Paralegal

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Career Training Programs

Legal Assistant/Paralegal

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Blackstone’s Legal Assistant/Paralegal Career Training Program teaches you how to do legal research, help prepare legal cases for hearings and trials, and work with legal documents. You will also learn how to perform an initial case analysis, research various legal topics, draft legal documents, and use public records and news sources to compile information using the LexisNexis® Total Research System, including Shepard’s® Citations Service. Work in a law firm, bank, court, government agency, or one of dozens of organizations who are depending more on legal assistants and paralegals today. Graduates of Blackstone’s Legal Assistant/Paralegal program will have the 900 clock hours of coursework needed to sit for the Certified Legal Assistant/Certified Paralegal (CLA/CP) exam given by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). Graduates of Blackstone’s Legal Assistant/Paralegal program will meet the accredited business/legal course criteria  needed to sit for the Accredited Legal Professional (ALP) exam given by NALS…the association for legal professionals. Certification provides further assurance of skills and knowledge to employers.

  • Prerequisite: High School or General Equivalency Diploma
  • Study Method: E-volumes with online study guides and exams
  • Program Length: Completion time ranges from 4-12 months, with students given the option of up to 18 months if needed. Students must satisfy all academic and financial obligations to graduate from their program.

See all Blackstone Career Training Programs

After completing the Paralegal Career Training Program, students will be able to:

  • Define law and identify basic legal terms.
  • Explain legal concepts related to contracts.
  • Identify aspects of torts.
  • Identify legal cause, negligence, and deceit.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of civil and criminal defamation.
  • Give the legal definition of property and describe damages.
  • Distinguish a crime from a tort and list the three classes of crime.
  • Describe larceny and identify the three degrees of larceny.
  • Identify legal terms related to real property.
  • Identify actions to recover damages in civil suits.
  • Identify legal terms related to civil actions.
  • Identify legal terms related to criminal procedure.
  • Explain the process of criminal procedure.
  • Identify and explain legal concepts related to wills.
  • Identify and explain legal concepts related to trusts and trustees.
  • Explain how partnerships and corporations are formed.
  • Discuss the elements of constitutional law.
  • Describe how legal research should be conducted.
  • Identify effective job-search techniques for paralegals.
  • Describe common ethics related to the paralegal profession.

If you want to become a paralegal and enjoy working in a rewarding, respected profession, Blackstone’s accredited paralegal training program can help you achieve your goals. Earning your paralegal certificate can provide the edge you need in your career as well as help you obtain professional certification.

Paralegals, sometimes referred to as legal assistants, are skilled professionals who serve in a variety of capacities in the legal community. They provide valuable services, typically while working under the supervision of lawyers. Paralegals are often responsible for conducting research, drafting legal documents, working with clients, and assisting in trial preparation.

Are there paralegal job opportunities out there? And what about job security?

When you become a paralegal, you’ll benefit from a high level of job security. A steadily increasing need for paralegals in the private sector as well as in various government offices means even when other elements of the economy slow down, the need for paralegals will continue to grow. This is because paralegals can provide many of the same services as lawyers, but at a lower cost.

In recent years, the number of new jobs in the national paralegal market outpaced the growth rate for most other jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates employment for paralegals will grow up to 18% through 2020.

Choosing to become a paralegal opens up a wide range of employment opportunities at private law firms, large corporations, insurance companies, and government agencies. Some paralegals choose to work in community legal aid offices, helping to bring legal services to those who wouldn’t normally have access to such help.

What kind of salary could a paralegal earn?

You can expect to earn an attractive salary when you become a paralegal. According to the 2012-2013 Occupational Outlook Handbook, top paralegal pay was over $74,870 in 2010, while the middle 50 percent of paralegals earned between $46,680.

When I become a paralegal, where can I work?

Paralegals fill an assortment of positions in almost every locale in law firms and a multitude of other entities. Often, paralegals choose positions based on unique interests and skills, previous work experience, or future goals for specialization and advancement.

