OVERVIEW
The Paralegal Online Training Program will prepare you for success in
this growing career field. You’ll learn about the U.S. legal system,
how to conduct legal research and legal interviews, how to perform
legal analyses, and more. Your training will prepare you to become a
legal secretary or paralegal and to take the certification exam.
All materials are included! This online career training program is
offered in partnership with major colleges, universities, and other
accredited education providers.
NALA Certifying Board Announces New Exam Specifications Effective with 2018 Administrations
- New applicants for the May 2017 and September 2017 testing windows:
- Candidates who have not yet taken any sections prior to the May 2017 testing window have the option to sit for the examination in May 2017 or September 2017 but will have to complete the exam and pass all sections by the closing of the September 2017 testing window. If candidates do not take and pass all sections by the closing of the September 2017 testing window, NALA will require these candidates to retake the examination in its new format beginning in 2018.
- Candidates who have not yet taken any sections of the exam also have the option to wait until 2018 to sit for the examination and the application will be transferred to 2018 upon request.
- Candidates in retake status:
- Candidates who first sat for any section in September 2015 through January 2016 will have the full two years provided in their original application to take and pass all sections of the exam since the applications will expire after the September 2017 testing window closes.
- Candidates who first sat for any section in the testing windows beginning May 2016 through January 2017 will need to successfully complete any remaining sections of the examination by the September 2017 testing window.
- Any candidates who do not successfully complete all sections by the September 2017 examination will retake the entire exam in its new format starting in 2018. Candidates in this situation have a reduction in time to complete the examination from the time allowed in the initial application. These candidates will be permitted to re-take the new exam once at half cost since the time period to complete the examination has been reduced. Any subsequent re-takes will be at full price.
For additional information, please see New Exam.
OBJECTIVE
After completing this program, you'll:
- Understand the common responsibilities and duties of
paralegals
- Know how the paralegal field is regulated
- Understand ethics for attorneys and paralegals
- Be familiar with how the U.S. legal system is structured
and how it operates
- Be able to perform legal analyses
- Conduct legal interviews
- Understand the duties of a litigation assistant in the four
stages of litigation
- Conduct legal research
- Implement guidelines and proper etiquette for legal writing
- Understand methods of formal and informal administrative
advocacy
DETAILS
Become one of the more than 250,000 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 access to
NALA's Certified Paralegal Exam Review self-study courses. Regardless of
whether or not you're eligible for certification or plan to take the
exam, the Certified Paralegal Exam review self-study courses are a value-added addition to
your paralegal education.
ed2go 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.
Attention, California
Students
This training program will prepare you to take the NALA certification
exam. Students in California who have a Bachelor's degree will need one
year of experience working for an attorney before they can use the term
"paralegal." California students with a bachelor's degree can use this
training program to gain employment working under the supervision of an
attorney to meet the requirements of California Business and
Professional Code §6450. To view the code, click here. Students without
a Bachelor's degree can use this training program to gain employment as
a legal secretary.
Upon registering, you're given twelve (12) months to
complete this program.
OUTLINE
- Paralegal in the Legal
System
- Paralegal Employment
- On-the-Job Realities
- Regulation of Paralegals
- Attorney and Paralegal
Ethics
- Introduction to the
Legal System
- Introduction to Legal
Analysis
- Legal Interviewing
- Investigation in a Law
Office
- Litigation Assistantship
- Legal Research 101
- Advanced Legal Research
- Legal Writing
- Introduction to the Use
of Computers
- Introduction to Law
Office Administration
- Tort Law, Product
Liability, and Consumer Law
- Contracts, Insurance,
and Property Law
- Estates and Family Law
- Laws Affecting Business
- Criminal Law
REQUIREMENTS
This program is compatible with the Windows XP and later operating
systems and IE 7 and later browsers 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.
It is recommended that students have Microsoft Office suite (especially
Word and PowerPoint).
ed2go will provide the required materials for this program. They
include:
• Introduction
to Paralegalism, by William P. Statsky,
• Paralegal
Today: The Legal Team at Work, by Roger Miller and Mary Meinzinger
• Access to
Westlaw: Legal Solutions
• After
successful completion of the program and financial obligation you will
receive access to the
Certified Paralegal Exam review self-study courses, which includes:
o Membership
o Access to the self-study courses
For additional information about the 2018 exam changes, please see New Exam.
PREREQUISITES
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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
If you do not meet the eligibility requirements above, our Legal Secretary program is a nice alternative: Legal Secretary.
INSTRUCTOR
Casey Thompson
received his Bachelors of Business Administration degree, with his
major concentration in Management, from Texas Tech University in 1994.
After beginning his business career, he enrolled in the evening law
school program at Texas A&M (formerly Texas Wesleyan) School of
Law in 1996. Casey worked full time while attending law school at
night. He graduated and passed the Bar exam in 2000. This experience
gives Casey a better understanding of the requirements of the
non-traditional student.
