Legal Operations Coordinator & Senior Paralegal

Kelly Surina is the Legal Operations Coordinator and a Senior Paralegal at Dunlap Law who plays a central role in both legal support and the firm’s technology and process innovation. In addition to supporting attorneys across business and transactional matters, Kelly works closely with firm leadership to design systems, implement software, and map attorney needs to Dunlap Law’s innovation strategy, ensuring that technology meaningfully improves workflows and day-to-day practice.

Kelly joined Dunlap Law with more than a decade of experience in project management, process improvement, technical writing and editing, and data analysis. She has worked primarily with small business consulting firms, where her work spanned operations, consulting, and sales and marketing management. She also spent nearly four years working with attorneys on independent consultant engagements arising from FINRA and SEC sanctions and arbitrations, developing fluency in complex regulatory matters and large-scale data review.

At Dunlap Law, Kelly is known for her ability to see patterns across systems, anticipate friction points, and design practical solutions that support both attorneys and clients. Her attention to detail, comfort with complexity, and multi-solution approach to problem solving allow the firm to manage a high volume of concurrent matters with clarity and precision.

Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a legal concentration and a second bachelor’s degree in psychology. She brings both analytical rigor and human insight to her work, qualities that inform her approach to legal support, process design, and innovation.

Outside the office, Kelly enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, and yoga. She and her husband met through Richmond’s local acro yoga community and performed an acro yoga first dance at their wedding. A lifelong learner, Kelly enjoys reading and watching documentaries on topics ranging from psychology and philosophy to quantum physics and space.