Who We Are:
RTPA is a professional organization established by and for paralegals who reside in or are employed in Durham, Orange or Wake County, North Carolina, an area also known as the Research Triangle. To learn more about RTPA's history and purpose, click here.
The membership of RTPA may at any given time include paralegals employed by sole practitioners, larger law firms, corporations, government agencies, or non-profit organizations. Further, the organization's members come from various practice areas, including corporate, intellectual property, real estate, and litigation.
What We Do:
RTPA holds bi-monthly lunch meetings hosted at area law firms or corporations that employ RTPA members. Each meeting focuses on a different informative topic intended to encourage the professional and/or personal growth of the organization's members. Topics discussed at past meetings have included career counseling, paralegal certification legislation, paralegals as mentors, useful internet research tools, financial counseling, and stress management. To see a calendar of upcoming meetings, click here.
How To Join:
If you are interested in becoming a member of RTPA, please complete the membership application and return the completed form, along with any applicable dues, to the address listed at the bottom of the application.
RTPA has four membership categories: General, Associate, Patron, and Sustaining. To learn more about the eligibility requirements and dues for each category, please see the membership application or RTPA's bylaws.
RTPA Speakers & Events (2017-2018)
April 2017 - Speaker: Stephan Leymann – BASF Patent Attorney
Topic: European/German Patent Rule Changes
June 2017 - Patty Pontello shared insights from her career starting as a patent paralegal and currently as a Patent Paralegal Manager at Syngenta.
August 2017 - Tamara Rabenold – CEO of Vaudra International, an investigation company specializing in Intellectual Property and corporate investigations.
October 2017 - Paralegal Panel – RTPA Members discussed their unique career paths, current positions and offered career advice. Q&A session accompanied presentations.
February 2018 - Webinar – Confronting Workplace Conflict
(Fred Pryor Seminars)
April 2018 - Dr. Joann Keyton - Professor of Communication at NCSU Topic: Communication Survey and Communications Styles
June 2018 - Webinar – It’s About Time (Time Management)
(Fred Pryor Seminars)
August 2018 – Kait Atkinson, LifeStyle Medical Centers
Topic: Meal Planning Like a Pro
October 2018 – Attorneys Bentley Olive and Leon Cain from Olive Law Group discussed skills and training that are helpful when working as a paralegal/legal assistant.
