Paralegal (300 hours)

Course Overview/Description

The paralegal profession has grown tremendously since it first appeared in the mid-1960's. There are now more than 120,000 paralegals in the United States. Presently, paralegals are involved in sophisticated legal work in traditional law office settings and in the corporate, government, and public arenas. The occupation has achieved recognition and has moved rapidly to professional stature.

All GES Paralegal students receive free access to NALA Campus certification exam prep and Westlaw!

Through a special arrangement between Gatlin Education and NALA Campus, your tuition includes free access to the seven (7) prep exam courses offered at the NALA Campus. Regardless whether you are eligible for, or plan to sit for the certification, the NALA Campus prep courses are a value-added extension of your paralegal education.

GES 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. Students taking the paralegal course will benefit tremendously as they perform their legal research course assignments at the #1 rated online legal resource.

Obtaining a quality paralegal education is the best way to prepare for the paralegal profession. This self-paced, web-based program prepares students for an entry-level paralegal position. Students will be paired with an instructor for one-on-one assistance.

This training program is designed to provide the skills and knowledge necessary to both gain employment and successfully complete the National Association of Legal Assistants certification exam. Students in California with a bachelor's degree will need one year of experience working for an attorney before they can use the term Paralegal (instead of NALA certification). 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 are given an initial six months to complete the program. Should you need more time, you may request a 6-month extension at no additional charge.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you should be able to describe:

• What a paralegal is.
• Common responsibilities and duties of paralegals.
• Types of positions available and common employers of paralegals.
• The paralegal's likely work environment.
• How paralegalism is regulated.
• Ethics for attorneys and paralegals.
• How the American legal system is structured, and how it operates.
• How to perform legal analysis.
• How to perform a legal interview.
• The legal investigation process.
• What makes a good witness?
• The duties of a litigation assistant in the four stages of litigation.
• Methods of legal research.
• Guidelines and proper etiquette for legal writing.
• How computers are used in the modern law office.
• What is commonly involved in law office administration?
• Methods of formal and informal administrative advocacy.
• The key terms associated with each chapter.

Course 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
  
• Legal Writing
  
• Introduction to the Use of Computers
  
• Introduction to Law Office Administration
  
• Informal and Formal Administrative Advocacy
  
• Preparing for the CLA

Prerequisites/Audience

Paralegal students must have a High School Diploma or GED equivalent.

Also Recommended:
Computer Skills: Keyboarding (minimum 60 wpm)
MS Office Suite (particularly MS Word and PowerPoint)
English Skills: Grammar, spelling, punctuation, 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 course is 225 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 courses will be considered equivalent to one year's experience as a legal assistant.
3. A high school diploma or equivalent plus seven (7) 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 (2) year period prior to the examination date.

 

PC Requirements/Materials Included

This course is compatible with the Windows Vista operating system.

This course can be taken from either a Mac or a PC. There are no specific requirements other than Internet access.

GES will provide the required text for this program. Students will receive Introduction to Paralegalism, by William P. Statsky.

Instructor Bio

Anita Whitby is an attorney and mediator. Her legal practice includes: business law, consumer law, real and intellectual property, mediation, and immigration law.

Anita is the co-chair of the Database Privacy Sub-committee of the American Bar Association. She also serves as a paralegal textbook reviewer for the publisher West Legal Studies.

Casey Thompson has been a licensed Texas attorney since 2000. His major areas of practice are business and corporate law, entertainment law, and intellectual property rights.

Casey received his Bachelor's of Business Administration degree, with his major concentration in management, from Texas Tech University in 1994. After working in the business arena for two years, he enrolled in the evening law school program at Texas Wesleyan University in 1996. He graduated and passed the Bar exam in 2000.

He currently serves as In-House Counsel for a specialty engineering and manufacturing company as well as maintaining a sole-practitioner office.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How do I register?
Click on the register button at the top of the page and follow the directions. It is important that you type all your information in the boxes, then print it out to sign.  Payment and sending instructions are in the bottom right corner of the form.

2. How much do the courses cost?
The fee is in the pink box at the top of the page.

3. Can I register for courses if I live outside the United States?
Yes you can!

4. Do I ever have go to the school I register with?
All of our courses are delivered entirely online, so you never have to go to a class or travel to the school.

5. 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. 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.

6. Do I have to buy additional materials?
All materials are included. The cost of materials will be covered by your tuition. GES will ship all materials via UPS ground service upon registration.

7. Can I get financial aid?
GES 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.

• GES provides a loan opportunity for students. Simply go to www.collegeloanapplication.com to apply for an easier qualifying loan at a slightly higher rate. Click here for more information on this loan program.

8. What happens when I complete the course?
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be awarded a certificate of completion from the school you registered with. You must obtain a final passing grade of 70% or greater to be awarded a certificate.

9. Am I guaranteed a job?
GES 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. Can this course be taken on a Mac?
Yes.

13. How can I get more information on the course?
All of the information we have is available online under our course catalog (www.gatlineducation.com). If you have questions that are not answered online, please feel free to email us at courseinfo@gatlineducation.com or call 817-870-2870. We will answer your questions promptly.

14. 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.