Specialized Associate Degree - Paralegal

Develop legal assisting skills, coupled with general education classes, to expand your potential for supervisory or management responsibility in a legal firm through our California legal assistant courses.

Objective: This program is designed to prepare graduates to assume positions as legal assistants/paralegals, legal secretaries or administrative support staff in a law office. Emphasis is placed on the development of legal office skills such as case management, legal research, discovery, docketing, drafting and analyzing legal documents, and alternative dispute resolution. A 75-hour internship is included.

Further concentration on critical thinking and decision making, human relations, and communications coupled with general education classes is designed to produce well-qualified legal assistants. The emphasis in this program is placed on marketable skills.

Program Length: 7 quarters
Specialized (Occupational) Associate Degree awarded upon successful completion of all graduation requirements.

NOTE: Effective January 1, 2001, paralegals are defined by the California Business and Professions Code Section 6450 et seq. as to their education and experience. Section 6454 - Definitions: The terms "paralegal," "legal assistant," "attorney assistant," "freelance paralegal," "independent paralegal" and "contract paralegal" are synonymous for purposes of this chapter.

This program includes the following courses:

• Business Law
• Civil Litigation courses
• Real Property
• Family Law
• Estate Planning and Probate
• Law Office Docketing, Accounting and Management
• Mediation/Conflict Management
• Ethics in Technology and Society
• Legal Research
• Advanced Legal Research and Writing
• Internship for Paralegals
• Bookkeeping
• Various Computer, Internet and Microsoft courses
• Management Communications
• And many more in-depth courses!

Contact us for more information