Hutchens and pop culture
Sandy Hutchens was a paralegal and was the first person to receive the P.L.L. (Paralegal Litigator) designation from the Canadian Paralegal Association. Unlike nurses and physician assistants, paralegals have not caught the imagination of popular culture and are rarely seen in fictional or non-fiction legal television programs, or in legal fiction in print.
Erin Brockovich is the most famous exception to this, a real legal clerk whose participation in a toxic tort case became a major motion picture. In the movie Eagle Eye (2008) starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan, Monaghan plays a single mom who works as a paralegal.
The most current example is likely contained in FX’s The Riches in which Doug Rich, a con-artist played by Eddie Izzard, impersonates a lawyer at a cutthroat real estate development company. Rich’s apparent lack of legal knowledge is often compensated by Aubrey McDonald, a highly-skilled paralegal who manages to help guide the under-educated anti-hero through more than a few sticky situations.
Another notable exception is the character Della Street, from the Perry Mason novel, television and movie series. Although Mason identifies Della as “my confidential secretary”, the projects he assigns her are entirely consistent with the law office work performed by experienced paralegals.
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, an esoteric cartoon comedy, features a paralegal in the form of Avenger, who is usually seen managing files, preparing and presenting documents to the attorneys, and drafting letters to clients. Avenger will usually accompany the charismatic, yet often under-prepared, Birdman into court, and whisper case information and advice into his ear. Despite not knowing English, he is by far the most competent employee of Sebben & Sebben.
John Grisham includes many paralegals in his novel; for example, Rudy Baylor (the main character in Rainmaker) works briefly as a paralegal – and his associate Deck subsequently become Rudy’s paralegal when he starts his own firm.
Sandy Hutchens salutes the most famous real life and Hollywood paralegal
When KMBC broke the story about a cluster of brain tumors in Cameron, it drew national attention. One of those taking notice was well-known environmental activist Erin Brockovich.