Orange County Paralegal Association

What Orange County Paralegal Association does

Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1977 and headquartered in Orange County, California, serving paralegals, paralegal students, and adjacent legal professionals in Southern California. The organization's mission centers on professional excellence through education, certification support, and ethical responsibility. Its core offerings include annual membership, State Bar of California–certified Continuing Legal Education (CLE/MCLE) programs, an annual Educational Conference, a structured Mentor Program, scholarship programs (Elizabeth Root Memorial, Rep. John R. Lewis Memorial, and Student Scholarship), a job listings board, and a salary survey data product. OCPA maintains a formal affiliation with NALA, the national paralegal association, including a dedicated NALA Liaison seat on its elected board.

OCPA's technology backbone is the Wild Apricot membership management platform, which handles online enrollment, annual date-joined renewal cycles, event registration, and member-only content access. The association runs on a community-led go-to-market motion: members are acquired through its website, local educational events and conferences, community outreach, and mentorship pathways. Programming is delivered through in-person regional events (e.g., MCLE Cruises at Newport Harbor, board meetings, the Educational Conference) and online offerings such as Google Meet sessions.

OCPA's revenue model combines recurring annual membership dues (subscription, renewing on each member's anniversary join date), event registration fees with tiered member vs. non-member and early-bird vs. late pricing, and CLE Provider program revenue from its State Bar–certified status. Corporate sponsors contribute via a sponsors program that supports events and is acknowledged across OCPA communications. The organization is governed by an elected volunteer leadership team (President, three Vice Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary, NALA Liaison, Directors at Large) and operates independently with no parent entity.

Name

Orange County Paralegal Association

Legal name

Orange County Paralegal Association

Website

https://ocparalegal.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) is a 1977-founded nonprofit professional membership association serving paralegals, paralegal students, and legal professionals in Southern California with CLE/MCLE certification programs, an annual educational conference, mentorship, scholarships, job listings, and a salary survey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Professional Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal & Compliance (CLE, Paralegal CE) (EDAAALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

Keywords

• Paralegal professional association
• Continuing legal education
• Legal career development
• Professional membership dues
• Legal networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees with a date-joined renewal cycle. The association operates on an annual renewal basis where members renew on their join date each year.
2. Event Registration Fees: Revenue generated from ticketed events including MCLE cruises, board meetings, and educational conferences. Different pricing tiers for members vs non-members.
3. CLE Provider Fees: OCPA is a State Bar of California MCLE Provider, offering certified continuing legal education programs for paralegal professional development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) is a nonprofit professional membership association that sells annual memberships to paralegals, paralegal students, and other legal professionals in Southern California. Members receive access to MCLE-accredited continuing legal education programs, an annual Educational Conference, a structured mentor program, scholarship opportunities, a job listings board, a salary survey, and in-person and online networking events.

Product overview

The Orange County Paralegal Association (OCPA) is a professional association for paralegals, paralegal students, and other legal professionals located in Southern California. The organization provides a membership program along with educational services including CLE programs, an annual educational conference, and a mentor program. OCPA also offers scholarship programs (Elizabeth Root Memorial Scholarship, Rep. John R. Lewis Memorial Scholarship, and Student Scholarship), a job listings board, and salary survey data. The association is operated through Wild Apricot membership software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OCPA Membership

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NALA – The National Association of Legal AssistantscoreOthersNALA is referenced as the leading national paralegal association. OCPA maintains an affiliation/link with NALA, positioning itself as part of the broader national paralegal professional community. NALA liaison serves on the OCPA board.
• State Bar of CaliforniacoreOthersOCPA is a State Bar of California MCLE Provider, authorized to offer certified continuing legal education credits that count toward paralegal certification requirements in California.
• Corporate SponsorsminorOthersThe organization maintains a sponsors program with corporate sponsors who support the legal community and OCPA events. Sponsors are acknowledged and promoted through the organization's communications.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Association of Legal Administrators (ALA): ALA serves legal operations and administrative professionals with education, certification, and networking — adjacent to OCPA's paralegal audience and overlapping in CLE-style offerings for the broader legal support workforce.
• American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE): AAfPE focuses on paralegal education and program accreditation at the academic level, complementing OCPA's professional-development offerings and representing the upstream pipeline of OCPA's student-membership segment.
• BARBRI (CLE provider): BARBRI is a major commercial CLE and bar prep provider competing for the same continuing-education dollars as OCPA's MCLE events, but at scale and with on-demand digital delivery rather than live local events.

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association (ABA): The ABA is the largest US legal professional organization with broad CLE, publications, and member services that overlap OCPA's paralegal-focused offerings at the attorney and legal-support professional level.
• National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA): NFPA is a national paralegal membership organization offering CLE, networking, and credentialing — directly comparable to OCPA's mission but with a national footprint and member associations across multiple states.
• NALA – The National Association of Legal Assistants: NALA is the leading national paralegal association and OCPA's core affiliate. Both organizations serve paralegals through CLE, certification, and professional development, with NALA operating at national scale and OCPA at the Orange County regional level.

Direct peers

• San Diego Paralegal Association: San Diego Paralegal Association is a Southern California regional paralegal association offering CLE, events, and member services highly comparable to OCPA, serving a distinct but adjacent geographic market.
• Los Angeles Paralegal Association (LAPA): LAPA is the closest regional peer — a California-based paralegal membership association offering CLE, networking, and advocacy for paralegals in the Los Angeles market, mirroring OCPA's Orange County mission and model.

Others

• State Bar of California: State Bar of California is the regulator that certifies OCPA as an MCLE Provider. It is not a competing membership body but is the credentialing authority and a primary partner for OCPA's CLE program delivery.

Regional players

• Sacramento Valley Paralegal Association: SVPA is another California regional paralegal association offering CLE, networking, and member services structurally identical to OCPA's offerings, serving the Sacramento / Northern California market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/orange-county-paralegal-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Orange County Paralegal Association