Jessica Lunsford Blog

There are hundreds of professional organizations that provide resources and support to their legal assistant members but the field is really dominated by a handful that have the clout and membership to influence rules and make changes within the industry. A few of those top professional organizations include: the American Alliance of Paralegals (AAPI), the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) and the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) which combined have an estimated 35,000 plus members all across the United States. While the AAPI primary purpose is providing the best legal assistant training and educational programs possible the NFPA and NALA work to influence and guide the language and it’s used within the profession.

Essential fact-finding criteria to keep in mind when analyzing a legal assistant program:

1. The central purpose of any high quality legal assistant school should be total intellectual maturation of their students. Accomplishing this goal is accomplished by teaching applicable, common sense, usable job skills in addition to a solid core of legal theory. The legal assistant programs curriculum must also be broad enough to include subjects ranging from ethics, business organization and torts to legal research and writing. Additionally, the best legal assistant degree schools will expend time and effort on developing a well-rounded, critical thinking student with outstanding communication, and organizational skills.

2. Commitment by the faculty and the legal assistant curriculum director to the importance of the legal assistant in the whole legal system is a must. Additionally, they must have the proper academic credentials to be able to teach the subject. Ideally, the legal assistant program director should have a law degree but if not, they should have some type of advanced legal assistant degree. As for the instructors they should be experts in the subjects they are teaching. How they came to become an “expert” can be debated as to what is the best path but regardless of the journey they need to have the proper expertise.

3. Are you searching for a conventional college campus learning environment or does online training appeal to you? Online legal assistant programs have become more and more popular among legal assistant schools but if you’ve never taken an online class you need to ask yourself if online learning is right for you. Moreover, it’s imperative that you find out (before you enroll) what type of online training will be use. Will it consist primarily of web-based content or interactive video or both or something else? How much interplay will there be between you and the instructors and do you have the self-discipline and motivation to attend all the lectures and do all the assignments on you own?

Even if long term you have aspirations to become an attorney, beginning your career in law as a legal assistant is a smart first step. Becoming a legal assistant will enable you to get your foot in the door of the legal field, which will open up additional opportunities whether you decided to pursue your law degree or continue to work as a paralegal. Regardless, a legal assistant career offers countless opportunities.