When you become a paralegal, you may work in a corporate legal department handling employee benefits and contracts, or performing necessary regulatory research and analysis. Or, you could work for a small law firm and use your knowledge of all aspects of law, or a large law firm where you will specialize in areas such as criminal law or real estate law.

Organizations that employ paralegals include:

  • Banks; Savings and Loans
  • Construction Companies
  • Corporate Legal Departments
  • Court Reporting Agencies
  • Federal and State Banking Agencies
  • Insurance Companies
  • Internal Revenue Service
  • Law Firms
  • Legal Aid Societies
  • Municipal, Trial, and Appellate Courts
  • Private Investigators
  • Sheriff’s Department
  • Title Companies
  • Unions

Paralegals also work for federal, state, and local government. Large numbers of paralegals work for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

No matter what your interests, the paralegal field—with its unlimited variety of employers, specialties, and positions—likely holds the perfect opportunity for you and your dreams for the future.

Are you ready to become a paralegal and enter a respected profession with a competitive salary, high job security, and rewarding job responsibilities? Get started now with Blackstone’s accredited paralegal training program.

Enroll online or call 1-800-826-9228 to speak with an admissions advisor.

Our accredited online Legal Assistant/Paralegal Career Training Program provides foundation-level knowledge and skills in general law which prepares you to work in a law firm, bank, court, government agency, or one of dozens of organizations who are depending more on legal assistants/paralegals today.

View Curriculum Details

Volume I: Law – Its Origin, Nature and Development & Contracts

  • Nature of Law
  • Sources of Law
  • Classifications of Law
  • Beginnings of Law
  • Making of the Common Law
  • Enlargement of the Common Law
  • Maturity of the Law
  • American Development of the Common Law
  • History of Contracts
  • Offer & Acceptance
  • Reality of Consent
  • Contracts Under Seal
  • Consideration
  • Statute of Frauds & Perjuries
  • Capacity of Parties
  • Legality of the Subject Matter
  • Limits of Contractual Obligation
  • Assignment of Contracts
  • Joint & Several Contracts
  • Interpretation & Construction of Contracts
  • Promises & Conditions
  • Rules on Conditions
  • Impossibility of Performance
  • Breach of Contracts
  • The Discharge of Contracts

Volume II: Torts

  • Fundamental Notions
  • Trespass to the Person
  • Battery
  • Assault
  • False Imprisonment
  • Trespass to the Property
  • Excusable Trespasses
  • Conversion
  • Nature of Conversion
  • Particular Instances of Conversion
  • Legal Cause
  • Negligence
  • Deceit
  • The Defendant’s Wrongful Conduct
  • The Effect Upon the Plaintiff
  • Defamation
  • Two Species of Defamation
  • The Plaintiff’s Case in Defamation
  • The Defendant’s Response
  • The Response
  • Prima Facie Defense
  • Judgement & Damages
  • Malicious Prosecution
  • Interference with Domestic Relations
  • Interference with Contractual Relations
  • Interference with Business or Employment
  • Right of Privacy
  • Acting at Peril – General Principles
  • Liability for Inanimate Forces
  • Liability for Injuries from Lawful Use of One’s Land
  • Joint Tort – Feasors

Volume III: Criminal Law

  • The Subject Defined
  • The Act
  • The Intent
  • Incapacity or Limitations to Criminal Capacity
  • Circumstances Affecting Criminal Responsibility
  • Justification
  • Parties to Crime
  • Incomplete Offenses
  • Homicide
  • Assault, Battery, Mayhem
  • Rape
  • False Imprisonment
  • Kidnapping & Abduction
  • Burglary & Arson
  • Larceny
  • Robbery
  • Embezzlement
  • False Pretenses
  • Receiving Stolen Goods
  • Malicious Mischief
  • Forgery
  • Counterfeiting
  • Extortion
  • Offenses Against Religion, Morals & Decency
  • Offenses Against the Public Peace
  • Offenses Against Public Authority

