Para legal education programs

When someone has chosen their profession, they will usually want to start working as soon as possible. A paralegal certificate program will cover the basics of working as a paralegal, including some legal concepts, and is a popular choice with prospective paralegals who already possess a degree in another field. Trying to find employment as a paralegal can be extremely competitive, which is why many entering this field choose to pursue a four-year degree to make themselves more desirable candidates.

During your degree, you will take classes such as criminal law and legal document preparation, and will learn how to perform useful tasks, such as drafting court documents and carrying out discovery tasks. Paralegal Degree. Next class begins - Apply Now. Paralegal Program Advantages Important features. Endless Opportunities. Graduate In 8 months. Gradute Reviews. Financial Aid Accepted for all programs. Specialized Paralegal School.

Career Services After Graduation. Your Questions Answered. Alumni and Student Reviews. Featured Articles and Updates. Why accreditation is important. Shows like Law and Order , How to Get Away with Murder or Better Call Saul may have piqued your interest in the legal realm, but is that interest enough to fuel a career?

Of all the potential courtroom jobs out there, a paralegal career is one of the fastest tracks you can take to your first day on the job. But the time it takes to gain the proper knowledge and training is still an investment. Take a moment to learn some of the gritty details of working as a paralegal—from the mouths of paralegals and the lawyers who hire them.

Use this expert insight to help you make an informed decision. What does a paralegal do? Basically, they help their attorneys keep things organized and running smoothly by doing important legal legwork.

Those duties, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS , can include assisting attorneys during trials, organizing case files, preparing trial notes, performing legal research, preparing legal briefs and sometimes conducting client and witness interviews. For instance, a divorce often requires a paralegal to obtain and review real estate, pension, insurance, business and estate planning documents, not just child custody studies. Paralegals are generally detail oriented, organized and efficient.

Because duties can vary greatly based on the size of the firm or the supervising attorneys, they must also be adaptable. One of the most common concerns for anyone looking into starting in this field is the amount of education needed—as well as how long it takes to become a paralegal. The path to becoming a paralegal can look very different from one person to the next. This program is designed to supplement education from a different field.

Ethical communication, interdisciplinary awareness and emerging technology are important objectives of this program. But the bulk of your studies will focus on skill and knowledge areas specific to the legal world and the paralegal duties within it. Courses like Torts, Contracts and Family Law zoom in on complex subjects in the legal realm, while other courses such as Computer Applications and Business Systems Concepts, Legal Writing and Legal Research help you build the critical skill sets paralegals need.

Gordon explains that paralegals carry a lot of weight on their shoulders and every detail matters. Yet, Queenan points out, people with the right personality can flourish in this position. Paralegals can take jobs with varied daily tasks and experiences if that is what they are looking for.

You might picture working in an office full of driven individuals who want to help their clients fix injustices. Nothing is worth losing your self-respect over. Treat the position with the highest reverence. But is that pay enough to support you and your responsibilities? In this legal career, certain personalities and particular skill sets are better poised for success than others. If you are considering work as a paralegal, make sure you fit the bill by the time you apply. Olson says paralegals are expected to catch errors made by others and remind everyone of important dates.

All that detail checking includes spelling and grammar. Olson says paralegals correct citation mistakes, grammar errors and other inaccuracies. Fine-tuning your writing and editing abilities is vital for success as a paralegal—that, as well as technical proficiency. While detail-oriented professionals with strong writing and computer skills are important in this profession, there are ways to stand out even more.

Queenan recommends seeking training in client interactions, etiquette and communication skills since presenting a professional image to clients is incredibly important.

Pay close attention to verbal slip-ups—no one wants to hear their legal help sounding careless. You want to make sure you are representing yourself, your clients and, ultimately, your practice as best as you can.

This includes being able to communicate in a professional manner. Additionally, Queenan suggests learning more about research materials on the internet. The information was free! Olson suggests asking for examples of finished case files when you take work as a paralegal to see samples of what completed and professional work looks like for that firm.

If something does not look right, insist that it be explained or fixed. Every document filed, every interview conducted and every ounce of collected research matters. Not only can it help you pay the bills, but it will challenge you intellectually and provide you with valuable professional experience to reach your long-term career goals. An indispensable paralegal has an ability to multitask, strong attention to detail, a willingness to learn, expertise in organization, and psychic abilities.

Paralegals are a distinguishable group of persons who assist attorneys in the delivery of legal services. Through formal education, training, and experience, paralegals have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney.

If you are a litigation attorney who has never utilized the assistance of a paralegal , here are the top five things you should look for when hiring a paralegal. Can we just choose five traits as the most important paralegal traits that you must possess to succeed in a paralegal career? Furthermore, paralegals now work in numerous related fields that go far beyond a law firm.

Both definitions are extremely similar. Through formal education, training, and experience, legal assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and procedural law, which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney. Both definitions require a paralegal to have the training, education, and experience in order to perform their duties as a paralegal.

Neither of these definitions explains what traits or characteristics make a paralegal successful. However, a simple internet search reveals hundreds of articles claiming to explain the traits and characteristics required to be a paralegal. In theory, paralegals possessing these traits or characteristics will be successful in their chosen careers. However, further examination of these traits reveals that most of them are really skills rather than traits or characteristics.

You can take courses to learn and enhance your research, writing, and computer skills and there are numerous seminars that teach you how to be more professional, handle pressure, become more organized, and be more attentive to detail.

Yes, some paralegals will have a greater natural aptitude in some of these areas, and, yes, that probably does give those paralegals an edge on those of us who need to develop our skills.

