PURPOSE: There is a need in the greater Richmond area and throughout Virginia for paralegals. There is a need to train those who are presently employed in legal secretarial or legal assistant positions who wish to become paralegals. The Paralegal Studies Associate of Applied Science degree is designed to meet these educational needs by preparing individuals to perform as legal assistants or paralegals under the supervision of an attorney. The program is approved by the American Bar Association.
OCCUPATIONAL OBJECTIVES: Paralegal for private law firms, administrative agencies, other governmental agencies, mortgage companies, title insurance companies, and corporations
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS: General college curricular admission
PROGRAM NOTES: It is strongly recommended that students meet with the program head before registering for classes, or as early as possible in their first semester of enrollment. Students with developmental studies course recommendations resulting from the English placement test must complete those courses prior to admission to any Paralegal Studies (LGL) course. Students placed in co-requisites EDE 11 and ENG 111 must complete those courses either prior to or concurrently with LGL 110 . Any student who receives a final grade lower than “C” in any of the courses in the Paralegal Studies curriculum must obtain permission from the program head to continue as a student in the Paralegal Studies program. Students will be required by the program head to repeat LGL-prefix courses and ENG 111 -ENG 112 courses where grades below “C” are received. Legal assistants, paralegals, and other non-lawyers are prohibited from practicing law without a license. Paralegals and legal assistants may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.
COMPUTER COMPETENCY REQUIREMENT: Students in this program will meet the college’s computer competency requirement by successfully completing ITE 152 , Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts. Students can also meet this requirement by successfully passing the college’s computer competency exam, administered in the testing centers on each campus, in which case they will receive college credit for ITE 152 . Students not passing the computer competency exam may retake the exam only once.
TRANSFER OF LEGAL SPECIALTY COURSES: The Paralegal Studies program accepts the transfer of legal specialty course credits completed at other institutions as long as such institution is accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting body, such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. A legal specialty course is a course that (1) covers substantive law or legal procedures or process, (2) has been developed for paralegals, (3) emphasizes practical paralegal skills, and (4) meets other guidelines of the American Bar Association. The following courses are legal specialty courses: LGL 117 - Family Law , LGL 125 - Legal Research , LGL 126 - Legal Writing , LGL 216 - Trial Preparation and Discovery Practice , LGL 221 - E-Practice , LGL 222 - Information Technology for the Paralegal , LGL 226 - Real Estate Abstracting , LGL 228 - Real Estate Settlement Practicum , LGL 235 - Legal Aspects of Business Organizations , LGL 225 - Estate Planning and Probate , and LGL 238 - Bankruptcy . Credits from another institution for legal specialty courses will only be awarded if delivered in a traditional format, meet the guidelines of a legal specialty course as defined by the American Bar Association, and approved by the Paralegal Studies program head. Students may have to submit their work product before approval will be granted. In all cases, the grade for such course must be “C” or better, and no such credit will be given to any courses awarded at an institution outside of the United States. No credit by examination or portfolio is allowed for legal specialty coursework, and no more than fifty percent (50%) of legal specialty credits required by the Paralegal Studies program shall be accepted for transfer credit.