Legal and Paralegal Education

Prospective students who are interested in attaining legal and paralegal education should know that many community colleges, online schools and trade schools offer these academic law programs.

While some vocational schools do offer Bachelor and Master Degrees, most vocational academic institutions offer Associate Degree programs in legal and paralegal education, which are designed to provide students with the basic skills to earn professional certification.

Of the many law schools and legal and paralegal schools in the U.S., nearly a quarter of them are approved by the American Bar Association. Typical curriculums (in addition to standard academics) would include legal software applications, legal terminology and documents, and other relevant subjects of study.

After completion of a legal and paralegal education, and upon attaining sufficient work experience, graduates may opt to take the National Association of Legal Assistants Exam (NALA). Once the candidate has passed the NALA exam, he or she is qualified to carry the "CLA" (Certified Legal Assistant) title. Students may also take the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam after attaining a Bachelor's Degree, plus two years of on-the-job experience. Passing this exam enables students to use the title Registered Paralegal (RP).

Earnings for paralegals can be quite excellent, as the median annual salary of paralegals and legal assistants is roughly right around $40,000. With an extensive legal and paralegal education and combined work experience, professionals in this field can earn as much as $60,000 annually.

If you would like to learn more about Legal and Paralegal Education or even Online Legal and Paralegal Schools, you can find more in-depth information and resources on our website.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com.

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Michael Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. in association with SchoolsGalore.com. Find Legal and Paralegal Schools, Colleges, Universities, Vocational Schools, and Online Schools at SchoolsGalore.com, your educational resource to locate schools.

The Dawn Of Paralegal Ascendancy

Increasingly the Paralegal job is finding wider use in law and the judiciary all over the world. In the so called developed countries, Paralegals have been recognized as an important and integral part of both the law firms and the judiciary.

That took some time in coming; the roles of Paralegals have come to be accepted in the last two decades, with Universities and diverse institutions taking up the challenge of providing specialist training for Paralegals on different fields of human endeavour. To day, you can obtain both Paralegal certificates/degrees online on just about any field.

But in the so called developing countries, Paralegals are still seen as mere lawyer's secretaries and judiciary clerks even though they, in most cases without formal training, have learnt to carry out most of the duties of a lawyer, including conducting legal research, document preparation, client interviews and drafting of legal documents.

However, all that is changing or will begin to change after the epoch making contract between the Government of Indonesia and the European Commission for the latter to support the implementation of the Supreme Court's blue print for Reforms.

This is because among the number of interventions included in this program aimed at providing good governance; Paralegals are to play a major role, which has now necessitated a training program for Indonesians as paralegals for the sole purpose of providing Paralegals as first line legal personnel for improving public access to justice through first instance legal advice.

This is hoped to help improve the instructional capacity of the judiciary in Indonesia. So if you are an Indonesian, a qualified Paralegal, or you are interested in becoming a Paralegal, this is the opportunity you have been waiting for:

"The number of consultancy days is approximately 30 days."

Vacancies Contact: Please send CV and brief cover letter via email to: vacancies.ggij@yahoo.com. The subject line of the email should state the position code: IPBPE.C3. (Applicants please apply well before the closing date).

Neshah writes for your Success. Recommended: Online Paralegal Degree Success blog or Online Paralegal Degree Success Website, the road maps to successful online paralegal degree programs

How To Obtain A Credible Online Paralegal Certificate

At hand online are paralegal courses and programs into which you can register and at the conclusion of your program be awarded a certificate for paralegal jobs. You can also receive a degree if you choose a four year Paralegal Bachelor degree program. However, you must be careful to make sure that the program you choose is from an ABA approved paralegal institution, because most employers give priority to applicants with certificates or degrees from such institutions for paralegal jobs.

How To Qualify As A Paralegal.

While searching for a reputable institution online for either a degree or a certificate course for your paralegal training, you will come across many schools on the internet. Many of these institutions have programs designed for first entry Paralegals as well as advanced paralegal students.

Your primary objective in obtaining an online paralegal certificate is to be well taught and prepared for an accredited paralegal exam, which if you pass qualifies you as a Paralegal. So explore the offer of online colleges and make comparisons between them. Aside from competitive prices, a methodical program that has the reputation of high graduation rates is what you should look out for.

A paralegal training will consist of lessons teaching how to facilitate attorneys' jobs and how to carry out research on law. Your lessons will also include preparing of cases for the courtroom. Be aware, however, that some of these online institutions place more emphasis on teaching those areas of law that are not relevant to the duties of a paralegal.

Most of the online paralegal programs offer no formal classes, so you can begin as soon as your signup. However, expect to do a large number of homework every week to prepare you for the paralegal exam for your course. At the completion of your course of study, you will be awarded certificate if you are a first entry paralegal student, and a degree if you chose a for year degree program for the award of a paralegal bachelor degree.

Some of the online paralegal programs may offer tuition aid for indigent students, so it will not hurt to look for such schools if you have need for financial assistance. But as said earlier, be sure that such a school runs an ABA approved paralegal degree program. If you course is such that prepared you to acquire the skills of both a legal secretary and an attorney, then you are a hot cake for both legal firms and legal departments of both private organizations and Government departments.

