Paralegal Studies

This program is designed to prepare students for entry-level paraprofessional positions in the legal field. A paralegal is 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. Paralegals may not give legal advice or otherwise engage in the unauthorized practice of law. Paralegal work includes developing and modifying procedures used in the legal field, preparing routine legal documents, assisting in the preparation of cases for trial, investigating facts, researching, selecting, assessing, compiling, and using information from the law library and other references, and analyzing and handling procedural problems.
All Paralegal Studies degree candidates must comply with the applicable legal authority governing the unauthorized practice of law in the jurisdiction in which they will eventually practice.