Paralegal online schools provide the required courses for students to learn and complete a paralegal program, while they earn a comfortable living in a prestigious, challenging profession.

You may already know that paralegals assist lawyers by researching legal precedent, investigating facts, or drafting legal documents, among other numerous tasks they perfom. For example, they conduct research to support a legal proceeding, formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action.

Depending on the paralegal position you found yourself in, assisting lawyers deliver legal services is a given. You're a legal assistant; you perform a wide variety of tasks, including court/immigration filing, drafing Bill of Particulars, preparing real estate closings, interviewing clients, etc.

However, paralegals are prohibited by law from giving legal advice, a privilege enjoyed only by an attorney.

However, your formal education and office experience gained online will equipt you with the necessary knowledge and expertise to handle legal matters under the supervision of an attorney. You can even appear in court, before a judge, to adjourn a case. I've done it several times in New York.

Employment Looks Good For Paralegals

"The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Employment Projections predicts a growth of over 33 percent in the legal assistant profession during the first decade of 2000. The median annual salary for full-time paralegals and legal assistants, as of May 2004, was $39,130. Online paralegal programs make it simple to learn the necessary skills for employment in this growing, lucrative profession."

Today, the median paralegal salary rose to more than $45,000 in some areas of the country and industries.

And with many schools offering formal paralegal programs online, there is convenience in taking courses in your home. By the way, a lot of these schools are approved by the American Bar Association (ABA), the governing association that supervises attorneys practicing law.

In any event, the admissions requirements to paralegal online schools varied, including a high school diploma, bachelor's degree, or completion of a standardized test.

In addition, you do not necessarily need to graduate from an ABA approval school to become a paralegal; many legal secretaries graduated into that position having no formal paralegal education. However, "graduation from such courses may enhance possible employment opportunities for the student."

Online paralegal programs, as they stand now, include 2-year associate's degree programs, 4-year bachelor's degree programs and certificate programs. A few universities even offer master's degree programs in areas such as paralegal studies, legal studies and legal administration.

You may already know that two-year paralegal programs are fast-paced and can be taken at a community college, and a parelegal certificate can take up to six months to complete.

With any other virtual studies, be prepared to submit your course work offered by any online school written, read multiple law books, email, online chats and sit in virtual lectures.

Preparation Objectives

According to some in the industry, "seven out of ten paralegals are employed by law firms and the rest work for government agencies, corporate legal departments, banks, with a small number offering their services on a freelance basis to attorney and agencies."

The United States Department of Labor lists the movie and video industries as paying their paralegals the highest salary in the industry: $72,320. Wired telecommunications carriers come in second with $63,390. Legal services, Legal Aid, etc., employ more paralegals than the federal government, and wages are little higher than states' employed paralegals.

You may not contact the ABA ever, but you may want to contact the agency that offers certification and ethical guidelines to paralegals: the National Association of Legal Assistants and the National Federation for Paralegal Associations.