The legal assisting/paralegal program prepares students with the skills and academic knowledge necessary for a career as a legal assistant/paralegal working under the supervision of a licensed attorney. The American Bar Association defines a paralegal as "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". These career opoortunities may be in small or large firms working as a legal assistant/paralegal.
Paralegal Duties
While attorneys assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, they often delegate many of their tasks to paralegals. In fact, paralegals—also called legal assistants—continue to assume a growing range of tasks in the nation’s legal offices and perform many of the same tasks as attorneys.
A paralegal's tasks can include helping lawyers prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. Paralegals investigate the facts of cases and ensure that all relevant information is considered. They may also identify appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials that are relevant to assigned cases. In addition to this preparatory work, paralegals also perform a number of other vital
functions. For example, they help draft contracts, mortgages, separation agreements, and trust instruments. They also may assist in preparing tax returns and planning estates. Paralegals are found in all types of organizations, but law firms, corporate legal departments, and various government offices employ most. Paralegals who work for corporations often assist attorneys with employee contracts, shareholder agreements, stock-option plans, and employee benefit plans.
Unauthorized Practice of Law
The duties of a legal assistant/paralegal include assisting the lawyer with research, brief preparation, and other legal office administration, but do not include practicing law, advising clients, or setting fees since paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public except as permitted by law.
Program Length
The average length of time for a student taking a full course load is 4 semesters. A minimum of 63 semester credit hours is required for graduation. In addition, students must demonstrate a keyboarding speed of a minimum of 40 net words per minute by the end of their program in order to qualify for the Associate of Science in Legal Assisting/Paralegal degree.
Note: The Associate of Science in Legal Assisting/Paralegal and the Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies are approved by the American Bar Association at only the New Orleans Campus location of Herzing University.
