ABA Approved Paralegal Programs Online Full Guide 

In the modern contemporary world where inflation is becoming an alarming problem, it isn’t easy to get quality education in the paralegal field, which promises to secure a future. The American Bar Association (ABA) helps the students achieve this goal by maintaining high paralegal education standards.

WHAT IS ABA?

The American Bar Association is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and judges. It was formed on August 21, 1878, with the sole purpose of providing justice to its members, their profession, and the public.

 ABA has set four goals for the association and works hard to fulfill its mission.

1. Its first goal is to give enough resources to its members, which enable them to grow professionally. Providing them with resource packs and all the other documentation can improve the quality of their careers.
2. Their second goal is to serve their profession by providing higher quality legal education standards and promoting ethical conduct and professionalism. ABA also promotes that legal services should be free of cost for those who cannot afford it.
3. The third goal is to eliminate bias and promote diversity in the justice system. According to them, everyone should have the right to speak up for themselves, and there should not be monotony. Different voices should be heard.
4. The fourth and most important goal is to advance the rule of law. They want to make people respect the law. They aim at serving the human right and to make the judiciaries system independent of any external forces.

ABA Approval process

American Bar Associate has set some ground rules for the universities that wish to get their paralegal certification approved by the ABA Approval Commission. The process includes the self-evaluation reports from the universities themselves and on-site evaluation of the program. The program is approved by the Commission only if it has been introduced for the past two years and graduates’ successful ratio. The record is to be submitted to get approval.

The record must include:

• Student enrolment by year and degree
• Number of students by year and degree
• Advisory committee members by category, name, primary employment, type of business, etc.
• The program offered and the faculty member who is currently teaching, their gender and racial- ethnicity.
• Curriculum offered for the program.
• The legal specialty of that program.

These requirements are reviewed; if they meet the guidelines, then an on-site evaluation is scheduled. It is conducted by a two member team from the Approval Commission or Standing Committee of ABA and senior paralegals. This review is then submitted to Approval Commission for evaluation, which then passes it to Standing Committee.

If it fulfills the guidelines, Standing Committee passes the recommendation to the ABA House of Delegates, which gives it the final approval. It is a lengthy process, and only those universities which can meet the requirements gain the opportunity. The program has to be re-approved after the initial seven years. This enables the ABA to maintain the consistency of providing higher quality and maintain their credibility in the judiciary.

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Usually, all the colleges follow the ABA, the American bar association for the ABA paralegal certificate courses, and many more such programs. After going through a rigorous schedule of the paralegal certificate program online programs, you are eligible enough to work as a lawyer’s assistant and can draft legal documents. The curriculum for the paralegals is generally followed for the ABA paralegal certificate. It is designed especially for the students who wish to have a professional career in law and tailor-made to complete the paralegal certificate course. If you qualify as an experienced paralegal, your services would be required in all the legal organizations, firms, and corporations.

Know before joining ABA paralegal certificate

You have to do the research and the analysis beforehand about the paralegal schools’ reputation you will join. The graduates who pass out with the ABA paralegal certificate have higher chances of being selected and recruited in big companies, international law firms, and big corporate houses. If you apply for the ABA paralegal certificate from these types of colleges, such as the American bar association, you have a real bright chance. A last look at the online paralegal courses and the college curriculum will be better for the preparation.

Advantages of ABA paralegal certificate

After passing out with the ABA paralegal certificate as a skilled paralegal, you must work in the legal departments of law firms, corporations, and organizations. The standards set by the paralegal certificate program online are relatively high. The students should meet them. One more advantage of the ABA paralegal certificate is that it is recognized and considered the surety of success. It is accepted by all the major law firms and companies all over the world.

The ABA paralegal certificate has set the standard.

The ABA paralegal certificate usually prefers the American bar association curriculum customized to provide you with the analytics skills, the legal skills, and more significant opportunities for the aba paralegal certificate exam.

ABA Approved Online Programs

If you are one of those students who want to pursue their career in law but still do not want to leave your job or do not want to shift your career, then ABA-Approved online programs are the best fit for you. There are numerous benefits of choosing this type of program, especially if you want your degree or certificate to pay you off in the long run.

In previous years, ABA was not approving online education, but now, as the world is evolving, ABA sees no harm in learning from home. They allowed the hybrid mode of conduct to visit the university once in a while to complete their on-campus work and the rest of the coursework they could achieve from home or online classes.

The ABA does not recommend fully online degrees as in the field of law. One has to practice dialogue and be in a specific environment that is similar to that of courtrooms. This cannot be practiced in online training programs. This is the reason why ABA would want students to visit institutes once in a while.

The universities are not fully approved for online degrees, but few universities offer partially approved online courses. In the next section, we will take a look at those universities and the programs they offer.

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Universities that are offering online ABA Approved Programs

• Syracuse University College of Law

Syracuse University is one of the first universities which were allowed to introduce the online law course. They are offering an online joint J.D. /M.B.A. Program in collaboration with the College of Law and Whitman School of Management. The program is completed in four and a half years.

