ABA is the abbreviation for American Bar Association. According to official ABA website, American Bar Association is “the largest voluntary professional association in the world. With more than 400,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.”
Education requirements for paralegals vary with different states or even areas. Presently, there are more than 1000 institutions across the United States that offer curriculum for paralegals leading to a certificate or degree. But only around 250 of them are ABA approved.
Though formal education is not mandatory in the field and most paralegals have gotten their training on jobs, nowadays more and more people are getting it to jump start their careers. The ABA approved courses are tailored to promote the highest standards and quality of paralegal education. The curriculum will be followed to provide the students the essential studies and trainings to be able to help and assistant lawyers in current and future works.
An AA degree or a Post bachelor certificate is most common form of certification with 6 months intense program to 2- academic year programs offered through these few hundreds of educational institutions.
All of them should provide the general studies in the field preparing the students for both technical skill and analytical skills: applying theories and principles of law; preparing or interpreting legal documents; drafting pleadings including court forms; preparing for litigation; applying legal ethics; getting case management techniques, and skills for client interaction; researching the law; enhancing the ability of students to reason, understand, and apply correct principles of law; and gaining analytical and critical thinking skills as opposed to rote learning.
If the applicant desire to pursue deeper in a area of specific law, some ABA Approved Program’s specialization or area of focus ranges widely from family law, litigation laws, real estate laws, etc.
Admission for each program should be slightly different. Some require high school graduation; while some require a bachelor degree before being admitted into the programs. Other than that, a candidate’s personal qualifications will be evaluated too: whether she/he has the strong desire to work in the law industry, can write clearly and communicate effectively, or has the strong organizational skills, etc.
For the complete listing of ABA Approved Paralegal Programs or Post Bachelor Paralegal Certificate Programs, please check the official American Bar Association website.
In order to have more opportunities in your paralegal careers, get free guide on the right aba approved paralegal programs.