Volume IV: Real Property – Part I

  • Nature of Ownership
  • Origin & Terminology
  • Real & Personal Property
  • The Feudal System
  • Manors
  • Sources of Title in this Country
  • Tenures
  • Seisin & Livery of Seisin
  • Growth of Individual Rights
  • Estates
  • Fee Simple
  • Determinable or Base Fee
  • Estates Tail
  • Rule in Shelley’s Case
  • Life Estates
  • Restraints on Alienation
  • Estates upon Condition
  • Uses
  • Equitable Conversion
  • Remainders & Reversions
  • Contingent Remainders
  • Conditional Limitations
  • Rule Against Perpetuities
  • Application of Rule Against Perpetuities
  • Rule Applied to Charities
  • Rule Applied to Powers
  • Co-Tenancy in General
  • Tenancy in Common
  • Joint Tenancy
  • Coparcenary
  • Estates Arising by Marriage
  • Curtesy

Volume V: Real Property – Part II

  • Dower
  • Homestead Exemptions
  • Rights Appurtenant to Land
  • Fruits of the Soil
  • Waste Boundaries
  • Fences
  • Natural Rights to Land & Air & Water
  • Lateral & Subjacent Support
  • Easements Licenses
  • Profits
  • Party Walls
  • Rent
  • Covenants Running With Land
  • Forms of Conveyances
  • Surrender & Release
  • Delivery & Acceptance
  • Other Essentials to Valid Conveyance
  • Abstracts of Title
  • Covenants of Title
  • Recording Laws
  • Torrens System of Land Registration
  • Dedication
  • Public Lands
  • Powers
  • Acquisition or Transfer of Title
  • Forfeiture for Crime
  • Sales on Execution
  • Partition
  • Adverse Possession
  • Accretion, Alluvion & Reliction

Volume VI: Pleadings in Civil Actions, Practice in Civil Actions, Criminal Procedures

  • Necessity of Pleading & Importance of Subject
  • History of Courts & Pleading
  • Course of Action
  • Common Law
  • Causes of Action
  • Proceedings in Other Courts & Effect of the Code on Forms of Action
  • Parties to Actions and Joinder of Actions
  • The Plaintiff’s First Pleading
  • General Rules of Pleading
  • The Defenses to an Action
  • Defendant’s Pleading & Rules Governing Them
  • The Plaintiff’s Second Pleading
  • Closing of Issues & Judgment
  • Beginning Suit
  • Preliminary Motions
  • Non-Jury Cases
  • Jury Trials
  • Opening Statements – Excluding Witnesses
  • Depositions
  • Examinations of Witnesses
  • Charging the Jury
  • Verdicts
  • Entering Judgment
  • Appeals
  • Introduction to Criminal Procedure
  • Jurisdiction & Venue
  • Preliminary Proceedings
  • Indictments
  • Procedure Between Indictment & Trial
  • The Trial
  • Steps After the Trial

Volume VII: Wills and Trusts

  • Introduction & Classification
  • Descent
  • Distribution
  • Wills Defined
  • Origin, History & Nature of Wills
  • Capacities of Testators & Beneficiaries
  • Execution of Wills
  • Revocation of Wills
  • Republication & Revival
  • Lapsed & Void Legacies & Devises
  • Ademption
  • Probate of Wills
  • Administration of Estates
  • Guardian & Ward
  • History of Trusts
  • Trusts Distinguished From Other Relationships
  • Creation of Express Trusts
  • Creation of Implied Trusts
  • Private Trusts
  • Public Trusts
  • Trustee – Appointment, Qualifications & Powers
  • Trustee – Duties, Rights, Liabilities & Removal
  • Beneficiary – Rights & Liabilities
  • Beneficiary – His Remedies

Volume VIII: Partnerships & Corporations

  • Legal Conception of Corporation
  • Formation of Corporations
  • Irregularly & Defectively Organized Corporations
  • Promotion of Corporations
  • Subscribers & Stock Subscriptions
  • Corporation & State
  • Corporate Powers
  • Ultra Vires Transactions
  • Corporate Crimes & Torts
  • Directors
  • Corporate Membership
  • Rights of Stockholders
  • Corporate Creditors
  • Foreign Corporations
  • Partnerships – Characteristics
  • Creation of Partnership
  • Name & Property of Partnership
  • Partnership Liability
  • Duties of Partners
  • Remedies of Creditors
  • Actions Between Partners
  • Action Between Partners & Third Persons
  • Termination of Partnership

