Julianne Di Benedetto,
CP®, AACP, ILAP

Julianne is the Executive Law Office Administrator and Senior Supervising Paralegal at Thinking Outside the Box Law, where she has worked since 2016.  In addition to managing the office, Julianne prepares business and personal bankruptcy petitions, drafts Offers in Compromise for tax settlement, prepares business and personal tax returns, performs accounting services, and incorporates businesses.  She is a certified paralegal with both state and national organizations, and she is a registered tax return preparer with the Internal Revenue Service.  Julianne is certified in QuickBooks.

Julianne earned her associate’s degree in paralegal studies from the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and graduated with High Honors.  As a student, she was the president of the LEX Paralegal Honor Society, the vice president of Paralegal Club, and the paralegal student representative to the program’s Advisory Council.  She was inducted into both the LEX Honor Society and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

After graduation, Julianne earned the ILAP credential from the Illinois Paralegal Association, the Certified Paralegal® credential from NALA, and the Certified Paralegal credential from the American Alliance of Paralegals.  Since her graduation, Julianne has given presentations to college paralegal programs and to paralegal organizations on various topics, including bankruptcy law, tax law, and navigating paralegal certifications.  Julianne has been featured on the American Bar Association website and the College of DuPage website as a paralegal graduate success story.  Julianne’s article on paralegal regulation and licensure was published in the Paralegal Reporter, a paralegal magazine distributed by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA).  Julianne was named the 2021 Rising Star in the paralegal field by NALA, one of the leading national paralegal associations, for “exemplary service to the paralegal profession.”  In 2023, Julianne was invited to work with NALA to update its paralegal certification exam.  She contributed to the newly adapted bankruptcy section of the exam and co-authored the bankruptcy chapter in NALA’s certification exam book.  In 2023, Julianne was selected to join NALA’s inaugural LEAD leadership development program, which she successfully completed in 2024.  

As a firm believer in education, Julianne returned to the College of DuPage to pursue additional certificates in accounting, office technology, and management.  She also completed her second degree.  As a returning student, Julianne is the vice president of both Paralegal Club and LEX.  She is a permanent member of the paralegal/legal studies program Advisory Council and is the Coordinator/Peer Reviewer Coordinator of the College of DuPage Paralegal Studies Expo.  She has also served as the Vice-Chair of the DuPage County Bar Association Paralegal Section.

Currently, Julianne is studying for the NFPA paralegal certification exam.  She plans to continue her interest in lifelong learning by pursuing additional degrees in formal education.