History

In 1996, a group of legal support staff individuals who were devoted to learning about the law both on the job and off set out to form an organization that would allow anyone in the legal field, or even interested in the legal field, to come together to promote continuing legal education of its members to better serve attorneys, judges and bar associations; to stimulate a high order of professional standards and ethics; and to encourage respect for the law and the administration of justice. It was also a goal to make membership in the organization as affordable as possible. In addition to the legal and ethical missions of the group, the members also had a strong desire to give back to their community.

So, on May 6, 1996, that group of about a dozen legal support staffers formed the Legal Support Staff Association of Berks County (“LSSA”). Over the years, LSSA has grown to approximately 70 members.   Those members are comprised of judicial secretaries/staff, paralegals, legal assistants/secretaries, law librarians, county and city law department staff, in-house legal teams at corporations and banks, law office managers, students in legal programs, teachers of those legal programs, and every position in between. We spend our time having monthly membership meetings, monthly legal educational programs we call Learn @ Lunches, networking among each other in our practice areas, assisting with the Berks County Bar Association, and reaching out into our community with monetary donations, personal property collections, food and gift baskets, cooking and serving at shelters, and giving of our personal time.