Paralegal - The Gravy Train
What’s the old saying, “the only thing that’s constant is change” but in the world of the paralegal there is one small caveat to that old adage when it comes to certification. Like most professions, changes in technology, rules and regulations have dictated rather dramatic changes in how an individual is trained and that holds true for paralegals. However, the requirement to become certified has remained unchanged; which means there is no certification requirement. Of course, a good percentage of fresh faced paralegal school trained graduates do take one of the many certification tests available shortly after graduation but the fact remains it’s still not required.
Important aspects to keep in mind when analyzing a paralegal program:
1. Teaching practical, usable job skills in combination with fundamental legal principals are an essential part of any quality paralegal schools curriculum. In addition, paralegal degree programs should also cover topics like contract law, legal research, business organizations and legal writing. A quality paralegal school will focus their courses towards the development of an overall higher quality, well-rounded student. This would be done by designing courses that develop students’ hypercritical thinking abilities, organizational skills and their emotional and mental capacity to handle delicate ethical issues.
2. Who are the participants running the show? In other words, who were the people that put together the paralegal schools curriculum and who are teachers? Does the teaching staff and paralegal program director have outstanding educational credentials and the field experience to bring their book knowledge to life? Minimally, the program director should have a law degree or other type of advanced degree and the faculty must have real-world experience working with paralegals but preferably as a paralegal and they must be an “expert” in the subject matter they are teaching.
3. Are you looking for a traditional campus environment or online training? Online paralegal training is becoming increasingly popular but is an online learning environment right for you? In addition, you need to find out what type of training system will be used (i.e. interactive video or web-based, etc.) and how much interaction takes place between the teachers and you (the student). Additionally, if you’ve never taken online classes before, you need to decide if you have the motivation and discipline to do the assignments on your own.
Clearly, pursuing a paralegal career isn’t for everyone but for those that enjoy research, have solid organizational and writing skills and can work under pressure this is a wide open and growing field that can offer financial security and professional satisfaction.

