Considerations for Choosing a Paralegal Training Program

Fifty years ago, there was really only one way to receive paralegal training: on the job. Some paralegals began as legal secretaries and gradually took on more and more responsibility; others had bachelor's degrees and actually were hired as paralegal trainees. Now, if you want to become a paralegal, you need to undertake specialized paralegal training.

It is surprising that the first paralegal school did not appear until the late 1960s; by 1971, there were still less than a dozen paralegal training schools. Today there are more than 1,000 paralegal training programs; every state in the U.S. has at least one school, and in most cases, residents have a variety of schools to choose from. With the explosive growth of the paralegal profession since 1960, the choices for training have also grown. If you're interested in becoming a paralegal, the first thing you need to decide is whether you need training and what kind you should get.


Should You Enroll in a Training Program?

Most people interested in becoming paralegals will need some kind of formal training. If you have a bachelor's degree, it is possible for you to get a job as a paralegal without any further training; this will depend a great deal on the market in your area. If most of your job rivals have some kind of specialized training, you will find it difficult to compete with, for example, only a liberal arts degree. Certainly, your situation-because of classes you took or assistantships you held while in college, or even work outside of college-may make you very competitive; see chapter five for resume tips for someone like you.

The National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) estimates that 85 percent of legal assistants receive some type of specialized paralegal training. In addition, even if you find an opportunity for on-the-job training, that can be a lonely and limiting way to receive your training. As Audrey Casey, a former para legal, noted, "I wish I'd had that opportunity [specialized training] because it’s much more isolated and difficult, doing it on your own." So in most cases, your first step toward becoming a paralegal should be choosing the institution you want to attend to receive your training.

Which one to choose?

There is such a variety of training programs available in the paralegal field that it is tempting to lay down some hard-and-fast rules you can use to help you make your choice. Unfortunately, that method ignores the fact that there are many kinds of training programs partly because the market for paralegals varies greatly from place to place. For example, it would be easy for me to tell you that you should only consider training programs that are accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). But that ignores an important consideration: competition within the market. In the city where I live, there are two paralegal training programs, both at proprietary two-year colleges and both seemingly committed to training competent legal assistants. Neither of these programs is accredited by the ABA, and in this market, at least, I don't think a potential student should be So, just how do you go about deciding which program is right for you? Many people are worried about structure and accreditations in paralegal training, but don’t be unduly concerned about that. The key is finding out the norm in the market in which you plan to work.

First, be sure of what you want to do

Kevin Huntington is the admissions officer at the Minnesota Paralegal Institute in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He offers these words on applying to paralegal programs: "Basically, the advice we give to people who are interested in applying to our program is to research the field and make sure ifs something that they definitely want to do. We have a really low attrition rate, and one of the reasons is that we really screen people before we allow them into the program, to make sure not only that they are going to be good for our program, but also that our program is going to be good for them. We don't look for any specific background or any particular experience, provided they have a good CPA and a bachelor's degree and they pass the entrance exam. If they pass those screening devices, our main concern is that after they graduate and get their certificate, it will provide them with employment that's going to be satisfactory to them-that they will enjoy. So make sure they research the field and know exactly what they're getting into; and as long as it's something they want to do, we're happy to let them into our school. And help them get to where they want to be."