Please click here for a complete program brochure.
A Combined Certificate in Legal Studies and Legal Assistant is also available. Click here for more information.

Program Objectives

• To encourage students to continue one's education in law, either by preparing the student for applying to and attending law school or for developing a paralegal career.
• To encourage and nurture educational growth in love and knowledge of law, comfort level in the study of law, and belief of one's own opportunities and potential.
• To provide attention and mentoring, for as much or as little as needed.
• To appreciate that students are self-motivated and are investing both time and resources to be in the program; that they are already balancing both a home life and work life prior to entering the program.

Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public except as permitted by law.

Is this program approved by the American Bar Association (ABA)? What does ABA approval mean? The ABA, for a fee, approves programs that meet certain standards relating to how a program is administered. Most ABA approved paralegal programs are credit based, associate degree level. Pursuing ABA approval would have forced us to increase the price of our tuition and expand our course offerings to meet ABA requirements. Although our Legal Studies and Legal Assistant programs are not ABA-approved, we have an excellent reputation for offering high quality non-credit, continuing education courses that prepare students for paralegal jobs in a short amount of time and at an affordable price which is our commitment to our students. Our graduates have reported success even without ABA approval of our program. 

Note: Prospective students should be aware that some employers do require training from an ABA-approved program

Registration and Tuition:
This certificate consists of 5 required courses and 3 electives.  The tuition is $3700 plus one time $20 registration fee, or you can register for each course individually for $495 with a $20 registration fee per semester. To register online for courses please click on the Course Browser/Registration.

Note for those registering online: Please call our office at 212.650.3850 to select classes you are taking per semester.   Please be aware that you are registering for the certificate and that you still need to call/come in to the office to choose the classes. If you wish to do a Payment Plan, please come to our office E1022 ( Mon-Fri 9am-5pm).

Program Requirements (8 courses):

• Introduction to Law
• Litigation
• Contracts
• Legal Research & Writing
• Drafting Legal Instruments
• Elective
• Elective
• Elective

Students choose 3 electives to complete the program from offerings such as: Torts, Criminal Law, Landlord and Tenant, Real Property, Domestic Relations, Corporations, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights, Arbitration and Mediation, Wills and Estates, Federal Practice.

Not every elective course is given every term; usually there will be a choice of three electives a term. Courses may be added or dropped from time to time. Please review the course catalog for the current semester’s offerings and course descriptions.

After having successfully completed the program, the student receives a certificate issued by Continuing Education as well as a transcript. Additionally, a transcript is kept on file for 7 years in the Continuing Education office.

Advanced Certificate

From time to time the program may offer advanced courses in a series of semesters which, along with basic electives, may constitute an Advanced Paralegal Program. Students are eligible for an Advanced Certificate if they have completed the Basic Program and then take 3 additional electives. Students with paralegal certificates from other programs or with extensive paralegal backgrounds may also be eligible for admission at the discretion of the director.

Combined Certificate in Legal Studies and Legal Assistant $4700

Students who obtain the Combined Certificate in Legal Secretary and Legal Studies will have a much broader knowledge of the legal field and will be more marketable. These legal skills can be used to pursue a career as Legal Assistant or Paralegal in law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, banks, legal aid societies, and federal and state courts. Tuition for this program is $4700 and consists of 6 required courses and 6 electives for a total of 183 hours of study.

Required Courses: Introduction to Law, Legal Research and Writing, Drafting Legal Instruments, Litigation, Contracts, English Writing for International Legal Profession

Elective Course Options: Excel 1 and 2, Accounting, Bookkeeping and Budgeting, and choice from Legal Studies elective course offerings. Please see the Legal Studies program brochure for the complete list of electives offered.