About Online Paralegal Degrees

Do you have an interest in the justice system and legal matters? Are you fascinated with legal drama shows like Law and Order? Have you ever thought about entering the legal profession, but you aren’t prepared to become a lawyer, nor have any interest in all the educational requirements and time involved in becoming one? Then an online paralegal degree may be the right career path for you.

Online paralegal degrees are one way to gain the comprehensive academic and professional training and credentials you need in preparation for entering this exciting career as a paralegal or legal assistant. Working in this field requires specialized education particularly in matters of law and technology, due to the amount of legal research and legal document preparation inherent with the position.

Earning an online paralegal degree saves you the time of commuting to and attending classes and you may even find an online paralegal degree program offering accelerated classes – giving you the opportunity to enter what the Bureau of Labor Statistics has called one of the fastest growing career fields, ahead of your contemporaries taking paralegal classes in traditional settings.

As a paralegal, you will not practice law, but you will be a vital part of the ‘busy’ work that helps lawyers prepare for their cases. Here are just some of the tasks which your online paralegal degree will enable you to do:

• prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings
• investigate cases
• research precedents
• obtain affidavits
• prepare documents and presentations
• research legal issues
• draft legal documents
• prepare pleadings
• summarize documents
• organize trial notebooks
• interview clients

Reasons for earning online paralegal degrees

If you are interested in a paralegal or legal assistant career, you will likely need an accredited degree in order to obtain the necessary credentials to get started in this career. Your online paralegal degree will prepare you to work in a variety of places, including private law firms, government, bank legal departments, corporations, insurance companies, accounting firms, and real estate development or property-management firms.

Most entry level paralegals have an associate’s degree in paralegal studies, or a bachelor’s degree combined with a certificate in paralegal studies. It is important to make sure you earn your degree from an ABA-accredited and approved online paralegal degree program. You may also choose from a variety of specializations, such as Alternative Dispute Resolution, Civil Litigation, Criminal Law, Family Law, Social Security Law – and many others.

Salaries range widely, depending on the degree and experience of the paralegal or legal assistant, as well as experience and location. However, the average annual salary for a paralegal is about $45,000, with a range from about $28,400 to $71,500. [Obtained from Bureau of Labor Statistics]

What courses are typically included in Online Paralegal Degrees?

The scope and sequence of courses will vary, depending on the particular area of specialization; however, here is a sample of some of the course materials that may be included in an online paralegal degree program:

• Introduction to Paralegal
• Legal Research and Writing I, II
• Civil Litigation I, II
• Torts
• Contract Law
• Family Law
• Law Office Management
• Rules of Evidence
• Legal Ethics and Social Responsibility
• Oral Communications
• Report Writing