Who are they ?
Behind almost every pleading, filing, production, and transaction, are the paralegals at Hedrick & Morton, LLP working at full capacity to help produce top-notch work products. The goal of our paralegals, among other things, is to assist the attorneys to research, to investigate, to organize, to manage, to juggle, and to produce.  What makes being a paralegal at Hedrick & Morton unique is that the attorneys and paralegals truly work as a team.  We are all here for one thing: to assist the client in every way possible.  The attorneys and paralegals at Hedrick & Morton work together toward that end...and we do this with a smile.  We enjoy what we do.  Though we may need to pull the occasional all-nighter, we know that there is no greater reward than turning out a great work product, and knowing that it is simply second to none.  There is a professional "high" you experience when your efforts support a win in the courtroom or a seamless corporate transaction.  Although the paralegals are not the parties signing the documents, or in front of the bar arguing before the court, they are vital to the practice of law. 

We utilize our paralegals fully, and they assume many of the routine tasks that would otherwise be handled by attorneys and billed at their rates:

 Project assistants focus on the organizational phases of litigation discovery, traveling to outside agencies, the North Carolina Industrial Commission and courts, as well as performing research.

 Paralegals perform factual research and assist with all phases of the discovery and litigation process, including trial and workers compensation hearing preparation as well as trial and compensation hearing attendance.

 Paralegals may have expertise in particular practice areas such as work place injuries, workers compensation, lost wage claims, permanent disability claims, total disability claims, insurance litigation, zoning and real estate.

 Law clerks perform legal research and complete writing assignments.

Training
The North Carolina State Bar adopted, and the North Carolina Supreme Court has approved, a plan for certification of paralegals. The plan allows paralegals certified by the North Carolina State Bar to use the title “North Carolina Certified Paralegal”. It is intended to create ethical duties to further support the Authorized Practice of Law statute. The certification does not, however, change the current statute, expand the duties of paralegals, or allow them to practice law.
Our paralegals constantly enhance their skill levels via outside seminars and in-house training to keep up with the trends in the profession in general, workers compensation, real estate, insurance and our other practice areas.  Professional development is an essential part of everyday paralegal life at Hedrick & Morton. We pride ourselves on providing clients with top-notch service and increased flexibility when staffing their many projects.