September 15-18, 2022

Westin Cleveland Downtown

Thank you for joining us for NFPA’s 2022 Convention!

The Cleveland Association of Paralegals, Inc. (CAP) was thrilled to offer the first in-person Convention in over two years!

NFPA's Annual Convention and Policy Meeting provides attendees an opportunity to attend a wide variety of Continuing Legal Education sessions, network with fellow paralegals from across the country, and collaborate, discuss, and vote to enact policy during the Policy Meeting. The Annual Convention offers you the chance to return to your local associations, employers, and fellow paralegals with new ideas, knowledge, connections, vendor information, and a renewed passion for the profession. 

Schedule-at-a-Glance & Convention Program

Check out what happened at Convention! Review the Convention program for the detailed schedule.

Policy Meeting

The Policy Meeting was held September 17 & 18. Click here to access the packet of meeting materials.

Here is the recording of the virtual First Timers' Meeting, which included a Parliamentary overview led by Dr. Ramona Hill.

Keynote Speaker

NFPA was pleased to welcome Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Donnelly as this year’s keynote speaker. Learn more about Justice Michael P. Donnelly. 

Continuing Legal Education

The educational sessions are designed to enhance your knowledge of different areas and elevate your paralegal career. Review the CLE session details. 

Workshops

The 2022 Workshops consisted of the following:

• Workshop A: Student Workshop - Paralegal Panel Discussion
  Our Student Workshop will be a panel of paralegals who work in different areas of law including the areas of finance, business, corporate, probate and domestic relations.  Members of the panel also work in several types and sizes of offices including the corporate, medium and large law firm as well as the sole practitioner settings.  We encourage all students to participate and for those who are able to attend to bring their curiosity and ask lots of questions. 
  
  Presented by: Jessica Kubiak, RP, OSBA Certified; Becky Kerstetter, OSBA Certified; Teresa Gonzalez, OSBA Certified; Cristina Vacar
  Sponsored by Lakeland Community College

   

• Workshop B: In-House Paralegals
  Three panelists from NFPA’s In-House Paralegal Committee Workshop will address questions covering topics including (but not limited to) the various roles of in-house paralegals, what issues in-house paralegals face, the pros and cons of an in-house job, and how the work-from-home environment has impacted working relationships.  This will be an interactive workshop, so bring your questions!
  
  Presented by: NFPA In-House Paralegal Committee

• Workshop C: Networking that gets Results - Don't Settle for the Status Quo
  Networking is an often-used term and always encouraged activity for professionals in their career. But what does this really mean? And why is it so important? Networking can be fun AND help you reach your career goals faster. In this workshop, you will learn: the #1 thing you must do to achieve your goals through networking; a simple exercise that will show you how to get the best results from your networking; and, how to customize your approach to networking so you always feel intentional and confident. 
  
  Presented by: Kristen McLaughlin

• Workshop D: Pro Bono
  Teresa Scharf, OSBA Certified Paralegal with Ulmer & Berne LLP and Christine Flynn, Litigation Paralegal with Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith, P.C. will build on their morning presentation on Pro Bono by allowing attendees to further engage with them, ask questions, and develop strategies to enhance attendees’ Pro Bono practice.
  
  Presented by: Teresa Scharf, OSBA Certified Paralegal, and, Christine Flynn, Litigation Paralegal

Sponsors & Exhibitors

Thank you to this year's Convention supporters & vendors!

The following exhibitors were featured in Cleveland:

• Boerger Investigative Services, LLC
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Cobblestone Software
• Computershare
• CSC
• CT Corporation
• Cuyuhoga Community College Paralegal Studies Program
• International Business Company Formation, Inc
• Intoxalock
• Language Pickup by Horizon Legal
• Naegeli Deposition and Trial
• National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS)
• Proof Technology
• QuikData
• Registered Agent Solutions, Inc.
• Steno Agency, Inc.
• The George Washington University
• Trustpoint.One
• Unisearch, Inc.

Check out the Convention program to learn more about the exhibitors & sponsors.

Convention Charity

Kids Book Bank | Promoting Children's Literacy

Through a network of more than 1,000 partner organizations - including government agencies, school districts, non-profits, libraries, and more - the Kids Book Bank distributes tens of thousands of books every month to children throughout Greater Cleveland. From our largest partners to smaller, grassroots partners, every book makes a difference. Volunteers sort books by reading level and box them for pick up from our warehouse by our partner organizations who distribute them directly to kids and families in need to keep and build their home libraries.

Learn more about the Kids Book Bank online.

About the Convention Host

The Cleveland Association of Paralegals, Inc. (CAP) began in 1975 and is still going strong today. CAP has a network of over 160 members and through its affiliations with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc., which has combined over 14,000 members. CAP enjoys the support of, and works closely with, many area law firms, corporations, banks, educational institutions, local bar association and the public sector.

Together, with our members we can continue to represent, grow, and enhance the paralegal profession!

CAP has been, and continues to be, instrumental in allowing paralegals to keep up to date with the rapid growth and technological changes in various legal sectors while advancing continuing education and the individual role of the paralegal in executing legal services.

Check out all that Cleveland has to offer and get the most out of your stay!

Future Conventions

2023: October 5 – 8, 2023 | Hyatt Regency Crystal City (Arlington, VA) | Hosted by National Capital Area Paralegal Association

2024: September 26 – 29, 2024 | Hilton Portland Downtown (Portland, OR)