ADRA’s Paralegal/Legal Assistant Certificate Program is an online, 13-week, synchronous, instructor-guided online course designed for graduates to begin or advance their legal careers. This Paralegal Certificate Program prepares individuals for the National Association of Legal Support Professionals (NALS) Accredited Legal Professional (ALP) Exam, meeting the standards to perform business communication tasks, maintain office records and calendars, proficient understanding of office equipment, computer terminology, and related procedures, high aptitude for understanding legal terminology, legal complexities, and supporting documents, and proficient knowledge of law office protocol as prescribed by ethical codes. Passing the final exam will end the course for participants and provide students with a Certificate of Completion in Paralegal Studies with 4.5 IACET CEUs.

Objectives: This course provides the knowledge, skills, and ethical reasoning to enter the job market as a Legal Assistant. Students will study topics including legal terminology, legal processes, jurisdiction and venue, ethics, written communications including letters, pleadings, discovery, notices, and motions, filing procedures, legal research, memoranda preparation, and citation format. Using a practical approach, participants will learn paralegal roles, skills, and responsibilities.

Exam: Participants may take the ALP Certification Exam to become a certified Paralegal under the National Association of Legal Support Professionals (NALS). The ALP exam is recognized by the Law and Public Safety Education Network (LAPSEN) as the industry Recognized Credential (ORC) for the Legal Services CTE Pathway, meeting evaluation requirements including those outlined in 20 U.S. Code § 2302. ADRA is an ALP Partnered Academy of NALS, allowing ADRA to provide the ALP exam for NALS Certification after passing with an additional fee.

Contact Methods:

• The Instructor is your primary contact for all questions relating to the course. Students and instructors may communicate directly through the Learning Management System (LMS). Upon registration of each course students will also be provided with their instructor’s email address.
• Office Hours are conducted during ADRA’s Business Hours, 10am-4pm EST Monday-Friday.

Prerequisites: Students must be at least 18 years of age and have a High School Diploma or equivalent.

Required Materials, Provided with Tuition: Hardman, M.L., Drew, C.J., & Egan, M. W. (2010). Human Exceptionally: School, Community, and Family (10^th Ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Students will have 6 months to complete this course.

Open Enrollment, No Minimum Class Size. For Groups of 5+, please contact ADRA for group rates.