2023 Unsung Legal Heroes: Erin Prax

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Robins Kaplan LLP

To Erin Prax, the best part of her job as a paralegal at Robins Kaplan is knowing that she’s showing up for her clients every day — on a good day, or especially on the days when things aren’t going well.

Prax has spent her career with Robins Kaplan, first as a paralegal intern, then becoming a full-time triage call specialist before she assumed her role as a paralegal, supporting attorneys in the personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability practice groups.

Just in the last year, she worked a case with a family whose young mother was dying after a missed cancer diagnosis. Although things were moving along at the usual law firm pace, for the family, it felt excruciating.

“I knew it was so important for them to hear from us on a regular basis, even if there was not much going on.”

“It was a privilege to walk them through that process. It was also a good reminder for myself to put myself in my client’s shoes.”

Prax’s passion is for the law but even more so for the firm’s clients.

“I love client contact,” she said. “I love the day to day and being with them; I like helping them feel heard and seen.”

Being in an important support role is rewarding for Prax. She loves the types of law and cases she works on and wants to continue on this path in her career.

The Maplewood native and Winona State University graduate was drawn to the law thanks to some legal classes she took in college and from visiting an aunt who was a paralegal. Stints as an intern with the public defender and county attorney’s offices showed her she wanted a career in law, just not as a lawyer.

“I knew being a lawyer wouldn’t be a good fit,” she said, “but I wanted to be directly involved with helping people during what are very often the most difficult times of their lives.”