Paragon Legal Celebrates Exclusive Selection by AdvanceLaw for Innovative Legal Marketplace

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Paragon Legal, a woman-founded and women-led enterprise providing high-quality flexible legal talent to in-house legal teams, is thrilled to announce its selection by Mitratech’s AdvanceLaw to join its innovative data-driven outside counsel marketplace. This partnership signifies Paragon Legal’s continued commitment to delivering exceptional legal services and showcases its unique value proposition in the Alternative Legal Service Provider (ALSP) market.

Extensive Vetting Process and Unique Differentiators

Paragon Legal was chosen after a rigorous vetting process, which included comprehensive rounds of evaluations, client reference checks, and consultations with industry leaders and AdvanceLaw members. This extensive vetting highlighted Paragon Legal’s superior client service, commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), and its innovative approach to flexible legal talent to support short and medium-term in-house team needs, including workload management, interim and gap support, project-based support, temp-to-perm, and specialized expertise.

“When we started this process, we didn’t anticipate the distinct differentiators that would emerge. Paragon Legal’s dedication to client outcomes, thoughtful growth, and technology adoption truly set them apart,” said Aaron Kotok, Executive Director at Mitratech’s AdvanceLaw. “We see a growing segment of client needs—secondments being an excellent example—that are a lose/lose value proposition for law firms and general counsel. Paragon Legal’s flexible talent solutions present a win-win scenario.”

Why AdvanceLaw Chose Paragon Legal

  • Client-Centric Philosophy: The vetting process revealed Paragon Legal’s focus on client service, diversity, and a “hungry” posture that prioritizes client outcomes while nurturing and developing deployed talent.
  • Impressive Client Impact Stats: Paragon Legal boasts an industry-leading Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 79, an average satisfaction rating of 9.2 out of 10 from clients, and 9.4 out of 10 from placed attorneys.
  • Experienced and Diverse Team: Over 90% of Paragon’s candidates have in-house experience, and more than 45% of the corporate and attorney team identify as people of color.
  • Strong Track Record and Quality: Client reference calls demonstrated a history of attentive service, experienced attorneys, and well-curated matches, supporting clients’ commercial and tech transactions, privacy, employment, product counseling, and niche regulatory needs.
  • Commitment to Talent Development: Paragon Legal invests in training and development for its deployed talent base and provides them with advanced AI tools and training to drive client efficiency and productivity.
  • Industry and Practice Area Focus: Paragon Legal aligns with AdvanceLaw’s secondment and resourcing demands in sectors such as technology, healthcare, biotech, manufacturing, and CPG, and practice areas such as commercial and technology transactions, privacy, and employment.

Impact and Commitment

“Paragon Legal is honored to begin supporting AdvanceLaw’s general counsel. After being evaluated versus other major providers in the flex legal talent space, we are proud to be selected and to showcase our unique differentiators,” said Trista Engel, CEO of Paragon Legal. “We are excited for this esteemed group of 350 GCs to see how our flexible talent solutions can enhance their team’s productivity and budget.”

About Paragon Legal

Paragon Legal provides legal departments at leading corporations with high quality, flexible legal talent to help them meet their changing workload demands. At the same time, we offer talented attorneys and other legal professionals a way to practice law outside the traditional career path, empowering them to achieve both their professional and personal goals. For more information about Paragon Legal and its services, please visit www.paragonlegal.com.

Mitratech AdvanceLaw Expands Legal Marketplace With New Alternative Legal Service Providers Paragon Legal and QuisLex

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Mitratech’s data-driven outside counsel marketplace announces its expansion into the alternative legal services market, growing its panel to 12,000+ lawyers across 22 providers.

Austin, TX (August 6, 2024) – In its 14th year, AdvanceLaw’s $100M legal marketplace helps General Counsel (GCs) select outside lawyers based on strong performance for peers, rather than using brand or high rates as a proxy for quality. The company continues its mission to suggest the best-qualified, best-value legal resources in 2024 by adding two alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) to its vetted panel: Paragon Legal and QuisLex.

“We see a growing segment of client needs — secondments being an excellent example — that are a lose/lose-value proposition for large law firms and general counsel, leaving both sides unhappy with the economics,” said Aaron Kotok, Executive Director at Mitratech’s AdvanceLaw.