So it is up to you to organize yourself so that you make the best out of your course of study in order to pass out of your course in flying colors, have imbibed crucial thinking and learned by heart all the rudiments of family law, personal law, personal insurance, immigration law and probate law.

Mention must be made that computer skills is a prerequisite in most organizations and firms nowadays, so this must be part of your course. Above all, you can not hope to succeed as a paralegal without the ability to communicate lucidly . Finally, pay attention to the paralegal ethical code , you will be taught that, and you will need it to be able to do your paralegal job without ethical problems.

Neshah writes for your success - visit Online Paralegal Degree Success or Online Paralegal Degree Success Blog for more information and resources before you embark on online a Paralegal course

Paralegal Seminars

Paralegal training courses, paralegal training seminars and train-the-trainer programs are important for all paralegals, also called legal assistants. A paralegal?s jobs include helping attorneys prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. The paralegal occupation is now a reputable and popular career path. This legal profession is rated as one of the fastest growing careers in the United States.

Students who enroll in one of several paralegal certificate programs must take a declared number of courses, including core courses and specialty law courses. Besides the courses, students must attend many mandatory paralegal seminars. All seminar programs are designed to meet an individual?s training needs as a paralegal, legal assistant or legal secretary. The seminars are normally taken by practicing attorneys, judges and paralegals who are highly appreciated in their field.

The paralegals must be smart to record and present their observations and opinions to their supervising lawyer. For this, they need to know all related legal terms and have good analytical skills. Besides, they are ready to learn new developments in the laws that influence their area of practice. Participation in continuing paralegal education seminars help paralegals maintain and increase their knowledge of the law. Seminars such as discovery skills for legal staff, document production and organization, and litigation skills for legal staff are just some of the insightful topics available.

Many organizations provide custom or onsite seminars for paralegals in the United States. If you are searching for a one-day live seminar or a customized training session to bring to your office, consider National Business Institute, Lorman Education Services, HalfMoon Seminars and National Association of Legal Assistants; all are the nation?s best organizations for paralegals. They provide several carefully designed seminar programs that help you stay current on existing laws and legislation that influence your practice.

Paralegal provides detailed information on Paralegal, Paralegal Jobs, Paralegal Schools, Paralegal Training and more. Paralegal is affiliated with Notary Public Supplies.

How To Choose ABA Approved Online Paralegal Degree Programs - Part I

Paralegal Studies institutions approved by ABA (American Bar Association) all have the following characteristics...

Curriculum for Paralegals is usually ABA curriculum tailored towards providing you, after a successful completion of paralegal studies, the skills and opportunities of working as a lawyer's assistant in research, document preparation, client interviews and drafting of legal documents. As a qualified paralegal your services are also required in the legal departments of corporations, firms and organizations.

Another aspect of ABA approved Paralegal program is the pre-law specialization that prepares you for the law school proper.

ABA approved Paralegal institutions offer Associate of Applied Science, Post Degree Certificate, (only those who have already obtained a bachelor or associate degree are qualified). Bachelor of Science degree on Paralegal Studies and Certificate in Legal Nurse Consulting are two other programs offered by ABA approved paralegal study institutions.

ABA approved Paralegal institution’s minimum course duration is 1 - 2 academic years and internship is mandatory in most schools.

If you are looking for ABA approved Paralegal Education Program, then the Standing Committee on Paralegals Directory of ABA approved Paralegal Education Programs is where to look.

Some work experience is usually beneficial for an intending paralegal student like you. Courses, depending on the type of institution, can run for between 2 (for community and junior colleges) to 4 years in a University. Aside from the general requirements above, the ABA Standing Committee Directory listing carry varying standard requirements for different instructions in terms of duration of course, course content and admission requirements.

Therefore, you should consider the factors favourable to you while choosing any particular school or institution.

More than 1000 institutions are offering Paralegal degree and certificate programs in the United States of America, but the ABA approved Paralegal institutions can be found at the ABA standing committee Directory of Paralegal schools.ABA approval for Paralegal schools or instructions is not mandatory by law so it is not a measure of the quality of or reputability of an institution that it is ABA approved, yet institutions have found it necessary to get ABA approval by meeting the ABA requirement in order to, I suppose, bluster their image. My advise is that you should go for ABA approved institutions for your paralegal studies.

Online institutions like their offline counterparts are of different categories and as such offer different qualities of course content programs. You should as a matter of fact take a critical look at the institution offering the Paralegal Degree Online program you chose. Carry out your investigation with the information below to ensure that such institution is an ABA approved paralegal degree online program.

INSIGHT INTO ABA ONLINE PARALEGAL DEGREE PROGRAMS

Paralegal degree programs prepares you for employment as a paralegal or legal assistant in a private law office and even both the public and the private sectors such as banking, insurance, real estate etc. Care must, however, be taken to ensure that a chosen school or online paralegal degree program is approved by the American Bar Association in conjunction with the institution being an institutional member of the American Association for Paralegal education (AAFPE) and other relevant regulatory bodies for Paralegal studies.

Concluding Part II will be on this same category soon.

Neshah, a retired paralegal, writes for your success - get free paralegal information and resources at http://online-paralegal-degree.fateback.com