 It is a merger of JDinteractive law degree program, basic Banking program, and Masters in Business Administration program. The purpose of introducing this program is that in the increasing market space and the economy, it is necessary to have legal knowledge in your pocket to be of some help when you step into the market. The program is taken by those interested in entrepreneurship, cooperate management and law, tax and labor law.

Those who wish to pursue the program need to fulfill the requirements of Syracuse University. The students can apply for this program through an LSAC account. They are also required to register for LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS). The CAS will need the transcript of your undergraduate and graduate programs. LSAC will also require a letter of recommendation. After filling out the form, you can apply to the law school. Students who have five-year law degree previously can also apply through the GMAT/GRE.

Students who are already enrolled in Syracuse University are allowed to apply for this from 2020 onwards. The JDI program students must complete their thirty-four credits of law school and then apply to Whitman School for the MBA part of this degree. the students must meet the criteria of the Whitman school if they wish to pursue this program

It is a hybrid program that enables students to work in a comfortable space. The program comprises of online live sessions with the teacher and other students. Self-paced coursework and on-campus learning helps students to participate in discussions and practically learn.

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• Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Mitchell Hamline is offering a J.D. hybrid law program. In 2015, ABA-approved and gave them the wavier to introduce this program. It is a four year degree which can be finished in three years. If anyone wants to complete it before the time, you will be required to take courses in the summers after your second year. By 2018, their first batch was graduated, and now they are working as successful licensed attorneys.

Mitchell Hamline School of Law has quite a flexible program that helps students schedule their on-campus classes accordingly and the rest of their work while they are home. The first two years focus more on on-campus course and requires that all students study the same course, but in the last two years, it is up to you if you want to take blended, fully-online or full-in person courses you can also pick courses of your own choice. The school offers evening and weekend classes for those who cannot manage time.

To apply to the university, you need to give the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) through LSAC and fill out the requirements needed, such as a recommendation letter, your transcript. You need to attach a personal statement in which you have to mention the reason you are applying to the university, your goals and ambitions, your skills, and your hobbies. You need to be authentic in your statement. Once your documents are completed, you can apply to the university.

• University of Dayton

The University of Dayton is also among those universities offering blended learning of the online and on-campus program. The program ensures to give high quality education, which helps in shaping the future of law.

ABA approved the program in May 2018. It offers a J.D. law degree on the completion of which one can sit in the bar exam. Students are required to dedicate sixteen to thirty hours a week to this course.

The admission for the fall session opens at the beginning of September every year. You can apply for this program through LSAC/LSAT, and the university also accepts the GRE. You will also need to register yourself with CAS to submit the documents. The personal statement, resume, and the university also require a recommendation letter.

• University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire got the approval of ABA in 2019 to introduce their online program. The course outline includes all the legal writing and research work, the technology, and the legal framework, which comprises internet law. You will also be studying intellectual property laws.

The program comprises on-campus as well as self-pace study. You need to visit the university once in a few weeks to complete the on-campus credit hours. It takes three and a half years to complete this program. You can apply for this program only through LSAC/LSAT. The other dements needed by CAS should also be filled and submitted before the deadline, usually due in March.

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Advantages of ABA Approved Online Programs

If you are one of those who wish to pursue their career in the paralegal field, you are in the right place. This section will discuss the benefits you will have if you pursue an online degree in the paralegal field.

Relevance

The ABA programs ensure that the students learn from highly trained professionals and the paralegal themselves. They will pass on the knowledge and skills which are applicable in today’s legal environment.

 These programs are designed to get to learn about the law, government, and business. Approval by the paralegals in the field to those who are thinking to pursue their career encourages people to opt for this program.

Career Advantage

In today’s world, one has to choose a career that will pay him enough to survive and live a comfortable life. International Paralegal Management Association members have said that they prefer candidates who have their degrees from schools approved by the ABA.

Some law associations also said that these have more knowledge of the justice system and how it works in the professional world. Having an Approved ABA online degree is much more secure than any other online law certificate. The name which is associated with the degree is a great advantage to those who achieved it.

Standard Quality

The quality and in the ABA-Approved schools is never compromised. ABA’s guidelines that the school or university should have enough budget to start a paralegal program and should facilitate the students. The schools are bound to upgrade themselves every then and now. This is why the students are completely satisfied while applying for these programs as they know that their money would not go in vain. The online programs have similar education standards to that of regular classes, which means that the quality of education is still maintained even via electronic education.

Less Hustle

One of the most significant advantages of ABA-Approved online programs is that it saves a lot of time and energy. This program is most suitable for those who are currently working or want to study law as an extra degree for passion or if they’re going to change their career. The online programs will ensure that you get the benefit of both worlds. With the busy lifestyle, it is challenging to attend full-time universities, so the blender of online and self-study is the best combination when you are not sure whether you should opt for it.

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References

Directory of ABA Approved Paralegal Education Programs
The Association of Legal Assistants and Paralegals
National Federation of Paralegal Associations