Paragon Legal, a woman-founded and women-led enterprise, provides U.S.-based flexible staffing to support short and medium-term in-house talent needs created by overflow work, parental leaves, staff turnover, or company growth. Client engagements extend nationwide and across practice areas, including commercial contracting, privacy, employment, product counseling and niche regulatory support. Based in the Bay Area, Paragon has established a strong track record of success for leading clients, including several AdvanceLaw members. Its leadership’s laser focus on achieving stellar client outcomes was a key differentiator in the vetting process, supported by investments to drive efficiency and productivity for clients such as i) training and development support for Paragon’s deployed talent base and ii) providing AI tools and training to deployed talent.

“We are thrilled to begin supporting AdvanceLaw GCs. We work hard to ensure our clients receive top talent and 5-star service, and we are excited for this group of 350 GCs to see how flexible talent can enhance their team’s productivity and budget,” said Trista Engel, CEO, Paragon Legal.

QuisLex, a certified Minority Business Enterprise and AdvanceLaw’s other new ALSP addition, has provided managed legal services to GCs for 20+ years. The company’s ability to create top-quality solutions that pair innovative technologies (including generative AI) with the company’s 1000-strong stable of lawyers and rigorous quality control allows QuisLex to support clients outside the traditional litigation and M&A document review space, designing creative solutions for a growing range of legal and compliance use cases.

“AdvanceLaw’s peer performance evaluation model is an ideal way to introduce new GCs to what ASLPs can deliver, since there is uneven adoption across legal teams and very significant value to be created. We are excited for GCs to begin hearing from their peers about the results they have achieved with our team!” said Sirisha Gummaregula, COO at QuisLex.

Both Paragon and QuisLex were subject to rigorous vetting and client reference checks throughout the selection process. “Many in-house counsel are new to ALSPs and find it hard to navigate between providers. Our vetting surfaced important differentiators we think clients will really value, and we are excited to share those with our GC community,”” said Owen Bevan, AdvanceLaw’s Managing Director.

Paragon Legal and QuisLex’s new capabilities complement captive offerings at several current AdvanceLaw firms. Pinsent Masons’ Vario team provides flexible staffing services in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, UAE, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Africa, in addition to managed services that include outsourced company secretarial support. McCarthy Tetrault’s MT > Align model provides flexible staffing services in Canada, alongside managed services in corporate, litigation, and immigration.

“Having vetted ALSPs be accountable to peer GCs for their performance will give our clients even more confidence to create bold change,” said Katherine Shell, VP of AdvanceLaw’s outside counsel transformation consulting team.

Paragon Legal and QuisLex join AdvanceLaw’s global panel of 20 leading law firms across the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Collectively, AdvanceLaw panel members employ over 12,000 attorneys. To learn more about the AdvanceLaw panel providers please visit our website at https://www.advancelaw.com/firms/. To learn more about becoming an AdvanceLaw member legal department, please get in touch at info@advancelaw.com.

About Mitratech

Mitratech is a proven global technology partner for corporate legal, risk, compliance, and HR professionals seeking to maximize productivity, control expense, and mitigate risk by deepening organizational alignment, increasing visibility, and spurring collaboration across an enterprise. Mitratech serves over 20,000 organizations worldwide, spanning more than 160 countries.

For more info, visit: www.mitratech.com

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Paragon Legal Partners with Screens.ai to Advance Generative AI Adoption in the Legal Industry

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AI-driven contract software provider and premier legal services firm partner to accelerate legal industry’s access to law-trained AI applications

Denver, CO & San Francisco, CA – WEBWIRE – Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Screens.ai, a leading Generative AI contract drafting and review platform, and Paragon Legal, a premier provider of flexible legal talent solutions, expand the Paragon Contract AI Bundle to include the Screens.ai offering and accelerate access to AI technology for the legal industry.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the legal sector by streamlining processes, improving efficiency, and enhancing the overall quality of legal services. Through this partnership, Screens.ai, developed by TermScout, and Paragon Legal are at the forefront of this transformation, empowering legal professionals with cutting-edge AI tools to optimize contracting workflow and deliver exceptional client outcomes.

Screens.ai utilizes AI to automate the review and analysis of contracts, enabling legal professionals to expedite due diligence processes, identify potential risks, and extract key insights from complex legal documents with unprecedented accuracy and speed.

Paragon Legal, known for its innovative approach to delivering legal services, recognizes the immense value that AI brings to the legal industry. Adding Screens.ai to their offering allows Paragon clients to access AI review and redlining features right in Microsoft Word, as well as an M&A bulk contract review feature set for large volume contract review projects, all included in Paragon’s standard fees.

