Paralegal degree programs prepare students for employment as
paralegals or legal assistants in private law offices and even
both the public and the private sectors of the economy of a
country 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 Institutional member of the American Association for
paralegal education (AAFPE) and other relevant regulatory bodies
for Paralegal studies in the USA.
PROGRAMS OF STUDY: Most Aba approved schools and Aba approved online degree programs
will have programs of study that look similar to the following:
1. A Bachelor's Degree program otherwise called BPS (Bachelor of
Professional Studies degree in legal Studies) of a full 120 credit hour.
2. A Credit Certificate for students who already have theĀ equivalent
of an associate degree but desirous of obtaining a Paralegal
bachelor's degree. Course content here is 26 credits in legal
specialities which are usually waved if student decides to head up to bachelor's
degree program.
The objective of these programs is to provide students with general legal
education for paralegals work in both the public and the private sector,
including the legal firms. Course content include both operations of the
legal system, theory of law and legal problems analysis. This is to ensure
thorough understanding of the ethics and concepts binding both lawyers
and people engaging in assisting them to do their jobs as lawyers.
THE PARALEGAL POSITION: A Paralegal personnel or a legal assistant is considered a bona
fide member of a legal team capable of handling legal work independently
while reporting to the a lawyer. Paralegals are continuously moving into other
areas of law, they even nowadays take part in po bono activities. This is because
the American Bar Association has now recognised the paralegal assistant as an
integral part of the law profession, and they the paralegal assistants address critical
legal needs for the general public.
See below the functions undertaken by a Paralegal assistant: a. Procedure and legal research
b. Legal draftmanship
c. Interview of clients
d. Study of legal problems to proffer solutions
e. Taking of statements and depositions
f. Expertise in certain aspects of areas of law
g. Administrative
BENEFITS: Career improvement, employment opportunity and a means of joining
the legal profession along with affiliation with both local,
national and international professional associations as a
Paralegal person are some of the benefits.
Odidis
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