Casey became a licensed attorney in the State of Texas in 2000. His
major areas of practice were business and corporate law, entertainment
law, and intellectual property rights. Along with this online Paralegal
program, he also currently teaches as a traditional college classroom
instructor in the areas of state and federal government.
FAQS
1. Can I
register for programs if I am an international student?
Yes, because ed2go programs are online you never have to actually
travel to the school. Most schools offer telephone or online
registration.
2. How long
does it take to complete a course?
All of our courses are self-paced and open enrollment. You can start
and finish the course at your own pace. Upon registering, you're given
twelve (12) months to complete this program.
3. Do I have to
buy additional materials?
All materials are included. The cost of materials will be covered by
your tuition. ed2go will ship all materials via UPS ground service upon
registration.
4. Can I get
financial assistance?
ed2go courses are non-credit courses, so they do not qualify for
federal aid. In some states, vocational rehab or workforce development
boards will pay for qualified students to take our courses.
5. What happens
when I complete the course?
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be awarded a
certificate of completion.
6. Am I
guaranteed a job?
ed2go courses will provide you with the skills you need to obtain an
entry-level position in most cases. We do not provide direct job
placement services, but our instructors will help you build your resume
and are available to give advice on finding your first job. Instructors
will also be available to use as a professional reference upon
completion of the course. Potential students should always do research
on the job market in their area before registering.
7. Who will be
my instructor?
Each student is paired up with a facilitator for one-on-one
interaction. The facilitator will be available (via email or phone) to
answer any questions you may have and to provide feedback on your
performance. All of our facilitators are successful working
professionals in the fields in which they teach.
8. What do I
have to have in order to take an online course, and what are the system
requirements?
In order to take our online courses, you must have access to a computer
and the Internet (a normal dial-up connection is fine). You can access
the course contents from any web-enabled computer. There are no
necessary plug-ins. You do not have to use the same computer to log-in
to the course every time. We recommend that you have a word processing
program (Microsoft Word is best) and the latest version of Internet
Explorer.
9. Can this
course be taken on a Mac?
Yes.
10. How can I
get more information on the course?
If you have questions that are not answered on our website, please feel
free to contact us via LIVE chat (click the button toward the top of
the page). If you are visiting us during non-business hours, please
feel free to send us a question using the "Contact Us" form to the
right. You may also call us at 1-855-520-6806
. We will answer your
questions promptly.
11. When can I
start the course?
Our courses are all open enrollment. You can register and start the
course as soon as you are ready.
Please note: Once the program curriculum is accessed online or through
submission of a material shipment confirmation, refunds cannot be
issued.
12. What if I don't have enough time to complete my program within the time frame provided?
The time allotted to complete your program has been
calculated based on the number of hours for each program, so don't worry
too much about not completing in time. If, after a concerted effort,
you are still unable to complete, your Student Advisor will help you
work out a suitable completion date. Please note that a fee will be
charged for an extension.
REVIEWS
It was very convenient to be able to receive a certificate from the comfort of my home. The facilitator and staff were very helpful.
- D.M., East Central College
The flexibility was very important to me…having recently lost my job and having life events interfere with my studies. The facilitator was very professional and accessible. This was my first online course experience. I was very impressed...and would take another course in the future.
- J.S., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Mr. Casey Thompson, was an excellent facilitator. He replied to all concerns about the class in a timely manner.
- M.D., Kennesaw State University
I really enjoyed being able to take this class at times convenient to me and that it was self-paced. My facilitator was very helpful with the comments they provided on assignments. My facilitator was always available via e-mail and live chat when needed.
- T.P., West Virginia University
I really enjoyed the feeling of completion because I did not think I would have the discipline to take an online course! Meeting this challenge has boosted my confidence. I think you nailed it!
- H.F., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
I loved doing the legal research involved in this course. The facilitator, the support team and the student support made this experience a very smooth and enjoyable one. I thank everyone on the team for their support.
- V.S., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
I enjoyed the knowledge that I gained for legal research and for areas of law that I didn't have the experience in. I think the way the site was developed is very well done and very easy to navigate.
- L.N., University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Although the online course experience demanded tremendous self-discipline, I was very grateful of the opportunity to advance my future career in an independent manner which allowed me to continue working full time at my current job and care for my family. My facilitator, Casey Thompson, was always prompt in responding to questions and grading assignments. The resource portion/listing of the program was also a great help.
- L.H., Parkland College
Amy Anderson the facilitator with ed2go was a great assist with helping me complete the course. Whenever I had questions or concerns, she was there to help me. Because of her, I kept on with the course - there were times when I thought I just couldn't complete it. But her guidance and kind words kept me motivated. This course was perfect.
- C.R., Cecil College