“At Paragon, we want to be at the forefront of technology and equip our attorneys with the latest technology to serve our clients in the most efficient and cost-effective way. By partnering with TermScout and Screens.ai, our team now has access to two of the market’s most powerful contract AI solutions to help them speed up their contracting efforts,” said Jessica Markowitz, President & COO of Paragon Legal.


The integration of TermScout’s AI-driven contract review platform into Paragon Legal’s suite of legal solutions marks a significant milestone in the adoption of AI technology within the legal industry. By combining Screens.ai’s cutting-edge AI capabilities with Paragon Legal’s expertise in providing flexible legal support, clients can benefit from faster turnaround times, reduced costs, and enhanced risk management strategies.

“We’re extremely impressed with the quality, experience, and diversity of the Paragon team,” said Otto Hanson, CEO of TermScout and Screens. “It’s an honor and a privilege to work closely with industry leaders who are invested in providing lawyers and clients with the most advanced AI-driven legal technology.”


Together, Screens.ai and Paragon Legal are paving the way for a new era of legal innovation, where AI offers a safe path to driving efficiency, productivity, and client satisfaction. By embracing AI-powered solutions, law firms and legal departments can stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly competitive landscape, delivering superior results for their clients while maximizing operational performance.

About Screens.ai and TermScout

TermScout and Screens are a collection of solutions that help companies get to contract faster and with less risk. These AI-driven contract review solutions empower legal professionals to streamline contract analysis, mitigate risks, and extract valuable insights from complex legal documents with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. These companies are backed by NFX, GroundUp Ventures, Techstars, The Legal Tech Fund, and more. Learn more about Screens at www.screens.ai.

About Paragon Legal

Paragon is a premier legal services firm that provides interim in-house counsel to businesses with growing legal services needs as well as Fortune 500 corporate legal departments in a wide range of industries. Paragon’s unique model provides legal professionals with meaningful work outside of the traditional path, while also supporting its clients in everything from overflow work and special projects to hiring gaps and leave backfills — all in a cost-effective and flexible manner. To learn more about Paragon Legal, visit paragonlegal.com.

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Paragon Legal Expands Career Connect Program Nationwide, Collaborating with Santa Clara University School of Law, William & Mary Law School, and Leading Industry Partners

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Paragon Legal is excited to be partnering with Santa Clara University School of Law in California, Barracuda Networks, Inc. with headquarters in California, William & Mary Law School in Virginia, and a large east coast non-profit healthcare organization, bringing its second year of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Career Connect Program nationwide.

Paragon is a legal services firm providing attorneys and legal professionals on an interim or on-demand basis to in-house legal departments.

The Career Connect program is an innovative partnership between Paragon and leading companies to enhance talent and foster diversity in corporate legal departments, enabling recent law school graduates to get hands-on in-house legal experience directly out of law school.

Paragon launched the program in 2022, placing UC Law San Francisco (formerly, University of California, Hastings) law graduates at Bay Area tech companies Affirm and Dropbox in roles that gave them exposure to both legal and business aspects of being an in-house lawyer. Due to its tremendous success, the program has now evolved into a bi-coastal nationwide endeavor that expands from California to Virginia.

As part of the selection process, candidates for the program provided statements about how they would promote diversity and inclusion in the practice of law.

“Paragon’s commitment to DE&I is embedded deep in our corporate DNA,” stated Trista Engel, CEO of Paragon. “After an incredibly successful inaugural year, our steadfast ambition in the second year of the program is to empower outstanding legal talent with opportunities they may otherwise not have access to and advance diversity in the legal profession.”

“Your first legal career opportunity lays the foundation for your professional journey, shapes your growth as a legal professional, and sets the trajectory for your future success. It has the power to shape the impact you can make in the world, and we are thrilled to bring this opportunity to students alongside Paragon,” said Debbie Snyder, Assistant Dean of Career Management at Santa Clara University School of Law. “Being one of the most diverse law schools in the nation, it made sense to collaborate with Paragon on this program.”

“William & Mary (W&M) Law School is excited to partner with Paragon’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Career Connect Program. The Program advances two initiatives of W&M Law Dean Benjamin Spencer’s ‘Why We Can’t Wait Agenda for Equity and Justice’: 1. ‘Support for First-Generation & Underrepresented Students’ and 2. ‘Inclusive Hiring.’ Paragon’s DE&I Program offers a unique opportunity for recent graduates to accelerate their career path to an in-house legal position. Starting from day one, participants get hands-on experience witnessing how in-house counsel collaborates with internal clients and outside counsel. Additionally, they gain insights into a company’s operations and industry, all while honing their legal skills,” said Ramona Sein, Assistant Dean for Employer Relations at W&M Law School. “We are thrilled to congratulate Ashim as he embarks on his career as a 2023 DE&I Career Connect Program Attorney.”

