Paralegal - AAS

This program prepares students for law-related employment, primarily in law firms. Federal, state and local governments, banks, real estate development companies and insurance companies also employ paralegals. A paralegal is not a lawyer but handles certain professional responsibilities under the supervision of a lawyer. Upon graduation, students may take the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) examination to become certified.

Careers

Under the supervision of attorneys, paralegals, also called legal assistants, perform a wide range of tasks in legal offices. They schedule meetings and appointments, organize and maintain files (both electronic and paper), and conduct research and prepare legal documentation. In addition to law offices, paralegals are employed in court and government agencies, insurance companies, and corporate legal departments.

Program Outcomes

Effectively communicate in a proper, professional manner using appropriate terminology in oral, written and non-written forms.
Describe and differentiate specific areas of law, i.e., litigation, torts, will and trusts, criminal law, real estate law and family law.
Perform legal research using up-to-date and current software programs available for legal research.
Use computers, databases, spreadsheets and software programs in a legal setting.
Draft legal documents using correct legal terminology.
Make appropriate ethical decisions in a legal setting.

Accreditation

Hutchinson Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Apply to HutchCC Degree Pathway

Contact Details

Public Safety
Dept05@hutchcc.edu
620-728-4460
1-888-GO-HUTCH ext. 4460

Internship

Students can enroll in LA114 Paralegal Internship and earn 3 credits as a paralegal elective. Students need to find their own place of employment in a law or legal office, but don’t need to work as a paralegal. If you're already working in a legal office, this can be used for the Internship course. (The work site must be approved by the Internship instructor.)

This course is graded as "Pass" or "Fail."

To pass the class, students must (1) work in a law firm or legal office at least 225 hours during the semester, (2) inform their supervisor that they are receiving college credit for the internship experience, (3) give contact name and address of company and supervisor, (4) participate in a performance evaluation with the supervisor, and (5) write a two-page paper explaining what the student learned about one or more aspects of the law office as a result of the job.

The credit hours earned can be used towards the 60 credit hours required for an Associate of Applied Science degree or towards the 36 credit hours required for a Certificate.

Certification Opportunities

After graduation, students may choose to take a certifying exam. This is not part of the HutchCC program, so the preparation, scheduling, and cost will be up to each individual.

For more information on the Certified Legal Assistant certification, schools that offer training programs in a specific State, and standards and guidelines for paralegals, visit

NALA – The National Association of Legal Assistants

For more information on the Professional Paralegal certification, visit

NALS – The Association for Legal Professionals

For more information on the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam, paralegal careers, and paralegal training programs visit

National Federation of Paralegal Associations