Paralegal Studies

The graduate paralegal certificate is approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and is the only ABA program in the St. Louis area. The coursework for the graduate paralegal certificate is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of the legal environment in which individuals, businesses and the judiciary operates. This certificate should be attractive to those individuals who need additional legal knowledge to function more effectively (for example, managers, teachers, government employees and legal assistants).

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Utilize critical thinking strategies for legal reasoning and analysis.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the Code of Professional Responsibility to guide professional behaviors and decision-making.
• Integrate the skills and knowledge necessary for understanding legal issues working from both theoretical and practical applications.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the essential goals of legal researching, problem solving and logic as applied to legal writing.
• Evaluate legal information to be used in effective written communication for practical problems encountered in a legal environment.
• Analyze the significant role that legal assistants have in the legal world.
• Apply advanced legal knowledge and skills in legal practice.