Julie Ritter, Robins Kaplan LLP

Sometimes a family member’s career inspires another to take the same path.

Just ask Julie Ritter, who had an aunt who worked as a paralegal. “She kind of got my interest going, and then I just kind of went with it, to be honest,” said Ritter.

After graduating with a paralegal degree from Winona State University, she joined Robins Kaplan LLP in 2014, eventually focusing on intellectual property, technology and health insurance.

Like many paralegals, she has covered a wide range of topics and industries over the years. Ritter likes working on insurance issues because of the team, not the topic. “We have a good group,” she said. “We get along well.”

Being a paralegal means a new challenge every day. Depending on where the case is in court, Ritter may be working on discovery or trial preparations, requesting documents from experts and writing subpoenas to third parties.

“I do a lot of coordination,” she said. “Sometimes I’m a bit of a middleman, which is fine with me and something I enjoy.”

One of the more intriguing aspects of her job has been attending trials to assist attorneys. The firm rents out hotel rooms, removes the beds and sets up temporary offices with computers, copiers and other technology to create a “war room” setting. Attorneys assign rooms for food or trial preparation. During the trials, “it’s crazy, but it’s a good kind of crazy,” she said.

Ritter serves on the firm’s Paralegal Internship Committee and has participated in planning a retreat this year for paralegals from all its offices across the country. Her busy career has received a strong assist from family, who help care for her first child. “I wouldn’t be able to do a lot of this without the support of family and friends around me,” she said.