2021 Distinguished Paralegal Award Winner: Alicia Mitchell-Mercer

Alicia Mitchell-Mercer has been selected to receive the 2021 Distinguished Paralegal Award. The award will be presented at the 2021 NCBA Annual Meeting, which will take place virtually on Thursday and Friday, June 17-18. Mitchell-Mercer will be honored during the Awards & Recognitions Presentation on Thursday, June 17, at 5 p.m.

Mitchell-Mercer received a B.S. in Paralegal Studies from Charter Oak State College and an M.S. in Project Management from Missouri State University. She has earned paralegal certifications from NALA (ACP), NFPA (RP), the South Carolina Bar (SCCP), and the North Carolina State Bar (NCCP).

She holds advanced paralegal certifications in trial practice, contracts administration, e-discovery, and business organizations: incorporated entities from NALA. She is certified by the International Institute of Legal Project Management (IILPM) as a Legal Project Practitioner and by the Scrum Alliance as a Certified ScrumMaster.

Mitchell-Mercer works in Charlotte as a legal project manager and paralegal at Brown & Associates, PLLC and as a legal project manager consultant at Lex Project Management Consulting Group using traditional and Agile methodologies. She is a securities arbitrator with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Mitchell-Mercer is very involved in the legal community. She focuses her efforts on causes that advance the proper utilization of paralegals, access to justice, and that support the well-being of children.

She serves as the Communications Chair for the NCBA Paralegal Division, a role she has held for three years. She is the Chair of the division’s Technology Committee and the Publications Committee. She previously served as a member of the Paralegal Division Council (2015) and a participant in the Internet and Regulations Task Force (2016).

Mitchell-Mercer is currently serving on NALA’s Continuing Education Council which is charged with planning conference education sessions; developing, coordinating, and facilitating continuing education programs and certification review courses; and producing Facts & Findings magazine.

She is a Guardian ad Litem for abused and neglected children in the 26th Judicial District and was recently appointed to the North Carolina State Bar’s Subcommittee Studying Regulatory Change.

Mitchell-Mercer teaches CLEs and contributes to legal publications on the topic of legal project management and lives in Charlotte with her husband and son. She enjoys reading, traveling abroad, and time spent by the ocean. She also volunteers with Autism Speaks, Compassion International, and Central Church of God in Charlotte.

Previous recipients of the Distinguished Service Award were (2008) Teresa L. Bowling, (2010) Virginia M. Burrows, (2011) Phyllis M. Hines, (2012) Stephanie C. Crosby, (2013) Kaye H. Summers, (2014) Sarah Hall Kaufman, (2015) Yolanda N. Smith, (2016) Wanda Pitts Nicholson, (2017) Alicia Lewis of Raleigh, (2018) Sarah L. White and (2019) Lakisha Chichester.