Paralegal Education And Certification Options

Paralegal is a distinguishable group of people whose function is to assist the attorney in order to deliver the legal services. They are also known as legal assistants. They get qualified for the practice through formal education, paralegal training and experience. There are many paralegal schools that offer certificate courses and other research programs in paralegal studies.

A significant limitation of paralegal professionals is that they cannot give legal assistance to the consumers directly. All the legal services have to be regulated through the lawyers (attorney). Law offices, corporation and government agencies (entities that perform specific legal works) are some of the organizations that employ paralegals. A paralegal professional can practice law but not without a license. He or she cannot represent a client in the court, decide upon a fee or take on any case.

A paralegal professional should meet certain minimum qualifications in order to practice law under a lawyer.

Educational programs

Paralegal educational programs in the United States are on significant growth. There are estimated 600 paralegal education programs with a variety of formats and combinations (regarding course subjects and specializations). Several public and private institutions are offering paralegal education. Some of them include community colleges, four-year College and universities, Business College and other proprietary institutions. You can apply for the courses regardless of your educational background. The course structure are constructed in such a way that anyone can apply for the programs. The most common types of programs are:

Apart from these, you have an opportunity to get paralegal training under any lawyer. However, if you are interested to go further into a research in paralegal studies then there are many specialized research institutes that offer such curriculum.

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Campus Based Courses & Degree Programs

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