Paralegal Practice

Description

Paralegals - also called legal assistants - are a part of an exciting field that gives opportunities for non-lawyers to perform many of the same tasks as lawyers. They assume a growing range of tasks in legal offices that can include:

• preparing for closings, hearings, trials and corporate meetings.
• investigating the facts of cases.
• identifying appropriate laws, judicial decisions and legal articles.
• preparing written reports for attorneys.
• helping prepare legal arguments, draft pleadings and motions to be filed with the court.
• obtaining affidavits.
• organizing and tracking files of case documents.
• drafting contracts, mortgages and separation agreements.
• assisting in preparing tax returns, establishing trust funds and planning estates.
• searching legal literature stored in computer databases and on CD-ROM.

In our well-established program, you'll get a combination of a broad knowledge of substantive and procedural law and the specific skills required to be a productive member of today's legal team. You'll learn legal research, legal writing and ethics. The program finishes with an internship class where you'll spend a semester actually working in the legal environment under the direct supervision of a lawyer.

Accreditation: American Association for Paralegal Education (AAFPE).