Paralegal Schools
Paralegal schools and programs offer training for those interested in pursuing this occupation. Also called legal assistants, this is one of the top 100 professions in California.Employment is expected to grow faster than average compared with other occupations in California.
The employment trend looks good and jobs are projected to increase because employers realize that these legal assistants can perform many of legal tasks for lower salaries than lawyers.
Here's what you need to know to become a paralegal in California:
1) Licensing Requirement in California
2) How to Become a Certified Legal Assistant (CLA)
3) How to Become a Registered Paralegal (RP)
4) Job Duties of a Paralegal
5) Show me the money!
6) Paralegal Schools (Request info from Paralegal Schools in your state)
How to Become a Paralegal in California
1) Licensing Requirement in California
In California, there is currently no licensing or certification requirement.
However, to stand out among the crowd and to win that coveted job from another applicant, you should consider getting one of the 2 voluntary certifications:
- Certified Legal Assistant (CLA)
- Registered Paralegal (RP)
2) How to Become a Certified Legal Assistant (CLA)
The CLA is the most common exam in California. To use the CLA title, you must:
- meet the standards established by the National Association of Legal Assistants
- take and pass a 2 day exam given by the Certifying Board of Legal Assistants
The CLA certification must be renewed every 5 years. To maintain your certification, you must show proof of competing 50 hours of approved continuing legal education credits within the five years.
In California, once you have the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) certification, you can also become certified as a California Advance Specialist (CAS). To obtain the CAS certification, you must take and pass a 4 hour exam in one specialty field.
There are 5 specialty areas to choose from:
- Business and Organizations
- Estates and Trusts
- Family Law
- Civil Litigation
- Real Estate
And again, the certification must be renewed every 5 years. To renew your certification, you must show proof of competing 70 hours of approved continuing legal education credits within the five years.
3) How to Become a Registered Paralegal (RP)
To be able to use the Registered Paralegal title, you must take and pass the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) which was developed by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA).
The certification may be renewed every 2 years by showing proof of completion of 12 hours of approved continuing legal education credits within the 2 years.
4) Job Duties of a Paralegal
A paralegal's main job is to assist lawyers in researching legal issues, preparing legal documents and maintaining case files.
The specific duties vary depending on the law office and your area of specialty. There are many areas of law including:
- Corporate Law
- Litigation Law
- Probate/Estate Planning Law
- Family Law
- Real Estate Law
Below is a general list of job duties of a paralegal:
- Prepare legal documents and exhibits, case pleadings and help the lawyer during a trial.
- Prepare affidavits and file pleadings with court clerk.
- Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles and codes.
- Research laws, investigate facts and legal articles
- Direct and coordinate law office activity, including delivery of subpoenas.
- Maintain case files and correspondence..
5) Show me the money!
The average salary of a paralegal is $49,708 per year, according to the Employment Development Department (EDD).
In California, paralegal salaries can range from $27,000 to over $72,000. Starting salaries are at about $18 per hour.
You can also expect overtime for working more than 40 hours and bonuses based on seniority and/or merit.
6) Paralegal Schools
Paralegal schools offer various paralegal education programs such as:
- Certificate programs
- 2-year associate degree programs
- 4-year Bachelor's degree programs
- Master's degree programs
Here are paralegal schools that offer paralegal or legal assistant programs in Fresno CA. You can also request information from schools online, which is much easier. Request info Paralegal Schools in CA
| School | Phone # |
| Central California College of Law | 559.233.4074 |
| Fresno City College | 559.442.4600 |
| MCED Career College | 559.456.0623 |
| Oakbrook College of Law | 559.650.7755 |
| Quality College | 559.497.5050 |
| San Joaquin College of Law | 559.323.2100 x125 |
There is currently no American Bar Association (ABA) approved paralegal school in Fresno.
The closest ABA-approved paralegal school to Fresno is the College of Sequoias in Visalia, CA. They offer an Associate degree program in Paralegal. Their contact number is 559.730.3840.
There are many other ABA approved schools in the San Francisco Bay Area including:
Cal State Hayward, DeAnza College in Cupertino, MTI College in Sacramento, San Francisco State University and West Valley College in Saratoga. There are many others in Southern California.
You can also get your paralegal education online. There are many online paralegal schools so don't forget to check them out.