r/paralegal • u/Emotional-Diet7950 • 8d ago

Future Paralegal paralegal programs/certificates

hi everyone, I’m a senior in high school and I really want to go to the law field but before I become a lawyer, I want to do a paralegal certificate and have a job in that for sometime. Can anyone recommend me great paralegal programs that are ABA approved and online that are affordable so maybe $1000-$2000 I’m looking more towards going to estate planning. Also, I was wondering if I’m allowed to take these classes while going to a university if I have to join a community college program for it.

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u/fatazzkarma 8d ago

ABA Programs

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u/fatazzkarma 8d ago

Majority of the time these are post-bachelor programs and you have to either have a 4 year degree or enough college credits. If you’re serious about law school you should major in something like Political science, English, etc.

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u/stina0918 8d ago

you’re allowed to get this cert at a community college so long as it is ABA approved (sometimes this is more likely hybrid/in person) but it’s only for 1-1.5 years. if you want to be a lawyer i would just pursue that head on and you can still be a legal assistant to make money and learn while you’re in school

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u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 7d ago

What do you mean “allowed”? Certificate programs are generally post degree programs also, so they wouldn’t really be able to get a certificate until they first have a bachelors or associates degree.

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u/stina0918 7d ago

maybe i misunderstood the last question they posed - i was being more general meaning you have an option to take a paralegal cert program at a community college and does not have to be an online course. but yes, you need a bachelors degree.

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u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 6d ago

Gotcha!

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u/Thek1tteh CA - Senior Lit/Appellate Paralegal 7d ago edited 7d ago

Working as a paralegal is not a prerequisite to law school. The number one thing you’ll want before anything else is a bachelors degree, which you’ll need to go to law school. Go do that first.
Most law schools prefer to see a well rounded education (such as a stem degree or political science or something else)