Legal Assistant Certificate Program

Samford University's Legal Assistant Certificate Program (formerly known as the Paralegal Studies Program) is the oldest Legal Assistant Program in Alabama. It was the first Alabama program to achieve American Bar Association approval. Samford University has replaced the degree previously offered in Paralegal Studies with a ten-course Legal Assistant Certificate Program. American Bar Association [ABA] guidelines require participants to either currently hold or concurrently pursue at least an associate degree. Students who currently have an associate or bachelor's degree may take the ten legal assistant courses described below and earn the Legal Assistant Certificate. Legal specialty transfer credits are allowed only from ABA-approved institutions and a maximum of six courses are transferable for credit toward the certificate. Other courses (above the limit of six) are transferable where the courses qualify as electives in other areas of the curriculum for students pursuing the degree under Track 2. All legal specialty courses are offered for academic credit and may apply toward a degree. Students who do not currently have an associate or bachelor's degree should refer to Track 2: Legal Assistant Certificate/Administration of the Administrative/Community Services Concentration. All instructors in the Legal Assistant Certificate Program are licensed attorneys or experienced paralegals.

The program is committed to producing well-educated, capable, and ethically aware graduates who, although they cannot practice law, are prepared for careers as legal assistants to attorneys in private, public, and corporate settings. Legal Assistants are professionals trained both in the substance of the law and in legal procedure who use that knowledge and those skills to provide a broad range of legal services under the supervision and direction of an attorney. Specifically, the program goals are:

1. To train students in a practical way for careers as legal assistants to attorneys.
2. To promote a basic understanding of legal concepts and terms on subjects that are important to those engaged in general practice or in specialized areas of law and to equip students with legal writing and research skills that will enable graduates to perform as skilled members of a legal team.
3. To provide a general understanding of the principles of ethical and professional responsibility as these relate to lawyers and legal assistants.
4. To provide a broad background in general education for development of educated, socially, morally, and ethically aware individuals.
5. To constantly upgrade and adjust the program to fulfill the needs of the community by seeking input from local attorneys, legal assistants, and students.

Course Descriptions