Earning a lifetime achievement award
Jill Martin
Jill Martin, legal studies professor and department chair at Quinnipiac, received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for Paralegal Education in 2019. AAfPE was founded in 1981 to serve paralegal educators and their institutions, and improve the quality of paralegal education programs. Martin has been a member for 35 years, serving as president, board member, national conference chair, regional conference chair, credentials committee chair and editor-in-chief of AAfPE’s professional journal.
“I am honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from AAfPE,” said Martin. “I have enjoyed every minute of my involvement in AAfPE. I’ve learned so much and made many wonderful friends.”
Martin has engaged with fellow AAfPE members from all across the country at various conferences. She views these sessions as opportunities to improve her teaching, and by extension, the legal studies department at Quinnipiac.
“AAfPE provides me with new ideas and best practices for teaching undergraduate law courses,” she said. “I can learn a different way of integrating a topic, or how to better incorporate technology into my classes.”
An attorney admitted to practice in both New York and Connecticut, Martin has worked closely with paralegals for many years and remains an active member of both the American Bar Association and Connecticut Bar Association. A former member of the ABA Approval Commission, she has visited many legal studies programs over the years. These visits enabled her to see how other departments operate and glean new ways she can improve as an educator.
“My teaching has always changed over the years to meet the needs of the students,” she said.