September Volunteer Spotlight – Adrienne Berry, ACP

NALA Volunteer Spotlight – September 2023
Adrienne Berry, ACP

Adrienne Berry, ACP, is an E-Litigation Coordinator for the United States Attorneys’ Offices. She is the immediate past president of the Alabama Association of Paralegals, Inc. (AAPi), having completed her second term this year. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and an MBA.

In 2018, Adrienne received the NALA Affiliate Award for AAPi. She was also the AAPi Paralegal of the Year in 2012 and 2014. She chose to volunteer for NALA because she wanted to give back to the paralegal community and get more involved on the national level.

She currently serves on the Professional Development Committee. Before that, she was Ethics Chair and served for two years on the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Committee. The thing she enjoys most about volunteering with NALA is the people she gets to interact with.

“Getting to know so many different paralegals from across the country, networking, making friends, and shared learning have been great assets and very valuable for me and my personal career.”

Prior to her current position, Adrienne was the Supervisory Paralegal for the criminal division at the US Attorney’s office in Birmingham, Alabama. Her favorite part of being a paralegal there was going to trial.

“When I worked for the Department of Justice in the drug section, getting to go to trial on drug dealing cases was personally rewarding, and it served our community and state by getting those people off of the street. I liked being a part of the trial team.”

Adrienne wrote several articles for Facts & Findings as the Ethics Chair and various articles for the monthly NALA newsletter during her time on the DEI Committee.

Her advice to paralegals is, “Always be open to learning, regardless of how long you have been a paralegal. Our profession is always changing. We have to adapt to changing environments and situations and react accordingly.”

As an Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP), Adrienne was first a Certified Paralegal (CP®). She believes that certification validates what you went to school for and shows that you take pride in your profession.

“It can benefit you when you are looking for a job by showing that you took the time to get that certification behind your name.”

Getting an ACP in Criminal Litigation was a personal accomplishment since she had spent over 15 years working as a criminal paralegal. She wanted to validate and complement that experience with an advanced certification.

Adrienne is known for having her selfie stick at NALA conferences, which says a lot about her bubbly personality.

“I am always ready to take a selfie and sing a song. I enjoy a good cocktail and traveling. I love any island destination on a cruise.”

If she could meet anyone, it would be her great, great paternal grandmother. She would be interested in hearing her life story.

Her grandmother came to America from India as an indentured servant. It was in Henry, Tennessee, where she met Adrienne’s great, great grandfather, a slave.

Adrienne is the proud mother of four adult daughters, and her favorite movie is “Imitation of Life.”