Mission Accepted: Lakisha Chichester, Aka the “Paralegal Whisperer,” Leads Division
Lakisha Chichester is on a mission.
It all began twelve years ago, when she attended her first NCBA event at the Bar Center.
Chichester was a freshly minted paralegal student, thrilled to learn from seasoned members at the day-long NCBA CLE seminar.
And just like that, the NCBA paralegal community gained a new recruit.
It was the first of many seminars she attended, and soon after, she jumped at the chance to move from training to the field as a volunteer.
What is her alias?
Call her the #paralegalwhisperer.
This is the hashtag Chichester uses on LinkedIn to create awareness for the field and the paralegal community.
She says she cannot take credit for the name. A while back, Chichester had a conversation with a friend who called her the “Paralegal Whisperer.” The name stuck, and the #paralegalwhisper” hashtag was created.
It was a perfect idea.
“I use the hashtag with a purpose,” she says.
Chichester encourages paralegals to find their path and to sharpen their skills by getting involved. She hopes members choose to join her on this mission.
What does it take to become an agent of change – that is, a member – with the organization?
All that one needs is a willingness to receive and to give.
“Most of the jobs that I’ve had have been in-house, where I’ve been the only paralegal. The division has allowed me to network and build a support system with other paralegals that I would not have had through my work.”
Chichester has been a paralegal since 2011. If she were to travel back in time to 2010, Chichester might be surprised to learn where her professional path would lead.
In 2010, she was at a professional crossroads. A native of New York, Chichester had relocated to North Carolina with her family several years before. She graduated from SUNY Empire State College with a degree in business administration and had worked for Verizon prior to relocating. After a few years of living in the Triangle, she was interested in pursuing an MBA and thought she might go back to school to study business or project management.
She was heading in the direction of an MBA – that is, until she happened to discover the paralegal program at Meredith.
“I read the description of the program, and something about it checked all of the boxes I was looking for,” says Chichester. “I said, OK, I want to do that.”
As she looks back on that time, she now sees how pursuing a paralegal career made sense.
Several years before 2010, Chichester’s father passed away. Chichester engaged a law firm to assist her in completing important paperwork. A paralegal helped her and her family through each step of the process, but Chichester didn’t yet know the person who assisted her was a paralegal. It was later, when Chichester was enrolled in the paralegal program, that she realized the person who had helped her had been a paralegal.
Chichester had found her calling, but she soon learned she could not go at it alone.
Lakisha, center, with Paralegal Division council member Andrea Blosser, left, at the NCBA Paralegal Division Wine and Design Social on November 3, 2023.
“When we started in August, the director of the program provided us keys to success. And one of those keys to success was networking, which involves getting yourself out there so that by the time you graduate from the program, you are a gainfully employed paralegal.”
She joined the NCBA as a student member during her first semester. She knew right away that the paralegal community was what she was looking for.
“I have actively been attending Paralegal Division meetings and networking events since I was a student. Very early on, I volunteered to help with seminars. At the time, the Paralegal Division used to put on a seminar that prepared paralegals to sit for the certification exam. That’s something that resonated with me, and I volunteered to help with that.”
Beginning with her first role as a volunteer, she began to take on other responsibilities.
“I participated in the Lawyer on the Line program. I did the NC LEAP program, which was my favorite. I worked with Mary Horowitz, who was on staff at the NCBA. I helped with NC LEAP. One of the most successful NC LEAP cases was Michael Lloyd, the person who created the Num Num BBQ sauce. It was exciting to see his product come to fruition. You can walk into a Whole Foods and buy his product there. It was inspirational for me.”
There are various opportunities available to serve within the division. There are also many possibilities present for paralegals.
“What I love the most about the paralegal profession is the same reason I joined the NCBA,” says Chichester.
“You can make your career whatever you want. You can work in a rural setting or a city. You can work for a small firm, or a big firm or a solo practitioner. You can freelance. You can work for a company. You can work in-house. You can be remote or hybrid.
