How to Become a Paralegal in California

If you are a recent college graduate thinkingthe comfort and convenience of your home, at
about eventually attending law school, you'veyour own pace. As most aspiring paralegals (or
probably considered becoming a paralegal or legalparalegals trying to get the certification) work full
assistant* at some point. After all, what bettertime during the day, the convenience and flexibility
way to experience life in a law firm and the workoffered by online institutions cannot be matched.
of being an attorney than by working as aLooking at the course catalogue for these online
paralegal? So, just how does one become ainstitutions, one sees several courses devoted to
paralegal in California?legal research and writing and subject matters like
California has a voluntary certification system -Landlord Tenant Law, Corporate Securities, Wills
meaning it's up to the individual as to whether toand Probate, with an emphasis on the paralegal's
get a certification or not. Although there are norole in the respective fields.
licensing, registration or certification requirementsAnother path to working as a paralegal without
per se in California, unlike for lawyers, doctors orthe time commitment and resources of enrolling in
other regulated professions, under Californiaan online program or going to a community
legislation enacted into law in 2000, paralegals arecollege for the certification program is starting out
required to have one of the following:as a legal assistant and working for at least a
- a college B.A. or B.S. degree, and one full year ofyear under the supervision of a licensed attorney,
law related work experience under the supervisionthereby fulfilling the requirement under CA law.
of a licensed attorney who has been a memberFor those who don't have the time to enroll in
of the State Bar of California for at least theonline programs or take classes at local
three preceding years and who has signed acommunity colleges to earn their certification or
written declaration that the candidate is qualifieddegree, working their way up to becoming a
to perform paralegal task;paralegal by starting out as a legal assistant is
- certificate of completion from a paralegaltheir last resort. However, there are downsides to
program at, or a degree from, a post-secondarythis approach. First, the one year that you spend
institution that requires the successful completionas an "apprentice" or "paralegal-in-training" can be
of a minimum of 24 semester, or equivalent, unitsbetter spent by getting your paralegal certification
in law-related coursesor degree. Once you have the certification or
- paralegal certificate obtained through a paralegaldegree, you instantly become more qualified,
studies program approved by the ABA or frommaybe even more so than a legal assistant with
an accredited college or universityone year of experience under his/her belt.
What the above means is that if you are freshSecond, if you leave your firm as a legal assistant
out of college, and you want to start working ashalfway through the year, it is unclear from the
a paralegal, as opposed to the lower paid legalgoverning statute, AB 1761, whether you can get
assistant, you effectively have to get a certificate"partial credit" if you worked half a year at one
of some sort. There are a number of ways offirm, and then half a year at another firm.
getting this paralegal certificate. While it's notFinally, like many other professions, the paralegal
absolutely necessary to have such a certificationprofession has continuing legal education (CLE)
or degree - say, if you already qualify as arequirements. Every two years, any person that
paralegal under CA law because you have workedis working as a paralegal is required to certify
for years at a law firm, or if you start out as acompletion of 1) 4 hours of mandatory continuing
legal assistant, having it certainly makes you morelegal education in legal ethics, and 2) four hours of
competitive, especially with the larger law firms,mandatory continuing legal education in either
or if the job market for paralegals is tight. In fact,general law or in a specialized area of law. The
perusing through recent Craigslist legal job sectionpurpose of CLE is to make sure that a paralegal is
for the SF Bay Area, one can see that severaltrained and knowledgeable in the latest
job postings either require or state a preferencedevelopments of the law, as well as being
for paralegal certification.periodically refreshed in the principal of ethics.
The most common and convenient way ofSo here it is, in a nutshell, what it takes to
obtaining a certification is through a paralegalbecome a paralegal.
certification program at an online university. Do a*In California, the terms "paralegal," "legal
quick search on the internet, and one will seeassistant," or even "case clerk" may be
several online institutions offering certifications,interchangeably used by the legal community, and
A.A. degrees, bachelor degrees, and even Mastersthe functions of the 3 job categories may
Degrees. While each online program has its ownoverlap, depending on the firm or organization. Be
requirements, they basically all boil down to this:sure to check with the Bar association or
they allow you the flexibility of taking the classesgoverning authority for paralegals (if any) for the
online, downloading the course material andstate you're interested in practicing in before you
homework and taking the exams online, all fromcarry yourself as a paralegal or work as one.