What is the education and training requirement for a paralegal?

Answer 1

In the State of Georgia, there are no specific requirements to use the title, "paralegal". Legal Assistant or Paralegal are used more or less, interchangebly. However, education, experience, training, are major factors; legal assistants frequently can be thought of a 'case managers'. Lawyers, who are responsible for the work-product of the legal assistant, thusly get to spend more time with substantive issues, and the representation of the client before the courts, or administrative agencies. The State of Florida has recently established a registered paralegal program. See link following.

Answer 2

It depends. Some people train with comprehensive online courses. Other get a 2 year Associate degree, while others even get a 4 year Bachelor's degree. What most attorneys want to know is "can you do the job?" Paralegals make great money. Starting out, the higher your education, the more money you'll be offered. However, even if you started with training from an online school or program, after you've worked a few years as a paralegal, your pay will go up substantially anyway. A paralegal with several years of experience vs a new paralegal with a Bachelor's degree will probably make the same amount of money.

Some employers train paralegals on the job, hiring college graduates with no legal experience or promoting experienced legal secretaries. Other entrants have experience in a technical field that is useful to law firms, such as a background in tax preparation or criminal justice. Nursing or health administration experience is valuable in personal injury law practices. Some legal assistants take up online training programs which is available and accepted in most states nowadays.

Although most employers do not require certification, earning a voluntary certification from a professional society may offer advantages in the labor market:

• The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) has established standards for certification requiring various combinations of education and experience. Paralegals who meet these standards are eligible to take a 2-day examination. Those who pass the exam may use the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) or Certified Paralegal (CP) credential. NALA also offers the Advanced Paralegal Certification for experienced paralegals who want to specialize. The Advanced Paralegal Certification program is a curriculum based program offered on the internet.
• The American Alliance of Paralegals, Inc. offers the American Alliance Certified Paralegal (AACP) credential, a voluntary certification program. Paralegals seeking the AACP certification must possess at least five years of paralegal experience and meet one of the three educational criteria. Certification must be renewed every two years, including the completion 18 hours of continuing education.
• In addition, the National Federation of Paralegal Association offers the Registered Paralegal (RP) designation to paralegals with a bachelor's degree and at least 2 years of experience who pass an exam. To maintain the credential, workers must complete 12 hours of continuing education every 2 years.
• The National Association for Legal Professionals offers the Professional Paralegal (PP) certification to those who pass a four-part exam. Recertification requires 75 hours of continuing education.

Paralegals should stay informed of new developments in the laws that affect their area of practice. Participation in continuing legal education seminars allows paralegals to maintain and expand their knowledge of the law. In fact, all paralegals in California must complete 4 hours of mandatory continuing education in either general law or in a specialized area of law.

Because paralegals frequently deal with the public, they should be courteous and uphold the ethical standards of the legal profession. The National Association of Legal Assistants, the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, and a few States have established ethical guidelines for paralegals to follow.

Answer 3

There are certifications and training program readily available in a lot of places now. A paralegal career is not like other fields wherein you can only rely on an OJT or on the job training to be trained - you need a formal training for it. A paralegal career is a good fit for those interested in grammar, legal terminology, typing, listening, analyzing data, researching, writing documents, and continual learning. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for paralegals and legal assistants was $46,680 a year in 2010. Paralegals are employed in various organizations, such as Law firms, Corporate legal departments, Government agencies. Organizations need specialized employees to help lawyers prepare for hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. These employees perform a variety of tasks from conducting legal research to drafting documents. Since these invaluable employees are needed to keep legal costs down, the growth outlook is this field is good. I am seeing training programs online that offers training for a paralegal career that is good for 950 hours. A lot of colleges, vocational school and online training programs already offer the training required for an individual to be working as a legal assistant or a paralegal.

Answer 4

A lot of colleges, vocational school and online training programs already offer the training required for an individual to be working as a legal assistant or a paralegal. A paralegal career is not like other fields wherein you can only rely on an OJT or on the job training to be trained - you need a formal training for it. A paralegal career is a good fit for those interested in grammar, legal terminology, typing, listening, analyzing data, researching, writing documents, and continual learning. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for paralegals and legal assistants was $46,680 a year in 2010. Paralegals are employed in various organizations, such as Law firms, Corporate legal departments, Government agencies. Organizations need specialized employees to help lawyers prepare for hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. These employees perform a variety of tasks from conducting legal research to drafting documents. Since these invaluable employees are needed to keep legal costs down, the growth outlook is this field is good.

Answer 5

It is possible for people coming from many backgrounds to become paralegal professionals. Some two year schools offer associates degrees in the area of paralegal studies. Many pre- law students, who have obtained a bachelor's degree work as paralegals while awaiting acceptance to law school. Liberal arts degrees with a pre-law concentration provide adequate qualifications for an aspiring paralegal.

Answer 6

In the United States, the licensing of paralegals is a state matter. Schools exist to train paralegals. Since a lot of your work could be with people unable to write a sentence in correct English, you will need excellent communication skills. Can you talk to someone who is totally confused and pull out the facts? Can you then write down those facts in correct English?

That is main skill you would need. Paralegal school will teach you which of those facts are important to write down.

Answer 7

a paralegal needs to have good computer skills and language skills and needs to be able to handle job stress or pressure

Answer 8

At least an associates degree.