Online Paralegal Studies - How To Get Certified
In 2009, 263,800 paralegals were employed in the United States, all of them people who have taken some kind of online paralegal studies before finding careers with private local law firms and government departments. About 75% of paralegals work in the private sector with the rest working mainly for the Department of Justice.
What's A Paralegal?
A paralegal is effectively an assistant attorney but does not have all the powers of an attorney. A typical job description may include:
- Research
- Drafting legal documents
- Helping to prepare and present court cases
- Investigation of cases including finding witnesses
- Taking affidavits and witness statements
- Assisting the attorney at trial
In short, a paralegal can do pretty much everything an attorney can do except present cases in court, agree fees with a client or agree to represent a client.
How To Become A Paralegal
Your expectation of salary and how far you want to go in your career as a paralegal will be factors in your choice of course.
If you have no Higher Education qualification you will need to enrol in online paralegal studies, either in one of the online paralegal programs or a class-based course in schools. Brown Mackie College for example offers paralegal certification and also has evening classes. Such a course will take between 6 months to one year.
Two-year community college based courses leading to an Associate's Degree may be necessary for those without an existing education. This will generally involve studying legal issues and general studies and can be extended to a four-year bachelor's.
Can I Register For Online Paralegal Studies
Online paralegal schools may be the way to go for those with family responsibilities and are readily found with a quick search. Institutions include The American Institute for Paralegal Studies, a specialist distance-leaning school which claims to offer completion in as little as four months. Obviously, you will want to research institutions carefully and probably get some word of mouth before making your choice.
What Are Certification Agencies
There are currently three agencies that certify paralegals and, before you enrol in a paralegal training course, you will need to be sure that it meets the requirements of one of these bodies.
The National Association of Legal Assistants awards Certified Paralegal status to those who pass a 2-day exam; in order to qualify to take the exam you will need to have done one of the following:
- graduated from a paralegal program that is approved by the American Bar Association
- graduated with an Associate's Degree
- obtained a post-baccalaureate certificate program in legal assistant studies
- a bachelor's program in legal assistant studies
Additionally, you could have completed a legal assistant program of at least 60 semester hour including at least 15 hours of substantive legal courses. There's more, a bachelor's in any field with one year's experience as a paralegal, or a high school diploma with 7 years experience. In other words, if you can get a job as a paralegal first, you can get a professional qualification in online paralegal studies later.
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