Huascar Matos brings over a decade of progressive experience across diverse legal functions and practice areas. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to excellence and a fervent passion for merging vision, creativity, and robust business acumen to achieve outstanding results. With a solid foundation in legal operations and a profound comprehension of the intricacies of the industry. Currently, he is serving as the President of the International Practice Management Association (IPMA), an international organization for Paralegal and Practice Managers. 
Kai Williamson, M.Ed., brings an impressive 33 years of paralegal experience and 17 years as a paralegal educator. She is currently the Senior International Corporate Paralegal and Director of Global Corporate Governance at Alorica Inc. As the immediate past president of the Orange County Paralegal Association, Kai led the organization’s strategic initiatives, supporting a community of over 650 paralegals. Her dedication to excellence in the field is evident through her memberships with NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants) and the ABA. A respected educator, Kai is also a popular instructor at UC Irvine’s Paralegal Program, where she teaches courses in corporate law, business law, introduction to law, and legal careers.
Sheila Grela is a Senior Litigation Paralegal and an advanced certified paralegal (ACP) in eDiscovery. She was honored by CAPA (California Association of Paralegal Associations) with the Paralegal of the Year award in 2021 and with the 2022 Gayle O’Connor GO Spirit Award. A fierce advocate for the legal community’s training, education, mentorship, and professional development, she hosts the “Virtual Lunch with Leaders” series the San Diego Paralegal Association developed to promote professional development through discussions or presentations by legal leaders.
Ann Pearson, the Paralegal Boot Camp founder, is dedicated to empowering paralegals with the skills and strategies to fast-track their careers through specialized training programs. She teaches in Emory University’s Paralegal Certificate Program and has served on the advisory boards for Berkeley College Paralegal Studies and Brown Mackie College. As the host of the Paralegals on Fire! podcast, Ann shares valuable insights and practical advice to help paralegals accelerate their career growth.
Tony Sipp has built an exceptional paralegal career with over 17 years of experience and a commitment to advancing the profession. He co-hosts the popular Paralegal Voice podcast and serves as the Vice President of Membership and Policy for the Los Angeles Paralegal Association and served as President in 2020. He was recently honored with the 2024 Legal Professional of the Year – Law Practice Management award by the California Lawyers Association. He also served on the GVGNC Council as Treasurer and Chair of the Government Relations Committee. Tony’s dedication to mentoring and inspiring the next generation of legal professionals is genuinely admirable.

 

About the Author

Chere Estrin has over 20 years of experience in the staffing arena, including executive positions in law firms, litigation support companies, and the legal staffing divisions of a $5billion publicly held corporation. She is CEO of Estrin Legal Staffing, a nationwide staffing organization. Ms. Estrin was founder of the Paralegal Knowledge Institute, an online CLE organization. She publishes the prestigious digital magazine, KNOW, the Magazine for Paralegals, and is the former Editor-in-Chief of Sue, the Magazine for Women Litigators. She is also the author of 10 books about legal careers for attorneys and legal professionals.

Ms. Estrin’s contributions to the legal industry have been significant, and she continues to play an active role in shaping the future of legal staffing and training. She writes the popular,

award-winning blog, The Estrin Report, and has been interviewed by CBS News along with many top publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Forbes.com, Los Angeles Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, Newsweek, The Chicago Tribune, The Daily Journal, ABA Journal, Above the Law, ALM, Law360 and many others. She has also been a speaker for many prestigious organizations and written hundreds of articles.

As the Co-Founding Member and President of the Organization of Legal Professionals (OLP), Ms. Estrin has guided the association’s development and implementation of the eDiscovery and Litigation Support certification exams (first in the country) along with Pearson Publications, a $7 billion corporation specializing in certification exams and educational publishing. She was also the Education Director designing, creating and executing online, live training programs with an on-call roster of over 500 instructors throughout the world. Currently, she provides webinars on legal career matters for LawPractice and Lawline, two of the largest attorney CLE online training organizations.
Ms. Estrin is a co-founding member of the International Practice Management Association (IPMA) and the Organization of Legal Professionals, composed of a prestigious Board of Governors inclusive of judges, an ABA President, and well-known attorneys. She is the recipient of the Los Angeles/Century City “Women of Achievement” award and recognized as One of the Top 50 Women in Los Angeles. Ms. Estrin has been writing The Estrin Report since 2005 and most recently launched her podcast, “Lawfully Employed”.

Reach out at: chere@estrinlegalstaffing.com or visit her website at www.EstrinLegalStaffing.com.