Program Type: Career Program

Program Total: 60 Credits

Program Description

This program is also available completely online.

The Paralegal/Legal Assistant Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree helps students qualify as legal assistants aiding lawyers with procedural activities in the practice of law. These activities include research, alternative dispute resolution, interviewing witnesses, and drafting motions, interrogatories and pleadings. Legal assistants may work in government agencies, in corporations that have in-house attorneys, and in private law firms, or they may prefer to freelance. The paralegal profession is one of the fastest growing occupations in Maryland, and the demand for legal assistants in the Washington Metropolitan Area is high. The Paralegal/Legal Assistant A.A.S. is a career degree that enables a student to directly enter the workforce. However, the credits earned do transfer to a number of four-year institutions.

Graduates of the Paralegal/Legal Assistant A.A.S. will be able to:

  • Apply investigative techniques to gather information from clients, witnesses, and other sources
  • Analyze legal resources found in a law library, using manual methods, computer software, and online research tools, such as Westlaw
  • Apply critical thinking skills in the reading and interpretation of the law
  • Draft legal documents, pleadings, motions, and other writings typically assigned to paralegals
  • Apply ethical rules and concerns of the legal profession
  • Analyze the practical and legal necessities for organizing successful strategy and tactics for trial
  • Analyze American criminal laws and the rules of evidence
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Required Courses

PAS-1000 First Year Experience Credits: 1 (Institutional Requirement)

PAR-1510 Introduction to Law for Paralegals Credits: 3 (Program Requirement; Critical Course)

INT-1010 Introduction to Information Technology Credits: 3 (Computer Literacy Institutional Requirement; Critical Course)

CJT-2510 Criminal Law Credits: 3 (Program Requirement)

EGL-1010 Composition I: Expository Writing Credits: 3 (English General Education Requirement)

MAT-1130 Mathematical Ideas Credits: 3 (Mathematics General Education Elective) or

MAT-1140 Introduction to Statistics Credits: 3 (Mathematics General Education Elective)

PAR-2450 Legal Research Credits: 3 (Program Requirement; Critical Course)

PAR-2510 Legal Writing Credits: 3 (Program Requirement; Critical Course)

SOC-1010 Introduction to Sociology Credits: 3 (Social Science General Education Requirement)

PAR-2530 Tort Law Credits: 3 (Program Requirement)

COM-1010 Foundations of Communication Credits: 3 (Arts/Humanities General Education Elective) or

COM-1090 Interpersonal Communication Credits: 3 (Arts/Humanities General Education Elective)

PAR-2540 Contracts Credits: 3 (Program Requirement)

EGL-1320 Composition II: Writing for Business Credits: 3 (English General Education Requirement)

PAR-2580 Employment Law Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

PAR-2590 Family Law Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

PAR-2570 Wills, Estate Planning, Probate, and Elder Law Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

BMT-2220 Business Law I Credits: 3 (Program Elective)

NTR-1010 Introductory Nutrition Credits: 3 (General Education Requirement Science, No Lab)

CJT-2540 Criminal Evidence and Procedure Credits: 3 (Program Requirement)

PHL-1010 Introduction to Philosophy: The Art of Questioning Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

PHL-1090 Introduction to Logic Credits: 3 (Program Elective)

PAR-2610 Legal Ethics Credits: 3 (Program Requirement)

PAR-2650 Civil Litigation Credits: 3 (Program Requirement)

POS-1010 American National Government Credits: 3 (Program Elective) or

POS-1020 State and Local Government Credits: 3 (Program Elective)

PAR-2920 Paralegal Internship II Credits: 2 (Program Requirement)

Transferability

Credit earned at any public institution in the state shall be transferable to any other institution if the:

  • Credit is from a college or university parallel course or program;
  • Grades in the block of courses transferred average 2.00 or higher; and
  • Acceptance of the credit is consistent with the policies of the receiving institution governing students following the same program. Refer to ARTSYS at artweb.usmd.edu and the receiving institution's catalog to select transferable courses.
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