About the Greater Richmond Paralegal Association

The Greater Richmond Paralegal Association has had several names since it was founded almost 45 years ago. But its commitment to serving legal assistants and paralegals who live and work in the greater Richmond area has remained the same.

In 1982, a group of 11 legal assistants formed the Richmond Association of Legal Assistants in the triangle-shaped Life Insurance Company of Virginia building on downtown Richmond's East Broad Street. They filed a constitution and bylaws with the State Corporation Commission and became Virginia's first NALA-affiliated paralegal association.

The Richmond Association of Legal Assistants changed its name to the Richmond Paralegal Association in 2003. And in 2024, RPA changed its name to the Central Virginia Association of Paralegals to welcome members from the nearby cities of Charlottesville and Fredericksburg.

Seeking to return to its roots and avoid confusion with the Commonwealth of Virginia Paralegal Association – a statewide paralegal association based out of Richmond -- CVAP's board of directors decided to change the group's name to the Greater Richmond Paralegal Association. Its members unanimously approved this change at an August 2026 meeting.

The 125-year-old facade is all that remains of Life Insurance Company of Virginia's former headquarters and birthplace of the Greater Richmond Paralegal Association. By late 2023, this historic structure was incorporated into the new General Assembly Building that houses offices for members of the House of Delegates and State Senate.

Board of Directors:

Meg Griffin
(President)

Andrea Slay
Vice President)

Darla Yoder
(Treasurer)

Stephanie Meharg
(Parliamentarian/Interim Secretary)

Teresa Clark

Mac McLean

Angie Willis

What is Greater Richmond?

The Greater Richmond Region includes the cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Richmond, and Petersburg as well as Chesterfield County, Hanover County and Henrico County.