“All of those doors are open. You can be in family law this year, and you can take those skills, and next year, you can work in intellectual property and then after that, you can work in personal injury or workers’ comp. I love that about the profession. It is different for lawyers. They usually find their specialty and stick to it.”
Being a division member has been helpful in her career. In short, the division helped her to find the perfect role for her.
“By being able to network with members in the division, I knew what my career trajectory would be and the job I was looking for. I could clearly see what the profession looked like to me.”
She has held several roles as a paralegal. Out of those roles, only one position was not the result of a contact she had made through the division.
“Every other job came from someone in my network. They either served as a reference or sent me a job posting that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.”
For example, when she interviewed for her role at Family Health International, the lawyer who interviewed her contacted a former NCBA Paralegal Division chair to learn more about Chichester. Earlier, Chichester had volunteered with that division chair as part of the program that prepared paralegals for the certification exam.
What a small world, and what a good one.
The month that she interviewed with Family Health International was eventful. Only weeks before, Chichester had donated a kidney to her sister. During the interview, she still had the bandages on from the surgery.
“I recommend not interviewing while on medication,” she says.
Now, she looks back on the situation with humor. She is glad that she applied for the role because it was a fantastic fit. She worked at Family Health International for three years before joining Trupanion, who offered her a dream role in 2021. She works for Trupanion as a corporate governance paralegal.
She enjoys where she is now in the profession, but she did not arrive there out of the blue. The opportunities available to her in the Paralegal Division empowered her to help narrow down an area of focus.
Lakisha, left, pictured with Dr. Summer Allen, right, at the NCBA Human Skills Masterclass held Nov. 1 at the Bar Center. Dr. Allen is the founder and managing partner of Premier Performance Consulting.
“I went to all of the seminars and the paralegal conferences that I could because I wanted to identify what my goals were. What area of law was I interested in? So I would go to these programs. Stephanie Crosby, a paralegal, had given a program on business organization. That program was instrumental to my saying, ‘That’s what I want to do. I want to do something with businesses.’
“Those seminars, conferences and networking events are responsible for who I am today. They allowed me to decide what I wanted to do and know it early on. It let me be very strategic about what I did going forward.”
She has arrived at her destination. From this vantage point, she advises paralegal students and new paralegals to tap into the resources around them.
“I encourage people to go to lots of different CLEs. You never know when something else may spark your interest. You never know when you might have a job transition. Those sessions I found to be very interesting.”
She also has specific advice for those who are either seeking a job or a specialization.
“You don’t have to know everything. But when you network with someone, and they ask you what it is you’re trying to do, you need to have something prepared so that person can now be your extra set of eyes. If I knew of an opportunity, I wouldn’t know what to recommend to you if you say, ‘I don’t know what I’m looking for.’
“I’d like to share with people that we need to take advantage of these opportunities. Try to build your network.”
Beyond professional growth opportunities, she has experienced the power of association up close.
“I can now call or email a network of paralegals and lawyers. I have had to reach out to people on many occasions for advice. These are folks who I’m able to go to with questions.”
Before her appointment as division chair in July of this year, Chichester was the inaugural DEI Committee Co-Chair and Student Relations Committee Co-Chair. She has served as a member of the council, Section Liaison Chair, and liaison to the Corporate Council Section, Education Law Section, and the NC LEAP program. She is also a member of the NCBA Minorities in the Profession Committee. In 2019, Chichester received the NCBA Distinguished Paralegal Award.
Outside of her accomplishments with the NCBA, Chichester earned the achievement of Advanced Certified Paralegal through NALA.
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As division chair, she is equipped with an array of knowledge accrued from years of service with the division.
“Now that I have developed my career, I am ready to lead the division. I’ve had so much experience since 2011 under many different chairs that I was ready to put my own ideas forward. It turned out to be the perfect time for me.”
What are some of her specific initiatives this year?
She describes two overarching goals for the Paralegal Division.
