Information About Paralegals and Program Information
What is a paralegal?
A legal assistant or paralegal is a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.
Paralegals work in the legal profession and are an important part of the legal team. Although paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public (except as permitted by law) they do help attorneys conduct interviews and investigations, research cases, draft legal documents, assist at real estate closings, depositions, trials and much more!
What are the special features or strengths of the program?
Our legal & paralegal program is American Bar Association approved. It is designed for paralegal education and provides course work and practical experiences designed to develop the knowledge and communication skills necessary for contribution to the legal profession.
Program courses are not just theory courses, but rather combine legal theory and practical "how-to" techniques. Courses are taught by lawyers and judges who specialize in the areas in which they teach. Students can gain greater specialization in many areas through advanced specialty courses. Also, to give the graduate even more "hands-on" knowledge of the field, each student completes an internship which consists of 180 hours of practical experience.
Students can choose to attend part-time or full-time. Classes are offered during the day, evening and on-line. Students must take at least nine semester credits or the equivalent of legal specialty courses through synchronous, face to face traditional classroom instruction or remote through Zoom or other video platform.
What strengths and academic backgrounds does the faculty possess?
The Program Director is an attorney, has worked with paralegals in private practice for more than 15 years, and has over 15 years of experience in paralegal education. The rest of the faculty consists of licensed attorneys and judges. Each faculty member has been identified by his or her peers as an expert in the particular field in which they teach. Other community attorneys and judges offer their services as guest lecturers.