Volume IX: Constitutional Law

  • Constitutions, Their Nature & Law
  • American Constitutions & Constitutional Law
  • Organization & Powers of United States Government
  • Relations Between Union & the States
  • Powers of President
  • Powers of Congress

Volume X: Constitutional Law – Part II

  • Constitution as a Bill of Rights
  • Political Privileges & Their Protection
  • Civil Rights & Their Guaranties
  • Protection of Person Accused of a Crime
  • Due Process of Law
  • Equal Protections of Law
  • Impairment of Obligation of Contracts
  • The Constitution of the United States

Volume XI: Legal Research and Writing – Part I, by Tracey Biscontini

      • Introduction to the Law and the U.S. Legal System
      • Primary Sources
      • Secondary Sources
      • Computer-Assisted Legal Research
      • Conducting Legal Research
      • Updating and Verifying Legal Research
      • Legal Analysis

Graded Assignment 01: Shepardizing

Graded Assignment: Effective Legal Research Using LexisNexis®

      • Online tutorial
      • Individual search assistance available 24 x 7 by LexisNexis® support personnel
      • Training Session 1—Introduction to Lexis.com
      • Training Session 2—Using Secondary Sources for Initial Case Analysis
      • Training Session 3—Researching Statutes and Regulations
      • Training Session 4—Case Law Research
      • Training Session 5—Cite Checking with Shepard’s® Citation Service

Volume XII: Legal Research and Writing – Part II

  • Introduction to Legal Writing
  • Writing Legal Letters
  • Legal Research Memorandums
  • Trial Court Legal Memorandums
  • Appellate Briefs

Graded Assignment 02: Demand Letter

Graded Assignment 03: Legal Research Memorandum

Graded Assignment 04: Q & A Appellate

Volume XIII: How to Find a Job as a Paralegal, by

  • The Paralegal Profession
  • The Job Search
  • Job-Search Correspondence
  • Job Interviews
  • Succeeding on the Job

Graded Assignment 05: Resumé

Graded Assignment 06: Cover Letter

Volume XIV: Ethics for Paralegals

  • Tasks of a Paralegal
  • Attorney vs. Paralegal Responsibilities
  • Certification and Licensing
  • Freelance and Independent Paralegals
  • Confidentiality, Ethical Walls, and Screening
  • Integrity of the Paralegal Profession
  • ABA Model Guidelines
  • NALA Model Guidelines
  • NALA Code of Ethics
  • NFPA Code of Ethics

Our paralegal program presents the fundamentals needed for this career including:

  • Assist in contract preparation
  • Draft pleadings and motions
  • Assist in legal research
  • Assist in trial preparation
  • Assist in civil suits
  • Prepare will and real estate transactions

Complete our Paralegal Career Training Program – anytime, anywhere. Blackstone will provide you with the following tools for success:

      • Comprehensive textbook and study guide materials
      • 24/7 access to Blackstone’s Online Student Center
      • Dedicated academic and customer support
      • Additional online content and resources via Blackstone’s social media

Blackstone Career Institute makes it easy for you to receive a quality education at an affordable cost. Choose the payment plan that best fits your needs and get started today!

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All tuition plans are interest FREE! Choose affordable education on your terms. Speak with an Admissions Advisor at 1-800-826-9228 or enroll online now.

Features
Enroll for 59!
Save up to $228*
Graduate with no student debt
No Hidden Charges
Request Info
Plan A
$1214
Receive the Best Value when you PAY IN FULL
SAVINGS OF $228
ENROLL NOW
Plan B
$1298
Pay just $59 down & 15 Low Monthly Payments of $79 - with nominal $54 Final Payment
SAVINGS of $144
ENROLL NOW
Plan C
$1442
Pay just $59 down & 23 Low Monthly Payments of $59 - with nominal $26 Final Payment
ENROLL NOW