Hottest Paralegal Schools Offering Paralegal Studies



What is a Paralegal?

The American Bar Association House of Delegates adopted the ABA definition of legal assistant/paralegal in August 1997, as follows:

“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”

According to the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE), there are more than 120,000 paralegals in the United States. Paralegals work in a myriad of positions in law firms, corporations, real estate companies, governmental entities, and public agencies (including the criminal justice system and the courts).

Brief History of the Paralegal Profession and its National Organizations

Six national paralegal organizations were created since the recognition of paralegals in the mid-60s. These organizations now represent more than 30,000 paralegals and legal assistants, 500 paralegal managers and more than 400 paralegal programs in the United States, and some in Canada and Australia. They include the following organizations:

  1. American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE),
  2. American Bar Association (ABA),
  3. Association for Legal Administrators (ALA),
  4. International Paralegal Management Association (IPMA),
  5. National Association of Legal Assistants · Paralegals (NALA), and
  6. National Federal of Paralegal Associations (NFPA).

How Can USLegal Paralegals Help You?

USLegal Paralegals is your answer to finding resources that will help you prepare to become a paralegal, such as selecting your paralegal school from the many paralegal schools available and choosing your field of study. USLegal Paralegals will provide you information about the various paralegal schools and their paralegal programs, including the required paralegal courses to enable you to make informed choices.

Types of Paralegal Studies

  • Associate’s Degree
  • Bachelor’s Degree
  • Paralegal Certificate
  • Diplomas

ABA Approved Schools

The best way to get your paralegal degree is at an American Bar Association approved school. According to Peggy C. Wallace, Staff Counsel for the ABA Standing Committee on Paralegals, there are no all-online ABA approved paralegal education programs. Many of the programs offer some of the classes in an alternative delivery format. The ABA Guidelines for Approval of Paralegal Education Programs require a certain number of credits/hours to be taken in the traditional format. We have posted the list of ABA approved programs on our site at http://paralegals.uslegal.com/paralegal-schools/.

Online Paralegal Programs

Since many potential paralegals cannot attend a full-time paralegal school, paralegal online courses are an alternative method of obtaining your paralegal degree or paralegal certificate. Many small and med-sized law firms hire paralegals who are not from ABA approved paralegal schools. As previously mentioned, it is best to go to an ABA approved school, but if you don’t have the time or cannot afford to attend a full-time school, there are many excellent online paralegal schools.

You can take an online class at home while your kids may be sleeping, and your husband/wife is at work is an ideal situation. There are many expenses eliminated, such as commuting expenses. USLegal Paralegals will to introduce you to the best paralegal programs online through its Review and Evaluation program. Ultimately, it is important for you to find out which one is best for you. There is no right or wrong choices once you know the best online programs.

Paralegal Courses

In preparation for making a decision about which paralegal school to attend, we will provide you information about the requirements necessary for your paralegal education, or online paralegal education, such as the paralegal courses or online paralegal course you will need to take to get your paralegal degree, online paralegal degree, or paralegal certificate.

Paralegal School Reviews and Evaluations

As a service to our members, USLegal Paralegals will publish reviews and evaluations of the various schools, including interviews with students and graduates.

Paralegal Training

Once you get your paralegal degree, paralegal certificate, or an online paralegal degree through your paralegal home study program, USLegal Paralegals will be a valuable resource to guide you through your paralegal training or online paralegal training. We will provide paralegal job descriptions for you for all fields of study, including litigation paralegal, real estate, bankruptcy, intellectual property, corporate, family law, and many others.

Paralegal Career

Part of preparing for your paralegal career is deciding what paralegal services you want to provide. A primary consideration when you first begin your job search is what the paralegal salaries are, and what paralegal salary you can command. Once you become a paralegal, USLegal Paralegals will provide you information, resources, and tools to help you excel in your profession.