Gwinnett College
Find a job as a paralegal professional
The Diploma in Legal Administrative Assisting/Paralegal teaches students the legal skills necessary to perform many paralegal functions including legal research, writing, investigation, and interviewing. The paralegal role, tort law and several legal electives selected from litigation, criminal law, civil law, real estate, bankruptcy, wills/trusts & estates, and domestic relations, is some of the knowledge the student also gains. The student will learn how a legal office operates on a daily basis and all the theoretical and practical knowledge it takes to keep it going.
When a student completes the Legal Administrative Assisting/Paralegal program, Gwinnett College graduates are qualified take the Certified Legal Assistant exam given by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA).
This is what the Department of Labor stated.
- "Employment for paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow much faster than average for all occupations through 2014."
- "Competition for jobs should continue; experienced, formally trained paralegals should have the best employment opportunities."
- "While lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, they often delegate many of their tasks to paralegals. In fact, paralegals are also called legal assistants and are continuing to assume a growing range of tasks in the Nations legal offices and perform many of the same tasks as lawyers."
- "Although most employers do not require certification, earning a voluntary certificate from a professional society may offer advantages in the labor market. The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), for example, has established standards for certification requiring various combinations of education and experience."
Projections of job prospects for paralegals are very positive through 2014; this is one of the fastest growing fields for employment and highly competitive. Attorneys may be responsible for the work done in their office but they need the extra help a paralegal can provide and look for the ones who are trained and ready to work.
