If you find yourself drawn to the legal profession and consider it to be an interesting and exciting career option, you will be pleased to know that there are legal assistant certification programs that you can finish it as little as four months online from an accredited school. You also have the option of studying for a year, and even as long as 18 months. The only prerequisite that will be required from you is a high school diploma or proof of a GED. The best part is that after you have satisfactorily completed the course, you will be able to sit for the testing offered by the National Association of Legal Assistants which allows you to become a Certified Legal Assistant/Certified Paralegal.
The Many Advantages
- When you become a Certified Legal Assistant, you have the honor of using the letters CLA after your name. Potential employers understand the meaning of these letters and when they see a resume with that designation, you go to the top of their interview pile.
- Studying for and becoming certified can certainly increase your chances of being hired and/or being promoted within your current firm.
- Legal assistants do not work only in law firms. You can have opportunities in many industries such as corporate legal assistants who might have to review government regulations and supervise team projects. Legal assistants in the public sector may help draft regulations and laws, agency policy, act as secretary for boards and commissions, the list is endless. Then there are those who work with community agencies to assist in aiding the homeless and those on the lower end of the income spectrum.
- The pay scale for a good legal assistant runs between $35,000-$48,000 per year. One would have to say that’s not bad for a job that is never boring.
Are you ready to start on a new career path or to better your chances at a promotion? The Blackstone Career Institute offers one of the best online Legal Assistant/Paralegal courses you will find.
