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.

Copyright 2007 - All rights reserved by SchoolsGalore.com, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc.

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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.

Want Adventure? Explore Paralegal Colleges

Don't assume just yet that the life of a paralegal is boring. In fact, it can be everything but. From working on high-profile cases to interesting investigations, those that graduate from paralegal colleges not only have rewarding careers, but exciting ones. If you want a taste of the thrills of paralegal careers, it may be time for you to enroll in one of many paralegal colleges. But before you send your application to paralegal colleges, here's a glimpse into paralegal careers. Are you cut out for the excitement paralegal colleges can bring you?

They Don't Teach This at Paralegal Colleges...
Such is the case for Bill Harrison, now a paralegal and legal assistant specialist for a reputable agency. Before his current position, Harrison spent part of his career tracking down fugitives, murder suspects, jail escapees as a paralegal during his tenure at a public defender?s office. "We were defending a guy recently charged with murder once," he explains. "The defendant allegedly held up the owner of a coin-operated laundry room." When the owner refused to hand over money, he was shot and killed. Upon the defendant's arrest, he asked for a public defender. And that's when Harrison and his agency steps in.

"While the man was in jail awaiting trial, he escaped as a result of a 'mishap' at the jail," he recalls. The fugitive squad of the sheriff's department gave Harrison the opportunity to go on a ride-along late one night as they attempted to apprehend the suspect. The defendant later surrendered when contact was made.

Opportunities After Education at Paralegal Colleges
If you work at the district attorney's office, Harrison attests, there are plenty of exciting opportunities for paralegals and legal assistants. From assisting with the investigation to attending and assisting with trial, just to name a few. And all it takes is a degree from one of the many paralegal colleges or something related. "I have a bachelor's degree in criminology and corrections. Normally, employers require either a four-year degree or a paralegal certificate," Harrison explains. Enrolling in programs at paralegal colleges can take you to the next step of employment in an exciting field like working with the district attorney.

Harrison also advises aspiring those considering paralegal colleges to be creative and understand the role they will play. "As a paralegal, you have to be willing to assist in every aspect of a case," Harrison explains. "Paralegal responsibilities are always changing so you can look forward to more responsibilities."

A Typical Day for a Paralegal
Keep in mind, it's not all thrills and excitement, car chases and crime scenes. When it comes to day-to-day duties, paralegals have to engage in some clerical tasks like filing legal papers at the courthouse, drafting legal documents (which can take up most of the day), and other paperwork. "This all depends on the field you choose," surmises Harrison. "There are paralegals at The Weather Channel that draft and assist in drafting contracts for video. There are also paralegals at Turner Broadcasting that research movie rights and clearances before a movie can be shown on TV."

For Harrison, he took a different approach to his career. Instead of going the route of many graduates from paralegal colleges -- to work as a paralegal -- becoming a legal assistant was just one of the levels to his ultimate goal. "For me a career as a paralegal was a step," Harrison asserts. "The final step is to become a lawyer. My ultimate goal is to practice law."

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Ysolt Usigan is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school or career that's right for you!

New Bankruptcy Training Course Provides 7 CLE Credits for Paralegals

713Training.Com develops first nationally-recognized bankruptcy training materials

Columbus, Ohio based company, 713Training.Com has recently introduced the first nationally-recognized training materials for bankruptcy paralegals working in the debtor area of law. The recognition was provided by NALS (the association for legal professionals.)

The training materials developed by 713Training.Com are quite extensive. The book, How to Start a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant Service is based on the idea that "bankruptcy assistants" can now work from home for bankruptcy attorneys nationwide. Under the new law, electronic filing is now mandatory for attorneys filing bankruptcy petitions. This has opened the door to create the "virtual bankruptcy assistant" field - which is growing very rapidly.

Attorneys love to use virtual bankruptcy assistants because they save them an average of 55% to 80% on overhead expenses. The process begins when attorneys are provided with a set of detailed Client Intake Forms that they give to their clients to fill out and return. The attorney reviews the information provided by the clients, then he or she sends the Client Intake Forms to the virtual bankruptcy assistant.

The virtual bankruptcy assistant inputs the initial draft of the bankruptcy petition, then contacts the client to obtain any additional information or to clarify data they provided on the Client Intake Forms. This crucial step is one of the reasons attorneys love the service of a virtual bankruptcy assistant. The client gets to know the "assistant" and this reduces redundant telephone calls to the law firm.

Next, the virtual assistant does an extensive online criminal, civil and deed search to verify some of the information provided by the client on the Client Intake Forms. This assists the attorney in meeting the "due diligence" requirement under the bankruptcy law.

