The Legal Assistant

Legal Assistants play one of the most important roles in the legal industry. Though individual attorneys are ultimately responsible for the legal work they produce and the strategies they devise, many tasks – from legal research and writing, source citing, filing, and others – are delegated to legal assistants. As such, it is imperative for successful Legal Assistants to have a fundamental understanding of the primary substantive and procedural elements applicable to the practice of law so that they can support the attorneys as best as possible. To be as successful as possible on the job, Legal Assistants require a broad understanding of the law, various civil litigation principles where Legal Assistants are used most often as well as the ethical considerations that affect every aspect of the job.

The Legal Assistant Program

This program offers an in-depth view of the role of legal assistants and paralegals play as an essential part of the overall profession. Examining the myriad of skills used by legal assistants everyday alongside the typical legal working environment, students will explore the common areas of law in which they’ll likely be working, the various ethical considerations that may arise as well as the sources of law they’ll reference every day. Students will also be introduced to various career opportunities available to trained legal assistants. This program also provides students with a comprehensive understanding of professional responsibility in the legal field and how these laws apply to all legal staff, specifically. In addition to the general legal ethical concepts presented in the course, students will research individual state professional responsibility rules as they apply to the overall field and to the paralegal role.

Certification Opportunities

Education and National Certifications

• Students should have or be pursuing a high school diploma or GED.
• There are no state approval and/or state requirements associated with this program.
• There are several National Certification exams that are available to students who successfully complete this program:
  • NALS Accredited Legal Professional Exam
  • NOTE: To be eligible for the Accredited Legal Professional Exam, NALS requires candidates have at least 1 year of general office experience.
• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification Exam.

National Certification

Upon successful completion of this Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) program, students would be eligible to sit for the NALS Accredited Legal Professional Exam and the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exam. Although there are no state approval, state registration or other state requirements for this program, students who complete this program at TAMIU will be prepared and are eligible to sit for this national certification exam. Students who complete this program are encouraged to complete the externship option with their program. Students who complete this program can and do sit for the NALS Accredited Legal Professional and MOS national certification exams and are qualified, eligible and prepared to do so. TAMIU works with each student to complete the exam application and register the student to take their national certification exam.

Externship / Hands on Training / Practicum

Although not a requirement, once students complete the program, they have the ability to participate in an externship and/or hands on practicum so as to practice the skills necessary to perform the job requirements of a professional in this field. Students will be assisted with completing a resume and/or other requirements necessary to work in this field. All students who complete this program are eligible to participate in an externship and will be placed with a participating organization near their location. TAMIU works with national organizations and has the ability to place students in externship opportunities nationwide.

This program address the following subject areas:

• Introduction to the Legal Assisting Profession
• Office Procedures and Technology
• Professional Writing
• Use Microsoft Office

Technical Requirements

SCREEN RESOLUTION

We recommend setting your screen resolution to 1024 x 768 pixels.

SUGGESTED PLUGINS

• Flash Player
• Real Player
• Adobe Reader
• Java