Lansing Community College

Lansing Community College

Gain a successful career in the paralegal field

Lansing Community College is proud to offer excellent Paralegal education programs which include the Associate Degree in Business and the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate. The American Bar Association has given its approval to both. The American Bar Association's approval is an accreditation that is recognized by the legal community as a testament of quality and is respected by the leaders of paralegal education.

Before earning their Associate Degree, students will complete a curriculum in both legal specialties and general education. Students new to a college environment along with students who have previously attended college-level courses make up the participants in the curriculum. Even if you have no previous college, you can usually complete the curriculum in two years if you attend full-time.

Students who have already achieved a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university can enroll in the Post-Baccalaureate certificate program. With full-time attendance, these students can generally finish the program in one year.

The objective of the program is to provide properly motivated students with the skills and abilities to succeed in this challenging field. The specific objectives are as follows:

• Career preparation and personal development through legal training should be encouraged
• To define paralegal roles and locate employment opportunities in both traditional and non-traditional atmospheres

A paralegal's job description is as follows:

Paralegals are white-collar workers providing non-secretarial assistance to an overseeing attorney. Paralegals may be responsible for maintaining important documents relating to lawsuits or business transactions, preparing trail exhibits, legal research and investigating, drafting court pleadings and legal documents, and completing form documents. Some restrictions apply, like the practice of law can only be done by licensed attorneys. The work that paralegals do helps to free up attorneys so they can attend to the work that only lawyers can do. Cheaper legal services, with better efficiency and economy for everyone, are the direct result of the use of paralegals.