Are All The Paralegal Certificates Justifiable And Will They Actually Benefit Career Progression?

Individuals looking to enter the legal profession often question if all paralegal certificates are legitimate and the reply sometimes shocks them. One may study to get a certificate online only to realize that you have wasted your effort. In case you are serious about owning a long and lasting career as a legal assistant, as paralegals are usually known, you must pass one of the recognized paralegal certifications. They are those offered from the following institutions:

National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA):

This organization has about 25000 affiliates and offers the CLA/CP exam. You need to meet specific academic and work experience criteria. One can find out more about these requirements on the NALA website. The exam itself is quite rigorous and most students will take their time researching to make sure they are properly prepared. For anyone who is ready to sit this certification test, the assessment itself will take two days. The subjects covered include an introduction to legal documentation, ethics, an introduction to law etc. You have the choice of picking four specific areas of law from a selection of nine. For example some people want to emerge as a bankruptcy paralegal so they would choose to study bankruptcy law. Once you have passed your NALA paralegal certification you can call yourself either a certified legal assistant or certified paralegal. A few believe that qualified paralegal sounds better but it is up to you.

If you wish to continue your studies once you pass the initial certification, you can sit advanced modules offered by NALA.

National Federation of Paralegal Association (NFPA)

This is the other major player in the field of paralegal certification and is particularly relevant for individuals who have worked in a legal assistant role for many years but for whatever reason didn't sit their certification tests. Once you pass a four hour examination you can call yourself a Registered Paralegal (RP). Besides being a shorter exam, the PACE exam is also available virtually all year round as it is a computer based evaluation.

The above are the two best known but you may wish to investigate what certifications are offered locally. Some students do not want to get into the politics associated with the above associations. They are also costly to join and can be really time consuming as you are forced to attend lectures and might have to work pro bono for a certain numbers of hours per year.

The advantages of joining a local legal association can be huge as they provide you the opportunity to meet with other people in the legal profession. These contacts could assist you obtain a new place as will achieving your paralegal certificate.

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