I found five personality traits that each of the paralegals who rose to the top of their profession had in common. I also believe that some people have a stronger ability to make good judgments because of their other personality traits discussed below i.

When you break down those definitions and apply them to a paralegal, you can see that having good judgment is essential if you are to be a great paralegal. A professor or coach can give you tips and examples of when and how to use good judgment. However, you either have the ability to make good judgments or you learn it through your mistakes if you are humble enough to learn from those mistakes.

Paralegals who rush to a conclusion simply to finish the task or impress their boss often make poor or rash decisions that adversely affect the client and the attorney. A family law client was in a highly contested custody dispute. Both parents were pulling out all stops and slinging, in some cases manufacturing, as much mud at each other as possible to win custody. Our client confided in one of our paralegals that she had an affair years ago right after the couple was married.

The client begged the paralegal not to tell anyone because it only happed once and it was a terrible mistake that caused him great embarrassment. The paralegal felt sorry for the client and used her own judgment to reason that the affair occurred roughly 22 years ago.

If the spouse were going to find out about the affair, she would have done so by now so the paralegal never divulged this information to anyone until after the final hearing.

Did the paralegal use good judgment? Absolutely not. Paralegals are not attorneys — we do not have law degrees nor are we licensed to practice law. We support the attorney as they practice law in the representation of a client. As a paralegal we receive thousands of pieces of information that we must process. Some goes to the attorney but some does not. Another word for ingenuity — resourceful. Great paralegals are resourceful and innovative.

If you see something that needs to be done, be assertive and independent enough to tackle the problem before the quarterback hands you the ball. Ingenuity goes a few steps further than simply grabbing the ball. Once you have the ball, run with it. Be resourceful and inventive when searching for solutions to the problem. However, use your good judgment to know when to stop running down the field and reset with the quarterback attorney to confirm the play is legal.

This ability ties directly into the personality traits for being logical and having persistence. Imagination will take you everywhere. Paralegals must deal with the abstract, complex, and ambiguous elements of the law.

A great paralegal must be able to think logically and analytically to identify and evaluate key concepts and facts related to a specific case. Again, paralegal courses and other educational or coaching courses can help a person develop their logic and reasoning skills.

A paralegal who is able to use logic to carefully analyze the case, remove the irrelevant factors, and concentrate on what is truly important is an asset to the firm. Some people give up when they run into an obstacle i. They refuse to continue to search for a key i.

A great person will light another candle, and another candle, and ten more candles until there is sufficient light to locate the key. Clients would be thrilled if we could settle their cases in a day or two rather than a year or two. Paralegals who are always searching for the easy, quick way to handle a case or a problem often quit when things get really tough.

On the other hand, great paralegals keep going regardless of how tough it may seem right then. Quitting is not in the vocabulary of a great paralegal who is persistent. If all else fails, a great paralegal will draw on their personality characteristics of logic and ingenuity to find other ways to solve the problem.

Persistence also breeds consistency and commitment. A great paralegal is one who is committed to the law firm, the attorney, and the client instead of being committed to the job. The job is what we do because we need to earn a living. People get on my nerves in general but difficult people are the worst. As a paralegal, you will always deal with difficult people and their problems.

From your attorney and other attorneys to your client, experts, witnesses, co-workers, and others the list goes on forever , you will be dealing with difficult people. Think of how your own problems can drive you to lose your patience. Job was patient but he did not curse what happened to him nor did he simply give up.

A great paralegal will rely on their other skills and traits to continue working toward the ultimate goal. If they must be patient while waiting on the court to move or opposing counsel to make their move, they will do so while still working the case from other angles. You can be patient without being angry or still.

I admit that I saved the personality trait of patience until the end because I lack this personality trait. Even after 26 years of working with attorneys and clients, I still am not a patient person.

The wonderful thing about being human is that we can all learn and grow. However, attorneys will be attorneys and they love paralegals with these traits, skills, and characteristics. Learning coping skills to tame my problem with patience improved my efficiency and quality of work, which helped me obtain my position as project manager. The real trick to becoming a great paralegal is, to be honest enough with yourself to identify the areas where you need to improve. Take those necessary steps — that is a true sign of a great paralegal.

A job as a paralegal might be ideal for those who appreciate the intricacy of the U. Experts on this profession say it can be a fulfilling occupation for individuals who are detail-oriented and enjoy writing.

Reading comprehension and written communication are critical skills to cultivate for success as a paralegal, says Margaret Phillips, an attorney who is director and associate professor of paralegal studies at Daemen College in New York. It is much harder to make up for shortcomings in reading and writing abilities, and those abilities form the foundation for learning and performing legal work.

Thomas E. McClure, director of legal studies and associate professor at Illinois State University , notes that precision is important in the paralegal field, since the occupation is highly technical.

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for paralegals and legal assistants in the U. Rising demand for paralegals is a longstanding trend since law firms are now asking paralegals to do work that previously would have been assigned to lawyers, Phillips says.

The number of requests Phillips gets from employers who want to hire paralegals eclipses the number of job-seeking students and graduates of her paralegal program, she says. Phillips suggests that as the number of paralegal programs has increased, employers have grown more appreciative of the ways that a paralegal can contribute to a workplace. Debra R. Geiger, president of the American Association for Paralegal Education and head of the paralegal studies department at Savannah Technical College in Georgia, notes increasing demand for paralegals with legally pertinent tech skills.

Gaye Weintraub, a Texas-based former paralegal who currently works as a college and career coach, says she loved her work as a paralegal.