“To elevate the division within the association,” says Chichester. “I want the division to be recognized as active, engaged members of the association, and to be better aligned with the other divisions in the association. As Chair, I had the opportunity to attend the 2023 Annual Meeting and my first Board of Governors meeting in June. I found it very informative. I enjoyed learning more about the association. We are seeking a voting seat on the Board of Governors, so that we can have a voice in how the association is run. I will encourage other paralegals to attend the Board of Governors meetings so that they know more about the association to which they belong.
“My other key priority is information sharing. We are going to offer one-hour power hours. In some of them, we will focus on DEI conversations where folks will be able to speak to each other and share information and tips and tricks for tough conversations. Those conversations may be about things that have happened, or they may help others to know that they are not alone in these situations.”
Lakisha, center, pictured at the North Carolina Bar Association Member Social following the October 2023 Board of Governors meeting.
The division will offer a series of Power Hours. They will focus on topics that include DEI, career development, ethics, and the paralegal utilization.
She says that the career power hours will focus on tips for paralegals who are trying to make a career transition and new paralegals who are trying to get into the field.
“It will provide members access to those of us who, at one time, were in their position. The Power Hours are going to be facilitated, but they will be conversational so that members can exchange ideas and information.”
Over the past two years, the division has conducted surveys sent out to members. Based on the data from members, Chichester and other leaders will use members’ responses to guide the kinds of conversations that will be offered.
Chichester also wants the division membership to connect through both in-person and virtual opportunities.
“When I joined the division, my goal was to go to every event. But in today’s environment, it’s harder to attend every in-person event. I want to take advantage of the fact that we have this new technology that allows us to connect with members across other parts of the state. People in different parts of the state as well as people in the Triangle can be brought together through technology.”
One upcoming event is not to be missed.
On Friday, December 1, the Paralegal Division will host their 25th Anniversary Celebration at the Mayton Inn in Cary.
The event is open to all NCBA members and their guests and will take place from 6 to 8 p.m.
“The Paralegal Division celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023. This is another reason why I’m so excited to be the chair this year,” says Chichester.
“In 1997, the division was created by a unanimous vote by the Board of Governors. In May of 1998, we had our first organizational meeting.
“This past May was our 25th anniversary. We normally have a member appreciation social each year. In the 2023 to 2024 bar year, we have turned the member appreciation social into a 25th Anniversary Celebration. We want to show appreciation for all of the past chairs as well as the bar staff who have supported this division over the years.”
One event on the horizon is the Division’s Annual Meeting in 2024. The meeting will be held in Wrightsville Beach. In 2025, the annual meeting will take place in Charlotte.
Lakisha, left, and NCBA President Patti Ramseur, right.
In her tenure as chair, Chichester hopes to bring the division closer together. This is a goal that every member can help to realize with each event they attend, and each person they connect to.
How can a paralegal whisperer foster engagement with the NCBA Paralegal Division community?
One simple way is by using her voice.
“I have connected with so many people just by sharing information,” she says.
“I get lots of questions, particularly on LinkedIn, from people who have read my story somewhere, and it resonates with them. I get questions like ‘How can I get started? How can I do this?’ And I’m always saying, ‘Participate.’
What advice would she give to paralegal students and new paralegals alike?
“Join us. One of the things that I say to folks when I meet them is, one, why are they not already a member? Most of the time, what I hear is questions about what the division does in relationship to the Bar Association. What is the structure of the division like? That’s usually the barrier: many students don’t know that they can join – they don’t know that student membership is free.
“There’s one particular young lady, Latrell. I talked with her and said, you have to show up, and she shows up. Every time I go to an event this year, she’s there before I get there. Now, I’m reaching out to her to say to think about joining a committee and the council.”
Another avenue for encouraging engagement is social media. This is why Chichester gives her followers a peek into the events she attends by sharing photos and descriptions on LinkedIn.
“I post so that people can see there are people who look like me, diverse paralegals who have a range of experiences. All are welcomed here,” says Chichester.
“You will be welcomed.”
It’s a whisper she hopes will be heard by every North Carolina paralegal and paralegal student alike.
Jessica Junqueira is communications manager for the North Carolina Bar Association.