Description

Become one of the more than 120,000 paralegals in the United States. Paralegals are involved in sophisticated legal work in traditional law office settings and in the corporate, government, and public arenas. Obtaining a quality education is the best way to prepare for the paralegal profession. This self-paced, Web-based program will get you ready for an entry-level paralegal position, and it'll prepare you to take the certification exam. You'll be paired with an instructor for one-on-one assistance, and you'll also receive free access to NALA Campus and Westlaw!

Through a special arrangement between ed2go and National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) Campus, your tuition includes free access to the seven preparatory exam courses offered at NALA Campus. Regardless of whether or not you're eligible for certification or plan to take the exam, the NALA Campus preparatory courses are a value-added addition to your paralegal education.

Gatlin International also provides all paralegal students with free access to Westlaw to complete their assigned research projects. Westlaw is an online legal research service that provides fast and easy access to an extensive collection of legal resources, news, business, and public records information. Access to the number-one rated online legal resource, Westlaw, will benefit you tremendously as you perform your legal research assignments during your paralegal education.

Upon registering, you're given an initial six months to complete the program. Should you need more time, you may request a six-month extension at no additional charge.

Outline

1. Paralegal in the Legal System
2. Paralegal Employment
3. On-the-Job Realities
4. Regulation of Paralegals
5. Attorney and Paralegal Ethics
6. Introduction to the Legal System
7. Introduction to Legal Analysis
8. Legal Interviewing
9. Investigation in a Law Office
10. Litigation Assistantship
11. Legal Research
12. Legal Writing
13. Introduction to the Use of Computers
14. Introduction to Law Office Administration
15. Informal and Formal Administrative Advocacy
16. Tort Law, Product Liability, and Consumer Law
17. Contracts and Intellectual Property Law
18. Insurance and Real Property Law
19. Estates and Family Law
20. Laws Affecting Business
21. Criminal Law and Procedures
22. Preparing for the CLA

Demo

Additional Info

Languages

English

Course Length

225.00 hours

Duration of Access

All of our courses are self-paced and open enrollment. You can start and finish the course at your own pace. When you register for a course, you are given an 180 days (6 months) to complete the course. If you need more time, extensions are available.

Instructor

Pearlie Bush was born and raised in a small town in Louisiana. After graduating high school, she attended Southern University, majoring in political science with a minor in English. While conducting her undergraduate studies, she was also active in politics and had the opportunity to work on the campaigns of Senator Willie Crain and Charles Jones, and she also served as Senator Crain's committee clerk at the Louisiana State Capital.

She went on to earn her law degree from the Southern University Law Center. In law school, she concentrated her studies in the areas of contract and constitutional law. While in law school, she worked as a law clerk for the Louisiana Public Defender's Office. While working for the Public Defender's Office, she drafted various motions and briefs on several landmark cases.

After graduating law school, she moved to Georgia and ran a private law office. Pearlie also worked as a case law editor for Lexis-Nexis and edited and prepared final drafts for legal cases stored in the company's data base. Pearlie has taught various legal courses at a variety of institutions. In her free time, as little as it is, she enjoys volunteering and spending time with her husband, children, friends, and family. She enjoys outdoor activities and attends all Atlanta Falcons football games.

Prerequisites/Audience

In order to enroll in this program, you must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent. We also recommend that you have computer skills, including knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite (especially Word and PowerPoint) and good keyboarding skills (60 words per minute or faster). Also helpful are good skills in English grammar, spelling, punctuation, and composition.

Note: If you plan to pursue the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) Certified Paralegal/Certified Legal Assistant (CP/CLA) credential, you must meet one of the requirements for eligibility shown below under the heading "NALA Certification Eligibility Requirements." This Paralegal Online Training Program is 300 clock hours. In order to meet the eligibility requirements to sit for the CP/CLA credentialing exam using this course, you must also hold a Bachelor's degree in any field, or you must have seven years of experience as a legal assistant under the supervision of a member of the Bar.

NALA Certification Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the CLA examination, a legal assistant must meet one of the following alternate requirements:

• Graduation from a legal assistant program that is:
• Approved by the American Bar Association; or
• An Associate degree program; or
• A post-baccalaureate certificate program in legal assistant studies; or
• A Bachelor's degree program in legal assistant studies; or
• A legal assistant program which consists of a minimum of 60 semester hours (900 clock hours or 90 quarter hours) of which at least 15 semester hours (225 clock hours or 22.5 quarter hours) are substantive legal courses.

A Bachelor's degree in any field, plus one year of experience as a legal assistant. Successful completion of at least 15 semester hours (or 22.5 quarter hours or 225 clock hours) of substantive legal assistant programs will be considered equivalent to one year's experience as a legal assistant.

A high school diploma or equivalent, plus seven years of experience as a legal assistant under the supervision of a member of the Bar, plus evidence of a minimum of twenty (20) hours of continuing legal education credit to have been completed within a two-year period prior to the examination date.

Requirements/Materials Included

This program is compatible with the Windows Vista operating system and can be taken from either a Mac or a PC.

Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Acrobat Reader are required for this program.

Click here to download the Acrobat Reader.
Click here to download the Flash Player.

Gatlin International will provide the required textbooks for this program. You'll receive Introduction to Paralegalism, by William P. Statsky, and West's Paralegal Today: Legal Team at Work, by Roger Miller