Oral History Project

What is an Oral History Project?

An Oral History Project aims to capture the stories, memories, and experiences of people who share a common connection, such as membership in a professional organization like NALA. Creating an Oral History Project involves contacting members for firsthand accounts of their time with NALA. Using the recordings of these interviews, stories will be created and compiled into a physical book to memorialize NALA and its members.

NALA is partnering with PCI (Publishing Concepts) to create an Oral History Project in honor of our upcoming 50-year anniversary in 2025. PCI will collect our members’ stories and clean them up for publication. A select number of stories will be included in a physical book, while every story will be included in a digital book. Both versions will be available to purchase during the interview process.

What to Expect

You will receive an email, postcard, or phone call from PCI asking you to verify your NALA account information and provide a story about your experience with NALA. When you contact PCI, they will ask you questions about your time with NALA. You may decide to share about a NALA conference you attended, the impact of NALA certification on your career, or the connections you have made through NALA. After the interview, they will ask you if you would like to purchase a physical and/or digital copy of the completed Oral History Project. Your story is guaranteed to appear in the digital copy. Depending on a number of factors, it may also be included in the physical copy.

Why to Participate

While participation in the Oral History Project is completely voluntary, we would love for your story to be included. It is because of our members that we have been able to serve paralegals and other legal practitioners for nearly 50 years. We also recognize the important contributions of paralegal educators, current and former NALA staff, NALA Affiliated Associations, and other partners in our mission to equip paralegals for the challenges of the future through certification, professional development, and advocacy. A lot has happened in the past 50 years, and we want to capture as many stories as possible to accurately represent NALA’s history and impact.

More Information

If you have any questions about PCI or the Oral History Project, you can view the FAQ sheet here.