“We’re very honored to partner with Paragon Legal on their DE&I Career Connect Program,” said Diane Honda, Chief Administration Officer & General Counsel at Barracuda Networks. “This innovative program aligns perfectly with Barracuda’s commitment to creating an inclusive employee culture that champions diverse voices and talents. Together, we can shape a brighter, more diverse future for corporate legal departments.”

About Paragon Legal
Paragon is a premier legal services firm providing interim in-house counsel to businesses with growing legal services needs as well as Fortune 500 corporate legal departments in a wide range of industries.

Paragon’s unique model provides legal professionals with meaningful work outside of the traditional path while also supporting its clients in everything from backfilling maternity leaves and hiring gaps to just general overflow work — all in a cost-effective and flexible manner.

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Paragon Legal Joins Forces with TermScout to Transform Contract Review with AI-powered Solution

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TermScout, the AI-based contract data and review company, and Paragon Legal, a leading flexible legal talent provider to corporate legal departments, today announced a new partnership to offer the Paragon Contract AI Bundle.

This partnership allows Paragon attorneys and clients to use TermScout’s industry-leading contract review AI to review third-party contracts, compare contracts against market standards, and develop automated contract review playbooks, all as part of Paragon Legal’s standard client offering.

Legal departments recognize the need for quicker, more data-driven contract reviews that save businesses time and money, and boost their efficiency to drive revenue. The Paragon Contract AI Bundle, powered by TermScout, addresses this need head-on by offering access to automated contract review tools that speed up deal cycles and revenue generation. TermScout’s AI technology, powered by proprietary training data, provides up-to-date industry insights, helping legal teams identify contract issues and negotiate terms more effectively.

“At Paragon, we want to be at the forefront of technology and want to equip our attorneys with the latest technology to serve our clients in the most efficient and cost-effective way. By partnering with TermScout, our team will not only have access to a tool to streamline the contract review and negotiation process, but they will also have access to critical market intelligence that will give them and our clients a competitive edge,” said Jessica Markowitz, President & COO of Paragon Legal.

Paragon Contract AI Bundle

Using the Paragon Contract AI Bundle, Paragon’s attorneys and clients gain access to a suite of advanced tools designed to optimize various aspects of contracting processes, including:

  • Enhanced Screening: Build playbooks that analyze incoming contracts based on defined criteria.
  • Rare Clause Radar: Instantly pinpoint the rarest clauses in certain contract types and sort them by who they favor.
  • AI Legal Assistant: Get quick answers to questions about any contract from an AI chatbot trained on thousands of relevant legal documents.
  • Human-Backed Verification: Obtain additional in-depth contract analysis within 24 hours through human-backed verification.
  • Term Sheets Analysis: Break down reviews clause by clause for condensed summaries and insights.
  • Sharing Capabilities: Download and share comprehensive reports from the TermScout platform.

“This partnership combines Paragon Legal’s expertise in providing flexible talent to in-house legal teams with TermScout’s AI-driven contract review capabilities. The result is a fusion of tech and services that will make every Paragon engagement stronger,” said Otto Hanson, CEO of TermScout.

To explore the possibilities the Paragon Contract AI Bundle offers, contact: tracy@paragonlegal.com.

About Paragon Legal

Paragon is a premier legal services firm providing interim in-house counsel to businesses with growing legal services needs as well as Fortune 500 corporate legal departments in a wide range of industries.

Paragon’s unique model provides legal professionals with meaningful work outside of the traditional path, while also supporting its clients in everything from overflow work and special projects to hiring gaps and leave backfills — all in a cost-effective and flexible manner. To learn more about Paragon Legal, visit paragonlegal.com.

About TermScout

Founded in 2018, TermScout is the contract review network fixing how businesses make deals and consumers understand contracts. The company’s AI-powered platform provides insights and plain-English explanations to make contracts easier to understand, faster to sign, and fairer for all parties involved. Trained on the world’s largest human-reviewed contract dataset, the AI-powered, human-backed contract review platform lets users quickly understand what a contract means, identify red flags buried in fine print, and compare their paper against other companies to ensure best-in-class terms to reduce or eliminate negotiations. TermScout is backed by NFX, GroundUp Ventures, Techstars, HillTop Ventures, The LegalTech Fund, Bridge Investment Group and Underdog Labs. Learn more and try TermScout for free at termscout.com.

