10/06/2026
Happy Paralegal Week to all the fantastic professionals in the legal field!
PWCBA Friends,
Virginia’s paralegals have something worth celebrating this week. October
4–9 has officially been proclaimed Paralegals Week in the Commonwealth. I started my legal career in the Prince William County Courthouse in 2003. I was young, knew very little about the legal world, and certainly had no idea that more than 20 years later I would still be part of this community. With only a few exceptions, my entire career has been spent right here in Prince William County. In a very real sense, this is where I grew up, both personally and professionally. Over the years, I’ve worked in different roles and on different sides of the courtroom, alongside attorneys, paralegals, clerks, judges, and court staff who taught me more than they probably realize.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with many of you reading this, some in more than one role over the years. This is where I learned the profession, found my footing, made plenty of mistakes, grew into the professional I wanted to be, and eventually found my own voice in it. It’s also a big part of why helping create the PWCBA Paraprofessional Committee has meant so much to me. We have incredibly talented paralegals and paraprofessionals throughout our local legal community. Creating a place for them within the Bar to connect, learn, grow, and have a voice was something I believed in from the beginning, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’re building. So, to our PWCBA paralegals and paraprofessionals, take a minute this week to be proud of the work you do and the careers you’re building. And to the attorneys who work alongside them, this is a pretty good week to make sure they know their work matters.
Happy Paralegals Week! Jaclyn Doherty Co-Chair, Paraprofessional Committee