Finally, the draft is returned to the attorney (via PDF format) to review. After review, the attorney can make changes to the document and file the bankruptcy petition or turn the job of electronic filing over to the virtual bankruptcy assistant.

Law firms have been using offsite services for many years, so this idea is not entirely new. Attorneys use runners to file documents in court. They use court reporters who prepare documents offsite. In fact, many attorneys take their work home and prepare their own documents outside the law firm anyway. Drafting bankruptcy petitions can now be added to that list of offsite services for law firms.

But drafting bankruptcy petitions (especially under the new law) requires a skill that needs a high-level of training. Drafting bankruptcy petitions is not simply data entry. Now, this high-level of training is being taught throughout the country by 713Training.Com. Through their books, videos, DVDs, weekly teleconferences, online exams and seminars - 713Training.Com is leading the way in providing professional training that will be a tremendous asset to the bankruptcy field in the years ahead.

To view the upcoming seminars that provide 7 CLE credits to paralegals, visit http://www.713training.com/seminars/

Submitted by:

713Training.Com http://www.713training.com Columbus, Ohio 43212-2303 Office: 614-875-4496

Since 1988, Victoria Ring has developed 7 different businesses from the ground-up. This experience enables Victoria to identify with almost every stage of business growth and the marketing tips and techniques she reveals to her audience can be put to use immediately. Currently, Victoria Ring is the CEO of 713Training.Com - a company dedicated to training debtor bankruptcy attorneys and their staff in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petition drafting sk

Trademark Logos

 Logos are symbols that represent something. It is usually a company, product or brand. Logos help the company to register a particular image in a person?s mind about the company. For this, the logo has to be attractive, unique, and functional. It should also represent the company?s image well.

Trademark logos are those logos that distinctly represent a company?s intellectual property. Logos are generally trademarked, in the sense that they cannot be used by anyone else. Sometimes, the logo acts as a trademark for the brand or the company itself. The trademark is generally represented by a ? symbol, which confers certain rights to it. However, trademarks are not registered with the government trademarks office. When they are registered, they become a registered (?) mark. A trademark logo confers certain rights on the owner: exclusive use of the mark and ability to lease out or franchise the mark to some other party. Trademark logos are regulated by the jurisdictions of the particular state or country.

There are many kinds of trademark logos: combination (icon and text); logotype/wordmark/lettermark (text or abbreviated text) and icon (symbol/brandmark). A trademark logo can contain just symbols, or both words and symbols. It may or may not contain the company?s name, but having the company?s name is an advantage. Some logos have just a part of the company?s name or just one letter, for example Y! (Yahoo!) or FedEx (Federal Express).

There are many professional designers of trademark logos. An expert would be able to consider all aspects of designing the logo. They would also look at the copyright issues. Prices vary extensively and there are designers who charge as much as $500 for a logo. There are also special software programs that allow you to design logos. Prices start at $30.



Logo Designs provides detailed information on Logos, Logo Designs, Corporate Logos, Trademark Logos and more. Logo Designs is affiliated with Business Logo Design.

Training for a Paralegal Job in the Legal Profession

 

Many paralegals work in the offices of solicitors and barristers, where they are responsible for preparing and managing legal cases under the oversight of a fully qualified solicitor. Other paralegals work in private firms and companies, where they oversee the legal standings of that firm’s contracts, review the legalities of company pension plans, prepare and file annual reports and maintain the minute reports and financial records for the company.

There are some recognized courses of instruction for those wishing to find jobs in the legal profession as paralegal, but there is no specific educational requirement. A paralegal should have a thorough understanding of at least a specialized area of the law pertaining to the position they wish to pursue. Most firms that hire paralegals will have their own in-house or on-the-job training. You can increase your chances of landing a job as a paralegal by fitting appropriate continuing education courses into your schedule.

While there is currently no prescribed course for paralegal training, the Scottish Paralegal Association offers the following guidelines for training as a paralegal.

A paralegal should have instruction in professional ethics, legal research and analysis of legal materials. They should know how to draft legal documents, and understand the administrative process of filing pleadings with a court. They should have substantial knowledge of the law and understand the workings of major research tools for legal matters. In addition, they should have demonstrated a facility with written and oral communications.

There are many universities and training institutions that offer courses and certifications for one interested in a career in the legal profession. These include bachelors and postgraduate degrees with concentrations in legal studies, associates’ degrees in legal studies and a certificate for completion of a course in paralegal studies.

Upon completion of training can expect his/her salary to be in the range of £20,000 and £40,000 annually. The job schedule is generally regular office hours (Monday-Friday, 9 to 5).

Robert Proctor is part of Legal Week Jobs, a website specialising in legal jobs and recruitment including gradute, legal secretary, solicitor & paralegal jobs.

For more legal jobs visit Legal Week Jobs