Cuesta College

Cuesta College

Providing you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a successful paralegal.

In the absence of the paralegal, an attorney would perform the substantive and routine legal work, as authorized by law. Paralegals are qualified to do legal work based on their education and/or work experience in the legal arena. Paralegals are qualified to perform legal work through their knowledge of the law, gained either through education alone or through a combination of education and work experience. Paralegals abide by established ethical principals and rules of professional accountability.

As stated by the U.S. Department of Labor <http://stats.bls.gov/oco/oco20016.htm>, employment opportunities for paralegals and legal assistants are expected to develop faster than the average for all occupations through 2010. In order to increase the efficiency of legal services, and to lower the costs associated with legal services, law firms and other law entities are increasingly hiring paralegals, thus substantially increasing their employment growth. In the future, most of the job openings for paralegals will be new vacancies created by the rapid growth of employment.

Cuesta College Paralegal Program has gained the approval of the California Community Chancellor's Office and meets the requirements of the California Business and Professions Code 6450. The program, which is designed to train students in the skills and expertise required to gain employment as legal professionals, is very successful. The program is also designed to help paralegals comply with continuing education requirements under California law and preparation for NALA certification. We employ only top notch, well respected attorneys, paralegals and professionals in the field of law to teach our courses.