A wide array of legal studies programs and courses are available spanning Associates, Bachelors, Mas-ters and Doctorate degrees along side diplomas and certifications. Interestingly, these courses usually lead up to careers as paralegals and legal assistants. Though a formal qualification is not necessary, yet employers generally prefer formal education. Additionally, those who are interested in practicing law may also want to go through these programs since it helps them to connect better with their practice and the administrative work involved in it.
Professionals in legal studies essentially are the backbone of any successful practice in law. They are specialists in their chosen field and several times may overwhelm even the most experienced attorneys with their knowledge and court procedures. They offer the administrative support in terms of doing legal research, writing reports, taking care of paper work, filing necessary petitions in Courts, maintaining re-cords system, scheduling appointments with clients and handling calls, to name a few. They provide low cost legal support in many offices that include corporates. An important distinction between an attorney and legal studies professional is the latter cant practice in a Court of Law. Course work for these pro-grams usually includes, among others, writing, drafting, legal documentation, legal processes, legal his-tory and computer training.
These programs are available through campus and online modes. The Bachelors degree usually spans around 4 years with Associates, Masters and Doctorate degrees lasting 2 years. Diplomas and certifica-tions are of even short duration sometimes. Legal studies is assuming more and more importance with employers and companies looking to bring down their legal expenditure. As a result, many of the jobs that were originally done by solicitors are now being performed by paralegals. For greater acceptance, credi-bility and improvement of salary and career prospects, several graduates in legal studies also go through the accreditation process to get certified. Examples of such certifications are Certified Legal Assistants [CLA] or Advanced Paralegals [AP] through National Association of Legal Assistants [NALA]. There are also other specializations available in legal studies such as civil litigation, real estate law, torts, family law and estates.
The career outlook is very positive for the legal studies discipline. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that job growth in this field is expected to be faster than average of all occupations. In fact, growth in em-ployment in the paralegals field is pegged at 27% over the next 5 years as per Bureau of Labor Statistics. Salaries can be lucrative and are dependent on education, experience, location and employer. Specializa-tions also make a difference. In 2007, paralegals and legal assistants earned median annual incomes of $47,600. Additional fringe benefits may include bonuses and reimbursement of tuition frees from employ-ers. Employment avenues in legal studies may span paralegals, legal assistants and court reporters, no name a few.
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