I?m facing divorce, and need to quickly return to school to gain an
employable skill, but will not have the luxury of much time (maybe a
year?). I previously spent maybe two years in college, but earned no
degree. The paralegal field (aka legal assistant) is one that I wanted
to pursue some years ago before marriage, and still do. Now I see that
it is one of the fastest growing fields according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, so that clinches it for me.

I?ve actually found many online schools offering paralegal training,
but none that are listed as approved by the ABA:
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/legalassistants/programs.html. I
haven?t looked through every single school (there are many!) but they
all appear to be schools which only offer two-year programs that
require physical attendance. Two are equidistant from where I live in
Washington State, Edmonds Community College and Skagit College, and
may indeed be the route I?m forced to take. However, I'm hoping to
find an option that offers a balance between quality of education and
expediency. FYI, there currently do not appear to be any specific
requirements or licenses required at the state level anywhere in the
US (which will eventually be changing, I?m sure).

In researching online schools, there appear to be two options. One
takes approximately 8-12 months to complete and gets you a
?certificate?, and another that takes only a few months and gets you
who knows what (not an option I want to exercise). Unlike the brick
and mortar schools, none of the online schools I?ve looked at have
mentioned any requirement for an internship, which may be why I?ve
seen no mention of online schools on the ABA website.

My questions are these: would I be hampered in obtaining employment as
a paralegal without a certificate from an ABA approved school? Would
it actually be difficult to obtain employment with a certificate
earned online? And if a certificate from an online school might work
for me in my situation, what are some of the better schools to look
at?

I?m well known in my circles for being a handsome tipper for quality
service received. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Most law firms and corporations who hire paralegals are not going to
be concerned at all whether the prospective paralegal employee
attended an ABA-approved school.  In fact, most attorneys don't know a
thing about paralegal schools per se.  That being said, an
attorney/hiring partner WILL be impressed to learn from a resume that
a candidate attended a meaningful course of studies in legal subjects.
The paralegal profession has really come into its own in recent years.
 Certification is very important in today's job market.  That being
said, one must add that not all certifications are equal.  There are
some very fine online paralegal schools, and some very poor ones.  No
online school will have ABA approval because ABA guidelines (written
in the years prior to the internet) require on site libraries and the
like which are not possible with an online school.  Of course, any
decent online school will give the student access to a law library via
Lexis/Nexis.  To determine whether an online school is good or not,
first find out if it is licensed by a state education department.  If
a school is unlicensed, that is a sign it is probably not a school at
all, but rather a marketing company masquerading as a school and
taking advantage of students.  Make sure the school provides real
textbooks, not just online materials.  Make sure the school has been
recognized by the legal media, such as Legal Assistant Today magazine.
 Probably the best online paralegal school is the Washington Online
Learning Institute. It is one of the largest, with many corporations
and law firms sending their employees to study.  It has an excellent
reputation and track record.    You may also want to check the
University of Maryland, which offers a fine program as well.  Schools
to avoid include Paralegaltech and ParaelgalLearningCenter, which
appear to be attempts to replicate the better schools.  Paralegaltech,
for instance, is not even licensed, provides no textbooks, and has no
track record. These less reputable schools advertise heavily and sport
websites that appear to offer the same quality as the better schools,
so people could be fooled.   The bottom line is you want a school
which will give you a solid academic background and some practical
experience so that when you graduate, you will be able to converse in
legal matters and contribute to a law firm or legal department of a
corporation.

Dear attyatlaw,

Thank you for your comment! It was *just* the sort of practical advice
I hoping to obtain, to separate the wheat from the chaff. I wonder if
I can trouble you for clarification on one point:

> The bottom line is you want a school which will give you a solid
academic background and some practical experience

Without an internship, what should I be looking for in the way of
practical experience from an online school?

As a matter of fact, Washington Online was one of the first sites that
I looked at, but simply had no way of knowing whether or not it was
truly legitimate. While not always true, it's been my experience that
you generally get what you pay for - the fact that WA Online cost
considerably more than most of the others was at least an indication
that it might be worthwhile. Now I'll take a serious look at it.

Again, thank you for your kindness.

Deborah

As a practicing attorney, I would say that while there is nothing
wrong with an internship, it is not a very significant education
issue, in the long run.  Internships generally are short-lived, and
vary in quality.  Some interns have very interesting experiences, but
many are relegated to routine tasks such as filing.  A law firm is not
going to care much whether or not a prospective employee had an
internship during the education process.  And don't forget...even if
the school does not offer an internship as part of the curriculum, you
can always try to set an internship up for yourself independently.  I
am sure that if you are as talented as your writing style would
indicate, many law firms in your area would LOVE to have you sign on
for some free work during your time studying.  Add that to your resume
along with your certificate, and  you are well on your way to a new
career!  Good luck.  BTY, I employ three paralegals in my office; two
attended Washington Online and one attended the University of
Maryland.  All three are excellent, and really know a lot about what
they are doing.  I don't think any of them had an internship, but they
have gotten plenty of legal experience in my office!  Once again, good
luck to you!

Dear attyatlaw,

Thank you for answering my request for clarification, and your
encouraging words. I want to finish by telling you that what may seem
a small kindness to you, could end up affecting my life enormously.
Blessings upon you for taking the time to offer your advice, and may
the universe richly reward you!

All the best,
Deborah

The statements made by ?attyatlaw-ga? about ParalegalTech Institute
are ridiculous and completely false.

1.      ParalegalTech is licensed by the New York State Department of
Education. See http://www.highered.nysed.gov/bpss/DIRECTORY1.htm#P

2.      ParalegalTech?s program awards a student 27 credits through
Globe Institute of Technology which is nationally accredited. See
http://www.chea.org/institutions/action.cfm?CheaID=512.0

3.      ParalegalTech has many thousands of pages of interactive
online texts with integrated examples, hypotheticals, self-quizzing
interactions and interwoven cases and statutes.

4.      ParalegalTech is the only school which offers real lectures
given by attorneys which make the school just like a real classroom.
To quote a leading California attorney whose son was in the
ParalegalTech program ?From time to time, I've listened in on the
occasional presentation and from what I've heard, you've done a
commendable job of presenting challenging legal concepts in an
understandable presentation. I doubt that I would be so effective?

I?ve looked into Washington Online and they are not accredited in any
way whatsoever. That being the case, their ?certification? is
worthless in states such as California.