Victor Valley College

Victor Valley College

For those students who wish to pursue careers as paralegals, the Paralegal Certificate Program was designed. A paralegal works in a paraprofessional capacity as an assistant to an attorney in a private law firm, governmental agency, industry, or private association. Due to California law, an attorney has to supervise a paralegal, also referred to as a legal assistant, to perform many tasks that would usually be done by the attorney; such tasks would be preparing forms, memorandum writing, interviewing clients, researching legal matters, managing the legal office, and a variety of other tasks.

There are also sub- contract paralegals who work for attorney a per request basis. A paralegal differs from an attorney in that only attorneys may advise clients or represent someone else in court, except under very limited circumstances provided in the law.

Students are encouraged to finish English 1A as well as Political Science 1B prior to starting paralegal courses. Before continuing with other Paralegal courses it is strongly recommended that students either complete or concurrently enroll in Political Science 30: Introduction to Paralegal.This program is not classified as "pre-law," it is not a four-year transferable program, and it doesn't qualify as advance coursework in law school. The Paralegal Certificate is not equivalent to a law school (J.D.) degree program, and thus, does not serve as a preparation for the bar exam. A counselor can help you determine other institutions' transfer requirements. Students have to complete a minimum of 33 units with the paralegal program; at least 15 of them must be taken in residence at Victor Valley College. Students must carry a minimum grade of "C" in all paralegal classes.