South Puget Sound Community College

Associate Degree

Once you get at least 90 credits in completed courses, you will be awarded with a Paralegal Associate in Technical Arts degree. You also need to meet the general education requirements as well as the core ones.

The laws for anti-pollution determine the quality of air we breathe, and the same goes for other laws, that influence the way we sell, manufacture, drive or hire new employees. It even influences the way we walk the dog.

• Most people will need a lawyer at one time or another.
• Paralegals organize, collect and analyse facts, including writing legal memorandums and researching.
• The Paralegal is the first person that the lawyer's clients get to see in most cases.

Opportunities

There are always new job opportunities showing up in different areas. You will see paralegals in insurance companies, professional trade associations, private law firms, trust and estate departments of large banks, corporate legal departments and title insurance companies.

You can also find job opportunities in community legal services programs when it comes to the public sector (prosecutors, attorney generals, public defenders, the court system and government agencies). The money you earn with these jobs depend a lot on the location, size, community and what type of business does the employing agency have. It also depends on the background, education and work experience of the legal assistant.

What You'll Do Here

Going through the paralegal program will give you a solid basis in real estate, corporate, personal injury, domestic and criminal law. More than that, you will boost your writing and analytical skills. Plenty of people study during the evening, and work during the day.

The specialized part of the legal office study includes civil procedure, transcription, public and domestic law, business, legal writing and probate.