How important is it to a find a ABA approved school in regards to paralegal studies?
December 31, 2009 by
Filed under american paralegal association
I live in Maine. I am interested is paralegal studies … however … the only school in Maine that offers that is Andover College, and they are no an ABA approved school, they are however approved by the American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE).
Should I still enroll?
Before you do, call around to a few of the larger law firms in your area and talk to the hiring official. Tell them you are just looking for information on paralegal qualifications (not looking for a job) and that you had the question you asked above. They should be more than willing to give you the policy of their law firm. Obviously, if all the law firms look for ABA approval, that will tell you one thing, while if they are split or accept both, that widens your options.
This answers you get may not be generalizable to the U.S. as a whole, but it will tell you something about your area of Maine. you could also ask the hiring official if they had a sense of what firms across the country look at also.
Steve had a great idea. Call around to some of the firms in your area. If Maine doesn’t have ABA approved programs available, the other paralegals in your area might not have gone through an approved program either.
To answer your question, I would still enroll. If they are approved by the Association for Paralegal Association, your program will at least be acknowledged by other schools and possibly employers in your area who are familiar with the school and the program.
Do you ever plan on leaving Maine? The previous answers in finding out what the employers in Maine will do is only relating to Maine employers. Generally, employers in larger metropolitan areas will want an ABA approved program at the minimum. If you must attend a program in Maine, I would suggest getting a general business degree and then supplementing that with an online paralegal certificate from an ABA approved program.
No, don’t enroll! It is VERY important. If the program isn’t ABA-approved, then it is a scam.
Today, jobs in the field of Law are drying up FAST!! This is a rapidly SHRINKING vocational field. This is not a good field to invest time and/or money into. Many reasons. We simply have WAY TOO MANY Legal Professionals – we have a GLUT!! (”Legal Professionals” includes, but is not limited to: Attorneys/Lawyers, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc.)
The law schools will not tell you the truth – in fact they will LIE to you. The truth is that the job market/economy is SATURATED – remember, we are in a RECESSION today. A law student is easy money for a law school – a law school has to make very little investment in a law student, compared to other areas of study. (The root of the problem is that we just have way too many law schools.)
If you want a JOB when you are done with your studies, consider and look into the field of HEALTHCARE!< THIS is where the jobs are! and scholarships!
If you don’t believe me, just do a SEARCH here on Yahoo Answers to see what other posters are saying about the field of Law TODAY.