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Paragon, UC Hastings Launch Diversity Program For Corporate Lawyers

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Paragon Legal, UC Hastings College of the Law, and Bay Area technology companies Affirm and Dropbox have teamed up to create an innovative program to bolster talent and diversity within in-house legal departments.

In the inaugural year of the Paragon Legal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Career Connect program, Paragon will place recent UC Hastings graduates at Affirm and Dropbox in commercial roles that will give them exposure to both legal and business aspects of being an in-house lawyer.

Paragon has an innovative model in the legal industry, supplying attorneys on an interim or on-demand basis to in-house legal departments. The Career Connect program represents an exciting partnership between a legal services innovator and cutting-edge companies, which allows recent graduates to work on high-level, impactful projects.

Candidates for the program provided statements about why Paragon’s DE&I mission and goals resonated with them, and they discussed how they would bring their unique perspectives to in-house legal teams, as part of the selection process.

“From the founding of Paragon, diversity, equity and inclusion have been at the heart of our culture,” said Paragon CEO Trista Engel. “Our hope is that this program will help advance a new generation of strong talent in the legal industry.”

“Your first job out of law school can have a profound impact on your career. Paragon and UC Hastings recognize the importance of a meaningful legal experience for young lawyers upon graduation, especially underrepresented students and those committed to diversity” said Fairuz Abdullah, Director of Employer Relations at UC Hastings. “Paragon has created an exciting opportunity for our students to have entry-level in-house legal experiences which are usually inaccessible for recent graduates. We are thrilled to be part of this momentous partnership and look forward to collaborating to select the next class of future attorneys.”

Program participants were interviewed and selected during the past year, and they begin their engagements in September.

About Paragon Legal

Paragon is a premier legal services firm providing interim in-house counsel to businesses with growing legal services needs as well as Fortune 500 corporate legal departments in a wide range of industries.

Paragon’s unique model provides legal professionals with meaningful work outside of the traditional path, while also supporting its clients in everything from backfilling maternity leaves and hiring gaps to just general overflow work — all in a cost-effective and flexible manner.

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Paragon Legal Acquisition Press Release

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Paragon Legal Announces Acquisition By Calyx Capital Partners

September 12, 2018 – SAN FRANCISCO– Paragon Legal (“Paragon”), a leading provider of legal resource solutions to corporate legal departments, announces that the Company has received a strategic investment from Calyx Capital Partners (“Calyx”), a private investment fund.

Paragon was founded in 2006 by Mae O’Malley to provide attorneys with a new and innovative way to practice law in a flexible manner, and to allow corporate legal departments to engage high quality talent on an on-demand, project basis. Paragon provides highly-skilled attorneys, contract managers, and paralegals across a multitude of legal practice areas.

“As Paragon has grown tremendously over the years and continues to see high demand for its services, I have decided the time is right to bring in new owners and management who are well-equipped to see Paragon through the next stage of its growth,” says O’Malley. “The Calyx team has deep experience improving and growing organizations, and I am confident that their expertise and enthusiasm are just what Paragon needs at this stage in its growth.”

Trista Engel and Jessica Markowitz from Calyx will join the organization as Managing Directors of Paragon in its San Francisco headquarters. Mae O’Malley will continue as Founder and a member of the newly formed Board of Advisors, which will provide Paragon with added insights and expertise through its decades of experience in legal services.

“We are thrilled to be joining the Paragon team. Paragon’s ability to attract top legal talent, its roster of blue-chip clients, and its unique culture really set the business apart,” says Trista Engel. “We’ve chosen to be a part of Paragon because we see substantial opportunity to create greater value for our clients, and we will be devoting our energy and resources toward delivering the best client and attorney experience.”

Jessica Markowitz adds, “We look forward to joining the current management team and helping accelerate the growth of Paragon to achieve our goals of expanded opportunities for our employees and additional services for clients.”

About Paragon Legal

Paragon Legal (www.paragonlegal.com) is an innovative legal services firm that provides highly-skilled legal professionals to corporate legal departments on an on-demand, project basis. Since 2006, Paragon has established itself as a leading legal services partner to top tier companies in the Bay Area, providing flexible, cost-effective legal resources to meet each company’s unique needs. Paragon’s industry-changing model allows legal professionals the opportunity to continue with challenging legal work while maintaining flexibility and control over their schedules.

About Calyx Capital Partners

Calyx Capital Partners is an entrepreneurial investment firm formed to acquire and manage a single privately-held business. The Calyx team is comprised of experienced entrepreneurs, operators, and investors with a dedicated focus on creating long-term value through hands-on active management.

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