Paralegal Training Programs’ Directory

This article contains details about paralegal programs, catalogued by state. All programs provide school name and address so you can contact each school directly to get more information and application forms for the programs that interest you.

Whether you are looking for a program near where you live or you want to move, you can find a program that is right for you. Because the paralegal field is growing all the time, more and more schools are offering paralegal programs. If you don't find the right school for you, check with your state bar association, which usually will have information on paralegal programs. Most counties and cities have bar associations as well. Or check with one of the local paralegal organizations that are affiliated with one of the national associations. Check out the national organizations, state bar associations, and affiliated organizations of the National Federation of Paralegal Associations.


Keep in mind that most paralegal programs are found at two-year colleges-community, junior, technical, or business. Even if not, the school may point you in the direction of a program elsewhere. Also check with any four-year college or university near you; if it has a program, it may or may not be four years long. While the specific schools included here are not endorsed or recommended by Learning Express; they are intended to help you begin your search for an appropriate school by offering a representative listing of schools in each state. Learning Express, 20 Academy Street, P.O. Box 7100, Norwalk, CT 06852-9879

Insider's Advice

This is a one-man operation; most places like this are. They prepare documents for people who are known as pro se filers [people who serve as their own attorneys], or for people who just want to handle their own affairs without going through a lawyer. So for pro se filers, people who do it themselves in court, we do divorces, bankruptcies and so on; and then for business people we do incorporations; and then, wills, deeds and so on. So the documents are prepared for people who decide to do it themselves instead of paying lawyers to do the paperwork for them. One thing they don't do, of course, is that they do not give legal advice - it's not part of the service.

Since they stay away from legal advice, they basically only prepare forms. The format of the forms is what is important; the content is the responsibility of the customer. They just guarantee that the forms will be okay. And if somebody says that was the wrong form that was used, well, that's their responsibility. They don't advise them which forms to use-they're not allowed to do that.

Insider's Take on the Future

In California, they've been doing this [independent paralegal services] for over twenty years, and down in Florida, after going through a lot of upheaval and people being thrown in jail, they are now well on the way to a lot of people doing independent paralegal work. It's actually active in just about every state. A lot of states are still persecuting people who try it. They still get harassed occasionally by lawyers, though the attorney general in this state has chosen to say if the public isn't complaining and they're happy, then we'll leave you alone. [Some states] really don't want them out there, but it's difficult to stop them.