Spokane Community College

The goals of the A.A.S. paralegal degree program are to train the students in:

• Doing legal research
• Supporting the work for trials and doing trial notebooks
• Doing legal documentation
• Making a summary of the depositions
• Detailing procedures in writing for law offices
• Doing investigative work and doing client interviews
• Taking into consideration procedures that include taking decisions
• Doing administrative functions

Paralegal A.A.S.

You can't practice law if you're a paralegal. As a paralegal you are part of the legal team and an attorney is supervising you directly.

The American Bar Association approves the A.A.S. paralegal degree program.

Paralegal Certificate

This certificate program that has four quarters will be added to the A.A./A.A.S. or B.A./B.S. legal secretary studies degree.

The paralegal program will build on the general education that you have and will boost your knowledge of the law, learning how to be a legal specialist.

You can't practice law as a paralegal, working instead under an attorney's supervision. The American Bar Association approves the paralegal certificate.

You can find jobs after you get the Paralegal certificate in states like Seattle, Washington or Spokane, as paralegals, secretaries, administrative assistants or legal assistants. The salaries vary between $7 and $15 per hour. The salary varies because there are different firm sizes, experience, responsibilities, skills or the way people present themselves in interviews.

Since the paralegals don't get to practice law, they can't give legal advice to people or to do legal work.